Flotsam and Jetsam - Has the Iranian Revolution Begun?

Nioh Berg@NiohBerg, "Iran Update: There is an absolute IRGC bloodbath happening in the Iranian region of Sistan & Balochestan. Assassinations everywhere and almost daily. I haven't spoken much about this particular battlefield. As an Iranian nationalist I will never approve of separatism, nor will I blindly praise the JMM militant group. I don't know this group, and as of writing this I don't trust them either. They claim to fight for all of Iran after merging several militant groups together, but at least one faction among them are historically Baloch separatists. They are also very conservative sunni muslims ... Regardless of what I think of JMM, their targets have Iranian blood on their hands and undoubtedly deserve it..." Revolutions are rarely started by the right people. PJM's Aaron Hanscom suspects Is Iran Planning an Attack to Bring Down Netanyahu? Almost certainly. The real question is how realistic is their plan. From Ace, Iran Sentences Woman to Death For Insulting Their "Prophet;" Activists Attack Pete Hegseth For Making War on This Enlightened Regime, "The mullahs will hang a woman for insulting the leaders of Iran, which they then trumped up to insulting the "prophet."" From RCW, Armenia and Azerbaijan Achieved Peace Despite the Conflict Resolution Industry.

Sundance at CTH reports Zelenskyy Urgently Sits Down for Interviews as Trump Begins Highlighting “The Zelenskyy Problem”…

VodkaPundit at PJM calls it Mustn’t-See TV: Trump Cancels Livestream of Fort Hood Killer Execution. Althouse approves "Trump cancels Hegseth’s plan to live-stream Fort Hood shooter’s execution/The decision is a rebuke of the defense secretary, who has remained in the president’s good graces through numerous controversies." "The headline at WaPo. Good!" Make it pay-per view with the money going to his victims. I'd stream it, and not watch.

The Gray Wave at the Wash Stand, Turnout Surge among GOP Seniors Could Be Midterm’s Biggest Surprise. PJM's KurtSchlichter hopes/wonders Did the Democrats Peak Too Soon? Sundance has True The Vote's 2026 Action Plan: “7 Votes” to Make a Difference. ThePersistence @ScottPresler, "Pennsylvania Ballots Returned, (Democrat) 243,560, (Republican) 74,709. As of right now, Republicans are going into Election Day with a deficit of -168,851 votes in PA. I strongly encourage you to visit your county elections office TODAY to vote “On-Demand.” Most offices are open until 4 p.m." Vote early and often, like the Democrats.

From Reason, The Federal Government Collected $5.4 Trillion. It Still Can't Pay Its Bills. "Entitlement spending, defense spending, and interest payments on the debt continue to climb." Carlo Carrasco, $1.5 Billion Obamacare Waste Targeted by Trump Administration. It's only a start. There's an enormous amount of outright fraud, and a much larger target of legal, but wasteful spending. Dave Strom at Hat Hair, Feds Crack Down on Fraud, Get Governor Healey Former Aide in Dragnet. At Hat Hair, VodkaPundit to Tim Walz, So Long, and Thanks for All the Learing Centers. Ace, Trump Fines Bank of America $1.2 Billion Over Money Laundering for China. "Bank of America is one of the worst offenders for closing bank accounts for conservative and religious groups, claiming that working for such groups causes them too much "reputational risk." They debanked people to curry favor with the Biden gangsters. But working with China to launder money and evade sanctions? No reputation risk worth talking about." From NYPo, Deep blue Minnesota is fed up with fraud — and may derail Dems’ midterm dreams. At the Wash Stand, Republicans Dominate 5 Financially Healthiest State Governments, Democrats Run the 5 Worst. PJM's Stephen Kruiser says Let's Hope Enough Americans Are Sufficiently Afraid of Communism.

PJM's Matt Margolis, If This Is True About Susie Wiles, It's Not Good News. Trump shopping for a new Chief of Staff? Will Steakin @wsteaks, "NEW in @Playbook: Trump is asking close allies about CoS Susie Wiles, and floating possible future successors, per sources Knives are out for Wiles—with rivals privately putting recent headlines surrounding her daughter’s foreign lobbying in front of POTUS urging he make changes, per sources One senior elected GOP official who received a call from Trump said the president had raised “the first honest questions about Susie” Wiles has survived past efforts, and so far has yet to discuss how long she’ll remain chief of staff with the president, per source familiar Trump in statement to Playbook forcefully stood by his longest serving CoS."

From Ace, Anthony Fauci Blamed Trump for the Spread of the Completely-True Lab Leak Theory Fact, "Trump rarely gets credit from the establishment, but here, his evil malignant dwarf nemesis gives him full credit for getting the truth out."

The Free Bacon is all over Abdulramen El-Sayed with Meet Abdul El-Sayed's Academic 'Inspiration': A Muslim Brotherhood Scion Barred From Entering US Over Terror Ties, "Tariq Ramadan, known for his diatribes against 'Jewish intellectuals,' was recently sentenced to 18 years in prison in France for raping three women," Uncovered Video: El-Sayed Was Radical ‘Queer’ Sister’s Guardian and Dowry Manager in Her Sharia Marriage–Years After She Said Family Had ‘Long Been Muslim Brotherhood’ and El-Sayed Ad Features 'Lifelong Republican' Who Endorsed Kerry and Obama, Writes 'White Man's Burden' Substack, "Richard Perlberg, who says he voted 'nine times' for Republican Mike Rogers, has called for 'embracing progressive values' and endorsed Medicare for All." Hat Hair's Beege Welborn hears El-Sayed Wants to Do a 'Little' Constitutional Twerking...Um...Tweaking. Jonathan Turley @JonathanTurley, "A video shows Abdul El-Sayed suggesting a little "tweak" to the Constitution. That "tweak" would be the elimination of the Second Amendment and the right to bear arms. https://foxnews.com/opinion/el-sayed-words-reveal-radical-plan-dismantle-second-amendment The 40% of Michiganders who own guns might find this a bit more than just being tweaky." John Sexton noticed Mamdani's Grin Was Gone, as his supporters called him a traitor and sell-out. Lawrence Person's BattleSwarm Blog asks Did Biden Subsidize Importing Jihadis? Yes, of course. Diversity über alles!

Hat Hair's Capt. Ed has a thing for Talarico, Talarico: You'd Better Believe I Want Amnesty and Open Borders, More Talarico: Gaslighting Texas About the SAVE America Act and Voter ID and Even More Moloch, er, Talarico: 'The Bible Is Silent on the Issue of Abortion'. From Campus Reform, Resurfaced video shows Talarico telling educators 'white supremacy' has 'colonized our own minds.' At Twitchy, Brandon Gill RUTHLESSLY Compares James Talarico to Ken Paxton As Only HE Can and HOT DAAAMN (Watch). Nick Arama at RedState, Steven Crowder Has a Message for CNN and Talarico After Their Town Hall: 'Lawyer Up', for using "Change My Mind."

'Becca Downs at Da Signal hears Sherrod Brown Taking Heat for Comments on ‘Trump Judges’. Steve Cortes @SteveCortes, "Democrat lapdog Sherrod Brown tells MSDNC he'll only support radical left-wing activist judges: "We're not obviously confirming Trump judges." Jonathan Turley @JonathanTurley, "Ohio Democratic Senate nominee Sherrod Brown just pledged that he will not vote to confirm any Trump judicial nominees regardless of their qualifications. So not only would the Democrats pack the Court, but they will block any new judges to purge the courts through attrition." Beege Welborn takes a crack at Angie Nixon: RNC Research @RNCResearch, "Florida Democrat Angie Nixon claims that rolling back racist DEI policies kills people. “This 'stop woke' agenda...that's nothing more than a racist dogwhistle...Florida is where woke or black people go to die."" Betsie Stauffer at LI sees a Florida Democratic Senate Candidate Wants Opponent ‘Locked Up and Punished in Jail’
“You know, she — yeah, basically yes, because of what she did, yes. I absolutely would want that to happen, yes. … I have been perfectly clear.” At least she's honest about it.

Beege Welborn again, says Stop Me If You've Heard This One Before: Wind's Gonna Blow, the Grass Is Dry, the Reservoir Is Empty, and hills are going to burn in California. The only question is how bad will it be.

Capt. Ed cites the WSJ: The Real Goal of Operation World War Eleven Is ... Denaturalize and deport Ilhan Omar. From Ace dances with joy, YES: Trump's DHS Is Preparing a Case for Deporting the Foreign Agent of Influence Ilhan "Omar" "I'm so happy." PJM's Eric Florack notes Democrats Discover the Fourth Amendment, Just in Time for Ilhan Omar. "Unprecedented? Let that one marinate. I mean, they keep using that word; I don’t think it means what they think it means. We both know why." Northern Barbarian @xnoesbueno, "Agreed. It is a constitutional crisis that we have someone who is not eligible for citizenship voting in Congress, funneling tens of millions in taxpayer funds to her corrupt relatives and friends and on to Somalia. That on top of untold numbers of illegal aliens, dead people, non-existent people voting. Corrupt feds who spied on Congress and amassed a political hit list of more than 100,000 everyday Americans based on their purchases. A corrupt finance sector that debanked them. More than $50 billion a year in taxpayer funds being laundered through NGOs for political ends. Entirely agreed. ....Glad to see it is finally being addressed. This constitutional crisis." Quote Jonathan 'Boo and Vote' Cohn @JonathanCohn, "How is this not constitutional crisis territory?"

Dave Strom on Jack Smith calls The Silence of the Media Deafening.

Eddie Scarry at Da Fed thinks The ‘Cornell 7’ Fallout Is Infantilized Women And Villainized Men. Althouse resorts to the NYT, "The university decided to halt parties at fraternity houses, he said, because Cornell doesn’t 'have the full ability to be confident that what goes on in those houses is safe...." "The pause, he added, was also a chance to 'take a step and carefully study' the issue of banning fraternities altogether, a step some have called for. Addressing a speaker who supported such a ban, Dr. Kotlikoff said he had just spoken with alumni who said that 'their sorority and fraternity experience was a very important part of their life at Cornell.' 'If at the end of the day, the fraternities cannot exist in a safe environment, and we can’t be convinced that they can be safe, then we should make that decision,' he said." From "Cornell’s President Grilled by Faculty Senate Over Handling of Crisis/Ahead of a vote on a resolution of no confidence in Michael I. Kotlikoff, some faculty members said they were not swayed by steps he announced on Tuesday, including banning fraternity parties" (NYT)." Angela Morabito @AngelaLMorabito, "If you are a Cornell athletics recruiter, how much do you hate your life right now? "We might not have the football, the weather, or the women they have down South, but check out our shrieking bisexuals! They already hate you. Also, we banned frat parties."" Quote, "Oliya Scootercaster @ScooterCasterNY, "BREAKING: Cornell University protesters SCREAM en mass as they protest for Jane Doe. Cornell has banned all frat parties as investigation into alleged sexual assault continues."

From Ace, Nancy Mace Was Right? Police Arrest Her Ex-Fiance and Three Other Men for Sexually Abusing an Unconscious Woman, "She originally Soft Opened these charges with surveillance camera video from a gym. I thought she was complaining that the surveillance camera photographed her wearing her gym clothes. I don't know why she didn't lead with the real story, the sexual assault on an unconscious woman." Crémieux @cremieuxrecueil, "It's hard not to notice that every hateful statement becomes OK if you say it's about Whites." Quote Jamie Bonkiewicz @JamieBonkiewicz, "I’m so fucking sick and tired of the entire planet being destroyed by old white, insecure, abusive men."

Porter @ParkSlopeFlngsm, "Women are dishonest about this stuff because they’re programmed to be. Their greatest weapon is their sexuality, but they also face social backlash for being too overtly transactional with sex, so women embrace ambiguity where they’re able to use sex to their advantage while maintaining plausible deniability Some examples: -Wearing sexy is outfits isn’t for the male gaze or to flex on other women for status, it’s just to feel good about themselves apart from any social factors -Dancing provocatively is not a sexual display, it’s just recreational fun -Marrying a rich guy isn’t about the money, he’s a good guy who provides security for their family -Wearing makeup and high heels to work isn’t to impress men and sway them, it’s just to feel confident ..."Quote Lisa Elizabeth @Lisaelizabeth, "I just don’t get why women are so dishonest. Like — just admit that you dress like that because you want people, especially men, to think that you’re hot. And by hot I mean sexually attractive. That’s why the shorts are short and tight and scrunch up around your butt to make your... "

Mary Chastain from LI reports Trump Admin has Arrested 1,296 Tren de Aragua Gang Members, "The admin has charged almost 350 members and associates with federal crimes." Irons in the Fire notices We're not the only ones seeing the threat, "Mr. Huffman's quote of the day: Americans — a confession from Japan you were never meant to hear. We are terrified of fascism. Not the version in your textbooks. The version that lives inside us.In 1941, no dictator dragged the Japanese people into the dark. We dragged each other. Neighbor watched neighbor. Mothers reported their own sons. One doubtful word at the fish market and the police came in the night. The village went silent. That silence lasted four years and killed millions. That is how a free nation dies. Not with jackboots. With whispers. And right now — the same silence is being built again in Japan. Not by the right. By the Left. They throw our gates open. Strangers pour in by the millions — Muslims, Africans, people who will never bow to our dead. And when a Japanese grandmother dares to say, “wait — slow down — let us think,” she is dragged into the public square and branded a fascist. A racist. A monster. Hear me clearly: in our country, “racist” is no longer a moral word. It is a muzzle. A weapon. A silencer pressed to the mouth of every citizen who still loves Japan..." I didn't know Japan was being besieged by Muslim immigrants too.

Michael Shellenberger @shellenberger, "Well, that was wild. I'm at the Australian Parliament and just left a meeting with two staffers for the governing party. They told us that the government needed more power to censor things like the upcoming US execution of Nidal Hasan. When I asked why they needed to censor that video, one said it was to prevent copycat killings. Copycat killings by governments? I asked. Er, no, they said. Copycat killings like of a backpacker, several decades ago. So, under that logic, I pointed out, the government should censor things like last year's Bondi massacre, where two Muslims killed 15 people, no? Well, that was news, they said. Didn't they realize their bill would allow the government to censor news? They didn't seem to know, or care. They also admitted that they did not know that the bill would allow the government to create and operate an unlimited number of fake social media accounts to attack its political enemies and spread disinformation. Having presented them with information they had never heard about a bill they had clearly not read, they emphasized to us, strenuously, that they were moving forward with the bill..."

And more still, at the Wombat's In The Mailbox: 10.14.26 (Evening Edition) and In The Mailbox: 10.15.26.

Maryland, My Maryland

 From the Balmer Sun, Rockville man indicted for alleged $100 million COVID fraud scheme

A Rockville man was indicted by a federal grand jury on Friday in connection with an alleged COVID-19 fraud scheme of more than $100 million, the U.S. Attorney for Maryland said.

Marc Aaron Potash, 57, of Rockville, was charged with conspiracy to commit healthcare fraud, seven counts of healthcare fraud and five counts of conducting transactions in criminally derived proceeds, the federal prosecutor’s office said.

Between January 2022 and May 2026, according to the office, Potash allegedly conspired to enrich himself as well as a Gaithersburg-based company he founded and served as its CEO, Tiero, LLC, by submitting false and fraudulent claims to Medicare, Medicaid, the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program and other insurers for self-administered COVID-19 tests.

The office said that Potash and his co-conspirators sent false emails, letters and other documents to the Maryland Department of Health to get a Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments certification for the company. Those documents falsely claimed Tiero’s medical providers were performing on-site COVID testing at the company, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said, and used the CLIA license to make claims to insurers. 

Instead, they were shipping over-the-counter COVID tests to insured people across the country, and submitting more than $100 million in fraudulent claims that resulted in more than $50 million in insurance payments to Tiero, the office said.

Prosecutors allege that Potash bought a Range Rover, a Mercedes-Benz and $4 million in property in Beallsville, in Montgomery County, and made security transfers totalling more than $12 million.

If convicted, Potash faces a maximum of 10 years in federal prison for conspiracy to commit healthcare fraud and each count of healthcare fraud and conducting transactions in criminally derived proceeds, the office said, although it noted that actual sentences typically are less than the maximum.

$100,000,000? The man thinks big. I guess it's a little late to expect to get much of it back.

Flotsam and Jetsam - Back on Track

Well, our visitors left early this morning, and life is back to near normal. I\ll miss the grandkids, but not the furor.

Buck Throckmorton at Ace's MORNING RANT: About that “Bad” Jobs Report Last Week: Private-Sector Jobs Increased, Government Jobs Decreased "This headline from Bloomberg was typical, but at least it did note that concurrent with lost jobs, the unemployment rate actually fell: “U.S. Employers Unexpectedly Shed Jobs; Unemployment Rate Falls” ... This CNBC piece further explains that ”The main reason for the red headline number was a loss of 53,000 government workers.”... Here are a few more headlines about who is losing their jobs in the “Trump economy”..." We need to be careful not to get swayed by headlines that conflate foreigners and government workers losing their jobs with what is going on regarding private-sector hiring of U.S. citizens. There is good news on that front, and it’s getting better."

Eric Daugherty @EricLDaugh, "UPDATE: Geraldo Rivera just got brutally exposed as a massive HYPOCRITE after he said President Trump sending Haitians back to Haiti is "sending them straight to hell" Geraldo Rivera, 2018: "Trump should apologize for calling countries sh*t holes!" Calls Haiti "hell.." gets mad at Trump for basically saying the exact same thing. Liberals have no standards!" Western Lensman @WesternLensman, "Anderson Cooper may take issue with your harsh assessment of Haiti, Geraldo. He did tell Conan how “amazing,” “incredible” and "culturally rich" it is, and that he likes to spend his weekends and vacations there, after all." John Sexton at Hat Hair hears Trump Gets a Win in Lawsuit Against BBC.

From Ace, Trump Settlels In for Long Siege of Iran, "I had hoped for a more "kinetic" operation with Iran done and dusted a year before the mid-terms. But that's now impossible, of course, so a long slow strangulation will do." James E. Thorne@DrJStrategy, "Hormuz Miscalculation Sec Bessent gets it. Iran has mistaken a tactical threat for a durable advantage. By repeatedly signaling its willingness to disrupt the Strait of Hormuz, Tehran hasn’t strengthened its hand, it has accelerated the market’s exit. Capital does not tolerate chokepoints; it routes around them..." Steve Richards at JTN, As Iran war strains high-end munition stocks, Trump administration works to jump start production. "While the Pentagon disputes critical munitions supply concerns, it is working to significantly boost production of the high-end systems and seek out mass produced alternatives." RBe @RBPundit, "Here's the straight answer: "We're not going to tell Iran or anyone else how long they may or may not have to hold out against us." Quote Jim Geraghty @jimgeraghty, "Can We Get a Straight Answer on Our Critical Munitions Stockpiles?" Nick Arama at RedState swears Iran's 'Proof of Life' Video for Supreme Leader Blows Up in Its Face. John Podhoretz @jpodhoretz, "All that's left is the leader's nose. Time to check the cell structure!" Quote Raylan Givens @JewishWarrior13, "JUST IN: Multiple sources inside Iran confirm that Iran’s new Supreme Leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, has been rushed to the hospital and is in critical condition."

PJM's Stephen Kruiser says I Liked the Dems Better When AOC Was Their Craziest Commie. Capt. Ed at Hat Hair cites AOC: I Don't Know What to Do With That Hat Tossing and Frozen Eggs. Kyle Beckley @Kyle_Beckley, "“The world is going to end in 12 years if we don’t address climate change. Just kidding, freezing my eggs because I got all the time in the world"" Quote New York Post @nypost, "AOC starts process of freezing her eggs, hints at 2028 mindset: 'I think it's badass.' At Althouse, "I'm not sure why WaPo covered this, but ignored trump wearing a wig that is styled like his mother's hair during her last year of life." "That's the top-rated comment (by far) on the WaPo article, "Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez says she’s freezing her eggs/The Democratic congresswoman, 36, said she made the decision to undergo the fertility procedure to 'feel more in control of my life'" (gift link)." Andrew Kerr @AndrewKerrNC, "“Why isnt AOC married after being engaged to Riley Roberts after 4+ years?” She’s hiding his finances from the public. That’s why. So long as they remain legally unmarried, Roberts’ stock trades remain secret."

Politico whines that Trump and the GOP have a new bogeyman, "Days after Abdul El-Sayed’s victory in the Michigan primary, Trump is homing in on his progressive policies, calling him a “communist” and “man of hate.”" From Ace, Abdul El-Sayed Has Repeatedly Endorsed Book Which Praises Left-Wing Violence and the Nihilistic Destruction of the "Summer of Love;" Also Refuses to Even Stop Campaiging with Hasan "Kill Rick Scott" Piker, "I'm starting to think this son of a terrorist might be pro-terrorism.Jon Levine of Free Beacon..." Sundance at CTH hosts Susan Kokinda Reviewing Abdul El-Sayed From Michigan. From the Victory Girls, Mamdani’s Anti-Rent Advisor Faces Eviction Over Four Years Of Unpaid Rent. Spencer Pratt @spencerpratt, "They’re all like this, BTW. Every single one is a disappointing nepo baby. DSA is if “I HATE YOU DAD” were a political party. Commies are all scammers." Quote New York Post @nypost, "Anti-rent radical and Mamdani pal who is 'squatting' in Brooklyn is Grammy nepo baby." John Sexton at Hat Hair reports a Judge Grants TRO on Mamdani's Pied-À-Terre Tax. AG @AGHamilton29, "An incredibly consistent overlap between the categories of communist activist and privileged rich kids who never held real jobs and have defined their entire lives by their desire to rebel against their rich families." RedState's Sister Toldja hears a New Dem Talking Point on the DSA Emerges, and Francesca Hong Just Demonstrated Why It Won't Work. Ryan King at NYPo reports Talarico previously fought against Texas legislation banning predators from getting cashless bail. Justine Bateman @JustineBateman, "I’ll tell you something about Karen Bass. Three months after she was elected, she spoke at one of the guilds. She clearly knew nothing about the film industry, I mean nothing. It was shocking. At one point she asked that film productions give jobs to homeless people—that this “would really help her out.” What kind of idiot walks into a room of mostly out-of-work people, in an industry that is collapsing upon itself, that does productions with limited time and money where a mistake from an inexperienced worker can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars, and suggest that unskilled, perhaps drug-addled, clueless homeless people should be employed instead of qualified guild members? ..." LI's Mike LaChance hears from a Former DNC Fundraiser: Major Democratic Donors are Done With Kamala Harris, “Kamala Harris is living in fantasyland… [thinking] that big donors would bet on her again.” At TownHall Matt Vespa hears (and posts) a Black Georgia Voter Tells NYT Reporter What's Wrong With the Dems. It's Brutally Accurate: "I feel like the Democratic people, they just fake. "They tried to do the Megan Thee Stallion thing. That was HORRIBLE. When Harris got Megan Thee Stallion ... What was that!? People can see through the bullsh*t!" Joshua Reed Eakle @JoshEakle, "Oh my God. Watch this interview with Dr. Frances Gill of the Democratic Socialists of America's national political committee. I'm sorry. But putting these people in charge of the Democratic Party will usher in a century of fascist rule."

Sundance reports the FBI Declassifies Investigation of Former AG Jeff Sessions, Codename “March Toll” and Senator Ron Johnson Reveals Fauci Texts and Horrific Vaccine Induced Abortion Rate Hidden Within the Data. From Ace, Fauci Privately Acknowledged the Fake Vaccine Could Cause Miscarriages -- But Denied Any Such Risk Publicly "This is close to murder." "The authors claimed a miscarriage rate of 12.6%, but the raw data revealed an 82% miscarriage rate in women vaccinated during the first trimester. This is consistent with the 81% miscarriage rate noted in the Pfizer 5.3.6 post-market data. These figures mirror the effects of chemical abortion drugs such as RU-486." Among Alex Berenson's Unreported Truths, Tony Fauci appears to have misled Congress in 2024 about his efforts to avoid federal records laws, "Joe Biden's final-day presidential pardon of Fauci will protect him from any potential criminal jeopardy for the episode, but it shows why he may be so reluctant to testify now." At Da Caller, Rand Paul Fires Back After Progressive Writer Questions His Medical Credentials. "You know who isn't a doctor? Rand Paul isn't, and RFK Jr isn't, you stuporous dope. https://t.co/bICmflrCuF— John Pavlovitz (@johnpavlovitz) August 7, 2026" "Paul answered directly the following day. “I’m literally an MD. I operate on eyeballs,” the senator wrote on his verified account."

At Law and Liberty, Josh Blackmun tells A Tale of Two Chiefs "There is Chief Justice Roberts, the institutionalist, who strategically guides the Supreme Court by not deciding more than is necessary to decide. Then there is Chief Justice Roberts, the institutionalist, who strategically guides the Supreme Court by deciding more than is necessary to decide. Which Roberts do we get in each case? This tale of two chiefs depends entirely on whether Roberts determines the decision will lead to the best of times or the worst of times. If the Chief fears rough roads ahead, less will be decided. If the Chief sees smooth sailing, more will be decided. No more, no less."

From Fox, DHS reports over 1.4M illegal alien departures since January 2025. Jason Cohen @JasonJournoDC, "NEW: John Fetterman to WaPo: "Without a doubt, the Democratic Party, we DESTROYED our border! 11 million migrants thru the Biden Admin. When you have 300,000 showing up at the border, that's the size of Pittsburgh .... EVERY month! And Democrats pretended that it's all good." Balmer Sun, Judge reinstates Howard County ICE facility permit. "Judge says county’s ban on private immigration detention centers cannot be enforced." From PM, Iranian sex offender able to vote without ID in Michigan: OMG, "O’Keefe Media Group (OMG) journalists reportedly investigated two Michigan registered voters whose noncitizen status was identified through Department of Homeland Security (DHS) records." Hat Hair's Beege Welborn say aww, The Euro Mean Girls Are Ganging Up on Pedro Sanchez.

At UnHerd, Jason Arday taught me. Here’s what I learned "The song lyrics were the first red flag. The way he’d ramble about Tinie Tempah or Eminem, or how black artists like Beyoncé were sexualized by white men, without offering any evidence to substantiate his claims. Or else there were the film clips, from Fish Tank and Kidulthood, which he’d tell us to discuss without offering guidance on how to do so. And this was if he was even in the classroom at all. He often arrived late and left early, once teaching for a single hour when four were scheduled." Ace, Surprise! Jason Arday Was Also a Shit "Teacher;" Did Not Teach Actual Academic Subjects, Just Riffed About Racism and Popular Music In Every "Class." John McWhorter @JohnHMcWhorter, "My take on the Arday debacle. Elevator pitch version: 1) Arday is typical of a thriving alternate-universe academia elevating performance art over curiosity; 2) the "anti-racist" people who supported him are either bigots or caught up in recreational tribalism."Saul Sadka @Saul_Sadka, "My advance copy of Professor Jason Arday’s new book just arrived, courtesy of Simon & Schuster. Can’t wait to dig in, but here’s a taste from the first page to whet your appetite: “All this happened, more or less. It was the best of times; it was the worst of times: a bright, cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen. Last night, I dreamt I went to Manderley again, where Mrs Dalloway said she would buy the flowers herself—for Lolita, light of my life, fire of my loins, my sin, my soul. But 124 was spiteful, full of a baby’s venom. I am a sick man. I am a spiteful man. I am an unattractive man.”" At Ombre de Oliver, The Racists Who Enabled Jason Arday, "Can you say "soft bigotry of low expectations." Eric Rasmusen at Ras-Stak, Who Hired the Ridiculous Jason Arday at Cambridge? I Have the Names. "This is not a lightweight panel. Zembylas has the most citations; all have a proper scholarly record in education, sociology, history. So did they read the work? And if they did how could they persuade themselves it was of the level appropriate for a Cambridge chair?" Saul Sadka @Saul_Sadka, "The greatest secret of the social sciences is that nobody reads any of this stuff. It's all just busy work to keep a giant grift going, so you can have typos in the title of your PhD dissertation and nobody will notice until you have a plagiarism scandal." As I've said all along.

From Campus Reform, Trump administration defends Harvard funding freeze as ACLU-led coalition backs university on appeal, "The administration argues Harvard failed to address anti-Semitism and other institutional concerns before nearly $2.2 billion in federal research funding was frozen." Graphs about Religion finds Finance Majors Go to Church. English Majors Don't. "The Stereotypes About Which Majors Are Religious and Conservative Turn Out to Be Mostly True." 

Ace, Black WNBA Thug Who Clotheslined Sophie Cunniningham Says Her Ejection for the Flargrant Foul Is Just "White Privilege;" Male NBA Stars Announce They're Gals Now and Intend to Try Out for the WNBA "It's "white privilege" to eject someone for a flagrant foul because, of course, blacks are permitted to take Street Reparations against white people when they feel like it." Matt Vespa sees Dijonai Carrington Tried to Explain Her 'White Privilege' Tweet. It Didn't Go Well. Virginia Kruta at Da Wire, Sophie Cunningham Smacks Down Opponent’s ‘White Privilege’ Comment. "There's no reason to even play that card." Stephen Kruiser thinks Sophie Cunningham Triggered an Avalanche of Bluff-Calling for the WNBA. Matt Walsh @MattWalshBlog, "It really is incredible that there’s just outright racial violence happening in the WNBA. Every men’s professional sports league has black and white players and they aren’t having these problems. Remember this the next time a feminist tells you women should rule the world because they’re more peaceful and empathetic or whatever." Julie Frost--That Werewolf Writer @JulieCFrost, "Kareem might have a point if anyone could name a single other WNBA player." Quote Farm Girl Carrie @FarmGirlCarrie, "Kareem Abdul-Jabbar says calling Caitlin Clark the “Face of the WNBA” is disrespectful to those who've paved the way. Do you agree with his point of view or is he flat out wrong here? What say you?" Well, at least they've found a way to make the WNBA mildly interesting.

Talk about a segue, at Da Mail, Trans American who fled to Europe claiming asylum from Trump makes humiliating return after being placed in a refugee center… but she's already complaining about life in the US. Hollywood in Toto has The Joke that Sparked Death Threats for Arynne Wexler "Wexler said she was shocked that another joke from her repertoire drew little outrage. She has compared Muslims to pit bulls, suggesting the majority of both groups aren’t violent, but..." Beege Welborn, UK Muslim 'News' Org Seems to Want to Make Sure Its Delightful Readers Have Someone to Protest. Aja @AjaTheEmpress, "Well this sounds like a threat. @BrumPolice @gmpolice @BrantfordPolice, @WYP_LeedsCity "You might want to keep an eye on this because letting John Cleese get hurt in your city isn't gonna be a good look." At ToI, UK probes major Muslim charity after director charged with funneling aid to Hamas.

Linked at The Right Way in Top of the News. The Wombat has FMJRA 2.0: Another Rough Start up on time and under budget at The Other McCain.

Flotsam and Jetsam - Abdulrahman Mohammed El-Sayed Wins Michigan Democrat Senate Primary

The Hamas supporter who thinks America deserved 9/11 squeaked out a victory over some AWFL to become the Democrat senate candidate for senator of Michigan. The "M" states of the upper Mid-west have officially gone crazy. Amy Curtis at TownHall thinks Abdul El-Sayed Is Now the Most Radical Candidate in America. From Ace, Pro-Hamas, Pro-Terrorist Communist Abdul El-Sayed Wins Nomination for Michigan Senate as Expected -- But By a Very Thin Margin. Polls showed a much wider margin, but polls suck. At Althouse, It's too close to call over at the NYT, but "Abdul El-Sayed has won Michigan’s slugfest of a Democratic Senate primary, NBC News projects." "I'm reading "Abdul El-Sayed wins Michigan’s Democratic Senate primary, notching a Midwest victory for the left/The former public health official has defeated Rep. Haley Stevens, NBC News projects, despite facing a huge advertising disadvantage."" Bobby LaValley @Bobby_LaVallley, "CNN: Haley Stevens did well with working-class and African American voters. Abdul El-Sayed "did very poorly" with those groups and "really just" ran up the score in college towns." John Bulkeley @bulkeley_john, "College towns voting heavily for Abdul. This is where we are going to miss Charlie Kirk big time. He was our best and greatest ambassador to colleges across the nation. We will miss him very, very, much." NYPo, Young Dems’ radicalism threatens to doom their party in midterms — and beyond. Joel Kotkin at Spiked asserts The Democrats are a menace to America’s Jews, "Abdul El-Sayed’s victory in Michigan’s Democratic primary is an ominous sign." At Hat Hair VIP John Sexton notices Jews Are Moving From Blue States to Red Ones, and not just because they're spendthrift. varifrank @varifrank, "He loves them the same way OJ loved Nicole." Quote Open Source Intel @Osint613, "Michigan Democratic primary winner Abdul El Sayed: AIPAC and Israel are not the same as Judaism and the Jewish people... I love the Jewish people." At Insty, Driscoll cites JIM TREACHER: Jon Stewart Is a Good Kapo. Ben Clerkin at The Spec wonders/hopes Has Abdul El-Sayed just saved Trump? At Hat Hair, Beege Welborn thinks This Fetterman, El-Sayed Tiff Is Fun. RBe @RBPundit, "This actually takes it too easy on the fucking commie. We need to make these people radioactive." Quote Politics & Poll Tracker @PollTracker2024, "The NRSC debuts first attack ad in the US Senate Michigan race against Abdul El-Sayed."

At WaEx, Hasan Piker torches Democratic voters: ‘You are all unbelievably Islamophobic pieces of s***’ for not all voting for Abdul. Capt. Ed at Hat Hair hears Hasan Piker's Healing MI Outreach: 'You Are All Unbelievably Islamophobic Pieces of S***'. Western Lensman @WesternLensman, "Francesca Hong, 2020: Cancel Thanksgiving. Hong, Two Days Ago: Thanksgiving is a time that's incredibly painful for many people in our communities. Hong, Today: My favorite holiday is Thanksgiving. I love it." At the Crimson Hub, HONG AGAIN: Thanksgiving-Hating Dem Socialist Has Another Hot 'White Supremacy' Take In WI Gov Race.

Swann Marcus@SwannMarcus89, "HOLY SHIT WHAT Mamdani's "socialist" grocery stores are going to be run by private operators? And they receive the right to run the store from the government but then control the supply of discount cards themselves? And they have full discretion over purchasing and hiring decisions in a situation where they are guaranteed to make a profit irrespective of how inefficient the operation is because they're undercutting their competitors' prices by 30% via government subsidies? Buckle in, you suck fucks! Real corruption has never been tried!" At State of the Day, YOU NEED ID FOR THIS SOCIALIST UTOPIA, "Do these people hear themselves?" From Twitchy, OUCH! Zohran Mamdani's Anti-Police Rhetoric Came Back to Bite Him at an NYPD Event. Eric Daugherty @EricLDaugh, "LMFAO! Ugandan Mayor Mamdani tried to deliver a speech at a New York Police event in Manhattan but was VICIOUSLY booed and jeered off stage He walked off in SHAME. Patriots want Mamdani to go BACK to his country!" Fox cites MARK PENN: Socialist Mamdani sold a tax on billionaires. Regular homeowners could pay the price, "Gotta love whoever pulled this French name into implying New York City's pied-à-terre tax would fall on just a few very rich people." That's the point. 

James Lindsay, anti-Communist @ConceptualJames, We can now be quite certain that, yes, in fact, the DSA move within the Democratic Party is a power consolidation move modeled after the Bolshevik takeover of the Social Democrat Party and expulsion of the Mensheviks. Not the revolution itself but its immediate political precursor." Quote New York Magazine @NYMag, "The GOP’s big red scare is really stupid. Democrats aren’t communist, and the relatively small progressive surge in this year’s primaries isn’t a Bolshevik Revolution, writes Ed Kilgore." The Drunk Republican @DrunkRepub, "Now that the Democrat Party has been officially commandeered by Communists, the “America First” folks who claim they’ll stay home in November are in a real pickle. Because no one claiming to be America First would willingly turn over their county to the cretins in the DSA. As Donald Trump himself famously opined, "You can be a communist or you can be a patriot. You cannot be both.”" Matt Vespa at TownHall sees Mike Rowe Triggered a Ton of People With His Lengthy Post About Socialism. John Sexton, California Democratic Party Backs the Wealth Tax. Geiger Capital @Geiger_Capital, "If the California billionaire wealth tax passes, it will be a nationwide policy for 2028. Every Democrat on the primary stage will raise their hand to support it federally. Tech guys think they can just run to Texas now after funding the far-left for years." Quote Geiger Capital @Geiger_Capital, "There it is… California's Democratic Party has voted to endorse the billionaire wealth tax on the ballot." PJM's Stephen Kruiser writes Of Commies, Purple States, and the Elusive Undecided Voter. "Yes, my friends, the fate of the Republic hinges on people who haven't caught on to the fact that the Democrats keep talking about shredding the Constitution. It's realizations like that which make it harder for me to stay detached, but my years of "all dead inside" practice serve me well." InfantryDort @infantrydort, "Our ancestors fought some of the most fearsome enemies in the war against entropy. Worthy of mighty song and story. We get communist jihadi welfare tourists with weaponized EBT cards and TikTok. Unlucky." PoIiMath @politicalmath, "Academic: I think the gullible young people I can manipulate should have more power and the skeptical parents who can see through my bullshit should have less power." Quote Caleb Wait @calebwait, "I try to keep an open mind about new ideas and opinions, but this take on parents and children is the dumbest thing I’ve heard in a long time. Douthat’s response is perfect."

At Twitchy, Amy Klobuchar Gets Absolutely Booed Off Stage for Border & Cop Lies — Then Calls to Defund ICE.

At NYPo, NY police bigwig, husband helped goon son plan gangland shooting — and mom was getaway driver: sources. Libs of TikTok @libsoftiktok, "WILD Mount Vernon, NY Deputy Police Commissioner Jennifer Lackard ARRESTED for allegedly being the GETAWAY DRIVER for her gang member son after a shooting."

Chris Rufo on the The Typhus Rats of Los Angeles, "A medieval disease is rocking the vermin-ridden county." The palm trees in my parent's Ranch Park house had rats. Before we were married, Georgia stayed with us a while, and the cat brought one home for her.

I&I wonders/fears Is Trump’s Flat Voter Favorability In August Bad News For GOP’s Midterm Hopes? Mark Tapscott at Insty says POLITICAL APPOINTEES SHOULD KILL BAD GRANTS: "Democrats in Congress are up in arms over President Donald Trump’s proposal to give executive branch senior political appointees authority to pre-screen proposed federal grants and to terminate previously approved and continuing funding streams. In fact under the Constitution, as I write today in The Washington Stand, the President can delegate authority to carry out the his policies that voters endorsed when they elected him to trusted senior political appointees. Democrats are angry because Trump is implementing a counter to the power of the unelected career bureaucrats who routinely dispatch hundreds of billions of tax dollars to far-Left groups." At Politico, Congress ended surprise medical bills — doctors and insurers hate it “This must end,” President Donald Trump said when he signed the bill into law. “We’re going to hold insurance companies and hospitals totally accountable.”

PJM's Scott Pinsker asserts Max Miller Destroys His Career in Disastrous, Shambolic CNN Interview.

John Sexton worries Did Russia Just Try to Extend the War With Ukraine Into Germany? Sundance at CTH calls it an Odd Story – Explosive Drones Discovered at Leipzig/Halle Airport in Germany. 

Capt Ed cites Int'l Media: New MOU an IRGC 'Deal on the Sly' with Oman?. If it's Iranian, and it floats, flies or drives, blow it up.

Dave Strom at Hat Hair hears FBI Opened Criminal Investigation of Trump for Firing Comey. PJM's Matt Margolis, Bombshell Declassified FBI Document Blows Up Everything We Ever Heard About Russiagate. Sundance, Govt Releases Originating Info Behind FBI Investigation “Oxferd Comma” That Followed Comey Firing "John Solomon, working for the administration on behalf of President Trump, has released internal FBI information that surrounded an investigation of President Trump and other officials following the firing of James Comey. {DOCUMENTS HERE}" Ace, Revealed Documents: Corrupt FBI Operatives Opened Investigation of Trump as a RUSSIAN AGENT Because He Fired Their Ringleader James Comey. John Solomon at JTN, FBI Follies: Bureau secretly probed Trump as a Russian asset for firing Comey: declassified memos. "Documents declassified by the White House Government Transparency Task Force show the investigation – codenamed "Oxferd Comma" – was launched in the immediate aftermath of Comey’s May 9, 2017 firing and was predicated on allegations that the bureau’s own agents had mostly dismissed by that time."

Ace, Did the Democrat-Media Party Program Another Assassin to Kill Trump? "Not sure yet. But it seems like they did." Sundance, 4th Assassination Attempt Likely – Armed Gunman, Jeanine John Taele (38) Arrested in California.

T. Anderson says And another thing ... on The Failure of Fauci and His Fans. "Turns out you can get him to shut up after all." Teri Christoph at RedState, Uh-Oh: Fauci's Worst Nightmare May Have Just Landed in the Hands of Senate Republicans. The Wall Street Journal @WSJ, "Exclusive: A Senate panel has obtained a copy of Dr. Anthony Fauci's Covid-era iPhone, potentially securing more records related to his actions during the pandemic." Cathy Salgado at PJM reports Bill Gates Was Embedded in U.S. Agencies During COVID Era "Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) released more information this week revealing that Gates had a “Q” security clearance for seven years at DOE and had then-NIAID Director Anthony Fauci as his private editor during the COVID lockdown era. The Gates Foundation was even funding NIH. Then again, Gates also reportedly donated a staggering $50 million to Kamala Harris. I guess he paid a pretty high price for the privilege of being involved in so much government decision-making."

From YouTube, Supreme Court Term Review (feat. Sarah Isgur and Melissa Murray).

Beege Welborn notices The Recent Moroccan Invasion in Ceuta Has Spurred a Panicky Response Elsewhere in Europe. New York Post @nypost, "African Migrants in Ceuta Complain About Treatment: 'No Food, No Blankets'" Matt Van Swol @mattvanswol, "#BREAKING: The Red Cross is now handing out FREE FOOD to to THOUSANDS of Moroccan Muslim invaders who illegally entered the Spanish city of Ceuta. WHAT?!!!!!!!"

At Da Caller, GOP Sen. John Curtis Unveils State-Run Visa Scheme Offering Amnesty To Illegals. Camron Arcand at TownHall notes Weekend ICE Arrests Include Convicted Murderer, Robber.

Show of hands how many of you knew Stephen Colbert's daughter worked for 60 minutes and CBS News? https://t.co/u61x0BRDXo

— Stephen L. Miller (@redsteeze) August 5, 2026

Da Telegraph reports Jason Arday falsely claimed to have published book, "Cambridge academic suggested that work on black masculinity had been published by Palgrave but it never went to print." The Telegraph @Telegraph, "BREAKING: Prof Jason Arday has resigned from the University of Cambridge after The Telegraph revealed he falsely claimed to have published a book. Follow the latest developments." John Sexton reports Jason Arday Resigns From Cambridge. Smirkley @Smirkley, "Updated >be Jason Arday >get diagnosed autistic at 3 >claim non-verbal until 11 >claim partial deafness in one ear & being taught to sign >claim you couldn't read until 18, but still leave school w/ two GCSEs >claim joining pro snooker tour at 10, one year before you could speak >claim you came out of a football academy & played professionally...." Ace, Perfesser, Now Ex-Perfesser, Jason Arday Resigns After Being Caught In Yet Another Lie "The newest lie was about publishing a book. The book was called Trust Me, Bro. Okay that's a lie. The truth is, there was no book. No such book exists. And Update: Fake DEI Perfesser Now Claiming Some Racists Left a Pig's Head on His Door; Local Butchers and Police Deny. "He's not just a plagiarist, he's a serial liar." Kevin Yam 任建峰 @kevinkfyam, "When this whole affair dies down: 1. Arday will be gone in one way or another. And he (who never knew better because of his enablers) will be abandoned, left to fend for himself, and he and his family will suffer badly as a result. I know in the circumstances it’s hard to feel sorry for Arday, but please cut him a small (and I do mean small) bit of slack - it’s a bit like if you keep wilfully throwing food all over the floor thinking that it’s good and normal, because everyone around you don’t call you up on it and even say “well done” every time you throw more food on the floor..." Jon Levine @LevineJonathan, "A decades-long campaign to elevate people based on arbitrary characteristics (race, gender, sexual orientation) instead of merit has crashed into publicly available tools for objective evaluation." Quote Colin Wright @SwipeWright, "BREAKING: Jason Arday, the Cambridge professor exposed for plagiarism and fabricating major aspects of his life story, has resigned. According to leading AI writing detection software Pangram, Arday's resignation letter is "Fully AI Generated" with "High Confidence."

Bobby Burack @burackbobby_, "This is wild. Howard Bryant, the writer trying to smear Sophie Cunningham as "anti-trans and anti-black," was arrested for choking his white wife, then assaulting a police officer, and then blamed his arrest on -- wait for it -- racism." From Ace, Pro-Men-In-Women's-Sports WNBA Coach: Boy It Makes Me Mad When Men Take Coaching Jobs from Women, "Gee I wonder if that has anything to do with the fact that she's not a player, but is a coach, and wants her own position defended against outside-her-gender competition."

And more at the Wombat's In The Mailbox: 08.03.26. The Wombat has FMJRA 2.0: The Usual Horrible Start to the Season up and garnering clicks at The Other McCain.

Flotsam and Jetsam - More Fun with Fauci

I'm hoping the Fauci story, or at least this episode of it, has just about run its course. Stacy McCain expounds on Lies, Damned Lies, and COVID-19 and makes a point I've been thinking about. "In case you’ve forgotten, the original rationale of the first COVID-19 lockdown was that the virus was spreading so rapidly that hospitals would soon be overwhelmed with victims, that there would be a shortage of medicine, equipment and personnel to treat patients. This was what “15 Days to Slow the Spread” was about and, when that ended, it was “Six Weeks to Flatten the Curve” — in other words, a total of two months of lockdown, to prevent the medical system from collapsing under the burden of the pandemic. In other words, by mid-May 2020, it would be safe to let life return to normal, but OH DEAR GOD WE CAN’T LET THAT HAPPEN, Democrats and the media collectively screamed, once the initial two months of COVID-19 lockdown were over." It was never about stopping the virus, it was about slowing it to prevent overwhelming the system, and protecting the vulnerable (mostly us old farts) until a vaccine, and or treatments were found while the virus ran it's course. The vaccines never really worked well, and it turns out there were good treatments that did which were suppressed in favor of the vaccines that didn't. The virus cooperated by evolving into a common cold. Roger Kimball at Am Great discusses The Rise and Fall of Anthony Fauci "Being pathetic is no protection against being malevolent." PJM's Matt Margolis sees Rand Paul Makes His Move Against Fauci: "Paul introduced a resolution Tuesday to hold Fauci in contempt of Congress." Christine Dolan at the World Trib thinks it's Time for Covid prosecutions and nothing less. Michael Shellenberger @shellenberger, "Journalists are aggressively defending Fauci, despite his diaries showing that he repeatedly lied to the public. The reason is that, after years of dehumanizing Covid dissidents based on his lies, media elites can’t cope with the enormity of their failure. By @GalexyBrane." Western Lensman @WesternLensman, "The strategy CNN management chose was silence. Just say nothing, and hope the controversy fades away. It's been almost 10 days since Fauci diary entries revealed that two of CNN's top anchors were private ... This is CNN." Cynical Publius @CynicalPublius, "This is brilliant: “The Constitution was not written as a suggestion for calm weather. It was written to restrain power precisely when fear is highest and the people in charge are most certain they know better.” Quote Flopping Aces @FloppingAces "RFK Jr. sat on CNN and said something that should not have been controversial. He said the government’s first duty in any future pandemic is to protect constitutional rights. Not balance them against expert opinion. Not temporarily suspend them. Protect them."

At Am Spec Dave Catron explains his reasoning on Why Republicans May Defy Midterm History. "The GOP enjoys advantages in 2026 that the party in power doesn’t usually possess." I would just add that the old rules don't work very well when Trump is involved. From Forth, U.S. Manufacturing Surges to Four‑Year High as Trump Administration Drives Investment Boom. Am 1st News, BREAKING: JD Vance Announces Task Force Has Uncovered $230 Billion in… fraud, but WaPoo is obsessing over his backyard chicken coop, Luke Rosiak @lukerosiak, "The vice president started raising chickens, so the Washington Post: -called the city of DC on him and tried to get him cited for a zoning infraction -they called a "chicken expert": a they/them who has a chicken as an emotional support animal because of long COVID." Ace, DOJ Charges 19 Defendants in Philadelphia Medicare/Medicaid Fraud Scheme, "Our government budget is 90% fraud." Reason reasons Did Elon Musk Sentence Millions to Death by Dismantling USAID? "The study cited by Rep. Ro Khanna as the basis for that claim is statistical nonsense." No, but he tore a Falcon booster size hole in government/NGO complex and boy are they pissed. Am Minds Noah Wall notices Florida’s DOGE Is Delivering. From Da Caller, Disloyal Careerists Are Still Haunting The Pentagon’s Halls.

Ace Stop Me If You Heard This One Before, Redux: "Deal" to Open the Strait of Hormuz "Imminent"? Supposedly. Scott Bessent and Marco Rubio say a deal is imminent-adjacent. Hot Air quotes Reuters. This doesn't sound like a bona fide deal to me. This sounds like more duplicitous Iranian bullshit, still insisting they get to control the Strait and charges "tariffs" on oil ships, which they then use to buy missiles to shoot at Americans." At Hat Hair, Beege Welborn begs Could Ukraine Please Give Back Some of the BoomBoom and PewPew Stuff POTATUS Sent Them? PJM's Sarah Anderson So, Is Venezuela on the Path to Elections Now? Depends on Who You Ask. In a post-Nicolás Maduro world, Marco Rubio laid out three phases to create a stable and democratic Venezuela. 1. Stability. (Avoid civil unrest, mass migration, etc.) 2. Recovery. (Recover the economy.) 3. Transition to Democracy. (Create a path to and hold real elections.) " Eylon Levy @EylonALevy, "This sounds like a typical "Irish" joke, but it's true: The Irish Government bought a new €53m jet. And insisted on removing an Israeli-made navigational system. Now it can't land in the fog."

From PJM Stephen Kruiser complains I Prefer That My Groceries Not Taste Like Commie Terrorist, Jamie Wilson writes of Scamdani and the Truth About City-Owned Grocery Stores and VodkaPundit sees Mamdani’s War on New York Business Is a Double-Header. Jarvis @jarvis_best, "The four talking points I've been seeing a lot of today regarding the WalMarx ID kerfuffle: 1. Obviously we will have an ID rule to prevent product flipping, what are you stupid? 2. Obviously we won't have an ID rule, what are you stupid? 3. Shut up. 4. F*ck you." Kyle Becker at RedState sees Zohran Mamdani Hit With More Bad News After Walking Back Grocery Store Announcement. "Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s universal childcare plan will cost 50% more than he advertised, according to a new study. The proposed program is estimated to cost a whopping $9 billion annually, approximately with an average cost per child roughly $27,000, according to the report from the Center for New York City Affairs, a nonpartisan research organization affiliated with the New School." Nobody told him math would be part of the job. Hat Hair's Dave Strom hears Leftist Mamdani Supporters Scream 'I Didn't Think You Would Do This to Me!' Western Lensman @WesternLensman, "Scott Galloway is upset about being 'doxed' after he supported Mamdani's pied-à-terre tax: "He's taken a legitimate source of tax revenue, and he's turning it into a wanted poster." "What is the upside here? Why is he doing this?" Incredible." Frog, meet scorpion.

Complete Colorado asserts ‘Democratic socialism’ just an opening act for communism.wretchardthecat @wretchardthecat, "The holy grail of western parliamentary socialism is to find a form of Communism that's capitalist enough to survive. The debate is about finding the optimum balance between selling out and staying radical. For years the Democratic Party tried to find an accomodation between the true believers and its donor base. But now the Democratic Socialists like Mamdani believe it's time to clamp down on any pro-business policies that still remain." PJM's Dave Manney notes Mike Rowe Respects Workers More Than the Socialists Claiming to Save Them and Hong Chose Hasan Piker and Ilhan Omar. Wisconsin Should Notice. Capt. Ed at Hat Hair, CNN Stumps DSA Candidate: Do You Still Want to Cancel Thanksgiving? UPDATE: Whiffs on Defund Police." Greg Price @greg_price11, "Collins: "Do you still believe that Thanksgiving should be cancelled?" Hong: "Thanksgiving is a time that is incredibly painful for many people in our communities." Driscoll at Insty, WE’RE NOT GOING TO MOSCOW. IT’S CZECHOSLOVAKIA. IT’S LIKE GOING INTO WISCONSIN: Wisconsin Socialist Candidate for Governor Francesca Hong Wants to Cancel Thanksgiving, Defund the Police as a Modest Step Towards Abolishing Them Entirely. Don Surber thinks It’s the candidates, stupid, "Democrat nominees are creepy and kooky, mysterious and spooky. They’re all together ooky." Dave Strom says This Is How Insane Michigan Democrats Have Become. RCP notices The Election Questions Democrats Won’t Answer, "why do they oppose transparency in our elections? Why do they fight so hard against universally popular measures like voter ID and removing noncitizens from the voter rolls that would help prevent noncitizen voting?" Matt Vespa at TownHall, Former West Virginia Senator Wasn't Playing These Games With a CBS News Host Over Socialism, Manchin. 

Jonathan Turley on The Confession of Joe Biden. "The record is now largely complete. So is the inescapable conclusion: Biden lacked clarity on most everything but his alleged crimes. His deception and culpability were established in both the Zwonitzer and Hur interviews. Biden gave Hur a virtual confession, and Hur gave him a pass." And From Influence Peddler to Starving Artist: Hunter Biden Claims Family is Broke in Defaulting on $17 Million Bill. He ran out of influence to peddle. 

From Ace, Man Who Murdered Father and Attempted to Murder Mother But Let Out of Jail by Democrats Charged With Setting Three Huge Fires in Washington, "Endless sympathy for the devil, because they see themselves in the devil," and Democrat Congressional Candidate and Soyboy Threatens Man With Knife, Then Gets Knocked the F*** Out "It's so good you guys." Video at link. KanekoaTheGreat @KanekoaTheGreat, "NEW: A Hawaiian man knocked out a Democratic congressional candidate with one punch after he allegedly threatened to shoot a woman at a Maui beach. Police say Kirill Basin, 40, became enraged after a 61-year-old man asked him to lower his music. Basin allegedly threatened to shoot the man’s wife and several bystanders. A local man seen approaching in the background confronted Basin, knocked him out, then calmly told him to stop threatening people. Police say Basin later pulled a knife and continued threatening people. When officers arrived, he allegedly threw the knife into the ocean. The same bystander swam out, recovered the knife, and handed it to police. Basin was charged with two counts of first-degree terroristic threatening. Bail was set at $1 million. Police say he has also been arrested in other assault and property-damage cases since May, and several people have obtained temporary restraining orders against him. Sounds like another successful day connecting with voters on the campaign trail!"

Lee Kuan Yimby @LeeKuanYimby, "SF fined a dad $195 for teaching his kid tennis on a public court without a coaching permit. The same city has illegal markets covering the sidewalks. All of the stuff is stolen. Every single regulation violated. Nothing happens. Absolute clown world." Actually, he wasn't fined, the cops dropped it when the kid said it was his father.

At USA Today, Armed suspect arrested at SoCal golf course days before Trump's visit "An armed man was arrested on Sunday after federal agents said they observed him taking photographs and appearing to monitor security-planning activities throughout the Trump National Golf Club, days before the president was scheduled to visit the Southern California course."

Reason reasons about Elena Kagan's Warning to Progressives "The liberal justice wants the Supreme Court’s harshest progressive critics to chill out." Trump and the Republicans should try to appoint 4 more justices before the midterms, just because.

At CIS, The Ceuta Migrant Surge, and the Important SCOTUS Decision Everybody Missed "Two lessons: amnesty doesn’t work, but securing your borders does." NYPo's Brendan O'Neill opines that The overwhelming migrant blitz on Spain shatters globalist fiction and proves our leaders have abandoned sovereign borders. Beege Welborn, 'For the Children!' Ceuta Edition. Aaron Hanscom at PJM, Nick Shirley’s New Video Dismantles the Left’s Narrative on Ceuta's Migrant Crisis. H. Clay Aalders @KnifeTruth, "We should bring in more immigrants that love this country instead of hating it. Just a suggestion."Quote Tanya Oosthuizen @TanyaOosthuizen, "14 July. The first day of our new forever. South Africa to America. Forever grateful. What a beautiful life we have waiting for us."

Eric Utter at Am Think utters The biggest story of all is untold: The media’s refusal to tell the truth. At Hat Hair, Mark Judge notices Columbia Dean Who Praised Man Who Tortured Women Now Welcomes 'Journalist in Residence' Scott Pelley. Athena Thorne at PJM observes Leftists FREAK OUT That Trump's Truth Social Offers a New Service. Here's What They Don't Mention. "Back in the bad old days when the left had a total monopoly of all the social media platforms, if a right-leaning or even a centrist person complained about getting censored, leftists would sneer, "Why don't you just build your own platform?" So after Trump-45 left office and before Elon Musk had purchased and liberated Twitter/X, Trump did indeed start his own social media platform. He named it Truth Social and has been its most prominent content poster ever since. He placed the company in a trust when he became president-elect in 2024, with himself as the beneficiary and his son as the trustee. Leftists howled. I guess you're supposed to impoverish yourself or hand off your hand-built assets to strangers if you become president or something."

From NRO, Cambridge Prof Fighting Plagiarism Allegations Seems to Have Fabricated Major U.S. University Affiliation. Northern Barbarian @xnoesbueno, "Ohio State University? This guy didn't just take Cambridge for a ride, he's fucking with them. Question now is, not how long he stays, but who's he taking down with him? To save their sociology department, they'll have to destroy it." Quote Abigail Anthony @abigailandwords, "New in @NRO: Cambridge Professor Jason Arday says on his faculty website that he is a Visiting Professor at the Ohio State University in the Office of Diversity and Inclusion.But OSU says it has "no record" of him as an employee. And its DEI office closed in 2025." Nathan Cofnas @nathancofnas, ""We have a situation where the right is demonstrably 100% correct and the left is 100% wrong, so really there's no way to have a sensible discussion." Interesting analysis in@nytimes." Hat Hair's John Sexton sees The NY Times Glosses Over Jason Arday's Questionable Biography. Hans Mahncke @HansMahncke, "Wow. If you thought lawfare was bad in America, Britain just took it to an entirely new level. Police spent four months investigating a reporter for the crime of emailing questions to that Cambridge “academic” caught serially plagiarizing."

Alex Adkins at Am Spec compares Sophie Cunningham vs. the Trans Sports Mob, "Indiana Fever guard sparks national controversy by opposing transgender women in female sports, then watches her sneakers sell out in under an hour." From Twitchy, Outkick’s Clay Travis Challenges WNBA Team to Play HS Boys’ Basketball Team for Chance at $10M. At Insty, Driscoll looks TWENTY MINUTES INTO THE FUTURE: French trans phenom Julie Tétart looks WNBA-ready — so why hasn’t the ‘inclusive’ league called?

From the College Fix, Penn professor claims ‘cisness’ is unnatural, ‘sex isn’t real’ in new book. "Beans Velocci, Assistant Professor of History and Sociology of Science; Penn Arts & Sciences." Clearly not a biologist. Beege Welborn looks at AWFL Entitlement: A Short Note on Ingratitude and Lack of Common Decency. Woman abandoned by mother in childhood complains dad was a poor chef. 𝓑ᥫ᭡ @quesadaaa_, "Remembering how when my Mum left, my Dad still didn't learn to cook or do anything else she'd been doing solo all those years. I quickly taught myself to cook at age 10, using books from the library, as soon as I realised that every meal with my father was going to be a bag of frozen sausage rolls, plain toast, or nothing at all. By 13, I was cooking meals for him too. And that's how male incompetence trains women." Lisa Britton @LisaBritton, "I just can’t get over this. She says women’s ambition should be encouraged while men’s ambition should be discouraged. I’m tired of people demonizing male ambition. They’ve been doing it for decades, then wonder why many young men are struggling today. https://open.substack.com..."

The Wombat has FMJRA 2.0: The Usual Horrible Start to the Season up and garnering clicks at The Other McCain.