A View from the Beach: Flotsam and Jetsam

Don Surber sees Trump hosts Xi and DC implodes. "Then: Warn Xi if Trump attacks. Now: “President Trump is sucking up to President Xi.”" Foolish consistency and all. Sundance at CTH thinks A Very Happy Pooh Has Tea With Trump and hosts USTR Jamieson Greer Sets Record Straight on U.S-China Trade Imbalance. At Ars Technica the NASA chief is concerned China may deny access to parts of Moon’s south pole. “If you come up short with who comes down the ladder first, the impact is felt around the world.”

Michael Goodwin at NYPo notes Trump’s bullish United Nations speech showed he won’t back down — and now he can truly put America First. Right Time's Kathy Gyngell likes how Trump Schools the UN on Sovereignty, "There is no global government, Trump told the General Assembly. Critics seemed surprised." News Wax cites a Study that Finds 'Anti-Israel Ecosystem' at UN, Bias Across 30 Bodies. Well, duh. Sundance has the Transcript of Secretary Rubio's Press Conference Following United Nations General Assembly.

At The Chronic, Mark Judge sees Iran’s Underground Cartoonists Expose the Irony of the Regime’s Morality Police.

InfantryDort @infantrydort, "According to failed General Mark Hertling, "it's not clear why" the Pentagon has decided to test senior officers. I could end this post there and have the internet tell it how it is. But I'm not. I actually read this rag of an article. My response to Hertling (who blocks me but he will see this) is that let's talk about YOU. Since you've dedicated oh so much time making it political about Hegseth and Scheller. Mark Hertling has: >publicly announced “I consider myself woke,” opposed rolling back DEI and transgender accession policy, and called Hegseth’s DEI critique “insulting” to the force..." Cynical Publius @CynicalPublius, "You were branched as a Finance officer and later became a public affairs officer. In the Reserves. Your highest award is a DMSM. Look, as a career logistics officer myself I always preach one team, one fight, but not when someone like you--who is supported by the cretinous, Soros-funded, "VoteVets"--crawls out of the Deep State slime to smear actual combat veterans like Hegseth. Pete Hegseth's pinky finger knows more about leading troops in wartime than your DSA sell-out brain will ever comprehend, and the closest your pinky ever got to heroism is a paper cut. So how about you put a sock in it, you DEI-installed, Commie faux-general? Beat it." Quote Leela Gray @LeelaJGray, "I say this as a retired Brigadier General with 30 years of service: Pete Hegseth is an unqualified frat boy." Northern Barbarian @xnoesbueno, "More unqualified frat boys then. Putting the warfighting back in the War Department. (Dead name DoD, for Department of DEI. He transitioned it. Because the upper echelon of our military just like the rest of our government was burdened with unimaginative careerist hacks who would salute any flag that was run up the pole, including the trans one.)..." Joel Pollak @joelpollak, "Trump's done everything I'd wanted him to do and more. A few things I didn't want him to do, but that's OK. My #1 issue was securing the border; #2 protecting Constitution & speech esp. at SCOTUS; #3 strengthening military & defending Israel. Challenge will be defending the wins."

WSJ says The Hot U.S. Economy Can’t Be Cooled. That’s Bad For Bonds. Polymarket @Polymarket, "JUST IN: U.S. weekly jobless claims plunge to 197,000, nearing 57-year lows."

Omri Ceren @omriceren, "Unexpectedly!" Quote Polymarket @Polymarket, "JUST IN: Investigation reveals former Anthropic researcher Jacob Coxon reportedly worked with a “doomer PR firm” while launching his viral campaign warning of AI’s existential risks." Hillary Clinton Explains AI Dangers, and I Am Persuaded Now says Hat Hair's Dave Strom sarcastically. From the Bay Journal, Virginia governor creates data center accountability policy as she prepares to slay the golden goose. Nicole Silvero at Da Caller observes the Tech CEOs Skip Senate Hearing About Automated Surveillance. I reckon it's something they don't want to talk about.

PJM's Matt Margolis sees Trump Made Democrats Look Stupid Again, over the new helipad he had built to keep Biden's helicopters from burning the White House lawn. "It was also obviously necessary, just like the White House ballroom project was necessary and even wanted by previous administrations. Democrats chose knee-jerk opposition anyway, because opposing Trump is the only move they have left, even when he's right."

Twitchy is outraged that Hasan Piker Mocks Fallen Navy SEALs Who Drowned Stopping Iranian Weapons. I&I, Dems Promise An Impeach-O-Rama Next Year.

New Jersey in the news! Beege Welborn at Hat Hair observes Mikie Sherrill Finds One Jersey Man She Wanted Gone - Her Lt Gov Resigns over "some pretty intense and serious accusations of sexual harassment." Ryan King at NYPo, NJ school district forced students to keep image of Dem Rep on their computers, parent says. Matt Whitlock @MattWhitlock, "If you're wondering why a NJ Senator whose state benefits massively from the Paramount merger (just ask his governor) is sticking his neck out to pressure judges to block it... Look no further than his long and lucrative relationship with Netflix." Quote Eriq Gardner @eriqgardner, "Sen. Cory Booker files a letter urging the judge to tightly scrutinize the Paramount-WBD merger settlement. He writes the decrees must remedy the harms pleaded and expresses skepticism the decree addresses the core of the case."

And Virginia! Breccan Thies at Da Fed hears Virginia School Board Considers Axing Veterans Day Holiday To Make Room For Islamic, Hindu Ones. Stafford. Shooting News Week, Virginia AG Spins Up a Dedicated Unit to Enforce the State’s New Vague Firearms Liability Law.

Elon Musk @elonmusk, "The NGOs end up increasing the number of homeless people they manage, because that’s the only way to increase their revenue! Incentives drive outcomes. “Homeless” is a propaganda word used to describe people on the street who are mentally ill or severely addicted to drugs. The word implies that this is someone who fell a little behind on their mortgage payment and they’re one job offer away from getting back on their feet, which is obviously false if you’ve ever tried talking to a “homeless” person in SF, LA, NY, Austin or anywhere else. The honest reality is that we need to bring back asylums for extreme mental illness or drug addiction for those who are a serious danger to themselves or others." Quote Arthur MacWaters @ArthurMacwaters, "Incentives determine outcomes If you give an NGO a certain number of dollars per homeless person, they will never solve homelessness." When India put a bounty on cobras, Indians started cobra farming.

At Science Alert, Rich US Neighborhoods Are More Likely to Burn in Wildfires, Study Reveals. Makes sense, rich people like nice homes out in the mountains and woods. Poor people huddle in ghettos. They burn too, but they're not wildfires.

Sister Toldja at RedState sees a Plot Twist: A Surprising Source Defends Vance After Schumer Attacks Him Over Obamacare Fraud News. WaPoo ed board, JD Vance is not ripping away anyone’s health insurance coverage "All 760,000 of the ACA plans that were canceled this week met five criteria. ... First, none of the accounts had a Social Security number or an immigration identification number. Second, all of the accounts had premiums covered 100 percent by taxpayers. That makes it easier for fraudsters to sign up unknowing enrollees, who don’t see money leave their bank accounts. Third, the plans had not been used. No claims had been filed. And finally, the insurer offering the plan never had contact with the enrolled individual."

Amy Curtis at TownHall thinks the Supreme Court Hands President Trump a Big Win on Election Integrity. John Sexton, Supreme Court Sides With Trump Administration on Screening Voters. Fred Lucas at Da Signal, Supreme Court Hands Trump Major Victory in Drive to Combat Noncitizen Voting. PJM's Cathy Salgado, Supreme Court Approves Expanded Voter Verification Program. Ace, Supreme Court Now Okays Trump's Plan to Allow States to Use Federal Databases to Screen the Voter Lists for Ineligible Voters. "The Supreme Court had previously joined in the left-wing plan to delay implementation of Trump's Executive Order until it was late enough in the season that they could claim it would cause "chaos" to implement it so late. Now it blesses not a screening of mail-in ballots -- that would still cause "chaos," I guess -- but the simple use by states (at their discretion; left-wing governments won't screen ballots) of the Social Security databases to discover if a voter is a citizen or not. So this is a weaker version of Trump's plan, which left-wing states won't even implement." Sundance, Supreme Court Sets Aside Block Granting States Ability to Verify Voter Status in Midterm Election. At Althouse, "In an unsigned decision with no noted dissents, the justices warned of 'electoral chaos' if the state were to change course so close to the election and use the 2025 map." ""The election is not merely upcoming; it has already started. Ballots using the 2022 map have been printed and mailed. Absentee voting has already begun, as has military and overseas voting,” according to the five-page decision." From "Supreme Court Once Again Blocks Republican-Backed Voting Map in Missouri/A federal appeals court had sided with Republicans seeking to use redrawn congressional district boundaries to give their party an advantage in the midterms elections" (NYT)." Delay worked, with lower courts assistance. At Da Signal, Feds Report 160 Election Fraud Arrests as Thousands of New Leads Pour In.

Cam at Bearing Arms, SCOTUS Directs New Jersey AG to Respond in 'Code Is Speech' Case. Arguing over the computer code for 3D gun printing.

Beege Welborn, Only a Lunatic Virtue-Signaler Would Brag She Let a Cannibal Off on a Murder Conviction. Well, yes. Buck Throckmorton at Ace's MORNING RANT decries The Awful Precedent of the Clancy Trial’s Juror-Harassment.

Paul Thacker at the The DisInformation Chronicle thinks Leaked Fauci Pardon Papers Cast Doubt On Claims He Never Asked Biden for Clemency, "Justice Department documents contradict 60 Minutes report on pardons." 60 Minutes would never shave the truth, am I right?

Ben Whedon at JTN reports HSI nabs thrice-deported alien who allegedly attacked ICE agent with vehicle. Ace sees Two-Tiered Justice: Leftwing DAs Give Illegal Aliens Immunity for Major Crimes So That They Won't Be Deported. "I wrote about this briefly in Quick Hits yesterday or the day before. Just the News has a more detailed article. Illegal aliens are first-tier citizens, somehow. Actual US citizens are second-tier, at best." From Campus Reform, Universities hire legions of H-1B workers, lawmakers advance legislation to rein in ‘visa scam’ Business Insider whines about Why an H-1B visa hopeful decided to give up on work in the US, "after learning that potential employers might have to pay a $100,000 fee to hire her, she pivoted." Dave Strom sees The Inverted Moral Universe of Asylum Policies Summed Up in One Small Boat. Nioh Berg @NiohBerg, "One one single illegal migrant boat from Africa going to the Canary Islands: • A 16 year old girl was gangraped • A toddler was thrown overboard to drown All of the remaining migrant men, including rapists and murderers, will likely be hosted in Europe as if nothing happened. They will then be distributed into your neighbourhood without your consent or even knowledge. Sickening."

Gunther Eagleman™ @GuntherEagleman, "THEY HID THE WHOLE THING. Legacy media refused to show you a single second of President Trump’s speech and historic state dinner with Xi Jinping. Here is the entire night, start to finish, with translations. That is not journalism. That is information control. Watch it yourself. Do not let them keep you in the dark." Quote Nick Sortor @nicksortor, "Legacy media REFUSED to show you a SINGLE SECOND of President Trump's speech and historic state dinner with Xi Jinping tonight at the White House So here's the ENTIRE thing, from start to finish, with translations for Xi's speech." Becca Lower at RedState, CNN Quietly Admits They Were Not Denied Access to Trump-Xi Dinner. Here Were Their Demands.

Western Lensman @WesternLensman, "Obama has a plan to address the "information bubbles" Americans are in: "We're going to have to create new town squares, where everybody is having a common dialogue with certain rules." No mystery who he would want to be in charge of making these "rules.""

At the Chronic, Mark Judge remembers how Elena Kagan Predicted Why We Would Hate the Media "A main reason why we hate the media so much, and the reason they have earned that ire, is rooted in New York Times vs. Sullivan, the 1964 Supreme Court decision that held that media companies cannot be found guilty for anything they report unless there is evidence of “actual malice” on their part. In 1993, a University of Chicago law professor named Elena Kagan wrote an academic article for the Chicago Law Review that perceptively examined the reality of the new post-Sullivan press freedom:" It may be a particular gripe of his, but there are plenty more reasons to hate the media.