Flotsam and Jetsam - Pelosi Calls it Quits

Today's scraps from the wrack line are a bit dated. Given the long day on the water yesterday, and just general fatigue as a result, I was less that scrupulous in my article collection. I made a little attempt to get caught up, but I fear some of it may be a little stale. Just pop it in the microwave for 20 seconds or so to warm it up.

Nancy Pelosi announced her impending retirement from Congress, saying she will not run in 2026. At Hat Hair, in a video, Larry thinks Pelosi Retirement Breaks Democrats: Power Slips Through Jeffries' Fingers and Capt. Ed calls it Irony: Pelosi Checks Out While Trump Triumphs. Driscoll at Insty, NANCY PELOSI CONFIRMS RETIREMENT: Woman Who Made Millions in Congress Is Finally Leaving It. From Althouse, The gerontocracy crumbles, "Now that Election Day is over, it's time for that sort of thing. More, please," and "Nancy Pelosi, the old and broken political hack who Impeached me twice and lost, is finally calling it 'quits.'" ""She illegally made a fortune in the Stock Market, ripped off the American Public, and was a disaster for America. I’m glad to see the stench of Nancy Pelosi go!!!" Wrote Trump, about Pelosi, an hour ago, at Truth Social. I like how he didn't put anything sexist in there." TownHall's Matt Vespa, Trump's Response to Nancy Pelosi's Retirement Was Hilarious. Ace, Granny Rictus McBotoxImplants, Who Boomers Know as "Nancy Pelosi," Finally Retires.

Hat Hair's Duane Patterson looks at Mamdani Madness, 36 Hours Later. From the Free Bacon, 'Socialism Is Not a Dirty Word Anymore': Zohran Mamdani's Victory Emboldens the Far Left. Capt. Ed calls it Mamdanageddon: Party of New Dem-Endorsed Mayor Demands BDS, Arrest of Israelis. Twitchy, So It BEGINS: Check Out List of Anti-Israel DEMANDS Dem Socialists of America Just Handed Mamdani. Collin Rugg @CollinRugg, "Charlie Kirk described the rise of Zohran Mamdani as a "distress signal" from Gen Z. "Most people are missing the point of really what this is..." "This is yet another distress signal by young people to say, 'Hey, if you're not going to fix our life economically, we're going to get very radical politically . . .'" Jawwwn @jawwwn_, "Palantir CEO Alex Karp on Zohran Mandani: “The average Ivy League grad voting for this mayor is annoyed their education is not that valuable, and that the person who knows how to drill for oil has a more valuable profession” “I think that annoys the fuck out of these people.”" From Twitchy, Ron DeSantis Has the BEST Solution for Police Officers Who Want No Part of Mamdani's New York. Ron DeSantis @RonDeSantis, "The $5k recruitment bonus we give to new officers will be utilized by a number of these NYPD officers. There is no reason to risk your life serving when the mayor hates you and believes your department shouldn’t even exist." Quote Zeek Arkham @ZeekArkham, "Just about every NYPD cop I’ve spoken to has told me they’re putting their papers in to leave. They’re not about to stay in a city where the mayor, and the people who elected him, openly hates them. It’s cool, though… when you’re getting assaulted, robbed, or raped, a social worker or “violence interrupter” is going to show up and make everything alright. Elections have consequences and you’re about to get a major consequence."

At PJM, Mike Cantrell sees James Carville Gloat About Dem Election Victories, Says 'Convicted Pedophile' Could Beat GOP, Athena Thorne says Chill Out, Everyone — There Was a Nearly Identical Anti-Trump Reaction in 2017 and Stephen Kruiser thinks the Virginia Election Results Prove DOGE Has a LOT More Work to Do. Capt. Ed hears a Liberal Analyst Warns Dems: So What? Big Deal. From Shipwreckedcrew, The Chicken Littles Of Conservative Media Appear After Two Blue State Elections, "2025 Was Not 2021 And That Explains The Results." Mark Tapscott at Insty says WHY BE SURPRISED BY DEMS TDS TANTRUM? "The always brutally frank guys at Issues & Insights (I&I) contend nobody should be surprised that blue majorities in NYC, New Jersey and Virginia turned out en masse to protest Trump."

Matt Margolis thinks Obama’s Shocking Admission Changes Everything About the Democratic Party "He celebrated that "progressives rise up," noting this serves as a "valuable reminder that the American populace is indeed paying attention." The message was clear: the radical left is the future of the party, and key to the Democrats’ long-term strategy." From Da Signal, AOC Poised to Become Democrats’ Trump in ’28? John Sexton at Hat Hair outs Elizabeth Warren as a Brazen Liar, nothing we didn't already know. Wokal Distance @wokal_distance, "You guys put every single person to the right of Bernie Sanders in a single bucket labelled "Nazi," so you don't get to complain if we don't split hairs between Communism and Socialism." Quote Ellen Barkin @EllenBarkin, "For fuck’s sake, will you please learn the difference between socialism and communism. Look up or shut up." 

A stale bit from Dave Strom at Hat Hair, but it bear repeating, Illegal Alien(?) Elected Mayor of Saint Paul, and Mayor of Kansas Town Noncitizen Who Has Been Voting and WJ, Kansas Mayor Charged with Election Fraud a Day After Winning Reelection: 'He Is Not a United States Citizen.'

Sauron's Eye whines Government shutdown prompts FAA to float flight cancellations as Senate talks continue. WaEx's Byron York on Fighting the government-closing Democratic filibuster. From Althouse, Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson empowers Trump to continue withholding food money. "The NYT reports: "Supreme Court Temporarily Allows Trump to Curtail Food Stamp Funding/The temporary ruling by Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, blocking a lower court order to fully fund the aid, added to the uncertainty around the nation’s largest anti-hunger program." See? It's not all about empathy." Amy Curtis at TownHall, Supreme Court Issues Emergency Order Temporarily Blocking Full SNAP Payments.

Ace, Trump Strikes Deal With Big Pharma to Reduce *American* Prices for Weight Loss Drugs Ozempic and Mounjaro, "Well, with all of the angst about the economy and Trump spending too much focus on foreign policy, I guess this is helpful. Supposedly, the price would drop, eventually, to $245 per month for those paying cash. We'll see." From Da Signal, DC Crime-Fighting Task Force Boasts 60% Decrease in Murder After Trump Crackdown.

At TWZ, Moscow Just Gave Venezuela Air Defenses, Not Ruling Out Strike Missiles: Russian Official. WSJ opines on Trump’s New World Order "If you think he’s an isolationist, you’re wrong. He aims to reshape the globe."

Notoriously Trump-hating NRO conflicted when Supreme Court Reinstates Trump Admin Requirement That Passports Reflect Biological Sex. John Sexton, Supreme Court Says Trump Administration Can End Gender Self ID on Passports. Althouse finds "As for the Government’s suggestion that the President is harmed by not being able to impose a uniform definition of sex across various regulatory schemes..." ""... that assertion is just another species of the far-fetched contention that the President must be injured whenever he is prevented from doing as he wishes.... The Government also fails to explain why it needs a uniform definition of sex, much less why such a uniform definition needs to be imposed now such that it cannot await the outcome of this litigation...." Writes Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson — joined by Justices Kagan and Sotomayor — dissenting in Trump v. Orr, which granted a stay of a district court’s preliminary injunction against a new Executive Branch policy that required all new passports to show the individual's "biological sex" (AKA "sex assigned at birth")." Capt. Ed says Wow: 2nd Circuit Rebukes Lower Court For Denying Review of Bragg Case On Trump. Scott McClallen at TownHall, sees a Federal Judge Blocks Trump From Sending Troops to Portland. Shipwreckedcrew, Ninth Circuit Takes A Step Towards "En Banc" Review of National Guard Cases From California and Oregon "Setting aside a Court Rule, it stays Panel Opinion on a TRO issued by Portland Judge, and suggests en banc vote will be complete by Tuesday of next week."

From Twitchy, Blowing UP (in the DOJ's Face)?! --> Journo STUNS Glenn Beck by Sharing J6 Pipe-Bomb Suspect BOMBSHELL. TheBlaze @theblaze, "'She's one of us!' Steve Baker stuns Glenn Beck with bombshell revelation about J6 pipe-bomb suspect http://dlvr.it/TP5VWs" Savannah Insights @BasedSavannah, "Karlin Younger who “found the pipe bombs” is 5’7 and is “one of us” just saying. She might be her." Ace, The Blaze: We've Identified the J6 Pipe Bomber and It's a Government Worker at a Three-Letter Agency. If true, and it's a long way from settled, the question then becomes did she do it for her agency, or for herself.

Undead FOIA reports 30 Russiagate Subpoenas Issued "Reporting came out yesterday from JustTheNews and FoxNews that confirms a federal grand jury in the Southern District of Florida has issued up to 30 subpoenas to investigate Russiagate." The redoubtable Julie Kelly has hopes; Is John Brennan Next? "Given his public antics and reports of an accelerating investigation, John Brennan appears next on DOJ's hit list of former government officials who abused their power and lied about it to get Trump." From Ace, Jeffrey Epstein's Former Cellmate Alleges: James Comey's Daughter, Federal Prosecutor Maureen Comey, Said That I Could Walk Free If I Falsely Claimed That Epstein Implicated Trump in His Pedo Schemes, "Allegedly, per this admittedly-convicted criminal, James Comey's nasty, ugly daughter promised that he would skate if he could make any allegation against Trump. She further said, allegedly, that it did not matter if he could provide evidence that the allegation was true. All that mattered was that Trump would be unable to disprove it." From Am Con, The Federal Government Is Still Spying on You. "Senator Chuck Grassley’s disclosure of “Arctic Frost” documents shows that federal surveillance on American citizens is as bad as ever."

Tim O'Brien at PJM, He Put an Elderly Pro-Lifer in the Hospital and Got No Prison Time. Will Trump’s DOJ Intervene? "In that June bench trial, Judge Yvette Bryant decided to acquit Brice of the first-degree assault charges. She based her ruling on the premise that it was elderly Crosby who “provoked” Brice by trying to intervene and stop Brice from attacking 80-year-old Schaefer."

'Man Found Guilty of Beating Pro-Lifers Outside Baltimore Abortion Clinic' "Patrick Brice, 28, was convicted of two counts of second-degree assault and reckless endangerment for attacking Richard Schaefer and Mark Crosby, who were ages 84 and 73." https://t.co/DheseUEFHs

— WhatHappened.com (@JohnBla27209136) February 8, 2025

Sundance at CTH reports Federal Officials Bust Two Mississippi Sheriffs and 16 Law Enforcement Officers Running Drugs for Mexican Cartel "Apparently, what tipped off the feds was several arrested criminals complaining to state and federal law enforcement that local police were demanding bribes they could not afford. The Mexican drug cartels were paying up to $30,000 to the individual officers, sheriffs and police chiefs’ and the local criminals could not compete with that scale of bribery demand."

Mediaite, Katie Couric Admits She’s No Longer ‘Trying to Be Impartial’ About Trump. No longer? Spiked on Jennifer Welch and the rise of the unhinged podcast moms, "The success of this bullying, foul-mouthed ‘commentator’ speaks to a sickness on the contemporary American left." Ace, "We Must Stop Fighting, We Cannot Divide the Right*" * "Except for Tucker Carlson Who Is Allowed to Continue #Cancelling All Jewish Republicans He Doesn't Like." "David Strom has a good piece: How can the Tucker Apologists claim that we mustn't attack Tucker Carlson for his, erm, evolution, while his entire show consists of relentlessly attacking Republicans himself? Is it just some Republicans -- and anti-Republican, anti-MAGA Nazis -- who are afforded this Identitarian Privilege?" Ace expands into a twitter thread, The Reaping Phase @AceofSpadesHQ, "A thread: "Cancellation" versus "Just normal politics" A few years back, when people started really getting animated about cancelling cancel culture, people began suggesting that pumping out dirt about a political opponent during a campaign might be like "cancellation."" Hollywood in Toto sees Colbert Just Nuked Left’s Late-Night Trump Theory. "Far-left host stuns by telling truth about 'The Late Show's' fate." "He knows President Trump didn’t force CBS to abandon late night. The numbers did. Late-night TV revenue has collapsed. The format is likely not sustainable moving forward. It’s a relic of another era, like variety shows and “Must-See TV.”"

From Campus Reform, University of South Carolina removes gender and pronoun menus from application after contact by US representative. "The University of South Carolina was recently exposed for including gender and pronoun menus on its admissions application despite a Trump executive order. The school removed the menus after being contacted by US Rep. Nancy Mace, but blamed the inclusion on a third-party contractor."

BREAKING: New Hampshire’s first transgender elected Rep. Stacie Laughton, pleaded guilty to child exploitation charges.

He reportly asked his partner who worked in a daycare to send him nude photos of kids.

Eric Swalwell campaigned with him. pic.twitter.com/5EQFxuNMTQ

— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) November 7, 2025

Lots of links left at the Wombat's In The Mailbox: 11.06.25, In The Mailbox: 10.06.25 (Evening Edition), and In The Mailbox: 11.07.25, but it's time to finish. Linked at Pirate's Cove in the weekly Sorta Blogless Sunday Pinup and links. The Wombat has FMJRA 2.0: In Like A Lion up and garnering clicks at The Other McCain.