Sunday, October 25, 2026

Flotsam and Jetsam - "Gone are the Days When the Ox Fell Down"

At PJM Scott Pinsker asserts There Was Only One Way the Democrats Could Blow the Midterms — and Lord Help ‘Em, They’re Doing It! and Matt Margolis thinks If Democrats Aren't Panicking About Minnesota Right Now, They Should Be. Cynical Publius @CynicalPublius, "I get tired of Democrats claiming to be on the “right side of history” when both their past and their present are so utterly sordid and destructive. So, if you are a Democrat, let me tell you about MY side of history and YOUR side of history. My side of history is Cato the Elder, John Locke, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, Irving Babbitt and William F. Buckley. Your side of history is Thomas Hobbes, Karl Marx, Josef Stalin, Mao’s Little Red Book and Noam Chomsky...." In a TownHall vid, Mike Johnson Warns America Could Face France-Style Riots if Democrats Take Congress. Or even if they lose. Hon. Vickie Paladino @VickieforNYC, "None of the conversations taking place by Democrats and leftists in anticipation of retaking Congress are about the ways they’re going to make life more affordable for Americans. The conversations are exclusively about how they’re going to use power to take revenge on their political enemies. There is no strategy to lower gas prices or grocery prices. No strategy for the budget. No talk about hearings on affordability or inflation or the stock market. Just revenge. That’s all they’re talking about, two weeks before an election they believe to be sewn up. They mindlessly chant ‘affordability’ during the campaign, but they have zero plans or interest in making anything more affordable. ‘Affordability’ was always a cheap lie to get them power. And they’re not even hiding it anymore." Quote Western Lensman @WesternLensman, "The Bulwark crew is absolutely ecstatic over the idea of investigations and prosecutions of Elon Musk. Can barely contain themselves." From Twitchy, Come Get Some! Elon Musk Fires Back HARD at Bulwark Dweebs Wetting Themselves Over Imprisoning Him."

TownHall's Matt Vespa sees Obama Really Went There at the Dem Rally in Michigan, Huh? Christian Heiens @ChristianHeiens, "The Iranian economy is in shambles, the country has Great Depression levels of unemployment, inflation is over 100%, oil exports and revenue have dropped to $0, the Iranian Rial has collapsed over 60% of its value vs the Dollar since March, almost its entire navy has been sunk, virtually the entire upper echelons of the government were decapitated in the opening salvo of the war, and there now appears to be a growing rebellion against the central government in Balochistan. In what universe does this put Iran in a stronger strategic position now than in January?" Quote Disclose.tv @disclosetv, "NOW - Obama says that Iran is "in a stronger strategic position now than before the war started." TMK @themagaking, "Remember when Barack Obama said Donald Trump would never be president, then dropped the microphone like he was the coolest guy in the room? Yeah, look at him now. Desperately campaigning to stay relevant. Trump has been living rent-free in his head ever since." Scott Jennings @ScottJenningsKY, "Makes speeches for 500k a pop. Hasn’t eaten dinner that costs less than $250 in years. Has never been in a Cheesecake Factory. Undefeated at condescending to regular folks. Will always be known for a presidency that ushered in the Trump era to begin with." Quote Aaron Rupar @atrupar, "“He’s got the White House looking like Saddam Hussein opened up a Cheesecake Factory” — Obama."

From WaEx, Out of arguments, el Sayed resorts to crying ‘Islamophobia.’ Susie Crabtree at RCP, In Michigan, Bitter Final Debate Over Trust and Trump. Deroy Murdock at Da Signal signals Gender Fluidity Fuels James Transarico. Which of his six genders is he today?

Dave Strom at Hat Hair on the revelation of several fake polls boosting Democrats, Once Is Happenstance. Twice Is Coincidence. The Third Time It’s Enemy Action. At RCP Carl Cannon explains Why RealClearPolitics Didn't Fall for the Fake Polls. Don't believe the polls. Vote like your safety and freedom depend on it; it does. From the Free Bacon, Arkansas Dem Senate Candidate Says Requiring Proof of Citizenship To Vote 'Disenfranchises 22 Million Americans' "Shoffner, on election integrity, said the government shouldn't 'stick its nose into our business.'" theGAnerds @theGAnerds_Real, "GA Early Voting REAL TIME ELECTION FRAUD Only two weeks in, and the GA 2026 General can not be certified. Again, this is REAL TIME analysis. We have documented (so far): - felons dropped in for a vote that weren't on the voter roll - swapped votes from a person's primary Reg ID to their clone that resides in the secondary dark database - back dated Registrations that were not there in time to vote but were made to look they were there all along - deleted votes - voter suppression by "theft" of a Reg ID for a vote - double voting duplicate Reg IDs @potus - WHO is going to lock up @GaSecofState ? @ODNIgov @AGToddBlanche @FBIDirectorKash @KurtOlsen_USA."

From NYPo, Hunter Biden threatened sex worker after 2020 election while embroiled in laptop scandal: new FBI emails.

Trent Telenko @TrentTelenko, "This is close to one my "impending fall of the Mullah Regime" indicators. A major Russian aerial/ground evacuation from Tehran with lots of people and records, like we saw from Baghdad to Syria immediately before Operation Desert Storm, is at the top of my indicator list." Quote WarMonitor @WarMonitor3, "BREAKING: Russian airforce TU-134 used to evacuate high ranking personnel has just left Iran with its transponder off rumoured to be picking up Russian scientists from Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant. We saw similar evacuation flights before US strikes on Iran in February..." From CEPA, Deepening Black Sea Crisis Demands US Involvement, "Russian strikes on Black Sea shipping are probing NATO’s tolerance for attacks on allies. The US and Europe must reinforce the region." From Campus Reform, COL. MANESS: The Pentagon just put the 'war' back in our service academies. 'Tenure breeds stagnation, complacency, and a curriculum that drifts from educating warfighters toward the research priorities of tenured academics.' At RCD, It’s Not President Trump but Thomas Friedman Who Should Be Ashamed.

Sundance at CTH grins at the First Tremor – British Columbia Premier David Eby’s Anti-Trump SNAP Election Backfires, Canadian Conservatives Win Big. "I’m not going to extrapolate too much into this outcome against the backdrop of a U.S. midterm sentiment; however, it would be foolish not to notice the hidden vote base that turned out for Lorne Doerkson."

Nick Arama at RedState hears Bill Maher and Karoline Leavitt Drop Some Big Truth Bombs About Trump That Dems Should Listen To.

1776 reports Ilhan Omar Hires Biden’s Personal Attorney As Feds Probe Her Immigration History. “It is going to be a very expensive and challenging time.” Matt Margolis hears This Liberal Lawyer Says Ilhan Omar Is in Serious Trouble. The Dersh.

Cynical Publius @CynicalPublius wonders Why the Silence Over the Uncovering of the Color Revolution Plot? "5. The FBI is Quietly All Over This, We Do Not Want to Compromise Their Investigation. If in fact the FBI is already building a case against the seditionist plotters, going widely public about it now will drive them further underground and harm the investigation. With Trump staying silent now, the FBI can go about their business unimpeded, with arrests to arrive after the midterms (and likely after the new Congress is already seated, so the “Trump is trying to overturn the election!!!!” narrative will be stale). The Trump team is smart, and they have learned how to navigate indictments in a hostile media environment, and an environment where the courts, the FBI and the DOJ all still harbor mendacious “resistors.” I think this scenario is quite likely." PJM's Vicky Taft echos Steve McGarrett, Book 'Em: Feds Arrest FBI Deep Staters Who Lied to Congress (and America) About Hunter Biden Laptop.


Leslie Eastman at LI, Supreme Court to Review Constitutionality of 1868 Home-Distilling Ban. "After the Civil War, Congress banned home distilling to protect federal tax revenue."


At CIS, White House Makes Bold Claims on Immigration Enforcement, Border, " ‘How President Trump Ended the Border Invasion and Restored American Sovereignty’. More worksite enforcement promised, but please show us the stats." From Da Mail, My son was killed by an illegal immigrant. Now I'm exposing the chaos of the system that failed him... and why it MUST be the topic on which the midterms turn.

Dave Strom sees Cenk Dives Into the Sewer and Decides It Smells Sweet. Yeah, Lindsey was gay. So what?

From Da Signal, France Is Burning and the Media Is Most Concerned that the Right Is Right. AG @AGHamilton29, "Missed this. Paris police invited shopkeepers to hire their own security for riots. This is a state that has one of the highest taxation levels in the world, but apparently can’t afford to protect business owners from the criminal radicals the state has allowed to run wild." Peachy Keenan @KeenanPeachy, "“The schoolchildren just want nicer classrooms” “Hide the Mona Lisa from rampaging third world hordes”" Quote Musée du Louvre @MuseeLouvre Translated from French, "Dear visitors, Following the recommendation of the Paris Police Prefecture, the Louvre Museum will be exceptionally closed this Saturday, October 24." Althouse finds "That [burned Limoges] City Hall is at the epicenter of generations of struggle. It's not connected to how I fancy croissants and brie..." ""... and red wine but all I can find now is kebab in a shop blaring rap.... We should be alert to how the history of struggle is obscured by the reactionary and racist commodification of nostalgia and tourism."" Dave Strom hears 'X Is the Only Thing Keeping Democracy Alive' in France'. RadioGenoa @RadioGenoa, "This is Lecco, Italy. North Africans threatened on social media to do here what they did in Milan, destroy everything. The Lecco football ultras showed up to defend the square and the shops. Result: none of the North Africans showed up. Honor to Lecco ultras—true patriots, true men." Tommy Robinson @TRobinsonNewEra, "More footage of Scottish locals disrupting an Antifa meeting where they're plotting Paris style riots." wretchardthecat @wretchardthecat, "British article. 'We used to laugh at American preppers. Who is laughing now?' My comment: Does anyone get the feeling Godzilla has been reported swimming toward land but nobody wants to alarm the public until someone verifies it?"

The College Fix reports a U. Michigan project that aims to ‘resist’ Trump’s patriotic portrayal of U.S. history. Mollie @MZHemingway, "Shameful news out of Georgetown Law." Quote Emily Jacobs @emilyfjacobs, "New from me: Georgetown Law’s Student Bar Association passed a resolution this week condemning a Jewish attorney on Sen. Ted Cruz’s staff and accusing her of Islamophobia after she appeared on campus to discuss the Muslim Brotherhood and her work representing victims of." Jonathan Turley was probably not surprised that the Cornell Faculty Completes a Self-Study and Concludes that Their Ideological Bias Requires No Corrective Action.

Palm Sunday

With Jessica Vaugn:
 



With the arrival of winter, the activity of collecting date palm sap has started in Atrai of Naogaon. To collect this delicious sap, gachis (sap collectors) are now moving from one date palm tree to another. Starting from noon, they begin hanging earthen pots (hari) on the date palm trees and remain busy with this task until evening. Although this is winter sap, this time gachis have become active in collecting sap early.

There are thousands of date palm trees on roadsides, in courtyards, and on field embankments in various villages of the 8 unions of the upazila. Although gachis collect sap from these date palm trees, what has caught attention are the date palm trees along the railway line beside the Naogaon-Natore regional highway.

Gachis have started collecting sap from about 300 date palm trees on both sides of the railway line from the Atrai Railway (old) Station northward to Mahadighi. At one time, local gachis used to collect sap from these date palm trees, but now local gachis are no longer seen.

Therefore, every year gachis come from Bagha and Arani areas of Rajshahi and Lalpur area of Natore to collect sap from these trees. And this sap is used to make delicious lali (liquid molasses) and gur (jaggery).
Gur sounds pretty good. Can you buy it on Amazon? Of course!

Saturday, October 24, 2026

Flotsam and Jetsam - Ukraine, Iran and Omar, Oh My!

Here's a pretty good breakdown of how the Ukraine Starlink kerfuffle probably happened. Long story short Ukrainian's were hacking Starlink to allow it to do things it wasn't supposed to (like offensive attacks). But then, so was Russia. Starlink changed the software to prevent that, and Ukraine got bent out of shape (the Russians probably did to, but they were too polite to complain). Chamberlain's Ghost @RSA_Observer, " Now this is something! This technical thread suggests (explains) that the entire Starlink/shield slowdown issue is not a consequence of a political decision in the US or by Musk but the result of Ukrainian engineers hacking the system to bypass it's controls and do something they are not permitted to do - and when Starlink took steps to prevent the bypassing and ensure the controls remained effective, suddenly the system stopped working in 'bypass mode' - and Zelensky then set out to politicise matters. The explanation makes the bits of the puzzle fit together and fits with the New York Times article in which Ukrainians explained that although the system is formally limited to 100 mph they have managed to exceed it..."

From the JPo, Netanyahu orders Iranian regime's downfall, Katz warns 'Iran will burn' at IDF cadets' graduation. "Speaking at the IDF officer cadets' graduation ceremony, Netanyahu declared regime change in Iran a military objective, while Defense Minister Katz warned that "Iran will burn" if it attacks Israel." Are we surprised, or shocked?

Katie Bergh @Katie_Bergh, "In the wake of unprecedented cuts in last year's Republican reconciliation law, SNAP participation & spending have been falling — and the decline is much deeper than the Congressional Budget Office initially projected."

Nick Arama at RedState says Hoo Boy: Baier Nails El-Sayed on Multiple Points - His Incredible Defensiveness Is Something to See. From the Crimson Hub, Is The Con On? Meet the Pastor Behind the Defunct Group Helping Abdul El-Sayed Court Black Voters. "According to Federal Election Commission records, AES' campaign has paid $82,500 to the Ecumenical Ministers Alliance (EMA), a Detroit-based organization headed by Rev. Horace Sheffield III. There's just one rather significant problem. Michigan corporate records show the organization was dissolved all the way back in 2014." Ari Fleischer @AriFleischer, "Abdul is not the only Muslim to run for the Senate. Mehmet Oz ran in 2024. No one ran against Oz because he’s a Muslim. That’s because Oz didn’t call Israel Bloodthirsty. Oz didn’t write an oped urging support for the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt. Oz didn’t have donors who belonged to the MB. Oz didn’t blame terrorism on the policies of the US. And Oz didn’t justify a terrorist on a synagogue. This race isn’t about Abdul’s faith. It’s about his extremist ideas." Quote Aaron Rupar @atrupar, "El-Sayed: "We had a little debate. Or I had a debate and he just pointed at me and said, 'He's Muslim.'" Hat Hair's Capt. Ed cites an M-SNOW Host: I'm Getting Skeptical About Talarico Polling After ... visiting Texas. PJM's Matt Margolis asks if you Still Think Talarico Will Flip Texas? You Might Want to Read This. Chris Watts at Am Spec reminds us The DSA Wants to Overthrow Our Constitutional System. "They are openly calling for a worker’s revolution, the overthrow of our constitutional system, and a socialist republic." At Am Great, Chris Toto has high hopes, Is Hollywood Waking Up to the DSA Nightmare? Don't mistake moment of lucidity for a trend. The College Fix reports 95% of Michigan faculty donations go to El-Sayed over Rogers in Senate race. Are you surprised. I'm not.


Tony Kinnett @TheTonus, "Here are 3 of Nate Silver's own Silver Bulletin aggregates which literally assigned major “influence” to Wedgewood." Quote Nate Silver @NateSilver538, Replying to @NateSilver5383. "I think there's been a tendency to overstate the influence of Wedgewood. They were pretty obscure, though fairly prolific. It's almost always best not to give any individual pollster undue attention, especially if they have no track record." unseen1 @unseen1_unseen, "Look at who is outing these fake pollsters and ask yourself why they are doing so at this time? It's not conservatives outing them. The people outing them are trying to get ahead of something and set a narrative. You be the judge of what they are trying to get ahead of and what narrative they could produce from outing their own fake pollsters 2 weeks before an election....." Dustin Grage @GrageDustin, "The polls make a lot more sense when you realize Democrats’ only path to taking the Senate depends on Republicans staying home. The goal is to demoralize you into sitting on the couch instead of showing up on Election Day. Don’t fall for it. If Republicans show up, we win. It’s that simple."

Eric Daugherty @EricLDaugh, " BREAKING: A judge has just THROWN OUT Democrats' lawsuit seeking to let Wisconsin voters take back mail-in ballots they'd already returned and vote AGAIN Hold on, they were going to let people vote AGAIN? This is why we needed an army of GOP lawyers! When their preferred primary candidate dropped out, Democrats went to court to get those votes redone The RNC fought it twice and won both times. The court REFUSED to change the rules in July, and today a Dane County judge tossed the case entirely Wisconsin law is clear, once you return your ballot, it's FINAL. Big win for GOP!" PJM's Vicky Taft has another West Coast, Messed Coast™: Woke Governor to Send National Guard to Ballot Boxes. "Ferguson says he's making the offer to send the out-of-uniform, unarmed National Guard Soldiers to any of the state's 39 counties because the Washington secretary of state received an envelope containing an unknown white powder inside. Ferguson also mentioned concern about the unsolved 2024 firebombing of a ballot receptacle in southwest Washington. One or more leftist saboteurs were believed to have been behind that firebombing, since it was believed to have been linked to two other cases of ballot box vandalism the year Trump was on the ballot." PJM's Stephen Kruiser wants Somebody Please Get the Democrats an Ativan and an Election Defeat.

Jeffrey A Tucker @jeffreytucker, "The whole ethos of Washington, D.C. these days is: let's keep the racket going as long as possible. This is every agency, every Congressional office, every lobbyist, every think tank. Idealism is gone. Public service is gone. The notion of government as servant of the people is gone. We hardly even hear these cliches anymore." John Sexton at Hat Hair hears a Federal Contractor Sues Government After James O'Keefe Video "ATI Government Solutions, the company featured in this video, has now filed a lawsuit against the government claiming that they were unfairly cut off from all government contracts as a result of the video." NOVA Campaigns @NoVA_Campaigns, "Turns out
@SenLouiseLucas is nothing but a cheap low life hood rat asking her drug dealer if they’re actually a cop. “On or about April 19, 2022, LOUISE LUCAS asked ICC #1 if they were a member of law enforcement before purchasing between 3-5 pounds of marijuana from ICC #1.”"

At his substack, Insty does a good job of condensing Democrat's plans for a 'color revolution' after the midterms, The Coming Insurrection, "And what to do about it." "This isn’t some fever dream, it’s right there in the extensive files that DataRepublican has provided. Here’s an article by Chuck DeVore in The Federalist. The goal is sustained mass violence and street clashes designed to push President Donald Trump into invoking the Insurrection Act. Once invoked, Democratic governors and progressive organizations would treat the order itself as evidence of “fascism” and a reason to undermine federal authority. Groups including the United Democracy Alliance, invoking Erica Chenoweth’s 3.5 percent rule, appear ready to coordinate the street actions, legal support, and media framing. Neville Roy Singham, operating from Shanghai and connected to the Chinese Communist Party’s United Front Work Department, is positioned to amplify the disruption from abroad." Cynical Publius @CynicalPublius, "RE: The Democracy Files/Illegitimacy Playbook The problem with @DataRepublican's Democracy Files is that the truth they expose sounds so outrageous that anyone who points out what is actually going on initially sounds like a foaming-at-the-mouth, lunatic conspiracy theorist. So if anyone thinks that, I encourage you to go and watch the videos for yourself..." bye bye @johoromero, "One must admire the confidence required to mistake constitutional vigilance for insurrection, particularly when one has evidently devoted so little effort to understanding either." Quote Cynical Publius @CynicalPublius, "America currently has a cabal of ~1,600 former military officers/NCOs and ex-State/USAID/CIA employees who are members of the National Security Leaders for America, an organization currently involved in an active plot to overthrow our Constitutional order via an American Color x.com/DanLamothe/sta…" Cynical Publius @CynicalPublius, "Did you happen to catch the part of the plot where Democrat governors will declare the Constitutionally-elected Presidency invalid and seize control of American governance? That's literally in the videos, idiot, and I am not exaggerating. Go watch the videos and report back and let us know if you still support the Democrat coup plot." Cynical Publius @CynicalPublius, "Hey @JBPritzker! What are you doing hanging around with the National Security Leaders for America (NSL4A)? Are you part of their plot to launch a Color Revolution in America by creating a "legitimacy crisis" after the midterms where Democrat governors declare our duly-elected..."DataRepublican (small r) @DataRepublican, "Yes, he is. 1. The videos explicitly name the Illinois governor as one of the two that were willing to buy into the illegitimacy memo. 2. He’s co-chair of Governors Safeguarding Democracy which apparently liked the memo and presentation. 3. I believe Democracy Funders Network is involved in a lot of the funding and his sister chairs that." Tim Burchett @timburchett, "Not a single Democrat member of Congress has condemned this." John Sexton at Hat Hair, Former FBI Officials Charged With Lying to Congress. Kevin Killough at JTN reports Two ex-FBI officials charged with making false statements about Hunter Biden's laptop. "According to the affidavit, Floris and Benavides made "materially false statements" in a House Judiciary Committee probe in the FBI' now-dismantled Foreign Influence Task Force." From Ace,
Biden Stripped the Visa From a Ukrainian Witness So That He Couldn't Testify to Congress About Burisma and Hunter Biden, "Trump is such a corrupt authoritarian you guys." Helen Raleigh at Da Fed notes Feds Say Bank Of America Choked Conservatives’ Accounts Harder Than Drug Cartels.’ Jonathan Turley wonders about A Game of Chicken? Whitehouse Taunts Biden and Other Democrats For Being Too “Chicken” to Pack the Court.

At TownHall, Amy Curtis gloats The New York Post Got a Hold of a Document That Further Proves Ilhan Omar Isn't Who She Says She Is. Will Chamberlain @willchamberlain, "The New York Post has obtained and published an official copy of Ilhan Omar's sister's marriage certificate. It describes their father as "Nur Said Elmi," and his profession as a "military officer. More evidence that she is not who she says she is."Mark Hemingway @Heminator, "If only someone had spent 15+ years warning people "fact checkers" were arrogant, explicitly dishonest, censorious, and actively partisan!" Quote Pirate Wires @PirateWires, "Allegations of the Minnesota congresswoman marrying her brother aside… Ilhan Omar’s father was a high-ranking military official in Somalia’s genocidal Marxist-Leninist Barre regime. This fact would have likely disqualified him from immigrating to the U.S. as a Somali refugee — and, by extension, prevented Omar from becoming a U.S. citizen through her father’s naturalization. Snopes and Politifact buried the truth about Omar’s father, averting a scandal that could’ve been disastrous for her political career; @ashleyrindsberg reports." PJM's Stephen Kruiser wonders Dare We Dream That Ilhan Omar Has Finally Run Out of Brothers to Marry? At Twitchy, WHOA: Ilhan Omar’s Marriage Timeline Is a Mess PLUS HER Sister’s Marriage License Proves PROBLEMATIC, Congresswoman Ilhan Omar Claims She Drives a 2016 Camry … Then This Photo Drops and 'No Phone, Who Dis?' Spencer Pratt Knows Why Ilhan Omar Wants 'Less Scrolling, More Strolling'. She makes Don Surber's Highlights of the week. "Asked my wife if she is my brother. She said no. I was relieved until she added, I am your sister." RedState's Nick Arama sees Omar Creates Media Storm When She Shows Up to Vote, Comments on Her Name. Dave Strom interpretes the NYTimes: If Ilhan Omar Broke the Law, She Should Get Away With It Because Muh Democracy. "The New York Times admits that Ilhan Omar may be a criminal, but since she is an opponent of the president, democracy itself is at stake if she is investigated." From Matt Vespa at TownHall, The Amount of Evidence Against Ilhan Omar Could Scale Everest. Here's the List.

From Ace, To Presume to Overrule a State Anti-DEI Executive Order, a, Get This, DEI Judge Uses AI to Write An Opinion Filled With Fake Cases. "Huh, a DEI hire resorting to AI to do his homework for him. And all to stop the people from ending DEI practices. Who could have seen this coming. There is good news: the Appeals Court was so shocked by the complete DEI incompetence on display that they not only reversed him, they kicked him off the case entirely." We really need a mechanism for getting rid of obstructionist judges permanently.

Will Chamberlain @willchamberlain, "HUGE: The en banc Fifth Circuit just held, 11-6, that illegal aliens caught in the interior can be detained without bond for the duration of their removal proceedings. Judge James Ho in a concurring opinion: "A nation ceases to be a nation if it can't protect its borders." At Da Caller, Trump Zeroes In On Immigration As Midterms Near. Ace, Trump's DHS is Knocking on Doors to Ask People About Their Immigration Status and Voter Status as the Left Continues Lying About Its Legions of Illegal Voters Update: Big Win in Court for Border Enforcement, "Tuq'r Qarlson will continue lying about "Trump not doing anything" because, of course, he's a Democrat/Qatari operative. "Charles Schumer and Democrats are suing to keep illegal aliens on the voter rolls." Dave Strom, 1) It Isn't Happening; 2) Yeah, but Isn't a Big Deal; 3) It's Actually a Good Thing...: Shipwreckedcrew @shipwreckedcrew, "You've got the numbers wrong. I'm not saying Lee is right -- he's not. The 20,000 names are ACTUAL Green Card holders with California addresses with USCIS who match names and addresses with registered voters in California's publicly available voter registration list. DOJ never said they all voted in the past. It only asked California to independently verify their eligibility to register because if they were Green Card holders they are ineligible. It is not exculpatry to say, as LA County has said, "Only 28% have vote." That's actually a confession. 0000.00% should have voted if they are Green Card holders...." Quote David J. Bier @David_J_Bier, "Only 28% of a sample of DHS's bogus list of 20,000 voters that it claimed were "verified" noncitizen voters actually voted. So that's 5,600 out of 5 million California noncitizens. That'd be 0.1% (if they are noncitizens, which they probably aren't based on DHS's record)." Quote Mike Lee @BasedMikeLee, "“Noncitizens don’t vote,” they said."

WaPoo, Virginia man charged in damage of Iwo Jima statue near Quantico, "Prince William County police said the violence, enacted with a sledgehammer, left one of the statue’s Marines without a head." "Virginia man" heh. Eric Daugherty @EricLDaugh, " BREAKING: Outrage erupts after man named "Miguel Alonso Maldonado Soriano" took a SLEDGEHAMMER to the historic Iwo Jima statue at Marine Corps Base Quantico in Virginia and knocked the head off one of the Marines HE LITERALLY BEHEADED IT. Dig into his history and find out if he's an illegal! Should be deported regardless! Police caught Miguel Alonso Maldonado Soriano, 27, of Stafford, in the act around 10 PM Wednesday. They say the damage runs into the HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS of dollars The 9-foot limestone statue was carved by Felix de Weldon, the same sculptor behind the famous Marine Corps War Memorial in Arlington. It honors the Marines who raised the flag over Iwo Jima. He's charged with felony destruction of property, trespassing, and felony injury to a monument, and he's being held without bond. Throw the book at him." Yes, he's illegal. Sentence him to mowing lawn at Quantico for the next 30 years. Then deport.


Am Con asks Is Europe Doomed? "Shocking scenes out of France show a continent in crisis." At Jihad Watch, Muslims Desecrate Statues of Joan of Arc With Hijab and ‘Palestinian’ Flag, but they didn't behead her, at least. VodkaPundit at Insty, LE CHANGEMENT: "Testimony from a friend of mine, a shopkeeper in Paris. “My shop was looted on October 17. A motorcycle shop, right in the heart of Paris. Twenty-one years I’ve poured everything into it. I pay my taxes, I’m a family man,” and last night he called all his friends, including me. Tomorrow we’ll be about twenty of us inside the shop, doors locked. If it comes down to a confrontation, we’ll face it. I won’t let myself get looted a second time. Enough with the complaints that lead nowhere, enough waiting for someone else to protect what I’ve built. “Tomorrow, it won’t be the police watching over my store anymore. It’ll be us.” When the State abandons protecting the property of hardworking citizens, all that’s left is this: friends who organize and refuse to take it lying down. Call it a militia if that suits you. To us, it’s just not getting looted again." Lionel Schriver at Da Spec asks Can we be surprised that France has descended into nihilism? Dave Strom, Tell Me This Isn't Totalitarian... "In Germany, the police will start a manhunt for a person who calls a politician "fat." Friedrich Merz, the German Chancellor, has filed somewhere between "hundreds" and thousands of complaints, with attached criminal penalties possible, over people insulting him online."

PJM's Dave Manney hears Ohio State’s Medical School Had a ‘Side Door,’ DOJ Says. Nobody wants to hear their heart surgeon (or retina doc) came through the side door.

Rule 5 Saturday - Jessica Vaugn

This is the week for Jessica Vaugn, December 18, 1986, Los Angeles, CA
Instagram star from the United States who is known for her modeling content. Her Instagram page has over 160,000 followers. 

She made her name in the modeling industry as a Playboy Playmate (NSFW)


She is an advocate of cryptocurrency and promotes the use of bitcoin.

She shouts out MMA fighter Jorge Masvidal on her Instagram story.


Friday, October 23, 2026

Maryland, My Maryland

Scott McLallen at TownHall, Maryland Woman Indicted in Alleged $7.5M Pandemic Loan Fraud Scheme

A Maryland woman faces indictment for submitting fraudulent applications for millions of dollars in federal loans. Kara DiPietro, 49, of Towson, faces bank fraud charges for allegedly filing fraudulent applications to obtain Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans in the names of multiple businesses.

The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act — a federal law enacted in March 2020 — provided emergency financial assistance to Americans suffering from the economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. It authorized up to $659 billion in forgivable loans to small businesses for employee retention and certain business expenses through the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), which was administered by the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA). The business needed to use PPP loan proceeds on payroll costs, mortgage interest, rent, and utilities.

According to the six-count indictment, between April 2020 and May 2021, DiPietro, who served as president and CEO of multiple Maryland companies — including H.M.C., Inc., Holdings Management Company Inc., and Kinetic Capital LLC — submitted more than 20 fraudulent PPP applications in the name of HMC, Holdings, Kinetic, and similarly named and/or spelled entities. These applications listed false and fraudulent Employer Identification Numbers (EINs) not assigned by the IRS to the entities listed on the applications. The applications also failed to disclose prior PPP loan applications associated with DiPietro; the applying entity; and/or other entities owned, controlled, created, and/or used by DiPietro as required under PPP rules. DiPietro further caused the submission of PPP applications that falsely certified that the applicant business did not already receive a First Draw PPP loan and other PPP applications that falsely certified that the applicant business did not already receive a Second Draw PPP loan.

The indictment alleges that, during 2020 and 2021, DiPietro caused the submission of PPP loan applications seeking more than $7.5 million. Eight of these applications were funded. Bank accounts under DiPietro’s control subsequently received more than $2.5 million in PPP funds. DiPietro then caused the transfer of PPP loan proceeds that were used for expenses that are not permissible under the PPP, including renovations to DiPietro’s personal residence.
...
Kelly O. Hayes, U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland, announced the indictment with Special Agent in Charge Jimmy Paul, FBI Baltimore Field Office, and Inspector General William W. Kirk, U.S. Small Business Administration – Office of Inspector General (SBA-OIG). This prosecution is part of the Trump administration’s Task Force to Eliminate Fraud.

If convicted, DiPietro faces a maximum sentence of 30 years in federal prison for each of the six counts of bank fraud.
We'll never be completely over Covid.


Flotsam and Jetsam - Are Democrats Planning A 'Color Revolution' for the US?

Serious people are starting to seriously worry that Democrats, with the aid of disgruntled ex-military officers, ex-spies, and ex-USAID officials (but I redund) are planning to stage a bloodless coup or "color revolution" in the United States if they don't get all they hope out of the midterms, and maybe even then. Cynical Publius @CynicalPublius, "The Color Revolution in Our Midst." If you are not already aware of the treasure trove* of seditionist materials that @DataRepublican has uncovered, please stop now and review them, or at least listen to this audio describing the seditionist plot in the seditionists’ own words. Please come back to this article after you listen." Cynical Publius @CynicalPublius, "America currently has a cabal of ~1,600 former military officers/NCOs and ex-State/USAID/CIA employees who are members of the National Security Leaders for America, an organization currently involved in an active plot to overthrow our Constitutional order via an American Color Revolution. Meanwhile, "National Security Reporter" Dan Lamothe and his employer, the Goebbelsesque Washington Post, are entirely focused on the fact that the friends who are helping you move let your convertible sofa pop open in the stairwell. Their willful blindness feels intentional, doesn't it? I mean, after all every good Color Revolution requires a co-opted media, right?" Quote Dan Lamothe @DanLamothe, "EXCLUSIVE: Pete Hegseth wanted Gen. Dwight Eisenhower’s globe for his office. His staff broke it. We have photos." Eric S. Raymond @esrtweet, "It's all fun and games until they screw with the Second Amendment. Here's an underappreciated fact about the philosophical and legal theory behind the Constitution: the 10 Articles of the Bill of Rights are special. They do not grant rights that can be revoked, even by later amendments. Rather, they are considered to describe "natural" rights which are prior to the Constitution itself, and which no government may revoke without forfeiting its legitimacy. (Supporting rant about the Federalist papers, English classical liberalism, Blackstone, and the revolution of 1688 is here omitted.) Why does this matter in 2026? Because there's a rumor abroad that a shadowy constellation of left-wing groups has a plan to engineer a color Revolution after the 2026 midterms." Kurt Schlichter at TownHall sees Dem Hack Drops the Mask and Lets Her Fascism Freak Flag Fly. Could you be more specific? Which Dem hack? The Raw Egg Nationalist at Am Great says Bank on It: Elissa Slotkin Was Speaking for the Entire Democrat Party, "The unfinished work of ensuring there will never be another Donald Trump will be a total effort." Kyle Becker at RedState hears Hillary Clinton Issues Chilling Statement About Dems' Intentions After the Next Election. "I think instead, we should seriously look at expanding the court while the Democrats are in power," Clinton said. "You know, it used to be that you'd have one justice for each circuit. We now have 13 circuits. We should have 13 justices. So I would be in, you know, favor of looking at that and see if we could, you know, make it work." She probably really thinks the cabal will appoint her; after all, it was her turn first! 

At Althouse the question is "Did Elon Musk decide by personal fiat to cut off Ukraine's access to vital communications?" "Memeorandum organizes the links about Starlink:" I see the Democrat plan to "nationalize" and therefore destroy Starlink, X, Space X and Tesla is underway. We've seen NASA under government control fail to achieve much of anything for many years now. I don't pretend to know what the truth is in the Starlink vs. Ukraine story actually is, and I suspect it's much more complicated than it's being portrayed. PJM's Matt Margolis believes Elon Musk Will Have His Revenge on Democrats, and I Can’t Wait. Owen Lewis @is_OwenLewis, "I believe Elon Musk is planning on using the Retaliator strategy to deal with aggression from the Democrats. The Retaliator strategy is a behavior in evolutionary game theory that begins peacefully but fiercely defends itself if attacked. A Retaliator always starts an encounter acting like a cooperative 'Dove,' but if its opponent escalates the conflict, it immediately switches to an aggressive 'Hawk' tactic to fight back. If the opponent backs down and becomes peaceful again, the Retaliator matches that shift and reverts to a Dove. This conditional flexibility allows Retaliators to cooperate efficiently with peaceful neighbors while successfully punishing bullies and predators without being exploited. It combines a preference for peace with a credible willingness to retaliate, and in competitive terms outperforms both indiscriminate aggression and unconditional submission..." The Everyman Commentary notes Elon Hasn’t Given Up Yet. You Shouldn’t Either. "Tesla’s new flying Roadster may currently be an overpriced piece of novelty tech, but its spectacular demonstration proved something- Elon has not given up on life, America nor the future."

At Da Signal, the Great Victor Davis Hanson forsees Ukraine Is Becoming Another Verdun and Declassified Documents Show Ukrainian Diplomat Was Set to Testify About Hunter Biden Before US Revoked His Visa.

WSJ reports Iran’s Fleet of Shadow Tankers Has Run Out of Oil After Monthslong U.S. Blockade. No more oil to sell to China. Their oil may not be getting out, but as Capt. Ed at Hat Hair notes a Crisis Point: IRGC Officially Hits Zero As Hormuz Shipments Peak. More oil is being exported from the area than before the 'war.' So why are gas and diesel prices still high? Da Caller, EPA Extends Emergency Diesel Waiver For Texas As Fuel Supply Crisis Drags On. We have limited refining capacity, thanks to Democrats.

Althouse has the vapours, "That was great. Man. Wow. Man. I love that. I watched that. I saw that. That was incredible." The Mirror @DailyMirror, "Trump said “Man, I loved that,” after a man allegedly punched a protester during a midterm rally in South Carolina." We don't know what happened before the punch. Note that police and security took out the "protester" and not the puncher.

Eyal Yakoby @EYakoby, "BREAKING: A polling site has just admitted that they falsely inflated numbers for Abdul El-Sayed. These polls were then used by the New York Times and other polling aggregators." Ben Shapiro @benshapiro, "A pollster faked all his data and just got caught months later. So, here’s the lesson: people don’t know how to read polls, poll aggregators are garbage-in-garbage-out, and every major Senate race right now is a statistical dead heat. So go vote." What Ben said. At PJM, Scott Pinsker has a Midterm Shocker: The Polls Are Full of Crap — and Black Voters Just Might Save America. Rasmussen Reports @Rasmussen_Poll, ""Armando" here - with the BLOCKED replies - should know that ABC, CBS, ABC & Fox broadcasting networks have blacklisted our polls for well over a decade. On cable, which isn't FCC regulated, Fox News, CNN and MSNOW also blacklist our polls. @BrendanCarrFCC knows this already."

From AMAC, “Minnewisowa” Is Upset, "Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Iowa are once again poised to play a major role in the future political direction of the country." Capt. Ed interpretes ABC: Other Than the Letter and the Money, What Evidence Does Rogers Have on El-Sayed? Democrats For Mike Rogers @DemsForMike, "WOW: Asked about his message to undecided Jewish Democrats, Abdul looks at the report, rolls his eyes, and walks away. Absolutely shameful." At Hannity, 'A BIG DEAL': NYT Reporter Says Lifelong Democrats Are Crossing Over for Mike Rogers. A Larry vid at Hat Hair finds Three Democrats Face Political Turmoil As Midterm Elections Approach. From Da Signal, Socialism Isn’t Just Deadly—It’s Soul-Crushing. MD Kittle at Da Fed warns The Unholy Marriage Between Marxists And Islamists Is ‘The Most Dangerous Partnership’ In U.S. Politics. From the Free Bacon, EXCLUSIVE: Socialist Angie Nixon Has Received $70K in Unexplained Wages This Year From Obscure Company Run by Anti-ICE Activist, "Building Blocks Strategies, which appears to be housed at a shared workspace in Miami, has ties to the Nixon campaign, which does not pay her a salary". BBC News (World) @BBCWorld, "Bush clan members back Democrat James Talarico in Texas Senate race." At WSJ, That’s Not Funny, "Larry David shows the DSA can’t take a joke."

PJM's Stephen Kruiser notes Golly — Fraud Sure Is Easy to Find When It's Being Looked For. Hat Hair's Dave Strom says Close the Barn Door! The Horse Escaped! The Epoch Times @EpochTimes, "JUST IN: New York Gov. Kathy Hochul has directed the state Department of Health to consider ending the state’s Medicaid social adult day care benefit. The directive came on the same day that state and federal investigators carried out a crackdown on providers suspected of fraud, and on the same day that Hochul announced 16 arrests in a separate auto insurance fraud investigation. Hochul, a Democrat, stated at an Oct. 20 press conference that she had told the department to look at “all options to eliminate continued fraud, waste and abuse.” Those options include phasing out the benefit and moving participants to other services for older New Yorkers. The department’s recommendations are due by Dec. 31." Steve Ferguson @lsferguson, "Why isn't this the lead story on every news outlet, both broadcast and cable? The citizens need to know why they need to work two or three jobs to survive." Quote HHS Rapid Response @HHSResponse, "15 of 15 New York Social Adult Daycares audited yesterday showed no record of a single meal, activity, or hour of supervision — just attendance sheets. These daycares are receiving millions from our Medicaid system and providing NOTHING in return —this is FRAUD! x.com/HHSResponse/st…"

Capt. Ed calls it NEW: DOJ Indicts VA Dem Leader in Drug Trafficking RICO Case. "Louise 'Ten F****n One" Lucas? The Democrat president pro tempore of the Virginia state senate..." From Da Caller, ‘I’ve Gotten Too Old To Not Be Greedy’: Feds Hit Louise Lucas With Pot-Fueled Racketeering Charges. At Twitchy, What PANIC Looks Like: Abigail Spanberger's Statement on Louise Lucas Arrest Only Makes Things WORSE. Governor Abigail Spanberger @GovernorVA, "I have read the charging document alleging a series of criminal acts by a member of the Virginia Senate. In our American system of justice, people are presumed innocent until proven guilty, and that is true for Senator L. Louise Lucas. She and her family deserve the opportunity to present their defense and speak to the allegations presented. The timing of this indictment undermines the U.S. Department of Justice’s previously longstanding policy of not taking legal actions — to include indictments or significant investigative steps — close to an election and sadly, this timing further erodes the trust the American people deserve to have in the Department of Justice." Benjamin Domenech @bdomenech, "Any comment on this from CNN?" Quote Curtis Houck @CurtisHouck, "CNN’s Jake Tapper opens his show Wednesday by blasting the FBI raid on sites in Portsmouth, Virginia connected to state Senate Democrat leader Louise Lucas, insinuating there might not be evidence to prove she did anything wrong and therefore it’s probably just another Trump."

From Lawrence Person's BattleSwarm Blog, Forget LA to SF: California Democrats Can’t Even Build A 2.25 Mile Rail System, but a lot of people got paid along the way. John Sexton explains This Is Why LA Can't Have Nice Things. Homelessness jumped 8%. You get more of what you subsidize. Reason reasons France Is a Warning to California's Tax-the-Rich Crowd, "The French economist pushing California's billionaire tax should instead see his country as a cautionary tale."


Wall Street Apes @WallStreetApes, "WOAH Organized marriage fraud businesses are being discovered all over America Foreigners are paying $30,000-$100,000 each to have a fraud marriage arranged with a US Citizen to gain citizenship in America ..." At CIS, BIA: Asylum Seekers Who Go Home Abandon Their Applications, "More common sense on protection claims, but let’s see what the federal courts have to say," If it was bad enough you had to leave, why are you going back?

Will Chamberlain @willchamberlain, "Judge Henry Wingate just received the most vicious benchslap I've ever seen in an appellate opinion: "The district court—or perhaps, being charitable, its AI agent—ignored and manipulated governing law, apparently to satisfy a policy agenda." He was removed from the case."

Shanaka Anslem Perera @shanaka86, "JUST IN: A crime group used Claude, Grok and Kimi AI agents running in parallel to attack more than 400 banks and financial firms across Latin America, per security firm Straiker. They got past the guardrails by posing as an authorised red team. When models refused, it switched to pre-written attack code. The Ai agents appear to have stolen passwords and customer data and accessed bank accounts with minimal human input. Anthropic has cut off its access, and xAI is investigating." Robby Starbuck @robbystarbuck, "If the AI bot swarms are in the banks, they’re likely already nested into voting machines, or will be very soon and will then work within the network to change votes. It’s a matter of when, not if this will happen. Elections should immediately be moved to ONLY paper ballots. Our $ and elections are at risk," Quote Madison Mills @MadisonMills22, "SCOOP: Major U.S. banks are detecting unauthorized third-party AI agents inside customer accounts, including some attempting to take actions that appear to be independent of user instructions, sources told Axios. The findings have alarmed banking executives, ..." Spencer Pratt @spencerpratt, "Starting to make sense why they wanted government to clamp down on AI..." Quote Polymarket @Polymarket, "JUST IN: Anthropic recorded a staggering $80,000,000,000.00 net loss in the first half of 2026."

Navarro to Newsmax: Fox Is RINO, Not Trump Republican, I see a lot of Fox, and various commenters range from RINO to MAGA, with Jessica Tarlov thrown in for amusement.

Driscoll at Insty thinks THE LEFT OUTED ITSELF BY TRYING TO SMEAR THE LATE LINDSEY GRAHAM: "Jesse James Rose, a writer for The Advocate, argued that those he considers “hostile” to LGBTQ rights do not deserve privacy and defended exposing Graham. That’s a fun new standard by which to invade privacy. I don’t particularly like politicians who undermine my First and Second Amendment rights. Can I violate their privacy? Somehow, I’m guessing Rose would say that’s (D)ifferent. The other thing is this: Swamp Watch says this project was a year in the making; Graham died July 11. Who did it serve to out a dead man, save their own egos? Absolutely no one." First, the left was already out as despicable hacks. Second, most of us assumed Lynsey was gay. We just didn't give a shit. Jennifer Van Laar @jenvanlaar, "Meanwhile, we have a sitting US Senator from CA, Adam Schiff, whose buddy Ed Buck is in jail for drugging and murdering his young male prostitutes. Did Adam ever participate in sex parties at Ed Buck's house? Did he get drugs from Ed? Be useful, Harry." Quote Harry Sisson @harryjsisson, "I have been given exclusive information about a closeted Republican Senator who used male escorts and covered it up. I will be dropping a video about it this morning. Stay tuned. This is certainly an October surprise."

Dave Strom reports Macron Using Curfew and Helicopters to Fight the 'AI Insurrection'. Scott McKay at Am Spec sees Paris Is Burning, Wonders Is Washington Next? "The riots in France may be a preview of the Left’s plans for America." See the section on 'color revolution' at the top. Visegrád 24 @visegrad24, "BREAKING: The first rioters and looters have been sentenced in France. The judges practically refuse to hand out prison sentences: Toulouse – Ylan, 18 years old. Throwing a Molotov cocktail at police officer - Sentence: 12 months suspended + 140 hours of community service + deprivation of voting rights for 3 years. - Max. sentence: 10 years in prison..." Jonathan Turley notes French Police Identify Antifa as the “Ideologically Distinct Group” Behind the Riots Despite Democratic Denials, while Democrats continue to insist there's no such thing as Antifa. Mike Lee @BasedMikeLee, "Antifa, like noncitizen voting, “does not exist” Oddly, both keep … seeming to exist." Dave Strom looks at That Which Must Not Be Named...


Murray Hill Guy @MurrayHillGuy1, "Walking home today and a homeless guy is going absolutely nuts. He spits on some white girl walking by. She starting to freak out “did you just spit on me?” This chad was also in the commotion and said: “This is what you voted for.” I started cracking up. She gave Chad a dirtier look than the guy who literally spit on her. Everyone just walked away. NYC is a sitcom."