Flotsam and Jetsam - Dems Propose Slaughtering and Restocking Virginia High Court

Mad as a wet hen over the Virginia Supreme Court's refusal to go along with their last minute attempt to redistrict VA from 6-5 Democrat representatives to 10-1, to impose "fairness" in the midterms, Democrats have begun cooking up increasingly "democratic" means of solving the problem. The most audacious is quickly pass a constitutional amendment to make the upper age limit for justices 54 (conveniently lower than any of the existing justices current age), to disqualify the whole lot, and have CIA operative and current Governor Spanberger appoint a whole new set, who would quickly be ratified by the majority Democrats in the state senate, who would then greenlight the proposed Spandamander. Yeah. That's a whole lot of "democracy" in motion. Betsey Stauffer at LI has the scoop, Democrats Considering Radical Plan to Replace Virginia Supreme Court Justices, "The sources said this option would require the General Assembly to lower the mandatory retirement age for Virginia Supreme Court justices from 75 to 54, which happens to be the age of the youngest current justice." At Hat Hair Dave Strom hears Hakeem Jeffries Declares War on Every Judiciary in the Country, Capt. Ed, BREAKING: Virginia Dems Retreat, Balk at 'Schizo Hopium,' John Sexton reports Virginia Dems Appeal House Maps to the Supreme Court and a Larry vid, Hakeem Jeffries Gets Boxed in: He Might Never Win Again. Michelle Maxwell ™ @MichelleMaxwell, "Ok, so the AG of Virginia, Jay Jones, has filed an emergency appeal to the United States Supreme Court asking them to overrule the Virginia State Supreme Courts ruling, and while he may have sent it through spellcheck this time, he failed to change templates..because this one is still going to the Supreme Court of Virginia. The incompetence is mind blowing." At Am Great, Supreme Court Clears Way for Alabama Redistricting Effort Ahead of Midterms, which could produce +1 or 2 for Republicans. TownHall's Matt Vespa worries that We May Have Some Trouble in South Carolina Over Redistricting, "as Senate Majority Leader Shane Massey put it earlier in the week: “I think if you try to get 7-0, you’re more likely to get 5-2. Trying to get cute with this is more likely to cause a problem than be beneficial.” At Insty, TIM SCOTT DOESN’T COUNT BECAUSE HE ISN’T A DEMOCRAT: Jon Gabriel @exjon, "This man has represented South Carolina as their Senator for 13 years (so far). Voters chose him in 2014, 2016, and 2022." Quote Ro Khanna @RoKhanna "South Carolina, where the first shot of the civil war was fired, where 40 percent of those enslaved came through the Charleston port, is today engaged in an ugly recidivism to draw maps that will deny a Black person the chance to serve in Congress." Sister Toldja at RedState, This Has Gotta Stop: The View Puts Targets on VA Supreme Court's Back With Fact-Free Meltdowns. It's their job. Stephen Kruiser at PJM sees The GOP Is Having a Run of Good Luck, Hope It Does Something With It. Pass the SAVE Act, you pansies! 

Stacy McCain wonders Do You Hate Communism Enough? "This point was brought home by Data Republican: DataRepublican (small r) @DataRepublican, "I am going to keep repeating this until people understand this. Karen Bass was not only a Castro operative and Communist, but she got elevated to Vice Chair of National Endowment for Democracy, which is the center of soft power operations in the US government. She is not a "DEI mayor." She is extremely powerful at the global stage. She was actively involved in shaping foreign policy with the Obama administration, especially Africa. Her Ghana visit during the LA wildfires wasn't a vacation, it was part of a Biden delegate to greet Ghana's new President. She was considered HUD Secretary for the Biden administration. Instead, she nominated the person who would become the actual HHS Secretary - California Attorney General Xavier Becerra. Now, let me ask you. If a literal Castro operative gets elevated to this stage, what does this imply about the rest of the United States government? John Sexton reports SoCal Mayor Admits to Being Chinese Foreign Agent. Sundance at CTH, Democrat Mayor of Arcadia, California Indicted for Being Agent of China "According to her plea agreement, from late 2020 through 2022, Wang and Yaoning “Mike” Sun, 65, of Chino Hills, worked at the direction and control of PRC government officials and coordinated with U.S.-based individuals to promote the PRC’s interests by, among other things, promoting pro-PRC propaganda in the United States." Politico whines Pennsylvania Supreme Court justice leaves Democratic Party over antisemitism concerns, "David Wecht is becoming an independent due to "acquiescence to Jew-hatred” from prominent Democrats."

Betsy Stauffer cites a New Poll: 42% of Democrats Think Butler Assassination Attempt on Trump was Staged “For each attempted assassination, a majority of Americans said either that it was staged or that they were not sure — averaging 54 percent across all three.” Just like the Lincoln assassination.  

Wesley Yang @wesyang, "“Don’t pour a pot of boiling potatoes on your spouse’s head” is a single sex neutral standard of conduct that virtually all seekers of high office of both sexes manage to meet, and that no man would be able to continue running for governor having failed to meet." Quote CalMatters @CalMatters "To experts, it shows voters and political insiders continue to hold female candidates to higher standards than men. https://cal.news/4wvGtuW"

There has not been much obvious sign of progress in Iran since I lost focus.  Capt. Ed sees Trump say the Ceasefire Now On 'Life Support'. It may be time to pull the ventilator. At his NYPo gig, Insty explains How Trump’s ‘anaconda’ tactics put the squeeze on Iran and China. 

Britain's ultra-woke liberal PM, Keith Starmer got his ass handed to him in recent election at the hand of both conservatives, and "independent muslims" , but insists "it's just a scratch", and said he intends to remain in power anyway. Beege Welborn at Hat Hair, After Losing His Buttocks in Local Elections, Starmer Declares War on 'Right-Wing' and Regular British. Sundance, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer Refuses to Resign and Blocks Visa Entry for any Political Opposition. From Althouse, "This day is historic in Alberta history. It’s the first step to the next step — we’ve gotten by Round 3 and now we’re in the Stanley Cup final." "Said Mitch Sylvestre, head of Stay Free Alberta, at the Elections Alberta office today, with 7 trucks to delivering what is said to be almost 302,000 signatures — 178,000 signatures are needed to trigger a vote. Quoted in "Alberta separatist group submits signatures for referendum on leaving Canada" (MSN). Daniel Béland, a McGill University poli sci professor, said: "Right now, support for independence in Alberta is rather low. Less than 30% and much lower if we only focus on hard-core supporters...."" I bet it's about 30 for, 30 against, and 40% aren't paying much attention. Rather like the American revolution.

John Sexton hears As Battlefield Progress Slows, Putin Signals Interest in Ending the War, it's getting rather difficult to gain more ground, and losses at home are starting to get attention. I expect he expects to keep the parts of the Donbas he controls, and may ask for the rest as a price for going away. Sundance,  During “Victory Day” Presser, Russian Federation President Putin Outlines Warning Call with President Trump to Exit Kiev. I wouldn't take anything he says at face value.

WaPoo whines Trump wants to pause the federal gas tax. Here’s what that could mean. "The idea, which requires congressional approval, has previously been dismissed by some as a gimmick. But some Republicans and Democrats have expressed support." Who doesn't love a good gimmick? Government is full of them. 18 cents a gallon I'd rather not pay. At WUWT, Three Months In: EPA’s Endangerment Finding Repeal Has Quietly Become a Legal Fight, not a Scientific One. It always was.

Beege Welborn has Reflections on Going Off Into the Deep End of the Pool. The Capitol reflecting pool. If you expose a body of water to air, it will grow algae, unless you do something to prevent it. Duh!

According to Sundance, Former CIA Director John Brennan Says There are Still “Legions” of His Allies, Deep State Operatives, at DOJ, FBI and CIA (I believe it) and DNI Tulsi Gabbard Investigating 120 Foreign Biolabs Funding by U.S. Government – More than 40 are Located in Ukraine, probably doing gain of function on Hanta virus as we speak. DataRepublican (small r) @DataRepublican, " MAJOR BREAKING: International actors are involved in the State Department led color revolution. This is not speculation; it’s straight from a recorded call. Ex-USAID employees describe how, before January 20, they moved internal groups off government systems and into encrypted Signal chats, then quickly linked with foreign partners and NGOs after the inauguration. This attempt at creating a color revolution isn't new news; this part was already reported in NOTUS earlier this year. But what's not reported is the international aspect. One participant explicitly frames it as "a global anti-authoritarian movement," connecting U.S. officials with "colleagues from around the world who have dealt with this directly." They reference coordination with Johns Hopkins, "international democracy and conflict mitigation spaces," and efforts to mobilize across borders against what they perceive as domestic authoritarianism. At what point does this become treason?" Theo Wold@RealTheoWold, "For those of you who weren't around for politics before President Trump, you have no idea how monumental of a moment it is to have the State Department call out replacement migration by name." Quote Department of State @StateDept, "Last week, the United States refused to participate in the UN’s review of the Global Compact on Migration. The United States objects to the Global Compact on Migration and UN efforts to facilitate replacement migration to the United States and our Western allies."

From RCP, Marsha Blackburn to Secret Service: ‘Root Out the Rot'. But what will be left?

Still plenty more to read at the Wombat's In The Mailbox: 05.11.26.