Flotsam and Jetsam - A Light Flow Day

The news is a little light after Trump's return from China. Don Surber asserts The Donroe Doctrine reaps rewards. "Arresting Maduro and killing an ayatollah or two spoke louder than words." From the Chronic, Russia Diminished? Russia is not, and never was, as powerful as they like to portray themselves, as they are finding out in Ukraine. If they didn't have nukes, they would be a regional irritation like Iran.

From Not a Lot of People Know That, Ed Miliband vows permanent shutdown of the North Sea. "I have long believed Miliband is determined to do as much irreversible damage to the country as he can before he gets chucked out." Decline is a choice, one that both British and American leftists assent to readily out of misplaced guilt for their previous successes.

At NottheBee, Listen to this trucker explain how “foreign” drivers are being sidelined just days after SCOTUS said companies are liable for them. GRANDPA’s FREE ADVICE @GOP_is_Gutless, "It took less than 24 hours for brokers to tighten the belt after the Supreme Court ruled that brokers could be held liable for carrier accidents WOW!"

Amy Curtis at TownHall says Bang Up Job, Gavin! Newsom's Press Office Launches Lame Attack on Reflecting Pool Project

Newsom has started doing this weird thing where he points to construction projects that are in progress and implies that the point at which the photo was taken is the project’s final form. He did it with the ballroom, too. It may explain a lot about his record on high-speed rail. https://t.co/fKqlwB6Wmb

— Charles C. W. Cooke (@charlescwcooke) May 14, 2026

At Twitchy, Mr. Science Says the Blue Reflecting Pool Will Just Support Even Greater Algae Growth. Not particularly. Algae will grow wherever sunlight meets water. But taking it off Tidal Basin water, and installing a filter system will help a lot. Althouse finds Fear of blue and desperate clinging to "character-defining grey." ""The resurfacing will dramatically and permanently transform the character-defining grey, achromatic appearance of the reflecting pool basin. The new colouration will cause the pool to resemble a large swimming pool rather than the reflective civic landscape it was designed to be, distorting the experience of the site for the millions of visitors who come to it each year." So said the Cultural Landscape Foundation, a Washington society, quoted in The London Times, which looks like this, going all in on AI imagery."

Dave Strom at Hat Hair, Drone Hits UAE Nuclear Power Plant; UPDATE: Trump: The Clock Is Ticking. There should have been an immediate reprisal attack against a powerplant supplying power to Tehran. Jason Greenblatt at Tablet speculates about Iran After the Ayatollah "With Iran militarily decimated and economically squeezed, Trump holds all the cards. But is a deal possible or worthwhile with a fragmented regime?" 

The OC Register reports a Poll: Democrats rally around Becerra, Steyer as Republicans consolidate behind Hilton. "The top two vote-getters will advance to the November election." Pretty much as I expected. I guess they don't hate billionaires that much. Twitchy, *SNORT* Spencer Pratt's Reaction to Nithya Raman PREENING About Possible Trump Endorsement Is PERFECTION. Althouse approves The women-empowering-women genre of political ad. "This new Spencer Pratt ad may be somewhat innovative in its forthright use of AI:"

“You are not alone.” Yoga moms, silent majority, and a preference cascade all in one. Whether or not Angelenos elect @spencerpratt as LA mayor, he and his team are revolutionizing politics. pic.twitter.com/l4pwOSmNUH

— Michael Shellenberger (@shellenberger) May 17, 2026

I can't say I really expect Pratt to win, but he's scaring the bejeezus out the the Dems. At the minimum, they will cheat as hard as they can to prevent it. Kurt Schlichter smokes the hopium at TownHall, The GOP’s Midterm Reversal of Fortune. Hat Hair's Larry Elder thinks Gavin Newsom Has a Kamala Harris Problem, can't beat Kamala without pissing off the black ladies who are a reliable element of the base. Dave Manney at PJM sees a 'Feeding Our Future' Convict Points at Ilhan Omar. "Founder and former executive director of Feeding Our Future, Aimee Bock, finds herself sitting in custody as one of the central figures in one of the ugliest COVID-era fraud scandals in America. A federal jury convicted Bock in March 2025 on seven counts tied to wire fraud, conspiracy, bribery, and federal program fraud ... Now Bock has pointed at Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.), claiming Omar knew about the fraud and helped create the conditions that made the scheme easier to run." At Fox, Jonathan Turley opines AOC's war on billionaires twists America's birth into a socialist myth, "Many Founders were themselves wealthy, and their revolution was rooted in property rights and free-market ideals, Turley says." As Stacy McCain notes, a tenet of the left is ‘There Is No Truth … Only Power.’

Cam at Bearing Arms is all over Minnesota Dems Melting Down After Gun Ban Vote Fails. Drew Roach @DrewRoachMN, "Democrats in the Minnesota House have gone completely UNHINGED When house dems didnt get the vote they wanted on the most extreme gun-grabbing bill in the country HF5140 one of their own, Rep. Gomez, actually told Republican @elliottengenMN to “go fucking kill himself.” This isn’t debate. This isn’t passion. This is deranged, toxic, and downright dangerous behavior from the same people who want to strip law-abiding Minnesotans of their constitutional rights. No class. No decency. Just pure meltdown when they’re challenged on disarming citizens while criminals roam free." From NYPo, New York crime ‘revolves’ around recidivists — as state’s laws release danger onto our streets.

Ward Clark at RedState thinks Russia Hoax Figures May Want Lawyers Handy After Blanche’s Latest Reveal. Eric Daugherty @EricLDaugh, "JUST IN: AG Todd Blanche confirms it’s ABOUT TO COME OUT as the DOJ probes the deep state coup against President Trump based on the Russia hoax “We're finding out some incredibly troubling things, and at some point at the right time, that will be made public, and the American people will see exactly what happened to this administration and President Trump over the past decade!” “The Southern district of Florida has an open criminal investigation. That involves hundreds of subpoenas, it involves hundreds of witnesses, and so, as far as time and one we can expect it, we are working hard and we are working efficiently, but we are going to do it right.” From the State of the Day, State of Thursday: MARK KELLY WOULD LOVE TO GO TO JAI, for releasing classified information, so he could play the martyr. Don't let him. Nickel and dime him with the legal process, but never come near him with handcuffs.

PJM's Stephen Kruiser thinks It's Awesome to Have the Feds Focusing on Real Criminals Again. FBI Director Kash Patel @FBIDirectorKash, "Today the FBI and our partners extradited the highest ranking member of Tren de Aragua (TdA) ever brought to justice - Jose Enrique Martinez Flores, aka "Chuqui. Flores just arrived in Houston from Colombia this evening. This is the first time ever that a TdA member has been charged with terrorism-related crimes and been extradited to the U.S. - history made pursuant to President Trump’s executive order last summer designating Tren de Aragua as an FTO ..."

At NYPo, Trans HS track athlete sparks shocking podium decision after sweeping California finals "A transgender high school athlete dominated multiple girls track and field events at a California regional final Saturday, igniting backlash from parents, competitors and activists, and prompting officials to award duplicate gold medals to female runners-up. Jurupa Valley High School senior, AB Hernandez, 17, captured first place in the girls’ long jump, high jump and triple jump events during the California Interscholastic Federation’s Southern Section championship final." Even California is getting tired of the trans bullshit.

The College Fix finds a U. Miami law professor who says We should consider making ‘cultural appropriation’ illegal J. Janewa Osei-Tutu. EEOC Chair Andrea Lucas @andrealucasEEOC, "Should be obvious after 250 years but: “American” is a national origin. And English is our country’s official language. No American should be mocked—in the United States of all places—for speaking English or for being American. @USEEOC is taking action to protect Americans from anti-American bias, which is unlawful under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act. This week’s lawsuit is the latest step."