Flotsam and Jetsam - The Second Stab at the Nerd Prom

They kind of caught me by surprise with the rescheduled White House Correspondents Dinner. I guess I wasn't paying attention, again. Any, it was held last night at the Waldorf Astoria in Washington DC. Capt. Ed at Hat Hair heard Trump to Recognize Secret Service Officer Shot at First WHCA Dinner at Nerd Prom, Take 2. Seems reasonable. As you might remember, the Secret Service agent Victor Gonzales survived the close range shotgun blast thanks to his vest. He also runs down the list of administration attendees, which notably does not include JD Vance and Marco Rubio. RedState's Jen O'Connell has Hot Takes: Media's Reaction to Redo of the White House Correspondents' Dinner Was As Expected. Aw, he was mean to the poor babies. Althouse host's Trump's routine (I hesitate to call it a speech) and offers her opinions of some of it in "Is this supposed to be fun? Am I supposed to be serious? Am I supposed to be a comedian?" "Trump finally gets his White House Correspondents' Dinner speech. ... And here's the joke I thought was the best: "Under my administration, a once-feared and powerful regime that relentlessly attacked America has finally been toppled. Their former leaders have been removed and they're now being run by a gay dictator facing internal divisions. But I for one wish Bari Weiss all the best at CBS News. She's a wonderful woman."

Victor Davis Hanson @VDHanson, "President Trump is leading a political "counter-revolution," seeking to reverse decades of progressive policies on immigration, education, energy, and American history, doing more than any other Republican president." At Althouse, "His detractors have adopted the 'Never Vance' slogan and flooded social media, especially over the past week, with attacks..." ""... including claims that Vance is 'unfit' to be vice president due to his efforts to negotiate a peace deal with Iran. They have asserted, without evidence, that Vance is making policy decisions not supported by President Donald Trump. They have likened him to former president Barack Obama and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont)...." I'm reading "Knives are out for Vance in the GOP. His allies say it’s a coordinated ‘op.’ The vice president has faced a barrage of attacks recently that are unusual for their intensity and how early in the political calendar they are taking place" (WaPo)(gift link)." PJM's Matt Margolis, Is This the Reason Your Leftist Relatives Are Cutting You Off? and Sarah Anderson reports a Black-Owned Atlanta Restaurant Faces Boycott Calls for Serving a Republican.

RCD looks at Hegseth’s Herculean Task.

PJM's Cathy Salgado notes One Pennsylvania County Has 3,500 Noncitizens on Non-Juror List, Potentially Voting and Bob Spencer wonders Is Dem Fundraising Powerhouse ActBlue a Massive Money Laundering Machine? Yes, the example he provides is stunning. A Larry video at Hat Hair, Trump DOJ Confirms Investigation Into New Jersey Voter Rolls.

Karol Markowicz at NYPo thinks Democrats are completely blind to the DSA’s brazen party coup — so the rest of us must step up. RCP cites James Carville: DSA Are "Paternalistic, Over-Educated Little White Turds" Who "Think They Know Better Than You" Yep. Rainer Zitelmann at Reason explains How Capitalism Beat Communism in Vietnam. "It only took a generation to go from ration cards to exporting electronics." At Da Signal, How Cuba Became the Nerve Center of the Anti-American Left. Dave Strom at Hat Hair opines Shamelessness Is, You Must Admit, a Huge Political Advantage, featuring a picture of Dan Goldman. I think it's an essential, at least on the Democrat side. 

Hat Hair's John Sexton hears from Morris Katz: We May Have Missed a Few Red Lines with Platner. Just a few. Seth Mandel at Commentary calls AOC’s Latest Dual-Loyalty Hoax a Doozy. At the Crimson Hub, AOC, Her Brother, and the Property Taxes Billed To Their Mother. Luke Rosiak at Da Wire reports Ilhan Omar’s Sister Linked To Central Figures In Minnesota’s Fraud Scandal. "Records tie company founded by "Squad" member's sister to largest public theft scandal in Minnesota history." Jon Tobin at JNS claims The lies behind Mamdani’s Netanyahu stunt are the real threat. "New York’s mayor isn’t going to arrest Israel’s prime minister. But the widespread belief in the “genocide” blood libel illustrates how toxic ideologies, AI and social media are defeating facts." At Althouse, "You want voters to believe you posted to this account but all of the bad things came from someone else, including a friend who is dead?" Matt Smith @mattsmith_news, "When asked today if he was 100% certain he didn't write any of the offensive posts on the 'Dirt McGirk' Twitter account, David Crowley said, "Look, we would have to go through all of these different posts, but the ones that I've seen that were printed, I did not write those."" "And the pig got up and slowly walked away."

RAW EGG NATIONALIST @Babygravy9, "Amazing we're just never going to hear anything about this ever again, including the fact the killer said he was paid by Tim Walz to do it." Quote Nick Sortor @nicksortor, " JUST IN: Tim Walz appointee Vance Boelter has been sentenced to TWO LIFE SENTENCES plus 40 years for the murder of Minnesota House Speaker Emerita Melissa Hortman Boelter’s vehicle was found with “NO KINGS” flyers on the seat, and kiIIed Hortman and her husband soon after she voted against healthcare for illegals. Will Walz pardon this guy too?"

Beege Welborn at Hat Hair observes Chicago West and South Side Save A Lot Stores Closing, Blame New EBT Rules and likes Steve Hilton Debuting Wild New Campaign Ads: Enough Is Enough!

Steve Hilton puts out devastating ad exposing communist California’s mindless, Godless leftist machine! https://t.co/tfIJvVdv05

— The Chris Salcedo Show (@CSalcedoShow) July 24, 2026

John Sexton sees the California Wealth Tax Battle Continues. PJM's Vicky Taft has another West Coast, Messed Coast™ – Climate Lie Implodes but Greens Already Spent Taxpayers' Billions.

wretchardthecat @wretchardthecat, "Current operations in Iran are no longer starting from the original position. Iran’s missile attack volume was substantially higher in March 2026 than in July 2026 going from as many as hundreds per day then to mere dozens now. It's retaliatory power, while still existent, has clearly diminished..." Peter Orem @PeterMOrem, "I think we're still operating within war-gamed scenarios."

From Althouse, Why Madison police don't have body cameras. Molly Beck @MollyBeck, "Former Madison Mayor Paul Soglin’s perspective on why Madison police don’t have body cameras (Soglin was mayor until 2019):"

The Guardian whines about a British-born man living in US since age of nine held by ICE under threat of deportation, "Connor Read, who is married and has two children, was detained in June during residency permit interview." Also, an extensive, but pretty petty criminal record. But just for kicks, he should claim asylum based on England's censorship policies.

Curt at Flopping Aces sees The Press Tried to Shame Elon. He Put the Entire Media Class on Trial. Wall Street Mav @WallStreetMav, "This was basically the interview." Ace, Elon Musk Demolishes Snarky Superior Editor of The Economist, "The extremist didn't like being told that she's the actual extremist." From Twitchy, Ben Shapiro Schools Piers Morgan: Free Speech Means I Don't Have to Feed Your Clickbait Show. Dave Strom takes The Curious Case of the Woman Who Was Baited Into Saying the 'N' Word.

EducatëdHillbilly™ @RobProvince, "Let’s be honest about why this article was written & published… It’s was a shot across the bow to any white woman that even thinks about complaining about abuse by anyone not white. It was a threat to shut up lest be called a white supremacist. A murderer of Emmitt Till. A klan member." Quote Michael McCarthy @MMcCarthyREV, "UPDATE: A top USA TODAY executive stood by Nancy Armour's explosive column linking some Caitlin Clark fans to white nationalists. "Her column is clearly labeled Opinion," she tells @FOS." At Mazelite Airaksinen, NYC Doc Claims Orthodox Jews Smell and "Criminally, Fraudulently and Illegally" Live in USA, "Dr. Robert Guarino is a pathologist in the West Village of NYC and Staten Island." John Sexton was really shocked by a NYT Opinion: 'Land Acknowledgements Are Infuriating.' "If you mean it, give it back, the conservatives said. They are not asking in good faith, but they are asking for the right thing. It names the gap between the words and anything the institution is willing to surrender."

And even more at the Wombat's In The Mailbox: 07.24.26