Flotsam and Jetsam - Trump Starts Focusing on "Affordability"

President Trump has begun to push back on the "affordability" argument being hypocritically wielded by Democrats and the media (but I redund) ahead of the 2026 midterms. Sundance at CTH, President Trump Delivers a Speech on the Economy from Pennsylvania – Video Replay. At News Wax, Wiles: Trump to Campaign Like '2024 Again' in '26. At TownHall Jeff Crouere says It Is Not Affordable to Vote Democrat and Matt Vespa notes Scott Jennings Wasn't Going to Let This Lib Get Away With Such Laughable Line on Inflation. "Emma Vigeland: “I would note that the inflation that occurred under Biden was in part naturally occurring due to supply chain bottlenecks, and because the COVID, once-in-a- lifetime pandemic, occurred.” Scott Jennings: “Naturally? Like they were on trees? . . . “Policy choices were made.”" unseen1@unseen1_unseen. "Unexpectedly". They really don't see the booming economy expanding under their feet. It's a great time to make money as most people believe the doomers in the media and aren't prepared for what is happening and what will happen. The smart ones are hiring now before they are forced to hire the bottom of the barrel talent next year. Quote zerohedge @zerohedge, "Job Openings Unexpectedly Soar Even As Number Of Quits Plunges To 5 Year Low." At Da Caller, Trump Reveals Litmus Test For Next Fed Pick. "President Donald Trump said on “The Conversation with Dasha Burns” Tuesday that he would only pick a Federal Reserve chair who would promptly reduce interest rates." ET, No Restrictions on How ‘Trump Accounts’ Can Be Used: Bessent. "Trump said other billionaires would also be donating, adding, ‘I’ll be doing it, too.’" At OTP, Trump Admin Moves To End Key Biden-Era Student Loan Repayment Plan. From Fox, Mutiny threats hang over House GOP vote on billions in defense spending "House GOP leaders hope to vote on the NDAA by early evening Wednesday."

AMAC sees Trump Scores Big Win on Drug Prices, Trade. "Under the terms of the deal, the U.K. will relax its artificial drug price controls, and in return the U.S. will refrain from imposing tariffs on British medicines, pharmaceutical ingredients and medical devices. That constitutes a win/win for both nations." From ET, Trump Warns ‘Biggest Threat’ to US Would Be Supreme Court Overruling Tariffs and China Has More to Lose in Global Trade War Than US, Researchers Say. "An ‘economic cutoff’ imposed on the CCP would damage China’s economy five to seven times more than those of the U.S. and its allies, a Dartmouth professor said." And as long as we're talking about China, Hat Hair's Beege Welborn sees Trump Flipping the Rare Earth Script "Yesterday, a company called Blackboxstocks had a big announcement on that front. What made it so exciting was that it was from the REE mining and refining side, something that has been missing in most of these latest press releases. And it will be fully operational in 'early 2027,' ensuring North America's 'first commercial-scale, zero-Chinese nexus, heavy rare earths supply chain.'" From RVM, Trump Warns Mexico to Release Water Owed Under 1944 Treaty or Face 5% Tariff.

From Sundance, President Trump Gives Extensive Comments on State of Ukraine-Russia Conflict and Zelenskyy Says European Counterproposal for Conflict Ceasefire Soon to be Sent to White House. From Da Wire, Zelensky Vows Not To Cede Territory As Trump Says Russia Has ‘Upper Hand’ "We have no right to give anything away." At Althouse, "I have no vision for Europe.... Look, I have a vision for the United States of America first. It’s 'Make America Great Again.' Uh, I do explain to Europe..."  "Said President Trump, in this long conversation with Politico's Dasha Burns."

John Kass accuses Democrats of Protecting Maduro’s Narcos. Atop Da Hill, Hegseth leaves Democrats frustrated after boat strike briefing. Nothing he can say or do, short of quitting, can satisfy them. Best to ignore them. RC Maxwell at RedState thinks GOP’s NDAA Blunder Fans Flames As Dem Boat Strike Smear Fades "Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson (LA-04) allowed a provision to remain in the final FY2026 National Defense Authorization Act that withholds 25 percent of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s office travel budget until the Pentagon provides unedited footage of Southern Command strikes, including the controversial September 2 boat takedown, to the House and Senate Armed Services Committees." Matt Vespa claims Scott Jennings Checkmates Dems on CNN: Did Anyone Ever Wonder If Obama Committed War Crimes?

From Da Wire, MAHA Supporter Destroys Famed Doctor Attacking RFK Jr. In Under 2 Minutes. "The question is, when is enough enough to admit that the system you are a part of has drastically failed Americans?" From LifeZette, Administrative State’s ‘Rear Guard’ Blocking Trump Agenda Unveiled in Lara Logan Interview. Roger Kimball at Am Great calls Trump A Force of History: Why Trump’s Influence Keeps Growing. "Trump’s critics grow louder even as his resurgence cements him, for many, as a defining leader whose impact is reshaping the nation’s political era."

At WaEx, Joe Concha makes bleak prediction for ‘unserious candidate’ Jasmine Crockett. Ace, Jasmine Ratchet Makes It Official: She's Running to Win the Primary to Lose the Election for Texas Senator. From the Wombat's In The Mailbox: 12.09.25 Louder With Crowder, Jasmine Crockett launches US Senate run with this inexplicable video. I think she auditioning for a high paid media gig.

Insty, IT IS TIME FOR US TO DO WHAT WE HAVE BEEN DOING. AND THAT TIME IS EVERY DAY: John Podhoretz @jpodhoretz, "Truly, she is the Alben W. Barkley of our time" Quote Greg Price @greg_price11 "Kamala Harris to the New York Times: "There will be a marble bust of me in Congress. I am a historic figure like any Vice President of the United States ever was."" Quick, name all the Vice Presidents you can think of. Bucket of warm spit.

BeGee Welborn notices The Somali Grift Isn't Just for Minnesota Anymore. Now it's in Maine. The more places you look, the more you'll find. Ben Weingarten asks/answers  Did Ilhan Omar Rake in More Campaign Cash From More 'Feeding Our Future' Scandal Fraudsters Than Has Been Reported? "Campaign finance records indicate "Yes." And there's more to investigate regarding her nexus to the scandal." At the TriStar Daily, Congressman Ogles Taking Heat for Criticizing Judges Who Repeatedly Released Dangerous Somlian Man Rep. Andy Ogles@RepOgles "WOKE NASHVILLE JUDGE UPDATE Instead of apologizing to the family of that young woman who was raped to death, instead of apologizing to the people of Nashville, these judges have the gall to publicly complain about my oversight and call it 'dangerous rhetoric.' A woman was raped and is now dead because of woke policies, and those on the Davidson County General Sessions Court who let off a dangerous migrant criminal more than twelve times. These judges are asking Governor Lee to give them heightened security because they feel threatened by my comments. Where were these Judges when she was being raped? Where were they when she lay dying? Do they care at all about the safety of my constituents? Doubtful." Francis Menton, the Manhattan Contrarian wonders about Welfare Fraud In Blue Cities: How Pervasive Is The Kleptocracy? Exceedingly. 

The Divine Ms Devine at NYPo sees the Mystery deepens as to why it took FBI nearly 5 years to finally bust the suspected J6 pipe bomber. Ace calls it "Intentional Negligence"? FBI Had J6 Bomber's Cell Phone Putting Him at the Scene of the Crime... Five Years Ago. "If the FBI had cell phone records of 10,000 people's cell phones sending signals from near the RNC and DNC on the night the bombs were planted, I could understand not finding the suspect. With a suspect list of 10,000 people, I guess I could understand the claim, "We just didn't have the manpower to run down every phone." Guess how many cell phones they actually had records of in the vicinity of the RNC and DNC at the time when the bombs were being planted? Fewer than 200. No, i do not believe the FBI "just didn't have the resources" to look into 186 suspects -- not when they showed they could mobilize every agent to track down every grandma within ten blocks of the Capitol on January 6th. So was this a case of "intentional negligence"?

Cathy Salgado at PJM reports Court Upholds Trump’s Trans Military Ban. Ben Whedon at JTN, Appeals court backs Hegseth on transgender military ban "Hegseth, earlier this year, imposed a sweeping ban on transgender military service as part of a broader effort to raise physical and mental standards in the service branches and to remove political elements from military culture."

Katie Jerkovich at RedState has a happy reports as Trump Shares Incredible Update About National Guardsman Shot in DC Terror Attack. Cathy Salgado, Hopeful Update on Guardsman Andrew Wolfe’s Recovery. Dan McCarthy at Modern Age sees The Courts Are Fueling Preventable Violence "They’re failing in their duty to protect citizens from dangerous criminals." Hat Hair's Dave Strom takes A Look Inside the Twisted Mind of a Lefty Law Enforcement Officer Matt Van Swol @mattvanswol, "#BREAKING: Charlotte-Mecklenburg NC Sheriff Garry McFadden says the REAL people you should feel sorry for after Iryna Zarutska’s m*rder and Charlie Kirk’s m*rder… …are actually the MAGISTRATES who let Decarlos Brown Jr. go free “Our magistrates were attacked, violently, verbally… when I say violently, on social media. And they lived in fear for many days…” . . . " Tom Knighton at BA, John Lott Fires Back at Critics of DOJ's Civil Rights Division Defending 2A.

Capt. Ed at Hat Hair, Federal Judge Unseals Ghislaine Maxwell Grand Jury Material, But ... "In other words, get ready for a very large nothingburger." Ben Whedon hears Trump caught on hot mic bemoaning pace of confirmations: 'I can't appoint anybody' "The hot mic comes in the wake of acting New Jersey U.S. Attorney Alina Habba stepping down after a court found her to be occupying the post illegally."

Sundance has some tinfoil hat material, Patrick Byrne Now Claims He was/is a CIA Asset, Worked for John Brennan "I have been asked repeatedly to discuss or share opinion on the Emerald Robinson group consisting of General Michael Flynn, Patrick Byrne and others. I have intentionally ignored those requests because everything around the group itself has always been sketchy, especially Patrick Byrne. {SEE HERE and SEE HERE}"

Bob Spencer at PJM records a Somali Says of Trump: ‘My Biggest Fear Is That This Man May Never Witness Our Full Takeover.’  Mary Chastain at LI, Vermont School District Faces Backlash After Raising Somali Flag.  Ron DeSantis @RonDeSantis, "I look forward to discovery — especially the CAIR finances. Should be illuminating!" Quote Jim Rosica @JimRosicaFL, "Inbox: After @GovRonDeSantis declared CAIR a foreign terrorist organization by executive order, its Florida chapter & the national HQ says they are suing. x.com/govrondesantis…" Carlo Corrosco, Trump Administration Rescued Over 62,000 Migrant Children From Human Trafficking and still counting. Dmitri Bolt at TownHall reports an MS-13 Assassin Who Killed Honduras President’s Son Captured by Federal Agents in Nebraska Suburb. "Gerson Emir Cuadra Soto, 33, also known as "Fantasma," was detained on Monday on immigration-related charges. He is believed to have overseen an MS-13 kill squad called "El Combo," which is designed to carry out assassinations on behalf of the gang. In his home country of Honduras, he has been charged with four homicides, for which he was imprisoned." One of Biden's "refugees." At LifeZette, Illegal Alien Trucker Almost Takes Out Oklahoma State Trooper in Wild Dashcam Video.

The Brussels Signal thinks EU’s crackdown on X shows desperation not strength. Sundance thinks  Australia’s Social Media Ban for Those Underage-16 Structured Like a Global Intelligence Op   At Da Caller, Is Nick Fuentes A Foreign Op? New Evidence Suggests Maybe "The study analyzed Fuentes’ social media activity. It found engagement patterns the researchers say are consistent with bot-farm amplification rather than genuine audience support." 

From the Wombat's In The Mailbox: 12.09.25 Twitchy: “You’re Going To Blame Whitey?”, Fruit Of The Loons  (JD Vance Rips AI-Generated Pic of Him Wearing a White Undershirt at Restaurant), and Scott Jennings Smirks As CNN Panel Lies That Dems Accused Obama Of War Crimes. At Hat Hair, Mark Judge, clearly sensitive to the issue, is angry The Netflix 'New Yorker at 100’ Doc Omits Russiagate, Kavanaugh Debacles.

Amy Curtis at TownHall, Massachusetts Allows Boys to Compete in Girls' Sports, and Here's the Damage That's Done. PM, Washington swim league finds workaround to keep boys competing in girls' events "The new approach “allows athletes to compete as they self-identify,” which continues to allow male athletes to compete in girls’ sports." Michigan News Source, Michigan Parent Files Title IX Complaint Over Boy In Girls Locker Room. John Sexton looks at Chase Strangio and the Maximalist Demands of Trans Activists. It's long but worth the effort, IMHO. 

At the Martin Center, How Shall Academic Freedom Be Defined? "A conversation with UNC Faculty Assembly chair Wade Maki." Althouse finds "Students at the University of Glasgow have been cautioned that Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone contains 'outdated attitudes, abuse and language.'" ""The work by JK Rowling appears alongside a number of titles, including Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll, the dystopian 2001 novel Noughts & Crosses by Malory Blackman and Edith Nesbit’s 1899 book The Treasure Seekers, assessed as having the potential to cause offence." From "Trigger warning slapped on Harry Potter for ‘outdated attitudes’/Students at the University of Glasgow are also being warned about Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll and The Treasure Seekers by Edith Nesbit" (London Times). Maybe college students need to be warned to move on beyond children's books."

Still many more links at the Wombat's In The Mailbox: 12.09.25.