Flotsam and Jetsam - Pelosi Calls it Quits

Today's scraps from the wrack line are a bit dated. Given the long day on the water yesterday, and just general fatigue as a result, I was less that scrupulous in my article collection. I made a little attempt to get caught up, but I fear some of it may be a little stale. Just pop it in the microwave for 20 seconds or so to warm it up.

Nancy Pelosi announced her impending retirement from Congress, saying she will not run in 2026. At Hat Hair, in a video, Larry thinks Pelosi Retirement Breaks Democrats: Power Slips Through Jeffries' Fingers and Capt. Ed calls it Irony: Pelosi Checks Out While Trump Triumphs. Driscoll at Insty, NANCY PELOSI CONFIRMS RETIREMENT: Woman Who Made Millions in Congress Is Finally Leaving It. From Althouse, The gerontocracy crumbles, "Now that Election Day is over, it's time for that sort of thing. More, please," and "Nancy Pelosi, the old and broken political hack who Impeached me twice and lost, is finally calling it 'quits.'" ""She illegally made a fortune in the Stock Market, ripped off the American Public, and was a disaster for America. I’m glad to see the stench of Nancy Pelosi go!!!" Wrote Trump, about Pelosi, an hour ago, at Truth Social. I like how he didn't put anything sexist in there." TownHall's Matt Vespa, Trump's Response to Nancy Pelosi's Retirement Was Hilarious. Ace, Granny Rictus McBotoxImplants, Who Boomers Know as "Nancy Pelosi," Finally Retires.

Hat Hair's Duane Patterson looks at Mamdani Madness, 36 Hours Later. From the Free Bacon, 'Socialism Is Not a Dirty Word Anymore': Zohran Mamdani's Victory Emboldens the Far Left. Capt. Ed calls it Mamdanageddon: Party of New Dem-Endorsed Mayor Demands BDS, Arrest of Israelis. Twitchy, So It BEGINS: Check Out List of Anti-Israel DEMANDS Dem Socialists of America Just Handed Mamdani. Collin Rugg @CollinRugg, "Charlie Kirk described the rise of Zohran Mamdani as a "distress signal" from Gen Z. "Most people are missing the point of really what this is..." "This is yet another distress signal by young people to say, 'Hey, if you're not going to fix our life economically, we're going to get very radical politically . . .'" Jawwwn @jawwwn_, "Palantir CEO Alex Karp on Zohran Mandani: “The average Ivy League grad voting for this mayor is annoyed their education is not that valuable, and that the person who knows how to drill for oil has a more valuable profession” “I think that annoys the fuck out of these people.”" From Twitchy, Ron DeSantis Has the BEST Solution for Police Officers Who Want No Part of Mamdani's New York. Ron DeSantis @RonDeSantis, "The $5k recruitment bonus we give to new officers will be utilized by a number of these NYPD officers. There is no reason to risk your life serving when the mayor hates you and believes your department shouldn’t even exist." Quote Zeek Arkham @ZeekArkham, "Just about every NYPD cop I’ve spoken to has told me they’re putting their papers in to leave. They’re not about to stay in a city where the mayor, and the people who elected him, openly hates them. It’s cool, though… when you’re getting assaulted, robbed, or raped, a social worker or “violence interrupter” is going to show up and make everything alright. Elections have consequences and you’re about to get a major consequence."

At PJM, Mike Cantrell sees James Carville Gloat About Dem Election Victories, Says 'Convicted Pedophile' Could Beat GOP, Athena Thorne says Chill Out, Everyone — There Was a Nearly Identical Anti-Trump Reaction in 2017 and Stephen Kruiser thinks the Virginia Election Results Prove DOGE Has a LOT More Work to Do. Capt. Ed hears a Liberal Analyst Warns Dems: So What? Big Deal. From Shipwreckedcrew, The Chicken Littles Of Conservative Media Appear After Two Blue State Elections, "2025 Was Not 2021 And That Explains The Results." Mark Tapscott at Insty says WHY BE SURPRISED BY DEMS TDS TANTRUM? "The always brutally frank guys at Issues & Insights (I&I) contend nobody should be surprised that blue majorities in NYC, New Jersey and Virginia turned out en masse to protest Trump."

Matt Margolis thinks Obama’s Shocking Admission Changes Everything About the Democratic Party "He celebrated that "progressives rise up," noting this serves as a "valuable reminder that the American populace is indeed paying attention." The message was clear: the radical left is the future of the party, and key to the Democrats’ long-term strategy." From Da Signal, AOC Poised to Become Democrats’ Trump in ’28? John Sexton at Hat Hair outs Elizabeth Warren as a Brazen Liar, nothing we didn't already know. Wokal Distance @wokal_distance, "You guys put every single person to the right of Bernie Sanders in a single bucket labelled "Nazi," so you don't get to complain if we don't split hairs between Communism and Socialism." Quote Ellen Barkin @EllenBarkin, "For fuck’s sake, will you please learn the difference between socialism and communism. Look up or shut up." 

A stale bit from Dave Strom at Hat Hair, but it bear repeating, Illegal Alien(?) Elected Mayor of Saint Paul, and Mayor of Kansas Town Noncitizen Who Has Been Voting and WJ, Kansas Mayor Charged with Election Fraud a Day After Winning Reelection: 'He Is Not a United States Citizen.'

Sauron's Eye whines Government shutdown prompts FAA to float flight cancellations as Senate talks continue. WaEx's Byron York on Fighting the government-closing Democratic filibuster. From Althouse, Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson empowers Trump to continue withholding food money. "The NYT reports: "Supreme Court Temporarily Allows Trump to Curtail Food Stamp Funding/The temporary ruling by Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, blocking a lower court order to fully fund the aid, added to the uncertainty around the nation’s largest anti-hunger program." See? It's not all about empathy." Amy Curtis at TownHall, Supreme Court Issues Emergency Order Temporarily Blocking Full SNAP Payments.

Ace, Trump Strikes Deal With Big Pharma to Reduce *American* Prices for Weight Loss Drugs Ozempic and Mounjaro, "Well, with all of the angst about the economy and Trump spending too much focus on foreign policy, I guess this is helpful. Supposedly, the price would drop, eventually, to $245 per month for those paying cash. We'll see." From Da Signal, DC Crime-Fighting Task Force Boasts 60% Decrease in Murder After Trump Crackdown.

At TWZ, Moscow Just Gave Venezuela Air Defenses, Not Ruling Out Strike Missiles: Russian Official. WSJ opines on Trump’s New World Order "If you think he’s an isolationist, you’re wrong. He aims to reshape the globe."

Notoriously Trump-hating NRO conflicted when Supreme Court Reinstates Trump Admin Requirement That Passports Reflect Biological Sex. John Sexton, Supreme Court Says Trump Administration Can End Gender Self ID on Passports. Althouse finds "As for the Government’s suggestion that the President is harmed by not being able to impose a uniform definition of sex across various regulatory schemes..." ""... that assertion is just another species of the far-fetched contention that the President must be injured whenever he is prevented from doing as he wishes.... The Government also fails to explain why it needs a uniform definition of sex, much less why such a uniform definition needs to be imposed now such that it cannot await the outcome of this litigation...." Writes Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson — joined by Justices Kagan and Sotomayor — dissenting in Trump v. Orr, which granted a stay of a district court’s preliminary injunction against a new Executive Branch policy that required all new passports to show the individual's "biological sex" (AKA "sex assigned at birth")." Capt. Ed says Wow: 2nd Circuit Rebukes Lower Court For Denying Review of Bragg Case On Trump. Scott McClallen at TownHall, sees a Federal Judge Blocks Trump From Sending Troops to Portland. Shipwreckedcrew, Ninth Circuit Takes A Step Towards "En Banc" Review of National Guard Cases From California and Oregon "Setting aside a Court Rule, it stays Panel Opinion on a TRO issued by Portland Judge, and suggests en banc vote will be complete by Tuesday of next week."

From Twitchy, Blowing UP (in the DOJ's Face)?! --> Journo STUNS Glenn Beck by Sharing J6 Pipe-Bomb Suspect BOMBSHELL. TheBlaze @theblaze, "'She's one of us!' Steve Baker stuns Glenn Beck with bombshell revelation about J6 pipe-bomb suspect http://dlvr.it/TP5VWs" Savannah Insights @BasedSavannah, "Karlin Younger who “found the pipe bombs” is 5’7 and is “one of us” just saying. She might be her." Ace, The Blaze: We've Identified the J6 Pipe Bomber and It's a Government Worker at a Three-Letter Agency. If true, and it's a long way from settled, the question then becomes did she do it for her agency, or for herself.

Undead FOIA reports 30 Russiagate Subpoenas Issued "Reporting came out yesterday from JustTheNews and FoxNews that confirms a federal grand jury in the Southern District of Florida has issued up to 30 subpoenas to investigate Russiagate." The redoubtable Julie Kelly has hopes; Is John Brennan Next? "Given his public antics and reports of an accelerating investigation, John Brennan appears next on DOJ's hit list of former government officials who abused their power and lied about it to get Trump." From Ace, Jeffrey Epstein's Former Cellmate Alleges: James Comey's Daughter, Federal Prosecutor Maureen Comey, Said That I Could Walk Free If I Falsely Claimed That Epstein Implicated Trump in His Pedo Schemes, "Allegedly, per this admittedly-convicted criminal, James Comey's nasty, ugly daughter promised that he would skate if he could make any allegation against Trump. She further said, allegedly, that it did not matter if he could provide evidence that the allegation was true. All that mattered was that Trump would be unable to disprove it." From Am Con, The Federal Government Is Still Spying on You. "Senator Chuck Grassley’s disclosure of “Arctic Frost” documents shows that federal surveillance on American citizens is as bad as ever."

Tim O'Brien at PJM, He Put an Elderly Pro-Lifer in the Hospital and Got No Prison Time. Will Trump’s DOJ Intervene? "In that June bench trial, Judge Yvette Bryant decided to acquit Brice of the first-degree assault charges. She based her ruling on the premise that it was elderly Crosby who “provoked” Brice by trying to intervene and stop Brice from attacking 80-year-old Schaefer."

'Man Found Guilty of Beating Pro-Lifers Outside Baltimore Abortion Clinic' "Patrick Brice, 28, was convicted of two counts of second-degree assault and reckless endangerment for attacking Richard Schaefer and Mark Crosby, who were ages 84 and 73." https://t.co/DheseUEFHs

— WhatHappened.com (@JohnBla27209136) February 8, 2025

Sundance at CTH reports Federal Officials Bust Two Mississippi Sheriffs and 16 Law Enforcement Officers Running Drugs for Mexican Cartel "Apparently, what tipped off the feds was several arrested criminals complaining to state and federal law enforcement that local police were demanding bribes they could not afford. The Mexican drug cartels were paying up to $30,000 to the individual officers, sheriffs and police chiefs’ and the local criminals could not compete with that scale of bribery demand."

Mediaite, Katie Couric Admits She’s No Longer ‘Trying to Be Impartial’ About Trump. No longer? Spiked on Jennifer Welch and the rise of the unhinged podcast moms, "The success of this bullying, foul-mouthed ‘commentator’ speaks to a sickness on the contemporary American left." Ace, "We Must Stop Fighting, We Cannot Divide the Right*" * "Except for Tucker Carlson Who Is Allowed to Continue #Cancelling All Jewish Republicans He Doesn't Like." "David Strom has a good piece: How can the Tucker Apologists claim that we mustn't attack Tucker Carlson for his, erm, evolution, while his entire show consists of relentlessly attacking Republicans himself? Is it just some Republicans -- and anti-Republican, anti-MAGA Nazis -- who are afforded this Identitarian Privilege?" Ace expands into a twitter thread, The Reaping Phase @AceofSpadesHQ, "A thread: "Cancellation" versus "Just normal politics" A few years back, when people started really getting animated about cancelling cancel culture, people began suggesting that pumping out dirt about a political opponent during a campaign might be like "cancellation."" Hollywood in Toto sees Colbert Just Nuked Left’s Late-Night Trump Theory. "Far-left host stuns by telling truth about 'The Late Show's' fate." "He knows President Trump didn’t force CBS to abandon late night. The numbers did. Late-night TV revenue has collapsed. The format is likely not sustainable moving forward. It’s a relic of another era, like variety shows and “Must-See TV.”"

From Campus Reform, University of South Carolina removes gender and pronoun menus from application after contact by US representative. "The University of South Carolina was recently exposed for including gender and pronoun menus on its admissions application despite a Trump executive order. The school removed the menus after being contacted by US Rep. Nancy Mace, but blamed the inclusion on a third-party contractor."

BREAKING: New Hampshire’s first transgender elected Rep. Stacie Laughton, pleaded guilty to child exploitation charges.

He reportly asked his partner who worked in a daycare to send him nude photos of kids.

Eric Swalwell campaigned with him. pic.twitter.com/5EQFxuNMTQ

— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) November 7, 2025

Lots of links left at the Wombat's In The Mailbox: 11.06.25, In The Mailbox: 10.06.25 (Evening Edition), and In The Mailbox: 11.07.25, but it's time to finish. Linked at Pirate's Cove in the weekly Sorta Blogless Sunday Pinup and links. The Wombat has FMJRA 2.0: In Like A Lion up and garnering clicks at The Other McCain.

Flotsam and Jetsam - About Tuesday's Elections . . .

At ET, Democrats Win Key Races: 5 Takeaways From Election Day 2025 Stephen Kruiser at PJM wonders Brutal Night for Republicans... Or Was It? Ian Bruene @J_Von_Random, "Today in SHOCKING NEWS! Democrat Machine Cities infamous for electing (or "electing") socialists have elected socialists in an off-year that isn't even mid-terms where most states aren't even voting. OMG THIS HAS NEVER HAPPENED BEFORE IN HISTORY. The ONLY POSSIBLE cause is that people were offended by twitter arguments over the last few weeks. Some of you demonstrate such a lack of memory beyond the last five minutes and general cognitive absence that a court could, probably should, find you mentally incompetent to be a full citizen. Please endeavor in future to reach at least the mental capacity of your average blue haired SJW. You do this every off year election, it's gotten really fucking old." Good point. Dave Strom at Hat Hair VIP on What Does It All Mean? Todd of Mischief at (Dis)Missive, has Thoughts on Election Day 2025, "Democrats won their races, but not a referendum." Beege Welborn at Hat Hair, Mamdageddon and Other Thoughts on Last Night's Unpleasantness and says If Republicans Want to Cut Socialists Off at the Knees, Homes Need to Be Affordable Again. A Larry video at Hat Hair showcases JD Vance's Emergency Election Warning: How to Beat Democrats, turnout. From Fox, Trump cites 2 reasons for GOP losses as Mamdani, Sherrill and Spanberger soar to victory. VodkaPundit at Insty sees MORE PLAIN TALK FROM DATA REPUBLICAN: DataRepublican (small r) @DataRepublican, "It’s a *structural* problem. The machine which spends billion of dollars to employ tens of thousands of “civic engagement coordinators” can dominate low turnout elections. Nothing more, nothing less. The GOP has to accept this instead of taking any silly lessons away like “we lost because we didn’t compromise enough”" Quote Mr. Jefferson, HSD, AA, BA @Jeffers95742731 Replying to @DataRepublican "Ugh... Does this mean any thing for 2026 though? Or are these just barren Democrat wastelands?" DataRepublican (small r)@DataRepublican, "6,000+ jobs on Indeed for "grassroots." Are you getting it yet?" At WokeSpy claims Republicans Positioned to Keep House Majority in 2026, Targets Democrats as ‘Socialists’ in New Ad. Don't get cocky. The Bugscuffle Gazette says The Democratic Party knows what it wants "And deserves to get it good and hard." Insty, AMERICA, 2025: Leon Joseph @ofcrdeonjoseph, "The president who is supposed to hate Black people wants to save Black Christians being slaughtered in Africa."

Dave Strom at Hat Hair, Mamdani Victory Party Was Lit. PJM's Matt Margolis thinks Mamdani’s Victory Speech Was the Most Disturbing Since Biden’s 'Red Speech' at Independence Hall. Amy Curtis at TownHall, finds The Mamdani Line People Are Calling 'One of the Most Horrifying Quotes' Spoken by a Politician. Jason Howerton @jason_howerton, ""We will prove that there is no problem too large for government to solve and no concern too small for it to care about." Genuinely one of the most horrifying quotes I've ever heard from a politician." Twitchy, Zohran Mamdani Just Delivered One of the Most Horrifying Quotes Ever From a Politician. Jimmy Failla @jimmyfailla, "Mamdani had a CASH BAR at his victory party. If you can’t get a free vodka from this guy something tells me the free food and buses ain’t coming. Congrats, suckers." Silverloch notices Alex Soros Posts Photo With Mamdani After His Victory. Capt. Ed at Hat Hair says it's the Image of the Day: All Hail the Great Proletarian Triumph Over the Oligarchy, Comrades! VodkaPundit at Insty, WHY ARE WOMEN SO MUCH MORE COMFORTABLE WITH SOMEONE WHO WISHES VIOLENT DEATH UPON CHILDREN? Twitchy again, Young Women Go Full Orwell: Majority Vote for the Commie in NYC, Because Feelings Over Freedom Every Time. At Da Caller, Mamdani’s Socialist Org Makes Progress Flooding Local Offices With Radicals Across US Pop Times, Elon Musk Warns New Yorkers About the ‘Charismatic Swindler’ That is Zohran Mamdani. From NYPo, Muslim group with ‘deep’ terrorist ties huge backer of Mamdani campaign: documents. Ted Cruz @tedcruz, "This is what happens when communists win." Quote Drew Pavlou @DrewPavlou, "Hasan Piker just went full mask off at the Zohran election victory party, declares it a tragedy that the USA defeated the Soviet Union in the Cold War." AOC embraced him on camera just two minutes before he said this" Althouse finds Mr. Mamdani later told an ally that he had confided in his fiancée, Rama Duwaji, that he didn’t really think he could win." "The goal was to build a template for the kind of muscular leftist campaign that might one day crack the Democratic establishment’s hold. How that long-shot candidacy caught fire has been amply dissected by political observers here and in Washington. . . ." At Hat Hair, Chloe discourses on Mamdani, Socialism, Super PACs, and Political Violence. What Last Night’s Elections Really Mean (video). At Hat Hair, John Sexton cites Ross Douthat: Mamdani Is at the Top of the Cyclone But It's All Downhill From Here.

Dave Strom, Democrats: I Hope You Are Proud That You Elected Jay Jones. So, should we call him "2 bullets Jones, or just 2 tap? Matt Margolis, Virginia Elects Democrat Who Fantasized About Shooting Children. Mollie @MZHemingway, "As bad as Jay Jones is, knowing that my neighbors genuinely support him as AG while wishing death on Republicans and their children is far worse." Western Lensman @WesternLensman, "Democrats realizing that they can run psycho candidates who want to kill Republicans and their voters won't bat an eye." From Ace, By Electing Child-Murder Fantasist and Cop-Murder Enthusiast Jay Jones, Democrats Have Chosen Violence, "At some point, they will succeed in convincing us that the path to political victory runs through rivers of blood, and won't that be fun." And Another Thing, All Democrats had to do was act normal. "They couldn't manage even that."

Dustin Grage @GrageDustin, "BREAKING: Jacob Frey has officially defeated Omar Fateh in the race for Mayor of Minneapolis. Minnesota of all places last night rejected socialism. There is still hope for the future."

Jeff Charles at TownHall, Chuck Schumer Just Pulled Off an Unprecedented Feat. Longest government shutdown in history. Dave Strom believes With the Elections Over, the Shutdown Will be Over Soon Too but John Sexton hears After Electoral Wins, Left-Wing Senators Want to Keep the Government Shutdown Going. Athena Thorne at PJM, says Touché, Lefties "Now that you got your election winnings, will you allow vulnerable Americans to eat again?" Adam Pack at Da Caller hears a Democrat Claims Some Federal Workers Want To Suffer Through Shutdown To Get At Trump, Van Hollen, likely true. From I&I, Here’s An Idea: Use The Shutdown To Privatize Air Traffic Control. Um, Maybe make the airlines pay to cost of the ATC system, but keep the money in a separate fund to avoid shutdowns. Ashley McCully at PJM sees a Local NC Farm Steps Up Amid Schumer Shutdown. Sundance at CTH hosts President Trump Delivers Remarks to Republican Senators During Breakfast at White House. From the Pop Times, Scott Jennings Embarrasses David Hogg, Flips the Script on His Shutdown Blame Game.

Capt. Ed hears Great News from ADP: Private Sector Hiring Increased By ... 42,000? But before we get too excited, have they fixed the manifest problems with the jobs numbers? Project Syndicate, Is Bessent Right About the Fed? From Fox, Trump gets apology from Canadian PM after anti-tariff Reagan ad backfires "The advertisement used Reagan's words to criticize Trump’s tariff policies toward Canada."

Driscoll at Insty cites ROGER KIMBALL: Time for a reckoning on the 2020 election. 

Pop Times reports a Fugitive Democrat Official Flees to Mexico After Elderly Fraud Charges. 

Ace, One of Biden's Inner Circle Had Four Million Reasons To Cover Up Biden's Galloping Dementia: A $4 Million Bonus if Biden Were Re-Elected "Mike Donnilon was one of the five people gatekeeping access to Biden, and hiding Biden in the basement, and running the government as Sundown enjoyed his 19 hours a day of "naps." He had reasons beyond mere partisanship to hide Biden from the world (and hide the world from Biden). His contract would award him $4 million if he successfully covered up Biden's dementia and defrauded the country into "re"-electing Biden."

Althouse thinks you should Listen to the live Supreme Court argument in the tariffs case, "Here, now." Sundance, Full Audio: Supreme Court Hears Oral Arguments Surrounding Presidential Tariff Authority. The Peacock infers Supreme Court justices appear skeptical that Trump tariffs are legal. They might be right, but I don't trust the Peacock's inferences. Shawn Fleetwood at Da Fed believes Justice Jackson Is The Supreme Court’s Mean Girl. Shipwreckedcrew is the Lawsplainer: Ninth Circuit Judge Makes The Case That Calling Up The National Guard Is A Decision Left To The President -- No Role For Judges. "Appeals Court blocks the District Court's Order about Portland with unsparing language in a powerful counterpoint to the squishy approach of the Seventh Circuit to the same issues in Chicago." Mike Davies at Da Fed says John Roberts And Congress Need To Immediately Stop Gross Ethical Violations By Federal Judges. I think so too, but how? I don't see a process.

At Hat Hair, Beege Welborn reports the FBI Announces Arrest of Harvard Bombers and John Sexton hears Rep. Jared Golden Won't Run for Reelection, Citing Concern About Political Violence. From Politico, America is bracing for political violence — and a significant portion think it’s sometimes OK. "A majority of Americans think it’s likely a political candidate will be assassinated in the next five years." At JTN, GOP senators introduce legislation to codify Antifa terror designation "More than a month after President Donald Trump designated Antifa a domestic terror organization, a group of senators is proposing legislation to codify the president’s executive order." It won't pass the filibuster, Antifa are the Democrat's black shirts. 

Atop Da Hill, Federal memo says cartels offering $10K for shooting at Border Patrol agents. Sister Toldja at RedState calls it a 'Game Changer': DHS Puts Masked Portland Wacktivists on Notice With Latest Announcement. The White House documents Criminal Aliens Receiving Medicaid.

Elon Musk @elonmusk, "Western Civilization is doomed, unless the core weakness of suicidal empathy is recognized and actions are taken that are hard, but necessary for survival." Quote Gad Saad @GadSaad, :A civilization is built on a set of internalized values. Numerous civilizations have developed radically different visions of how to organize societies, and these have competed in process akin to Darwinian selection in establishing which civilizational ethos permits for maximal flourishing. American exceptionalism is one such system and it has yielded the greatest society that the world has ever known. Suicidal empathy is going to destroy it because Western tolerance is its fatal Achilles tendon. Remember my words."

From the College Fix, Math teacher says he was called ‘ideologically violent’ for supporting standardized testing. John Sexton reports a Legal Challenge Overturns Scholarship Limited to Black Students in California.

Insty, QUESTION ASKED: Why do white men’s feelings matter more than black lesbians? "So there you have it: the feelings of white men matter more than the rights of black lesbians. That’s the takeaway from the mad fracas at a Gold’s Gym in Los Angeles this week, where a female gym-goer by the name of Tish Hyman says her membership was unceremoniously revoked. Her offence? She dared to complain about the presence of a person with a penis – what we used to call a bloke – in the women’s changing room. Women’s rights have been broken on the wheel of the trans ideology."

Still more links at the Wombat's In The Mailbox: 11.05.25 (Afternoon Edition). The Wombat has FMJRA 2.0: The Beatings Will Continue garnering clicks at The Other McCain.