Flotsam and Jetsam - May Day! May Day!

Or as some might to call it, victims of communism day. Though, in a sense, we're all victims of communism and it's friendlier, but insidious brother socialism, which his been the guiding philosophy responsible for so much domestic conflict and wasted resources. Stephen Kruiser at PJM, It's 'International Remind the Commies That They're Morons' Day. Dan Surber saw Blue Wednesday for communists. "Iran is losing. Comey is losing. And America is having a great week." 1945 thinks Russia’s Economy Is on the Brink of Collapse. The Russian people writ large have been one of the foremost victims of communism, and they're still suffering as a result. 

Because I suppose we must, onto the third attempted assassination of President Trump at the hands of his domestic enemies. Scott McLallen at TownHall, New Footage Appears to Show Would-Be Trump Assassin Shooting U.S. Secret Service Agent. A full load of buckshot from a 12 gauge shotgun has got to hurt, even through a vest. The Secret Service guy who was hit was the only agent to fire, apparently. It's no surprise he missed. Nick Sortor @nicksortor, " JUST IN: The DOJ has released HIGH QUALITY security camera footage of attempted Trump assassin Cole Allen SPRINTING through the security checkpoint at WHCA’s dinner This is NOT AI generated, like much of the footage posted this week Secret Service is adamant their agent was NOT struck by friendly fire, but was shot by Cole Allen with a 12-gauge shotgun." Nick Arama at RedState thinks Trump's Hilarious Remark About a Bulletproof Vest Has Reporters Rolling in the Aisles. Trump War Room @TrumpWarRoom, "The reporter couldn't help but laugh. Q: Are there talks about you wearing a bulletproof vest? @POTUS: "I don't know if I can handle looking 20 pounds heavier." Dave Manney at PJM sees The Wisconsin Brewery Post That Triggered a Firing. Libs of TikTok @libsoftiktok, Brian Kellar, the Senior Vice President of Regional Markets for @AspirusHealth, responded to Minocqua Brewing Company's post hoping for the ass*ssination of Trump, with a picture of himself wearing a "F*ck Donald Trump" shirt. A senior official at a healthcare company is supporting calls for violence against the sitting president. Any comment @AspirusHealth?" "Aspirus Health President and CEO Matt Heywood confirmed the organization parted ways with Kellar." Michael Goodwin at NYPo hears The Dems’ newest phrase in raging at the GOP is to go ‘Kill yourself’. Hat Hair's John Sexton worries about 'Normie Extremism' and Looming Violence. Northern Barbarian @xnoesbueno, "And here I thought it was because you had lost your mind. Like half the electorate. Unable to accept the results of an election. And in your case, turned your back on everything you ever believed in." Quote Bill Kristol @BillKristol, "Why do I bash Trump? Because he’s earned it. He’s in our faces each and every day—he’s turned all of life into political life. So we are left with a choice: passively accept your lot as a victim in his altered reality, or resist it and fight back."  

Clay Travis @ClayTravis, "Democrat congressman Seth Moulton compares Secretary of War Pete Hegseth to a Nazi submarine captain, says Hegseth like the Nazis, should face execution for war crimes. Insanity." Cynical Publius @CynicalPublius, "The thing to understand is that the Obama/Biden regimes were successful in training many senior generals and admirals that DEI is a core competency of the US military, and in many cases THE core competency of the military, over and above readiness and warfighting. Thus, when Hegseth came on board with a charter to demolish the anti-American, unconstitutional, debilitating DEI policies these generals and admirals held dear, it was as if Hegseth had showed up in 1913 to tell the horse cavalry that they were no longer needed on the battlefield, or if he had been there and sided with Billy Mitchell in 1921 when he demonstrated the vulnerability of naval vessels to air attack. Pete is attacking their Golden Calf. ..." Quote Nick Sortor @nicksortor, "Pete Hegseth is ON FIRE today “The mantra you would hear dripping from the lips of generals, with a serious look on their face was, 'our diversity is our strength.’" InfantryDort @infantrydort, "I love watching George C. Marshall get invoked as the sacred model of nonpartisan military leadership. Fine, but let’s tell the whole story. @PeteHegseth’s reported senior officer “purge” is roughly 3% of today’s active duty general/admiral universe. Marshall’s senior-command cleanse? After the Louisiana Maneuvers, he relieved or pushed aside 31 of 42 division, corps, and army commanders. That’s 74%. And even by raw total force share, Marshall’s documented 1941 tranche was over 15x Hegseth’s reported rate. Marshall was the dark angel of career death. Do the midwit ideologues understand their own example? If Marshall existed today in the purest form, politicians would collectively stroke out. To his credit, Marshall did have a ready made excuse to give Congress with the plucking boards and testing. What the ideologues need to really fear is, what happens if Hegseth starts doing the same thing? 3%? That could just be a warm up. And if George Catlett Marshall Jr. were alive today, he would concur." 

And just in case you didn't notice (who did?) the longest government shutdown in US history ended not with a bang, but with a whimper. Politico, Congress ends record-shattering DHS shutdown. AP, Trump signs bill funding the Department of Homeland Security, ending record shutdown. ICE and Border Patrol not fully funded yet, but GOP expects to fix that through reconciliation. RCP comments Shutdowns Persist Because Congress Pays No Price.

From Ace, Economy Grows By Decent 2% Annualized Rate Despite Fuel Price Inflation; New Jobless Claims Fall to Near Record Lows, "Via Ed Morrissey. It's a decent growth figure, rebounding from the weak 0.5% in the fourth quarter of 2025." The Patriarch Tree @PatriarchTree, "In July 2022, the @RCPolitics average had Joe Biden's job approval at net -19.9. Donald Trump's current RCP average is net -15.6 -- i.e, despite everything, Trump is STILL more popular than Mr. Eighty-One Million Votes." Erick Erickson @EWErickson, "We just had astronauts go further into space than ever before, piloted by a black astronaut and Democrats openly argued that he was only there because of affirmative action. White progressives don't understand how belittling it is to black voters to claim all their success came from white progressive handouts, not their own capabilities and achievements." Quote (((Harry Enten))) @ForecasterEnten "Trump's GOP is holding on to the generational gains they made with Black voters in the 2024 election. The GOP has gained 12 pts on the Dems on party id with African Americans vs. Trump term 1 at this point."

If you happen to care about the British Royal visitation, Althouse finds "King Charles tames Maga but Britain’s still in the doghouse." "That's the headline at the London Times. Subheadline: "While the monarch has gone down a storm with President Trump’s VIPs, his US visit seems to have done nothing to help Sir Keir Starmer."" And, "Great king," says Trump, pointing at Charles. "The greatest king in my book." They charmed ZitoSalena @ZitoSalena, "The @RoyalFamily decision to celebrate Appalachia & placing it equal in importance with visiting New York City tells you how much our culture has shifted towards the middle of the country. And let's be honest few things are as American as a potluck dinner during a block party." Quote Rebecca English @RE_DailyMail "The King and Queen have attended a packed America 250 block party in Front Royal, Virginia. They brought ‘pot luck’ - coronation quiches, Victoria sponges and royal honey - and enjoyed a Main Street parade, marching bands and clog dancing to a bluegrass band. Crowds 7k plus!" Marcus Walker @WalkerMarcus, "This is the single most genius diplomatic gesture I have ever seen." Quote Rapid Response 47 @RapidResponse47, "KING CHARLES III: "There was one particular AUKUS predecessor, launched from a UK shipyard in 1944 that served for the majority of her life attached to the 4th Submarine Squadron in Australia playing a critical role during the war in the Pacific. Her name? HMS Trump — so tonight..." Trump does appreciate flattery.

Althouse is also into misc Trumpiania, "With those beautiful ears of yours — he's got great hearing," "The ballroom is, to the confusion of many, a top priority for Trump. Indeed, it has been one since long before he launched himself into politics," and "Amazon Discusses ‘Apprentice’ Reboot—With Don Jr. as a Potential Host." "The Wall Street Journal reports."

She's also on the Iran beat with "The Iran war must end with a decisive victory. And that victory can only be achieved in one of two ways..." ""Either Iran capitulates or the U.S. launches a final flurry of military strikes. Trump has given the regime every opportunity to sue for peace, and it has rejected his overtures. It is admirable that Trump is taking his time. He understands that what he is doing is important and cannot be rushed. But it is also true that he cannot declare victory until either Iran cries uncle — or he finishes the job." Writes Marc A. Thiessen in "Trump is 14 days from decisive victory in Iran/The regime won’t deal and the blockade alone won't break it. Only military action will" (WaPo)." And Billions of dollars and still no end date. "1. "The Iran war now has a price tag ($25 billion), but still no end date" (NPR). 2. "California high-speed rail price tag jumps to $231B, nearly seven times 2008 estimate" (Fox26News)." NYPo hears Tick-tock, Tehran — the regime’s escape routes are closing fast. Capt. Ed at Hat Hair, Nepo Babytollah, Maybe: We Will Never Surrender On Nukes, Ballistic Missiles. OK then, how about Ace, US to Deploy Brand New Hypersonic Missile, The "Dark Eagle," to Iran. Hat Hair's Dave Strom cares about The Atrocities Liberals Don't Care About.

Seth Mandel at Commentary calls Democrats The Party With the Nazi Tattoo as Hapless Woke Karen Drops Out of Maine Senate Race, Clearing Field for National Socialist (and Avowed Communist) Graham "Totenkopf" Platner (Ace). Erick Erickson @EWErickson, "We went from outrage over the OK hand gesture and Pete Hegseth’s tattoo to the actual Nazi SS tattoo being no big deal. Remarkable media shift, highlighting yet again how in the pocket of the Left the press corps is." At Althouse, "Mills attempted to blunt Platner’s momentum this spring by running ads bringing up controversy around deleted Reddit comments he made years ago downplaying the seriousness of sexual assault." ""Mills argued that Republicans would make 'mincemeat' out of Graham in a general election, given his Reddit comments, and that a tattoo resembling a Nazi symbol, which he got covered up, will likely provide fodder for attacks." From "Maine Gov. Janet Mills drops out of race to unseat Republican Sen. Susan Collins/The seat is critical to Democrats’ hopes of retaking the Senate. Graham Platner, an oyster farmer and Democrat, is likely to win the primary" (WaPo). As I commented in this post, I don't mind so much that a young military guy got a stupid tattoo, but the fact that he grew up to be a communist. Phil Klein at NRO thinks Maine Shows Antisemitism Is a Shortcut to Success in the Modern Democratic Party. Dave Strom, Graham Platner, Zohran Mamdani, Hasan Piker Are Officially the Future of the Democratic Party. Igor Bobic @igorbobic, "Fetterman on Graham Platner: “Democrats really, really like Platner in Maine, but the Republicans fucking love him.” “If Maine wants an asshole with a Nazi tattoo on his chest, they get him.”" Stephen L. Miller @redsteez, "While Janet Mills ran out of money, Graham Platner has several priceless works of art and gold bars stored away." Sunny @sunnyright, "Can I assume that @BulwarkOnline and its cadre of Principled Former Republicans will be endorsing and supporting the moderate old school Susan Collins over the radical left-wing guy with a Nazi tattoo and history of racism and misogyny? If not, why not?" Gad Saad @GadSaad, "She is the daughter of evolutionary biologist David Sloan Wilson. He was a close colleague of mine and a friend. However, once I expressed disdain for Obama and Pelosi, he publicly explained that I had lost my humanity, and he was hoping that I would find it again. We've not spoken since. I was a great guy and scholar until I expressed a political opinion that was "heretical." I then became a subhuman. This is coming from an individual who support the Party of Empathy." Quote Brandi Kruse @BrandiKruse, "INSANE. Seattle's Socialist Mayor responds to exodus of wealth from Washington state by saying "BYE" ... then laughing. We're doomed." Aaron Sibarium @aaronsibarium, "NEW: Blue jurisdictions are rationing homeless services based on race. In Portland, a non-white, non-native English speaker who is LGBT would get priority over a domestic violence survivor with a 6 yr old child who's been homeless for 12+ months. The policies are shocking." Marc Porter Magee @marcportermagee, "At its height, the NYC public school system educated 1.2 million kids a year. Ten years ago that dropped below 1 million. The current estimates are about 880,000. Ten years from now it could be only 700,000. And yet the budget just keeps going up." Quote Marc Porter Magee @marcportermagee, "The Atlantic on NYC schools: “According to federal data, its per-pupil spending is nearly 50 percent higher than Los Angeles’s and Chicago’s … A shrinking student body mechanically pushes up per-pupil spending unless the education budget is cut—and the budget is never cut”" John Podhoretz @jpodhoretz, "Congratulations to New York City’s unhoused for their new, 11-block-long sleeping quarters." Quote New York Post @nypost, "DOT releases new vision for Park Ave. - transforming busy roads into pedestrian paradise." From Twitchy a Report Planned Parenthood Used Codeword ‘Benghazi’ to Hide Millions in PPP Loans. Mark Hemingway @Heminator, "At this point, the asymmetry is almost an advantage -- the contemporary left is constantly blindsided by their support for issues they've been told are popular only to wake up one day and find out they're a huge liability." Quote Reddit Lies @reddit_lies, "The post: "This is stupid, of course Dems understand what Republicans believe" The comments: *Dems demonstrating they do not understand Republicans*" Dave Strom sees The Moral Decline of Ro Khanna.

Pascal Najadi (USSF) @JfkPascalNajadX, "HOLY CRAP! No WONDER Gavin Newsom is suing to block Trump's executive order requiring barcode tracking for mail-in ballots CA vote fraudster Shakir Khan had 71 NAMES and 41 COMPLETED MAIL-IN BALLOTS at his single house They want to protect fraud." From Fox, Trump election integrity push exposes massive amount of dead people on North Carolina voter rolls. "Findings came as the state board began digging into its rolls to verify the citizenship status of registered voters."

VodkaPundit at Insty observes THE LAW OF UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCES REIGNS SUPREME: How U.S. Electric Vehicle Industrial Policy Created A New ‘Rust Belt.’ Twitchy, AOC Goes Straight Fatal-Attraction NUTS When Lee Zeldin Says He's Done With Her Lying Green Energy SCAM.

John Sexton reports Louisiana Suspends House Primaries. Who is Next? Preparing to redistrict after SCOTUS overturned their court imposed racial gerrymander. Ace, Louisiana Suspends House Primary Campaign Schedule Until They've Had a Chance to Redraw Congressional Maps. "Louisiana is, I've heard, good for at least one and possibly two Republican pick-ups with craftily drawn maps." Jen O'Connell at RedState calls it The Domino Effect: SCOTUS' Louisiana v. Callais Decision Unmoors Democrat Plans for Voting Takeover. PJM's Stephen Kruiser says The Democrats' Gerrymander Gloating Hits a Brick Wall. Tim in @MrNOVApolitico, "Tennessee is MORE Republican than Massachusetts is Democratic. If it's ok for Massachusetts to be 9-0 Dem then it's ok for Tennessee to be 9-0 Rep. Late primary, fully justified and Cohen isn't even black. Get it done." At Bastiat's Window, Dems and the Wood Chipper or Dems in the Wood Chipper?, "Virginia Democrats could face blowback after their drive for maximalist gerrymandering."

Andrew Follett @AndrewCFollett, "You literally drew this atrocity." Quote Governor Kathy Hochul @GovKathyHochul, "The Supreme Court has been chipping away at our elections for years. It is clearly carrying out Donald Trump’s will with this decision. New York has always led the fight for voting rights and we’ll lead again." Jonathan Turley @JonathanTurley, "Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries just called the Supreme Court "illegitimate." That follows Democratic politicians and pundits calling for the packing of the Supreme Court. Nothing says Happy 250th Anniversary like tearing down the core institutions of the Republic." Gregg Nunziata @greggnunziata, "An ex president has three choices 1. Retire from the public stage 2. Speak only in unifying terms 3. Stay engaged as a partisan, with the dishonesty or selective truth that demands It's a tremendous shame that President Obama has chosen the last path." Quote Barack Obama @BarackObama, "Today’s Supreme Court decision effectively guts a key pillar of the Voting Rights Act, freeing state legislatures to gerrymander legislative districts to systematically dilute and weaken the voting power of racial minorities - so long as they do it under the guise of “partisanship” rather than explicit “racial bias.” And it serves as just one more example of how a majority of the current Court seems intent on abandoning its vital role in ensuring equal participation in our democracy and protecting the rights of minority groups against majority overreach..." PJM's Matt Margolis hosts Scott Jennings Humiliating Former Daily Beast Editor Over Gerrymandering and Race. Kurt Schlichter @KurtSchlichter, "Not a single person crying about how the Supreme Court has made it impossible for black people to get elected supported Winsom Sears over the affluent white lady. Not one." Clay Travis @ClayTravis , "If you were born in America since roughly 1975, the only systemic racism that has existed in your life is racial discrimination by the state & feds in favor of minority groups. This governmental era of racism to cure racism is ending and Democrats are losing their minds over it." The Babylon Bee @TheBabylonBee, "'Is It Too Late To Ask Who Gerry Mander Is?' KBJ Whispers To Clarence Thomas https://buff.ly/vrZP50y"

The Federalist @FDRLST, ""There's one way of life for the liberal justices and another for the conservatives," Mollie Hemingway noted. While the liberals could "appear on a Broadway play" or "travel all over the world," the conservatives can't go to dinner with their families "because they might get killed."" From Twitchy, Judge Halves Rapist’s Sentence Noting He’s an African American Male Who’s ‘Experienced This Society’.

Mary Margret Olohan at Da Wire, EXCLUSIVE: Biden DOJ Lawyers Fantasized About Prosecuting Catholic Nuns, Emails Show ""I'd like to prosecute any nun who still wears the head habit," one Biden lawyer wrote another." Did they rap him on the knuckles with a ruler? Dave Strom sees Catholics in the Crosshairs.

Dave Strom on James Comey: It Couldn't Happen to a Nicer Guy. He's about where I am. "Comey is total scum, and the reason why I approve of obvious lawfare against him is that only the threat of tit-for-tat will stop this steady stream of abuses of power."

Capt. Ed, When Harmeet Met the Ostroushkos "At a recent anti-ICE rally in Minneapolis, Turning Point USA observer/reporter Savanah Hernandez got assaulted by activists for recording the public events. Minneapolis police identified the trio that assaulted Hernandez as members of the Ostroushko family – father Christopher, mother Deyanna, and adult daughter Paige. The video depicts Christopher Ostroushko blindsiding Hernandez, who was injured in the attack. The local police investigation resulted in a minor misdemeanor charge against only Christopher in Hennepin County, where progressive-activist DA Mary Moriarty would be more likely to bury the case than try it. In the meantime, the father has been making the media rounds to paint himself as the victim, as Beege reported last week ... colorfully. But a funny thing happened on the way to Moriarty's expected hall pass. The assault actually took place at the Whipple Building, which is federal property – and that gives the Department of Justice jurisdiction as well. Assistant Attorney General Dhillon took immediate notice of this at the time of the assault and promised to put her Civil Rights Division "on it" to open a probe into the assault and intimidation of a journalist. Late yesterday, that shoe dropped on the Ostroushko family: The Department of Justice today announced the unsealing of a federal grand jury indictment charging Christopher Ostroushko, Deyanna Ostroushko, and Paige Ostroushko with assaulting a journalist while she was reporting on an anti-ICE protest on federal property in St. Paul Minnesota on April 11, 2026. Christopher Ostroushko and Paige Ostroushko are also charged with willfully and forcefully injuring and intimidating that journalist."

PJM's Cathy Salgado is happy that the Texas Attorney General Sues Chinese ‘Birth Tourism’ Center. "Paxton is accusing the Houston-area De’Ai Postpartum Care Center of “unlawfully facilitating the invasion of Chinese nationals into Texas for the sole purpose of birthing children and obtaining ‘birthright citizenship’ in a manner that violates Texas law,” according to an April 29 press release. That includes violation of the Texas Penal Code." TownHall's Amy Curtis suggest you Listen to Justice Alito Absolutely Hammer the Lawyer for Haitian Nationals.

TB Adams at And another thing ... Respect the Kidnapper’s Pronouns, Bigot, "Style guides thick with activist-speak make LGBT news stories unintelligible."

Mary Chastain at LI,  informs us the Viral Rhode Island KKK Video was a Hoax. "You know, one of these days, an incident like this won’t be a hoax but since there have been so many fakes, no one will believe it."

Heh, Insty IT’S FUNNY BECAUSE IT’S TRUE:

Good morning ☀️😃 pic.twitter.com/OJoh05ExjG

— Steve 🇺🇸 (@SteveLovesAmmo) April 29, 2026

And still more! at the Wombat's In The Mailbox: 04.30.26.