Flotsam and Jetsam - Mayhem in Mexico, USA Takes Canada, Newsom Admits Stupidity

Turmoil in Mexico (I mean, more than usual, which is a lot) continues in the wake of the death of the head of the Jalisco New Gen cartel in a raid on his mistresses place, based on intel provided by the United States. Joe Chalfant at TownHall, Mexican Special Forces Kill Mastermind Behind Cartel Terrorism Outbreak. From Althouse, "This didn’t seem to be just an operation to capture 'El Mencho,' but to exterminate him, to use lethal force to bring him down." "In the criminal underworld, such actions are not simply overlooked. The reaction is what we’re seeing now: narco-terrorism, blockades, and fires in grocery stores across Mexico." Said security expert David Saucedo, quoted in "Expert’s chilling warning after killing of cartel boss 'El Mencho' sparks violence across Mexico" (NY Post). Also at the Post: "Deadly violence in Mexico spreads after cartel boss is killed — as Americans warned to shelter in place."" Cartel Watch @CartelWatchNet, "Army kills 'El Tuli', El Mencho's right-hand man who masterminded the post-boss-death violence, blockades & fires in Jalisco. He even put a 20k peso (~$1,200) bounty on soldiers' heads. Killed in shootout while fleeing; troops seized ~$410K MXN + $965K USD cash + arsenal. Big momentum shift against the cartel." Not the Bee @Not_the_Bee, "Somebody wrote this. Somebody edited it. Somebody published it. Somebody posted it to social media. All four of those people should be fired." Quote Daily Mail @DailyMail, "Spoiled tourists complain about being stuck at luxury resorts amid cartel violence in Mexico https://trib.al/mtfHX82" At Twitchy, Member of Parliament Especially Concerned for 2SLGBTQIA+ Canadians in Puerto Vallarta. Heather McPherson @HMcPhersonNDP, "Many Canadians, especially members of the 2SLGBTQIA+ community, are in Puerto Vallarta, where violence has quickly escalated. A shelter-in-place order is in effect. Please stay vigilant and consult the Government of Canada travel advisories for Mexico." Cam at BA notes After Cartel Response to Leader's Killing, Mexico's Gun Laws Look Even More Ridiculous. At the Chronic, Trump Is Right About the Mexican-American War "America was willing to negotiate and compromise while Mexico insisted the United States accept Mexican demands. America was willing to consider Mexican claims while Mexico excluded consideration of its debts to American citizens. America sent an army to act on the defensive while Mexico ordered an army to start a war—after which America paid a fair price for land it had already conquered. Far from expecting Americans to be apologetic, Mexico ought to finally acknowledge that it got what it asked for in that war of its own making."

At Hat Hair Capt. Ed sees USA Wins Hockey Gold. M-SNOW (And Lemon) Hardest Hit?, Duane Patterson says Don't Wreck My Column, You Hoser and Chloe notes Libs Are Losing It After Seeing Kash Patel Celebrating The Olympic Gold. How can they lose what they never had? Politico whines Look how much Canadians hate the United States now, "It’s not just about the trade war. Nearly half of America’s neighbors to the north now think the U.S. is a bigger threat to world peace than Russia." I mean, if we can beat them at hockey . . . Libs of TikTok @libsoftiktok "Kash Patel celebrating USA Hockey Team historic win Democrat Senator sipping margaritas with a foreign gang member and alleged human trafficker and wife beater. Guess which one Democrats are more upset over." Physics Geek @physicsgeek, "The left: Haha stupid rightwingers rooting for Alyssa Liu and she's totally woke. The right: She proudly represented her country, wore her flag after winning, and put her hand over heart while singing our national anthem. Her politics are irrelevant. The left: Her politics are irrelevant? We don't understand. The right: Yes, we know."

From the Free Bacon, Anti-Regime Protests Reignite in Iran as Trump Prepares Strike Options Targeting Islamic Republic Officials, "The demonstrations could further weaken the regime amid sputtering nuclear negotiations." TCW reports Starmer bends the law to reward Iran belligerence and thwart Trump. Hat Hair's Beege Welborn, 'Right Now, That Deal Is Worth Toilet Paper, Basically': Flushing Chagos. Guido Fawkes @GuidoFawkes, "WATCH: Chagossian First Minister Misley Mandarin has - from the new settlement on the Chagos archipelago - given Donald Trump formal permission to strike Iran from Diego Garcia. He says: "We, the people of the Chagos Islands, give our blessing for the United States to use the base at Diego Garcia for strikes against the Iranian regime – in defence of the Iranian people." His full statement: "Today, I stand not in exile, but on our own soil, as the democratically elected head of government of the Chagos Islands. Let the world hear this clearly. We are here. We govern here. And we decide what happens here. . . "

1945 examines Russia’s Ukraine ‘Victory’: NATO Expansion, 1.2 Million Casualties and a Battered Economy. "On the eve of the fourth anniversary of the 2022 invasion, the Kremlin faces a paradoxical reality: while it occupies roughly 20% of Ukraine, the “strategic price” of that soil has fundamentally compromised Russia’s status as a global power. The war has shifted from a “Special Military Operation” to a structural drain that is hollowing out the Russian state from the inside out."

From Althouse, "In the not-too-distant past, most people probably would have at least grudgingly accepted a regime in which prosecutors and law-enforcement agents sorted through materials from a sprawling investigation..." "... and made public only those portions needed to properly handle a case. The additional information that might interest us, and perhaps even help improve society, would remain secret. Federal prosecutors could generally be trusted to focus on their narrow criminal enforcement mission and to not abuse the tools given them for that limited purpose. . . . Writes former federal prosecutor Daniel Richman, in "The Epstein Files Should Never Have Been Released" (NYT)." You might remember Dan Richman as the friend/lawyer of James Comey, who received leaked classified into to release to the press and initiate the Mueller investigation. unseen1 @unseen1_unseen, "The NYT is acknowledging the epic backfire they are experiencing as the epstein files turns out out to be basically a who's who of democrats." Quote 𝐆𝐫𝐢𝐦𝐚𝐥𝐝𝐮𝐬 @ImperiumFirst, "The New York Times just published an article titled ‘The Epstein Files Should Never Have Been Released’ You’re never going to guess who the author is." At Da Caller, Mike Benz Says Trump Admin Has ‘Once-In-Generation’ Chance To Put Deep State On Defense Post-Epstein Files. At NYPo, a report Austin Tucker Martin, gunman shot dead by Secret Service at Mar-a-Lago, was obsessed with Epstein files. Egged on by Democrats and Thomas Massey.

From the Babylon Bee, Furious Trump Imposes 1000% Tariff On Supreme Court. "Fortunately for SCOTUS, they do not export any goods to the United States, so it is a mostly symbolic gesture."

At LI, Mary Chastain is astonished by Newsom to Black Voters: ‘I’m No Better Than You. I’m a 960 SAT Guy’ “I cannot, you’ve never seen me read a speech because I cannot read a speech.” He can't be black, he can't be a woman, his bona fides as a straight male are too well established, so he has to go with disabled to qualify for intersectionality. VodkaPundit at Insty, has a 2028 PREVIEW: Newsom Tells Black Audience He’s Just Like Them Because He Has a Mental Disorder. Ace, Gavin Newsom to Black Democrats: I'm Like You, I'm Low IQ and I Can't Read. "That's one way to ingratiate yourself to an audience." Nicki Minaj @NICKIMINAJ, "His way of bonding with black ppl is to tell them how stupid he is & that he can’t read. This means my first read on him was correct. He’s been handed so many things & put in high positions he never earned or deserved. Do you wanna know the craziest part of this footage that will haunt him forever? He’s literally slowing his speech down & talking in a sporadic cadence. . . ." Chloe says Gavin Newsom Just Sounded Incredibly Racist While Promoting His New Book and Capt. Ed is just Too Dumb to Check: Gavin Newsom Is Too Dumb to Check. Colin Wright @SwipeWright, "Did you know that Gavin Newsom was "dyslexic" before he brought it up last week? It's obvious what he's doing. He knows that the woke left is going to heavily penalize him for being a straight, white guy. He desperately needed to surface some "oppressed" intersectional identity. He's going with "disabled" and will start "calling out" his opponents for "abelism" now. . ." Philip Melanchthon Wegmann @PhilipWegmann, "Susan asked a tough question respectfully. The press office of @GavinNewsom did not respond in kind." Quote Susan Crabtree @susancrabtree, "EXCLUSIVE and BREAKING: What about that @GavinNewsom dyslexia disgnosis - can the gov. provide any paperwork related to his dyslexia diagnosis at any time of his life? Newsom’s comms team just now tells me to “fuck off. . . ”" Stephen L. Miller @redsteeze, "100% guaranteed, mark it, Jake Tapper is going to scold a Republican in the coming future because Gavin Newsom says he's dyslexic." Jen O'Connell at RedState, says Boom: MS Gov. Tate Reeves Schools Gavin Newsom on California Reading Scores vs. Mississippi. Governor Tate Reeves @tatereeves, "This seems like a good time to remind you that a black student in Mississippi is 2.5X more likely to read proficiently by 4th grade than if he or she lived in California. We would be happy to send one of our reading coaches to assist you, @GavinNewsom. Learning is a lifelong journey, and you might achieve some of the gains that our black fourth graders have. Incidentally, one nice feature of increased literacy is that you do not have to fall back on vulgarity to seem passionate. Let me know!" Quote, Gavin Newsom @GavinNewsom. "You didn’t give a shit about the President of the United States of America posting an ape video of President Obama or calling African nations shitholes — but you’re going to call me racist for talking about my lifelong struggle with dyslexia?"Dave Strom, Democrats Don't Know How to Get Their Birth Certificates? Western Lensman @WesternLensman, "Gavin Newsom tells Jim Clyburn that he’d have trouble complying with the SAVE Act because he doesn’t know where to find his birth certificate: “You've got to find your birth certificate. I have no clue where mine is." Good lord. Just beyond parody." VodkaPundit at Insty calls it CONSTITUENT SERVICE: Newsom Pardons Illegal Alien Attempted Murderer, to prevent his deportation. At WSJ, When Is a Tax Not a Tax? "When it’s a taking, like California’s proposed wealth levy." To be fair, Newsom opposes it because even he isn't that stupid. Beege Welborn foresees Future Shock: President AOC Demands, 'Bring Me the Head of Diego Garcia!'

At NYPo Charles Gasparino predicts Mayor Mamdani’s spending frenzy will lead NYC into a rapid decline. Ace, Mamdani Calls Upon New Yorkers to Do the Jobs the Government Just Can't Do -- Shoveling Snow; He Says All Applicants Must Show ID Before Shoveling Snow, "Wait, is he saying that black and brown people aren't allowed to shovel snow? And married women?" From PM, NYPD officers harassed, doxed by agitators in Mamdani's NYC. "Activists have been recording exchanges with officers and uploading them online in a manner similar to anti-ICE activists who confront federal immigration agents." PJM's Bob Spencer notes New York’s First Free Grocery Store Shows Yet Again That Socialism Doesn’t Work. PJM's Matt Margolis astonished CNN Finally Admits the Truth About Democrat-Run Cities. "Zakaria opened with Zohran Mamdani’s New York, calling it "a prime example of a problem Democrats seem unwilling to confront." That's a pretty remarkable admission from a CNN host, but I assure you, he was just getting started. "Blue cities are out of control," he said, "promising more, spending more, delivering less, and pushing off the fiscal problems to some future day."" At the Critic, Titania McGrath writes of The warmth of the collective "Communism is the only guarantee of human happiness," "Since taking power, Mamdani has declared that “we will replace the frigidity of rugged individualism with the warmth of collectivism”. No sane person could possibly argue with this logic. If it’s a choice between being warm or frigid, I know which I’d prefer. Indeed, during Stalin’s time he built a range of holiday camps called “gulags”, where residents often slept shoulder-to-shoulder in crammed rooms. Just imagine how warm and non-frigid that was." "Titania" has a well known X parody account. Dave Strom reports Mamdani Speaks at Mosque, Then Imam Called for Killing All Infidels.

Brian Jung at PJM hears Virginia Democrats Push Extended Deadline for Counting Absentee Ballots 3 Days After Election Day. Counting fair is quick; it takes longer to cheat. Hat Hair's John Sexton reports Gov. Shapiro Claims Squatters' Rights Over Neighbors' Land. 

From Ace, Yet Another Would-Be Trump Assassin, Programmed to Kill By the Traitor Left. Michael Tracey @mtracey, "Text message sent last week by the 21-year-old who was killed by Secret Service today after attempting an armed infiltration of Mar-a-Lago. Co-workers told TMZ he recently "became fixated on Epstein" and was "deeply disturbed by what he believed was a government cover-up"" Cynical Publius @CynicalPublius, "An ill-informed “academic” who spent 25 years training our senior military leaders thinks the followers of a constitutionally-elected President whose primary policy goal is to reduce the size, scope, power and intrusiveness of the federal Leviathan are all “Nazis.” This is how we produce Milleys and Vindmans in uniform, and it has to stop." Quote The Atlantic @TheAtlantic "Since the start of Donald Trump’s second term, Republicans have deployed ever more Nazi imagery and rhetoric, and espoused ideas associated with the Nazi Party, @RadioFreeTom argues. He examines how this dark fringe reached the center of the GOP." Sean Davis @seanmdav, "This is a classic example of assassination prep, the purpose of which is to implicitly encourage and justify terroristic violence against half the country."

Bob Hoge at RedState is delighted at Fresh Humiliation for Jack Smith As Judge Kills Final Classified Docs Report. Via the Wombat's In The Mailbox: 02.23.26, Doug Ross at Director Blue has John Brennan’s War on Trump: The Graphic Novel, "How Brennan Built the Machine That Targeted a President." Breitbart Reports U.S. Attorney Pirro’s Office Halts Case Against Democrats Who Encouraged Military Disobedience. DC grand juries won't indict Democrats for anything.

From JTN, Trump poised to fill two influential appeals court vacancies. "The White House is expected to announce nominees in the coming weeks."

TownHall's Jeff Charles says About Those Detroit Officers Facing Termination for Contacting Border Patrol...

DataRepublican (small r) @DataRepublican, "THREAD: All about the foreign-influenced Western media called Grayzone and Iranian protests Last month, 𝕏 celebrated the Iranian protests. Then they ... just disappeared from the headlines, and it came out quietly that hundreds and even thousands of protesters were brutally massacred. So why did the story mostly die? Because an influence operation ran by a foreign-backed media group called Grayzone turned a massacre into a debate about who was really behind the protests. A new report from @ncri_io , published February 19, documents exactly how it worked: the seeding, the laundering, and who did the amplifying. As always, patience as I pull the thread together."

Dave Strom says ChatGPT Is Something Else. X Freeze @XFreeze, "Wild how ChatGPT actually sees the world: - All conservatives = trash and evil - All Democrats = perfect saints - Elon Musk = bad - Trump = bad - Obama = pure good person - America = stolen land - White pride = Evil - Black Pride = Empowerment - The entire world should be woke" AI is not exempt from the GIGO rule for programs. Garbage in Garbage out.

From the College Fix, Coastal Carolina CC professor fired after calling Kirk, TPUSA ‘racist pieces of sh*t’ in class. I'd have more sympathy if colleges didn't censor and intimidate conservatives. From Althouse, "They’re too dumb to know they’re in a bad school." "Said Hunter College professor Allyson Friedman, at Community Education Council meeting, interrupting a black public school student who was speaking out against the proposed closing of her West Side school. Quoted in "Hunter College to Review Professor’s ‘Abhorrent’ Remarks at Meeting A student objected to the potential closure of her New York City middle school. The professor, speaking on a hot mic, said, 'They’re too dumb to know they’re in a bad school.' The comment was assailed as racist" (NYT)." And "Don’t allow this broken culture to send you a message that you’re a bad person because you’re a man, because you like to tell a joke, because you like to have a beer with your friends or because you’re competitive." "Said JD Vance, last year, quoted today in "Bench Presses, Pull Ups … Kid Rock? The White House Had a Very Manly Week/President Trump’s top cabinet officials are pumping iron in public" (NYT)." Insty at his NYPo gig, Not so toxic: Masculinity’s comeback makes America thrive.

Hollywood it Toto claims the BAFTA Meltdown Captures Woke Mind Virus to Perfection. "Inspiration behind nominee 'I Swear' sets off wave of apologies, critiques." Althouse, "Some viewers may have heard strong and offensive language during the BAFTA Film Awards 2026." ""This arose from involuntary verbal tics associated with Tourette syndrome, and was not intentional. We apologise for any offence caused by the language heard." Said a BBC spokesperson, quoted in "BBC faces backlash after racial slur shouted during BAFTA awards by attendee with Tourette syndrome/The host, Alan Cumming, acknowledged the 'strong and offensive language' several times during the Sunday show and thanked the audience for their understanding" (NBC News)."

NotTheBee astonished as Microsoft just dropped the latest Pride flag design, and yes, IT'S REAL, and seizure inducing. "This flag combines 40 different flags from LGBTQIA+ communities around the world, including: Abrosexual, Aceflux, Agender, Ambiamorous, Androgynous, Aroace, Aroflux, Aromantic, Asexual, Bigender, Bisexual, Demifluid, Demigender, Demigirl, Demiromantic, Demisexual, Gay/MLM/Vinician, Genderfluid, Genderflux, Genderqueer, Gender questioning, Graysexual, Intersex, Lesbian, Maverique, Neutrois, Nonbinary, Omnisexual, Pangender, Pansexual, Polyamorous, Polysexual, Transgender, Trigender, Two Spirit, Progress Pride, Queer, Unlabeled." John Sexton, Violent Sex Offender Seeks Transfer to Women's Prison.

There are two Canadas: one where people with cancer have to wait 8 months for a CT scan and one where this happens. pic.twitter.com/yyImWqcezT

— Daniel Friedman (@DanFriedman81) February 21, 2026

Still more at Wombat's In The Mailbox: 02.23.26.