Fireworks Cancelled!

Georgia and I spent a hot couple of hours cleaning the boat in anticipation of going out with the family to watch the local fireworks display. However, nature had other plans. A big thunderstorm, part of the system that hit DC this evening rolled through about 8:30, and has lasted all evening, with a short break. We had a bit of hail, 1.1 inches of rain of much needed rain, and winds with gusts up to 45 kts (at Cove Point) and a short power outage. It also abruptly dropped the temperatures from 93 to 70.  

Hopefully, the fireworks will be used tomorrow evening. But just in case:

Flotsam and Jetsam - Happy 250th Birthday America!

Rep. Eric Davanzo

Althouse cites Donald Trump and hosts his speech at Mt. Rushmore, "These are very, very special times. And this is a very special place. You live in a very special place. Congratulations everybody." "Those were the very very very special words of our President, Donald J. Trump, speaking at Mount Rushmore, on the eve of the 250th anniversary of the 4th of July." Oh no! He was mean to the communists! Also from sundance at CTH, Freedom 250 from Mount Rushmore – Livestream Links. Don Surber is Defining MAGA, "Been around 250 years. We will be around another 250." ZitoSalena @ZitoSalena, "Line to get into the Pennsylvania booth at the Great American State Fair out the door! Pavilion is filled with displays from businesses all across the state. PLACE matters--that's what drove people & businesses to step up with pride; no way were they going to let this go empty." At Hat Hair, Dave Strom, America at 250: When You Get Ordinary Americans Away From the Noise, We Still Agree on the Basics, John Sexton hears a SoCal HOA Bans Display of the U.S. Flag and Capt. Ed finds Politico Party Pooper: Trump's America 250 Celebration Will Pollute DC, You Know "Politico even tried complaining to the EPA, whose spokesperson laughed in its face." From NYPo, Pennsylvania state Rep. Eric Davanzo says he was kicked off House floor over ‘patriotic’ suit ahead of America 250. Streiff at RedState thinks the Rogue USAF Major's Speech Garners Progressive Praise, but I Don't Think They've Thought This Through.

Fox News@FoxNews "JUST IN: NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani used America’s 250th anniversary to sharply criticize the country, accusing the U.S. of allowing children to go hungry while billionaires and “oligarchs” gain more power. He said America’s wealth was built by working people with “calloused, dirt-streaked hands" while accusing the country of allowing the wealth built by workers to be concentrated in “the soft hands of a precious few.” Mary Chastain at LI sees Mamdani Trashes America, Trump in Speech Marking Country’s 250th Birthday. Like the nepo-baby has ever had a job that gave him callouses. Bob Spencer at PJM says Mamdani Gives 250th Anniversary Speech, and Boy, Does This Guy Hate America. L A R R Y @LarryOConnor, "He’s been trained by his political handlers to smile almost incessantly. It’s an obvious forced smile to make his odious policies seem reasonable and safe. Here, he’s lost the smile. The result? He and his message convey their inherent hostility." Matt Taibbi, Listen to This Article: Zohran Mamdani and the Nitwit Revolution, "New York’s Mayor proved he’s a generational political talent this week, re-shaping the Democratic Party and setting America up for a referendum on its founding principles." Joel Pollak @joelpollak, "We heard this trash from Obama and it was bad enough the first time. Nobody who loves America talks this way." Quote Gerald Posner @geraldposner, "One year ago today, reports revealed that @NYCMayor checked both “Asian” and “Black or African American” on his 2009 Columbia application (he wrote in “Ugandan” and later said he doesn’t consider himself Black or African American — just an American born in Africa — because the forms had no box for “Indian-Ugandan”). ... When Mamdani gets to the “enslaved Africans” section, that might be the perfect moment to mention how he tried to check the African American box himself back when it could have helped tip the university admissions scale." Bonchie @bonchieredstate, "Eloquent? He trashed the country and then insisted it belongs to non-Americans while making a mockery of George Washington." Quote David Axelrod @davidaxelrod, "These eloquent words speak to me as the grateful son of a refugee who arrived here with his family, carrying little more than their hopes and dreams of freedom and a better life." Northern Barbarian @xnoesbueno, "In fairness, he doesn't know how free markets, capitalism, socialism, communism and New York City work, so I'd have to say the desk is either the least of everyone's concerns. Or a tell." Quote Kate Hyde @KateHydeNY, "Are we as offended by Mamdani using George Washington's desk to make a speech once we realize he doesn't even know how a desk works?"

Hat Hair's Beege Welborn has Hot Child in the City: Commie Mamdani Expects Mommies and Families to Fry At Twitchy, Ben Ferguson Pointed Out CNN Wasn't Complying With Mamdani's A/C Rule and the Host Was NOT Happy. Alexis Wilkins @AlexisWilkins, "Attn: New York Liberals If you don’t like getting told what temperature to set your thermostat, you probably won’t like socialism." PM sees Mamdani's rent freeze affects 1 million apts—nearly 50% are occupied by foreigners. 44 percent of all homes that are rent-stabilized in the city were occupied by people born outside of the US, which would translate to around 440,000 residences. From the Free Bacon, Darializa Avila Chevalier Dating Mamdani Lawyer Who Repped Al Qaeda Terrorists, Including 'Close Associate' of Bin Laden. "The pair met outside of an 'ICE detention facility,' according to Chevalier." Love at first protest!

At Am Great the Great Victor Davis Hanson pens The New Socialists: Elite, Ungrateful, and Toxic as Ever "The new socialist movement believes it can remake America—but its growing radicalism may prove the very thing that drives voters away and fuels a counterrevolution." Dan Greenfield at Front Page worries Hamas Rioters Get Their Own Members of Congress, "Democrats welcome their first “Death to America” congresswoman." From RCP, Legacy Versus Reality: America’s Jews and the Democrat Party. Dave Strom sees Democrats Are Now Debating Who Is 'Too Jewish'. Driscoll at Insty, “PROGRESSIVE” LEFT GOES BACK TO THE FUTURE: "Did a CNN Anchor Really Just Say This About Jewish Democrats?" Andrew Kolvet @AndrewKolvet, "Donny Deutsch, on MSNOW, just gave us an inside sneak peek at establishment Democrats’ panic about the rise of extremist DSA candidates: "Well, Democrats have gone off the rails... Democrats right now are focused on two things:" • "Antisemitism." • "Socialism." ..." Chaskel Bennett @ChaskelBennett, "Israel sent search-and-rescue teams to Venezuela. That's a documented fact. The @nytimes reported on the international response while omitting Israel's rescue mission. Other major media outlets did the same. That's not a typo. It's not a factual dispute. It's an editorial choice. When the facts don't fit the narrative, the facts disappear. That's why nobody trusts todays activist media especially when they report on Israel." Mitch Berg at Hat Hair VIP has the "We've Never Tried 'Real Social Housing'" Hall Of Eternal Shame. At AMAC, a New Documentary Sheds Light on Shocking Radicalism of Minnesota Gov. Walz.

From NYPo news that the FBI infiltrated Gavin Newsom’s inner circle by convincing governor’s ally to wear a wire. Sundance, Lisa Monaco and Merrick Garland Organized Wire Recording Surveillance of Gavin Newsom in June of 2024. "Newsom was under political surveillance prior to Biden’s withdrawal. This puts context on the plan to replace Biden with then VP Kamala Harris. What does then Deputy AG Lisa Monaco and then VP Kamala Harris have in common? They were both key figures within the Barack Obama operation." Chef Andrew Gruel @ChefGruel, "This is nuts!! Voters chose @realSonjaShaw for State Superintendent in the primary, but instead of respecting the fact she may win, Newsom is fast-tracking legislation to shift key powers from the independently elected Superintendent of Public Instruction to a governor-appointed official. That’s an end run around the voters." Quote California Post @californiapost "Gavin Newsom passes 'biggest power grab in California history' over State Superintendent role." PJM's Vicky Taft sees the West Coast, Messed Coast™ States Give Serfs a Huge America 250 'Gift', gas tax increases.

The Center Square, reports GOP hardliners vow to blockade must-pass bills unless voter ID demands met. TownHall's Dmitri Bolt hears This Republican Has a Wild Idea for Fixing Housing Prices: Let the Market Actually Work. "Stop all of the subsidies," Rep. McClintock told Newsmax, Thursday. "That thing is chock full with subsidies and grants. All those do is force up the price of housing for everybody while hiding it for those that are lucky enough to qualify for the subsidies." Real capitalism hasn't been tried either. Mark Tapscott at Insty says TIME FOR REHAB FOR BOTH DEMS, GOP: "Tomorrow is a great day, the 250th commemoration of the proclamation on July 4, 1776, of America’s Declaration of Independence. But on July 5, 2026, we better get honest with each other and our leaders about the approaching fiscal calamity. Read all about it here with my latest Substack column:" Democrats and Republicans MUST Stop Lying About Their Deficit Spending and Debt, Beginning July 5, 2026, if America is to Survive "There is no more kicking the can down the road to delay starting the admittedly painful rehabilitation treatment of our Federal Spending Addiction (FSA)."

Sundance hosts Two Politically Pretentious Canadians Interview U.S. Ambassador Pete Hoekstra and U.S Trade Representative Jamieson Greer Discusses Economy and USMCA.

AG @AGHamilton29, "Qatar is an actual slave state with just a few hundred thousand citizens and a clear record of funding terrorism. The fact that we have somehow allowed them to buy their way into influencing so much of America's ME policy and dictating information flow is still crazy to me."

News Wax reports Hormuz Ship Transits Quadruple as Trump Plan Works.

Sundance dances at a REPORT: Acting DNI Bill Pulte Fires Dozens of ODNI Staff for Politicizing Intelligence, Insubordination, Gross Misconduct and Former DNI Tulsi Gabbard Outlines the Mechanics of the Deep State. From Fox, DeSantis announces plans to use new state law to target dozens of alleged terrorist groups. "CAIR filed a lawsuit to challenge the Florida governor's 'baseless attacks'."

At Da Wire, Mark Krikorian looks at the Citizenship Follies, "Are we going to just have to bar the admission of women from abroad?" John Eastman at Am Mind, reminds us of 1776, Not 1608: What the Supreme Court Got Wrong on Birthright Citizenship. At the Chronic, Mark Judge looks at Justice Kavanaugh’s Transgender Ruling and the Misogyny of the Left.

PJM's Stephen Kruiser tells Dear Europoors: I'm Setting My Thermostat to 1776 for Independence Day. Max @minordissent, "Europoors: if we stop using AC we will solve climate change China: 1M sq ft indoor ski resort that has 10 MW of refrigeration running 365 days a year." Allan @UnrealAllan, "This isn’t so much “third world” as just plainly irrational. A high-capacity public escalator uses about the same energy in 24 hours as that needed to cool 1,500 square feet of living space for 24 hours. What can’t be ignored though is our *energy infrastructure* has been far outstripped by *energy demand*. It would be nice if people were able to analyze and discuss these issues rationally without the insta-default to political histrionics, hysteria, and irrationality." Quote End Wokeness @EndWokeness, "Escalators in NY are now being turned off to "conserve energy" Welcome to the 3rd world." Try shutting of the elevators in government buildings, I dare you.At YouTube, The World Cup is Destroying the Anti-America Narrative.

Alice Smith @TheAliceSmith, "The UK is what happens when career public sector middle-managers get into power." James Lindsay, anti-Communist @ConceptualJames, :2002, "Quote Basil the Great @BasilTheGreat, "A leaked internal home office report from 2002 shows the UK Government had planned to change what "British-ness" meant through mass immigration It was always the goal to erase our identity and replace us.

Jennifer Sey @JenniferSey, "This is hilarious. Dude, we’ve been telling you. They hate the gays. Like really hate. Not like in a fun way." Quote Sunny @sunnyright, "When progressives actually meet Islam, part 6,512"

More at the Wombat's In The Mailbox: 07.03.26.

Rule 5 Saturday - Happy Semiquincentennial!

It's a great country. Enjoy it.

Beach Report 7/3/26

A brutally hot summer day, without even a decent breeze to help. Temps at home were around 97 this afternoon. When I left for the beach, Cove Point was showing about 88 over the water, later climbing to 92. 

I managed the full walk up the beach past Matoaka and back with the help of one bottle of water. You can't see in these pictures, but there are a few places along Matoaka where the cliffs provide some welcome shade.

I found 14 shark's teeth of which this was the best. It's a Snaggletooth, of course, but there appears to be  some debate over position. I think it's an upper tooth close to the center, maybe next to the parasymphyseal because of the heavy serrations, others think it's a lower. Paul Murdoch was out walking a group, and I asked him, and he waffled.

The Sea Nettles are definitely here. 

There was a fly-over from a B2 bomber flanked by 2 B1 bombers. I assume they were on their way to a fly-over of the National Mall. This is the first time I've ever seen either of those planes in real life. Too bad I couldn't get my phone ready for a picture in time.

Flotsam and Jetsam - Hot Summer Day

And the country is getting ready for its 250th birthday tomorrow. The Victory Girls say Dear Democrats: Our National Party is Still On — Shut Up and STAY HOME and note Independence Day Gone Woke In San Diego County, California. Sounds like a blast! Beege Welborn at Hat Hair notes Anti-Trump States Wouldn't Fix Up Booths for the Fair - PA AMERICANs Took Matters Into Their Own Hands. Sore losers. Dr. Suneel Dhand's Newsletter gives 10 Reasons I'm PROUD to Be an American, "I left Britain and have been a citizen for over 10 years. Best thing I've ever done. An honest reflection this special July 4th." OTH, Hat Hair's John Sexton reports Man Charged with Felony for Damaging Reflecting Pool. "David Hearn, 67, of Maryland faces one felony count of destruction of property tied to a June 19 incident in which National Park Service employees say they caught him trying to rip a portion of sealant from the pool’s bottom. The charge carries a maximum sentence of up to 10 years in prison." It's DC, he won't be convicted. And at WaEx, Airman arrested during Capitol Hill protest urging Trump and Vance’s impeachment. "A Capitol Police spokesperson confirmed Watson’s arrest, noting that there are spots on Capitol Grounds where demonstrating is permitted, but “it is generally against the law for the public to demonstrate on the House Steps unless they are with a Member of Congress.” “Yesterday afternoon, a man was escorted to the House Steps by a Member of Congress,” the spokesperson told the Washington Examiner. “When the Member of Congress left the area, our officers gave the man lawful orders to stop the illegal demonstration or he would be arrested. The man refused our lawful orders. Jason Watson was then arrested for 22-1307 Crowding, Obstructing, and Incommoding.”" So he wasn't arrested for his speech denouncing Trump, he was arrested for unlawful conduct at the Capital, like the J6ers. I'm sure Pete Hegseth has plenty of grounds to toss him out of the Air Force, though. A Larry vid at Hat Hair says This Was All Trump Needed. They're Gonna Regret It.

At the Buckeye Firearms Assoc, Trump reiterates support for national right-to-carry reciprocity. As a fairly liberal New Yorker, I suspect Trump personally doesn't fell strongly pro-gun, but he knows his coalition. Mary Chastain is pleased to report the Energy Dept. is Moving to Drop ‘Green New Scam’ Appliance Mandates. "Thank you. THANK YOU. Make it happen!"

Hat Hair's Capt. Ed is worried that the US Adds Only 57,000 Jobs in June As Workforce Deflates. I gave up trying to make sense out of job numbers a while ago. The methodology is shitty, and manipulative. I also wonder how much of this is due to the ongoing self-deportation of illegals. The Wall Street Journal thinks it is.

Jenna’s Side is America Doesn't Have a Socialist Problem—We Have an Apathy Problem. "And apathy is how tiny, terrifying, highly motivated minorities end up running cities." At Hat Hair Dave Strom thinks Socialism in the West is Ignorance, Unearned Wealth, and Resentment,  Yes, The DSA Is a Communist Organization and Beege Welborn adds Commie Mamdani's Pied-à-Terre Billionaire Tax Attack Began Yesterday. Althouse notes "The DSA, in fact, seems to despise the Democratic Party. Darializa Avila Chevalier has called Joe Biden a 'rapist' and wrote 'Fuck Kamala Harris'...", ""... on social media. She proceeded to be nominated for a House race in New York last week by Democratic voters who presumably do not all share those feelings."  At Reason Kennedy recalls New York's Socialist Experiment Already Failed Once "Will Mamdani break New York City?" Leslie Eastman at LI hears NYC Mayor Mamdani’s Recommendation for ’78 Degrees’ Met with Frosty Reception. "The responses to his “78 degrees” suggestion included references to France and New York’s embrace of “Green Energy”." Capt. Ed hears from Fetterman: The One Thing That Would Force Me Out Of My Party Is ... being anti-Israel. Aren't we there already? Dave Strom thinks it might be AOC vs Vance?

Bonchie @bonchieredstate, "Every time. It’s never organic." Quote AG @AGHamilton29, "This is a major red flag. The CCP is funding/aiding left-wing groups and activism to try to push policies that discourage us developing energy independence."

From DataRepublican’s Substack, The 400,000 USAID Deaths That Nicholas Kristof Will Not Tell You About. "How USAID Built the South Sudan, Watched It Collapse, and Then Allowed China to Take Over."

Eric at Security and Cigars, explains Why Wolford Should Worry Big Gov Fans More Than Slaughter. "SCOTUS has now made clear that states and cities cannot simply designate broad categories of private property as “sensitive” and thereby ban the exercise of constitutional rights there. This has obvious and immediate implications for the Second Amendment, but it also reaches into First Amendment territory like speech, religion, and assembly. As well as many other rights protected by the Constitution." Charles C. W. Cooke @charlescwcooke, "Impressive ignorance. The unitary executive theory is about personnel; it confers no substantive powers on the executive branch that haven’t been delegated by Congress. The whole column is a bizarre non sequitur." Quote Dana Milbank @Milbank, "My latest column looks at how Democrats are drafting plans to to use the all-powerful, unitary executive that Trump has established (and the Roberts Court has blessed) to launch a new Progressive Era, in which a Democratic president imposes by executive fiat government-run health." At Da Caller, Clarence Thomas Laughs As MS NOW Reporter Barrages Him With Questions. Althouse says I don't believe Nina Totenberg's explanation for why she reported that Justice Alito was retiring. "I'm reading "'I am so, so sorry': NPR reporter explains SCOTUS retirement error" (CNN): "Say what really happened, " and "Democrats stopped talking about trans politics long before the court’s ruling this week." ""In June, which is L.G.B.T.Q. Pride month, no Democratic candidate mentioned the word 'transgender' in their TV ads, according to data from AdImpact, a media tracking firm. Their silence may be an attempt to deprive Republicans of campaign-trail ammunition.... A New York Times/Ipsos poll conducted in January 2025 showed that nearly 80 percent of Americans opposed allowing transgender athletes to participate in women’s sports...." At substact Insty recommends Ditching the Seventeenth. "Taking the Senate back to the Framers' Intent." Let State Legislators pick Senators? We could do worse, and have.

Gina Milan @ginamilan_ "Ruh Rho" Quote Paul Sperry @paulsperry_, "BREAKING: Here's the just-filed NLPC bar complaint against NY attorney Roberta Ann Kaplan. The basis for the complaint is that Kaplan failed to inform Trump’s lawyers + the court when she knew her client E. Jean Carroll provided false testimony by denying outside funding for her."

TownHall's Amy Curtis reports More Antifa Terrorists Were Just Sentenced in Texas "Antifa and their Leftist allies in the Democratic Party were not happy about these sentences. They really believed they were above the law, and are threatening the federal judges who put their comrades behind bars." Bob Spencer at PJM says Bravo: DeSantis Officially Calls Antifa and CAIR What They Really Are, terrorists. 

Dave Strom takes a look at The Immigrants Who Hate America. Libs of TikTok @libsoftiktok, "BREAKING: The Somali flag flying over Buffalo City Hall has been reportedly STOLEN just hours after it was raised. Buffalo's Democrat Mayor Sean Ryan, claims that individuals cut the cable in the middle of the night and took the flag down. He then goes on a rant about "diversity." Police are currently investigating, and no charges have been filed." At NYPo, Andy Arthur opines ABC’s ‘3% delusion’ on criminal migrants turns the law on its head "ABC’s statistic is real — of the 438,537 illegal immigrants detained in the administration’s first 14 months, 13,018 of them had been convicted of a crime like homicide or sexual assault in the US. Yet its conclusion is utterly wrong, ignoring the impact of the most significant immigration law Congress has enacted in years: the Laken Riley Act.  Americans should remember why Congress passed that law. Riley, a 22-year-old nursing student, was murdered in February 2024 by an illegal immigrant who had been apprehended for committing lesser offenses and released into the United States. Her vicious killing sparked outrage over a system that repeatedly ignored warning signs — until an innocent American paid the ultimate price." Dave Strom, Yes, The Activists Want to Protect Paedos From Deportation. Gov. Walz helped pardon a child rapist so he couldn't be deported. The feds may yet find a way. Visegrád 24 @visegrad24, "BREAKING British authorities have released the ringleader of a Rochdale grooming gang, Shabir Ahmed, from prison The Pakistani man was sentenced to 22 years for 30 child rape charges involving girls as young as 12. He was released after serving just 13 years & won’t be deported." Beege Welborn, Merz Scolds German Serfs Over Sick Day Slacking When There Are Immigrant Bennies to Support.

At Twitchy, Heavily Armed Would-Be Trans Terrorist Arrested for Planning Mass Shooting; Check out This Hardware. Shooting News Week, Cops Bust Would Be Casino Mass Shooter With An Actual Cache (This Time) of Weapons. Robby Starbuck @robbystarbuck, "There needs to be a deep investigation into how this weirdo was able to afford this. Well over $100k of guns listed. Seems unlikely for a mentally ill trans activist to come up with that on their own." Quote New York Post @nypost "Trans gunman caught in alleged casino terror plot with huge cache of weapons - as cops release chilling footage." Capt. Ed reports a WI Activist Declares 'Trans Jihad': 'Kill Your Local Republican.' Dustin Grage @GrageDustin, "WOW: Wisconsin Democrat staffer, Teha Delaruelle is calling on activists to "K*LL YOUR LOCAL REPUBLICAN." “We’re going to make this the moderate position for the state of Wisconsin” WTF!?" They should be careful; Republicans tend to be better armed.

More at the Wombat's In The Mailbox: 07.02.26.

Fish Pic Friday - Parker Outdoor Adventures

Another catfish killer.  Ohio Sate Record holder for the largest bluecat in the limb line category 101.11 pounds.  You go girl!