Flotsam and Jetsam - Pubs Save Tennessee Seat

In what had to be let down for Democrats, and a bit of a sigh of relief for Republican, Matt Van Epps beat Aftyn Behn, the woman who hates Nashville, in the special election in Tennessee in an election widely viewed as harbinger of the midterms. Capt. Ed at Hat Hair, Special Election in TN-07! UPDATE: DDHQ Calls Election for Van Epps. Sundance at CTH, Trump Endorsed Matt Van Epps Wins Tennessee Special Election for CD-07. Brent Scher @BrentScher. "Poor Aftyn Behn spent millions in donor dollars trying to leave the city she hates for DC. Shame it didn’t work out for her." The margin was a comfortable 9 points, but in a +22 Trump district, that's not saying too much. Driscoll at Insty, TRUMP IS REMAKING THE ELECTORATE. WILL IT LAST?, "Between 2020 and 2024, Trump nearly doubled his support among black voters, from 8 percent to 15 percent, according to the Pew Research Center. Over the same period, his support among Asian voters rose from 30 percent to 40 percent, and his share of the Hispanic vote increased from 36 percent to 48 percent. That Trump was able to make these dramatic inroads among blacks and Asians while running against Kamala Harris, a woman of black and Asian descent, is even more remarkable.". . . "Curiously, wannabe shadow president Mark Kelly seems quite cross about Trump’s multiracial support: Mark Kelly Claims Republicans Don’t Want Brown People in America and HOOBOY, Let the DRAGGING Begin." Nick Freitas @NickJFreitas, "Let me be clear…I would GLADLY trade Sen. Mark Kelly for a brown person who actually loves America and wants to preserve it." Quote Thomas Sowell Quotes @ThomasSowell, "Sen. Mark Kelly: "When I heard the secretary say that they're going to pause immigration from third-world countries, I take that as a message that they don't want brown people coming to the United States. And I find that disturbing."" PJM's Scott Pinsker sees MAGA at the Crossroads: With Record-Low Approval Ratings, How Does Trump Roar Back?

Amy Curtis at TownHall, The New York Times Just Blew WaPo's Hegseth War Crimes Story Out of the Water. Nick Arama at RedState thinks That Narrative About Hegseth and the Strike on the Drug Boats Just Imploded Even More. VodkaPundit at PJM, NYT to WaPo: You Lied About Hegseth. A day late, Ace sees New Deep State Op Drops: Pete Heseth Said "Kill Them All" Just Like Colonel Kurtz, and US Planes Fired on Drug Boat Survivors Clinging to the Wreckage Like Heroes, "I missed this story, but someone I knew who spent the holidays with her liberal family said that CNN is pushing this latest op non-stop." Cynical Publius @CynicalPublius, "Freaking seditious moron. The job of any nation's military is to close with and destroy its enemies in as expeditious a manner as possible. No nation's military has ever had a mission of social experimentation and figuring out how not to kill its enemies efficiently. The fact that any American gives this neo-Marxist traitor any credibility of any kind is quite disturbing." Quote Breaking911 @Breaking911, "SEN. KELLY: "[Hegseth] runs around on stage talking about lethality and warrior ethos and killing people." "That’s not the message that should be coming from the Secretary of Defense."" Will Chamberlain @willchamberlain, "The fact that people were thinking the way Kelly is thinking here is exactly why it was right to change DOD's name to the Department of War They had forgotten what their purpose was - fight, kill, win." From Twitchy, They MISCALCULATED: ShipWreckedCrew Shares Mark Kelly Video That Proves He's Actually VERY Nervous. From LifeZette, ‘Seditious’ Dem Mark Kelly Faces Two-Front Fire: Pentagon Probe and China Funding Concerns. VodkaPundit at PJM, Just When You Thought Tom Nichols Couldn't Possibly Go Fuller Tom Nichols.  At OTP, Rand Paul Blasts Hegseth Over Boat Strike Report. I like Rand Paul, but he's often guilty of letting the best be the enemy of the good.

Sundance at CTH hosts President Trump Holds a Cabinet Meeting and Secretary of State Marco Rubio Delivers Remarkable Affirmation of Trump Foreign Policy. Eric Daugherty @EricLDaugh, "LMFAO! President Trump making everyone crack up right now as he DUNKS on the Fake News "I sit here and do 4 news conferences, I ask questions from VERY intelligent LUNATICS - you people." "You always find something new! Like, 'Is he in good health? BIDEN was great, but is Trump in good health?!'" "But you do stories about BIDEN was in wonderful health? The guy won't do a conference for 8 months! I go ONE DAY - 'There's something wrong with the president.'" "YOU PEOPLE ARE CRAZY!""  

From Breitbart, Michael and Susan Dell Boost ‘Trump Accounts’ with $6.25 Billion Donation. Nick Arama has Great News on Gas Prices. Less than $3 nationwide. We saw that here yesterday. OTP predicts Oil, Gas Prices Expected To Stay Significantly Lower Through 2026. At TNP, No, Costco Is NOT Suing to Overturn Trump’s Tariffs: What Is the Lawsuit Actually About? "In reality, the company is seeking the right to recoup import duties paid, should the tariffs be overturned in a separate case before the Supreme Court." At Breitbart, Marvel Star Josh Brolin Defends ‘His Friend’ Trump: ‘No Greater Genius Than Him in Marketing.’ Secretary Sean Duffy @SecDuffy, "HUGE ALERT @USDOT is giving THOUSANDS of trucking schools 30 days to comply with federal rules for drivers or they may be forced to close down. The days of a “Wild Wild West” trucking industry are over under the Trump administration." Quote The Associated Press @AP, "BREAKING: Nearly 44% of U.S. truck driving schools could close after a federal review found many may be out of compliance with government rules. https://apnews.com/article/commer" The subtext is that many schools are just "diploma mills" for illegal aliens to get licenses.

At Am Great, the Great Victor Davis Hanson considers The War in Ukraine: Lots of Questions and a Few Answers. "Putin gambled on Western hesitation, and now a war born of miscalculation grinds on because neither Moscow nor NATO is willing—or able—to force a decisive end."

Amy Curtis at TownHall hears Grinches: Democrats Caught Lying About Melania Trump and Christmas. It's who they are, it's what they do. 

At JTN Natalia Mittelstadt reports Afghan national charged in connection to National Guard shooting pleads not guilty "Rahmanullah Lakanwal appeared virtually for the court hearing from his hospital bed, as he had been shot by another National Guardsman" and the staff present Suspect in shooting of 2 National Guard troops in DC shouted 'Allahu Akbar' as he fired on troops "The alleged gunman, Rahmanullah Lakanwal, 29, is an Afghan national who entered the US in 2021 following the disastrous US military pullout." From RVM, Pam Bondi Says D.C. Shooting Suspect ‘Should Have Never Been in Our Country!’ Amy Curtis sees MAGA Shreds RINO Andy Barr for Viral Clip Saying America 'Owed It' to Afghans to Help Bring Them Here. Charles C. W. Cooke@charlescwcooke "It’s not permissible to shoot members of the National Guard, and “I didn’t think they should have been deployed” is not a mitigating factor." nationalreview.com No, Trump Is Not to Blame for the National Guard Shooting | National Review The reaction in the media to this attack is as predictable as it is revolting. Sunny @sunnyright, ""If you don't want to be the target of violence don't do the thing I oppose" is applied with a selectiveness that curiously tends to whitewash the violent criminals rather than protect and honor the law-abiding." Driscoll at Insty, AFGHAN NATIONAL HIT WITH FEDERAL CHARGES OF THREATENING TEXAS SUICIDE BOMB ATTACK: "Mohammad Dawood Alokozay, who has been living in Fort Worth, Texas, said in a video posted on TikTok, X and Facebook days before Thanksgiving that Americans and “infidels” must perish and that he was going to use an improvised explosive device — with a yellow cooking oil “favored by the Taliban” — to carry out the slaughter, according to the Department of Justice."

Sundance hosts as Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard Recaps IC Reform and Accountability Measures. We haven't heard much from her lately. Capt. Ed reads Politico: Will the DoJ Appeal Rulings on Comey, James Cases – Or Start Over? TownHall's Jeff Charles realizes Letitia James' Lawfare Against Pro-Life Groups Just Crashed and Burned "The U.S. Second Circuit Court of Appeals issued a ruling stating that James cannot threaten crisis pregnancy centers over “abortion pill reversal” (APR). These groups have touted the treatment as a way for mothers who change their minds after taking the abortion pill."

From WokeSpy, Tim Walz Fraud Scandal Gets Teeth as Bessent Says They’re Following the Money. Beege Welborn at Hat Hair hears Aw, Now Duffy's on the Dummy's Case, Too. Andrew Kolvet @AndrewKolvet, "JUST IN: Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey says as many as 100 federal agents are headed to the Twin Cities following reports of massive taxpayer fraud committed by Somali immigrants." From the Pop Times, Employees Say Harris Chose Walz Despite Repeated Fraud Warnings in Minnesota. NYPo believe Minnesota’s Somali scammers scandal is what happens when officials blindly believe the ‘racism’ grift. Chris Rufo at CJ thinks The Somali Fraud Story Busts Liberal Myths
Mass immigration, antiracism, and the welfare state lead inexorably to fraud. News Wax hears Trump: Somalis Should Go Home and Fix Somalia. Althouse is upset, "President Trump unleashed a xenophobic tirade against Somali immigrants... calling them 'garbage' he does not want in the United States..." ""... in an outburst that captured the raw nativism that has animated his approach to immigration.... 'These are people that do nothing but complain,' Mr. Trump said at the tail end of a cabinet meeting at the White House.... 'When they come from hell and they complain and do nothing but bitch, we don’t want them in our country. Let them go back to where they came from and fix it,' Mr. Trump added as Vice President JD Vance banged the table in encouragement. . . . From "Trump Calls Somalis ‘Garbage’ He Doesn’t Want in the Country/President Trump has a history of insulting people from African countries, but the outburst was shocking in its unapologetic bigotry. Vice President JD Vance banged the table in encouragement" (NYT). I watched this performance live yesterday, and I believe I said out loud, "He's choosing to resonate with racists."" JTN reports Homeland Security Sec Noem says half of visa applications from Minnesotans are 'fraudulent' "Noem also said those who submitted “fraudulent visa applications signed up for government programs, took hundreds of billions of dollars from the taxpayers and we’re going to remove them and get our money back.”" Insty says SO MUCH FOR THE SEPARATION OF CHURCH AND STATE: Righteous Sen. Ed Markey Quotes the Gospels in Replying to Sec. Kristi Noem’s Travel Ban Suggestion. Ed Markey @SenMarkey, "For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me. Matthew 25:35" Quote Secretary Kristi Noem @Sec_Noem "I just met with the President. I am recommending a full travel ban on every damn country that's been flooding our nation with killers, leeches, and entitlement junkies." "I was hungry and you demanded higher taxes to give me food. I was sick and you lobbied for Caesarcare. I was in prison and you did a TikTok dance. I was a stranger and you set a chariot on fire… https://t.co/cY8PCsRlrh — Jon Gabriel (@exjon) December 2, 2025" At Breitbart cites Brooke Rollins: USDA to Review ‘ALL’ Its Programs ‘to Ensure Only Legal Citizens Are Receiving Benefits.’

NewsWeek whines 8 Immigration Judges Fired in Latest Trump Admin Move. We're they accepting every asylum case? Amy Curtis thinks you should Check Out the Despicable Anti-ICE Ad Running in North Carolina Right Now. David Marcus @BlueBoxDave, "My biggest takeaway from visiting Del Rio, TX, where I’m sure neither of these white ladies who brunch have ever been, was not how many border agents are Hispanic, but how much the local Hispanic community supports them. They should really go there." Quote Jason Cohen@JasonJournoDC "NEW: Ex-MSNBC Host Krystal Ball *CAN'T GRASP* why minorities join ICE "What is wrong with you!? Not only do you not have morality, apparently you don't have self-preservation! These people hate you! "You're never going to belong — and you're the one implementing the violent force against your own community!? I just can't wrap my head around that!""

PJM's Matt Margolis wonders Is Chuck Schumer Pulling a Jussie Smollett? It Sure Looks Like It. "Chuck Schumer took to the Senate floor Monday to announce that multiple bomb threats had been directed at three of his New York offices, claiming law enforcement informed him about emails with "MAGA" in the subject line and messages alleging the 2020 election was rigged. If this story sounds familiar, that's because it plays like a bad rerun of the Jussie Smollett hate crime hoax, where the actor claimed two men in red caps attacked him while shouting, "This is MAGA country.” The parallels are almost too perfect to ignore."

News Wax is hoping Joe Biden's Lifetime Judicial Appointments May Be Void because of the autopen. I really doubt it; no court is going to hold their appointment was illegal.

Insty, BLACK RAIN: Michael Douglas And Catherine Zeta-Jones Reportedly ‘Furious’ Over Son’s On-Air Humiliation On CNN. "Michael Douglas and his wife, Catherine Zeta-Jones, are reportedly very displeased over the manner in which their son Dylan was humiliated during a roundtable discussion on politics with CNN commentator Scott Jennings. Young Dylan was left stuttering incomprehensibly midway through the interview, which has seemingly become a source of mockery behind the scenes. Now, according to sources, his parents, Michael Douglas and Catherine Zeta-Jones, intend to blacklist the entire network, as they believe CNN crossed the line. Jennings is of course, loving every minute of this:" Mike Cantrell at PJM. Ellen DeGeneres Leaving UK to Return to U.S. After Fleeing From Trump. Please don't. Beege Welborn, Picking Your Poison Poorly: Trump v the 'Cold' Cotswolds.

Bob Spencer at PJM reports a TSA Agent Who Say’s He’s a Woman Claims a ‘Civil Right’ to Grope Women. This is liberal gratitude, Surgeons Removed His Cancers and Saved His Life. "He, a "Transgender," Is Now Suing the Doctors for Having Questions About His Fake Gender.  The transgender decided to make trouble by secretly recording the medical staff during his surgery so he could hear if the surgeons Failed to Correctly Gender Him when they were saving his life." 

Hat Hair's John Sexton is concerned 'Students With Disabilities' Doesn't Mean What You Might Think These Days "If you grew up in the era I did, having a disability meant something pretty specific. It meant people who had major physical or mental issues that were obvious to anyone who looked at them. If you were in a wheelchair you had a disability. But that's not what it means today. These days, lots of students claim a disability based on as little as a doctor's note and ask that special accommodation be made for them. The percentage of students making these claims, especially at elite schools, has tripled over the past 10-15 years."

Comfortably Smug @ComfortablySmug, "Employees of the Environmental Defense Fund, a left-wing group that wants you to get rid of your gas stove, are joining a union for journos. What a wild disclosure at the bottom of the article."

Kurt Schlichter @KurtSchlichter "We’re going to wipe out your institutions and if you think you’re going to somehow convince us that fighting back violates our principles, you’re going to have a very sad time of it." Quote Zee Cohen-Sanchez @ZeeToTheHill, "Reminder: Charlie Kirk launched the Professor Watchlist which is a blacklist that Conservatives still use today to relentlessly harass professors and ruin their careers. Charlie Kirk didn’t fight cancel culture. He professionalized it, monetized it and weaponized it. If the left had created Professor Watchlist to target conservative professors, would Republicans still call it “free speech” or would they be screaming censorship?"

al-drivers-license-trucking-california-pennsylvania-96fee86df4f9bfb0ef65af20da878a57?taid=692df8153977f80001785112&utm_campaign=TrueAnthem&utm_medium=AP&utm_source=Twitter