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.

Hell With Thee, My Alma Mater

 From the College Fix, Cal Poly Humboldt ‘dialogues’ on race to focus on ‘fighting fascism and erasure’

This month at California State Polytechnic University, Humboldt features the 28th “Annual Campus & Community Dialogue on Race,” the theme for which is “We Are Here! Fighting Fascism & Erasure.” The event website notes Professor Jason Stanley’s “ten pillars of fascism that serve an ‘us and them’ framework to seize power and dismantle democracy.”  These include “mythic past, propaganda, anti-intellectualism, unreality, hierarchy, victimhood, ‘law and order,’ sexual anxiety, favoring ‘the heartland,’ and the dismantling of public goods.”

Stanley fled Yale and the United States last year due to its “fascism,” and now teaches at the University of Toronto.

According to Humboldt Now, the event’s programs will “bring students, faculty, staff, and community members together to examine racial injustice, authoritarianism, and the possibilities of collective resistance” Through workshops, presentations, performances, and facilitated conversations, the weeklong event creates opportunities to consider how racism intersects with other forms of oppression. CDOR welcomes people of all backgrounds into a shared process of reflection, learning, and action.

The 2026 theme focuses on the relationship between fascism, racism, and ultranationalism. It asks participants to examine how political narratives can be used to enforce social hierarchies, designate groups as outsiders, and weaken democratic institutions.

The organizing committee, made up of students, faculty, and staff, aims to explore what it means to fight fascism from a “poly-TEK” vantage point, one that names and engages with Indigenous perspectives like Traditional Ecological Knowledge in a “polytechnic” university. Speakers will talk about the relationships between AI, colonialism, and eugenics.

The October 19 “keynote event” discussion will be led by “feminist and decolonial scholar of science and technology studies” Anita Say Chan (pictured) of the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Chan’s book “Predatory Data” purports to “show how technological systems can reproduce inequalities affecting immigrants and other marginalized communities.”

The 21st and 22nd respectively feature Roberto González, whose research “focuses on technofascism and the effects of algorithmic policing and surveillance on communities of color,” and Abby Abinanti, California’s first Native American to pass the state bar exam and serve as state judge. Abinanti “incorporates traditional cultural values and rehabilitative practices into judicial proceedings, offering alternatives to conventional criminal justice models,” the press release notes.

According to Cal Poly Humboldt Critical Race, Gender & Sexuality Studies Professor Mike Atienza, “we don’t talk about race in our everyday lives,” and thus these conversations can be held in a “really supportive and principled space.” Atienza’s faculty page notes he collaborates with “performance artist” Maria Arte Susya Purisima Tolentino to “use the form of drag to analyze transnational media representations and discourse about the lives of Filipina/o/x people.” 

Georgia and I are both alumni of Humboldt, first as Humboldt State College,which became Humboldt State University while we attended, and then Cal Poly Humboldt after we graduated. Of course, both of us majored in sciences (she chemistry, me oceanography and biology), so other than the mandatory social studies and art requirements, we were not subjected to anything like this.

I think we can safely rule out donating to the school now, not that we ever did before.

Flotsam and Jetsam - It's a Long Monday

 An amazing amount of stuff for a Monday. Don't those people have anything better to do on Sunday?

According to News Wax, UAE Had Shared Details about FlyDubai Flight with Israel, Including Pilots' Names and Nationalities. A failure in vetting for sure, but one whose part? PJM's Bob Spencer thinks a Veteran Pilot Startles Leftist Interviewer With the Truth About the Dubai Hijacking. "But how deep do you want to go into it? Because I, I hear, them saying, “Oh, we wonder what the motive is.” Well, excuse me, in Du— in the Middle East, the motive is, the fact that Islam calls for the death of Jews. All Jews. It's part of the core belief of Islam. This whole commission, this joke they had in Australia recently about antisemitism, just ignores the reality of what is the core belief of Islam that all Jews must die until the world becomes pure, free of Jews." Hat Hair's Josh Hammer warns Don't Let Flydubai Terror Scare Derail Abraham Accords Progress. At Response State, Reignited violence in Ethiopia threatens to engulf the entire region, "A tangled web of alliances, mixed with intense domestic conflicts in surrounding countries, will make it difficult to contain another civil war." Aggie at Althouse comments "Apparently, the Omani co-pilot asked the Indian pilot if he could leave his seat to go pray. The Indian pilot granted this permission, at which point the Omani co-pilot retrieved the rescue axe and proceeded to attack the pilot, in an attempt to crash the plane. Isn't that a terrific metaphor for what's going on in the West...."

At Da Signal, the Great Victor Davis Hanson shows that the Iran’s Regime Is Running Out of Options. At RCW, The Diesel Shock Came from Abroad; But the Missing Cushion Was Homemade. Failure to allow enough oil refining. We're looking at you, California, in particular. CTH's sundance hosts Barbara Boyd Outlines Trump Strategy Against Fuel Costs and Overall America-First Economy. From RCE, When All Else Fails, Start a War: Europe's Descent From Net Zero Folly to Military Mobilization.

A Driscolly post at Insty, US PULLS BOMBER JETS FROM RAF FAIRFORD AFTER TERROR PLOT: "The US has withdrawn all of its bomber jets from RAF Fairford after the base was the target of a suspected terror plot last weekend. The Pentagon said all B-1 bombers deployed to the base, which US forces have used to strike Iran, have returned to the US." Trent Telenko @TrentTelenko, "If this is true. We are seeing a massive USAF vote of no-confidence in the UK Labour government. If the "Special Relationship" between the US & UK depends on which political parties are in power simultaniously. We are post "Special Relationship."" Quote GMI @Global_Mil_Info, "It appears a mass withdrawal of B-1B Lancer bombers from RAF Fairford is underway, likely reflecting the ongoing security threat surrounding the airbase. The movement also appears to include aircraft from the most recent B-1B rotation, rather than being limited to the bombers." Insty says R.I.P. SPECIAL RELATIONSHIP: Eli Afriat @EliAfriatISR, "The Pentagon confirms that all B-1 bombers deployed to RAF Fairford in the UK have returned to the US: "Due to operational security considerations, we could not confirm the aircraft's movement in real time; however, we can now confirm that all US bombers deployed to RAF Fairford in the UK have returned to their home bases in the US."" The Globe and Mail @globeandmail, "Quebec on the cusp of electing separatist government promising referendum." When Canada falls apart on its own, we can take Alberta, and maybe BC.

7% NaCl (Salty) @TwoRulesOfWar, "This seems like the start to a survival horror game." Quote, Annie Jacobsen @AnnieJacobsen "BREAKING: Plague outbreak expands, Russia BSL-3 lab accident - FIVE hospitals now quarantined The plague outbreak in Siberia, Russia has expanded w/5 hospitals now under QUARANTINE: Irkutsk Hospitals No. 1, No.3, No.10, Ivano-Matreninskaya." Looks like another lab "leak." From News Wax, Germany's Merz Visits Kyiv as Russia Steps up Attacks on Ukrainian Cities.

Inevitable West @Inevitablewest, "BREAKING: Flávio Bolsonaro has officially WON the first round of the Brazilian Presidential Elections, with millions more votes than communist tyrant Lula The polls got it horribly wrong. CHANGE is coming to Brazil!" Aaron Stanley @AaronWStanley, "What is the probability that the STF will attempt to annul these election results due to alleged US interference? @ggreenwald" Quote Glenn Greenwald @ggreenwald,"Brazil's election count coming to an end with the slimmest margin yet between Bolsonaro and Lula: now about 2%. Still: very hard to see how Lula will leap ahead for the Oct. 25 run-off given tonight's huge right-wing wave and the right-wing tilt of the 4 candidates." The Drunk Republican @DrunkRepub, "Americans were literally financing movements intended to destroy their way of life." Quote Mostly Peaceful Memes @MostlyPeaceful, "Since USAID was dismantled in 2025, no left-wing candidate has won a presidential election in Central or South America. x.com/kalshipolitics…"

Roger Kimball at Am Great discusses Trump and the Relentless Momentum of Events, "Trump is the great magnetic north of our political metabolism." Navarro to Newsmax: Trump Delivering on Manufacturing. At NYPo, Larry Kudlow and Stephen Moore explain Trump and Republicans can win the ‘affordability’ battle — here’s how. Sundance hosts Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent Gives Lengthy Outline of His Role, National Security and the U.S. Economy with Anxious. Larry Correia @monsterhunter45, "As much as the black pilled doomers loved to cry about how the Trump admin hasn’t fixed every problem in America… I’d like to point our this is the current ATF director telling some Everytown For Gun Safety dude to fuck off. Keep in mind two years ago Biden’s ATF director was making literally millions of us felons overnight because we had the wrong shaped piece of plastic on our guns. Anybody who says these two sides are equal is dumb or an op trying to sell you something." Carson Holloway at Am Mind remembers George Washington’s Wisdom for the Midterms. "No political movement can succeed by ignoring its voters’ self-interest." Tim O'Brien at PJM wonders Are Republican Campaigns Forgetting About Their X Platform Advantage?. From Althouse, "I don’t know about anyone else, but a table full of very distinguished people just told me that they HATE, immediately after a mandatory time change, going home at night – and it’s DARK." ""It’s depressing! One of the gentleman stated that, 'I just hate going home in darkness.'" Writes Trump, who seems to believe Daylight Saving Time is a valuable political issue." No problem too small. And, "To understand the religious dynamics of the Texas race, it’s important to absorb the true depths of the 'God gap' in American politics." "Writes David French, in "The ‘God Gap’ Is Narrowing in Texas" (NYT)."

From Tech Crunch, OpenAI safety employee resigns, claiming the company’s ‘culture is broken’

Derek Hunter at TownHall sees Democrats Are Coming After You and It Won’t End Well. From Calling all Rush-Babes, *Hello, America! The Midterm Elections are a Month Away. Here’s what Chuck Schumer and the Democrats have planned. Da Signal is worried Muslim Migration Could Decide Key Senate Races. PJM's Stephen Kruiser thinks It Feels Like It Should Be Easier to Defeat Abdul El-Sayed. NYPo, Gavin Newsom signs Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha into law as new California state holidays, but of course, Christmas and Easter are billed as "seasonal" holidays. Becca Lower at RedState has a Report: Somali Gang Shooting Injures 2 at MN High School Game, Has Major Implications for Midterms. Insurrection Barbie @DefiyantlyFree, "People don’t seem to understand that the DSA is a convergence around a replacement moral order. It is an anti-imperial theory in which power is not restrained by constitutional limits, individual rights, or conduct toward civilians. Power is judged by who exercises it and..." quote DataRepublican (small r) @DataRepublican, "Correct. "Populist left" is a misnomer; the only thing that makes them "populist" is that they're anti-NATO and anti-Israel. It's always dangerous when the dissident right talks about allying with them. They're trading a fake perception of foreign control (Israel) for a very real set of foreign countries bent on destroying America. This includes China, Russia, Iran, Cuba, and many others. Just because they're anti-NATO doesn't make them anti-global-order. The populist left wants to abolish borders and install tyrants; it's their religion. Singham / CCP alone has routed 300 million dollars towards revolutionary disruption all over the world. There's no alliance with the populist left. They'll kill you first." Quotulatiousness quotes Those who are attracted to power are the ones least capable of using it wisely. At Da Signal, Pedro Rodriguez looks at Squad 2.0. Joe Chalfant at TownHall laughs when he finds out It Turns Out That Talarico's 'Latest' High-Profile Campaign Stop Is From February. 

Wall Street Apes @WallStreetApes, "EXPOSED: This is how paid protest networks can secretly claim to be grassroots and not big donor funded - 2 paid protesters organizers are exposed as being paid $80,000 each per year each, both work for The People's Forum - On paper, they make $0 from The People's Forum, so it looks like the protest organizers are no paid - However if you look dig a litter deeper into their taxes you can see they are paid by a different NGO called the Justice and Education Fund - The Justice and Education Fund is the nonprofit funded by Neville Roy Singham, the billionaire China ... My opinion is everyone involved in these foreign funded paid mass protest networks should be criminally charged" Bob Bluey at Da Signal explains The Real Reason Some States Still Count Votes for Weeks. 

From Twitchy, Woman Mystified by Middle Eastern-Looking Men Filling Up Walmart Grocery Carts With Milk Jugs. Jack Trade @JackTradexx, "They shop for their convenience stores, using SNAP (food stamps) card to pay for all the food, then sell for cash at their store. Have 3 wives, 2 of them collect government funds and the men use the funds to buy inventory for their store." From Fox, ‘Phantom’ Obamacare accounts spark new crackdown as Oz targets broker fraud. "CMS administrator says 760,000 fraudulent accounts have been terminated, saving taxpayers $2.2B."

Gail Heriot at Insty, IT’S REALLY LONG: "I’ve been reading through the Report of the California Task Force to Study and Develop Reparations Proposals for African Americans. It’s well over 1000 pages long (and printed in a way that makes it more like 2000 pages of an ordinary book). I probably won’t be able to read every single line of it, but I will try to read as much as I can. Somebody has to, and it’s up my alley, so I should be the one.." At Da Caller, Gavin Newsom Signs New Law Requiring Companies To Disclose Historical Ties To Slavery. From NYPo, California governor’s races sees another massive swing as nail-biting new poll released.

At Insty, WHO KNEW HE WAS “FAR RIGHT” DECADES AGO?

I just found the most brilliant bit by @JohnCleese He explains Leftism better in 90 seconds, than you could learn from any academic in 20 years. https://t.co/xtubCcbRdi

— Dr Manhattva (@Manhattva) October 3, 2026

To be fair, I think they probably left out the part where he looked at "far-right" extremism.

From Da Fed, Brianna Lyman sees a Poll: 6 In 10 Americans Oppose Democrats’ Plan To Pack The Supreme Court and Ben Weingarten like a Landmark Lawsuit that Pits The Sharia Regime Against The Constitution. From CIS, SCOTUS to Consider Legality of Trump ‘Mass Detention’ Policy. "More than 30 years after IIRIRA, we’ll finally find out what section 235(b)(2)(A) actually says."

At USA Today, The 'Cornell 7' haven't been charged. The mob doesn't care. "What's most troubling in the Cornell University rape allegations is that onlookers have already made up their minds about who is to blame." Eugene Kontorovich @EVKontorovich, "I didn’t think I would comment on the Cornell 7 matter, but there is an underlying culprit everyone is missing. It’s not “society,” it’s the government. The heavy partying at ultra-expensive institutions like Cornell is being financed by untold billions of non-market government-backed loans that let students take what amounts to a four-year cruise - parties, sports, even occasional lectures. I would guess none of the participants were electrical engineering majors. Most adults don’t have all-night ketamine bacchanals because they have to work in the morning. But 18-21 year olds are given all the privileges of adulthood without and of the responsibility. Don’t treat them like Roman aristocrats and then wonder at their decadence." Insty, I BELIEVE THE SOCIETAL/RELATIONAL DAMAGE IS ACTUALLY THE POINT: Timur Kuran @timurkuran, "The biggest issue raised by Jane Doe vs. the Cornell 7 isn't simply who is responsible. It is what the controversy could do to relations between men and women at a moment when American social life is already in trouble..." Kurt Schlichter @KurtSchlichter, "My new @Townhallcom column takes no prisoners… “We don’t owe accusers anything except to treat the accusation seriously, to investigate both sides’ claims, and to test the admissible evidence against clear laws. But that’s not what the leftists and feminists want to do here. That’s not what New York Gov. Kathy Hochul wanted done by appointing New York Attorney General Letitia James as special prosecutor. Hochul had already framed the young woman as a victim who was “literally gang raped,” and said she deserves to have “justice pursued.” Her catspaw James is supposed to run an objective criminal investigation? That’s a travesty. She has her marching orders, and she will march accordingly.”

From Am Con, The Mysteries of Butler "A new book examines the assassination attempt that changed the course of our recent history." Something stinks, but it's not clear, who or what is rotten.

Preston Byrne @prestonjbyrne, "If you want to see the GRANITE Act pass, and get foreign censors the hell off of America’s Internet, now is the time to take any and all action you feel appropriate. Call your reps, write an op-ed, tell your friends - literally anything."

At The 74, Parents Are Beginning to Grasp the Reality of Grade Inflation, New Data Shows. "Grades can give the false impression that students are on track. A Learning Heroes survey suggests parents are beginning to question what schools tell them." Atop Da Hill, Jonathan Turley says The blue-state model for education has failed, and the public has caught on. From the WSJ, The End of College as We Know It. "AI is wreaking havoc in universities, but higher ed’s woes long predate ChatGPT." Bob Graboyes at Bastiat's Window, says Plagiarize! Plagiarize! Plagiarize! Only Be Sure Always to Call It, Please, “Research.” "In the AI+internet Era, can plagiarism remain a meaningful concept, and will its prohibition be enforceable?" 

Charlie Martin @chasrmartin, "Not a history, major I see." Quote Ashok Kumar @comrade_kumar_ "It’s official: the Green Party is now the first major political party in the West to be explicitly anti-zionist. A historic moment." Steven Pinker @sapinker, "Yes, many critical-social-justice dogmas can't withstand intellectual scrutiny, so their proponents try to protect them via intimidation and walling off the university commons. Civil discourse and viewpoint diversity are threats to this tactic." Quote Jeffrey Flier @jflier, "This new "report" is an embarrassing example of politicized argumentation plus scholarly ineptitude. It reflects that the movement to increase civil discourse & viewpoint diversity is rapidly advancing, which worries these authors. This is the best they could do to fight it." Chicago Boys decry The Alien Transplant to The US, antisemitism.

David Mastio @DavidMastio, "TRUMP'S TRANS CIVIL RIGHTS TRIUMPH: New data show a predicted Trump-era targeting of trans people failed to materialize, even as LGBTQ leaders warned of an ‘epidemic’ of ‘danger,’ ‘violence,’ ‘murder’ and even ‘terrorism.’"

The Wombat has Rule 5 Sunday: No Fishy Just Sexy and FMJRA 2.0: A Winning Homestand up and garnering clicks at The Other McCain.

Flotsam and Jetsam - The FlyDubai Captain Speaks

The pilot of the FlyDubai flight is well enough to talk. Capt. Ed at Hat Hair hears the Hero Captain Speak: 'I Knew I Was Not Going to Let Others Die.' From the Victory Girls, FlyDubai Flight Reveals Heroes Instead Of Becoming A Horror. "I was so badly hurt that I had fallen to the ground. But I knew I had to act. I could feel the aircraft was going down." "Said Capt. Smit Machchhar, from a hospital bed, quoted in "'I Couldn’t Let All of Them Die': Pilot on FlyDubai Flight Recalls Sudden Attack/Capt. Smit Machchhar, who was stabbed by his co-pilot midair between Dubai and Tel Aviv, said he 'had to act' to prevent a crash despite serious injuries"

From NYPo, Trump’s Iran strategy is working — the ayatollah suffers as oil flows again. NewsSquawk reports US Treasury Secretary Bessent says Iran loaded zero crude oil onto tankers in September. The Trump Administration is cutting off the Iranian regime’s most critical source of revenue. RCW asserts Tehran’s Hormuz Offer Reveals Its Real Dilemma. "The Islamic Republic faces two dangers at once. Continued war drains the resources it needs to govern. Yet wartime conditions have made it easier for the state to define and contain domestic opposition as a national security threat. Tehran needs economic relief, but an agreement over the Strait of Hormuz will not resolve the crisis that already existed between the government and Iranian society." Bob Spencer at PJM notes Iran Touts Islam's Teachings of Equality. Reality, As Always, Is Different.

At Right Times with Kathy Gyngell, Why China Will Not Invade Taiwan. "Behind China's vast military lies an untested army, a purged high command and a leadership at war with itself." PJM's Sarah Anderson sees Venezuela 9 Months Later: Pressure, Protests, Power Outages... and a U.S. Military Base?

Hat Hair's Dave Strom thinks Canada's Ministers are Living in a Dream World. "Canada was, for years running, neck and neck with the US in terms of economic performance, but no longer. In productivity growth, for instance, Canada is right at the bottom of the G7, and its GDP per capita is dreadful compared to its competitors." At Da Signal, Victor Davis Hanson wonders Why Is Mark Carney Preparing for an American Invasion? "Carney is doing this, once again, to jack up opinion in Canada for a new nationalism to avoid the great dissatisfaction in Alberta and Quebec, and especially to try to influence the midterms in the United States and to otherwise mask his unpopular socialist globalist agenda."

At Construction Physics, Understanding the AI That Drives Robots, "An Explanation of Vision-Language-Action Models." Chris Queen at PJM hears AI Is Going to Destroy Us All — Just Like Everything Else Was Supposed To. John Sexton at Hat Hair, Headquarters @HQNewsNow, "Bill Gates on Trump's idea to use lawsuits to regulate AI: "Do we just use the liability laws to try and keep humans safe? ... We've created a society that tries to keep people safe not by saying, 'oh, we can bankrupt the person who does that.' ... Say you kill 100 million. You want to use a lawsuit? I almost can't keep a straight face.""

Capt. Ed, Midterm Miss: US Adds Only 29,000 Jobs in September. Breitbart Bus Dig explores Republican Electoral Optimism Versus Consumer Sentiment. From Twitchy, LA-HOO-ZA-HER: Hillary Clinton Instantly REGRETS Sharing 2 Headlines to Dunk on Trump's Economy. 

Crémieux @cremieuxrecueil, "Amazing. These researchers found that there's a spike in Bitcoin activity around the time foreign aid money goes out. Somewhere between 2 and 6 cents of every dollar of World Bank foreign aid disbursements got siphoned off into crypto wallets." From Ace, RFKJr. Exposes More Billions in Medical Fraud.

Don Surber tells Trump his Best midterm strategy? Finish the job "What is the use of being president if you don’t do the job as you see fit?" Cynical Publius @CynicalPublius. "In any competitive situation, winning requires two things: 1. The ability to win. 2. The will to win. MAGA has consistently shown the ability to win at the ballot box. Thus, the mid-terms come down to MAGA's will to win. This is why you are experiencing an epic information war campaign to convince you that you cannot win. That campaign's singular purpose is to BREAK your WILL to win. Please do not let that happen." From Decision Desk HQ, Episode 46: Can Susan Collins survive in Maine? Can Sherrod Brown flip Ohio? Capt. Ed is happy Paxton Goes Soft? $20M Family-Ad Campaign Floods Texas. unseen1 @unseen1_unseen, "Yeap. The dems aren't acting like it's in the bag anymore." Quote Seth Keshel @RealSKeshel, "There is a WHOLE LOT of language out there like this right now: 1) Republicans will steal the election 2) Republicans will buy the election 3) Polls have underestimated Republicans." Mark Tapscott says Not So Fast on That Coming Democrat Blue Wave. TownHall's Matt Vespa thinks We Need to Talk About the Current Slate of 2026 Polls. "Polling during the Trump years has always been atrocious, and this 2026 cycle is even more outrageous. The problem is increasing polarization and the insanity of liberals, who no doubt harass these pollsters when they see what they don’t like — Nate Silver got this treatment a little in 2024 — so silly things happen. These are businesses, so they chalk up whatever concerns to who’s paying. O’Connor notes that’s part of the problem: whatever you think, there’s a poll to satisfy your bias."

VodkaPundit at Insty notes IT’S GOOD TO BE THE NOMENKLATURA: Abdul El-Sayed Billed County Taxpayers $9,000 a Month in ‘Consulting’ Fees While Running for Senate. Hat Hair's Dave Strom, Caught: Abdul El-Sayed 'Resigned' From Government Job to Run for Senate, Remained on Payroll. Peter J. Hasson @peterjhasson, "Abdul you're not going to believe this but SpaceX alone made 4,400 millionaires, including welders and cafeteria workers." Quote Dr. Abdul El-Sayed @AbdulElSayed, "I'd rather have an economy that makes 1,000 millionaires than 1 billionaire." From CJ, Mamdani Will Be Honored Alongside Group with Alleged Ties to Iranian Regime. John Sexton can't believe Mamdani: Socialism Is Just Dignity. Everywhere it's been tried it bring poverty and totalitarianism, the opposite of dignity. AP @Average_NY_Guy, "He’s planning to spend $607 MILLION to renovate… Wait for it… 1,148 apartments. That’s roughly $528,746 PER APARTMENT. For renovations. $607 million is an insane amount of money. Private developers renovate projects with thousands of apartments for a fraction of that. Give $607 million to a Hasidic developer from Brooklyn and he’ll renovate half the city, put up a whole neighborhood of new buildings, and probably still come in under budget." Quote NYCHA @NYCHA, "@NYCHA closes $607M deal to modernize Brooklyn’s Nostrand Houses via the Public Preservation Trust! Highlights: • Renovations for 1,148 apartments (~2,000 residents) • Lead/mold fix & upgrades • 100% public & affordable • 100% public ownership." It's not like it's his money. Eric Daugherty @EricLDaugh, "JUST NOW: The Trump White House just LAUNCHED a devastating tracker that calculates the exact cost of Democrats’ 2026 socialist policies would cost the U.S. if they win $355,000 PER HOUSEHOLD. INCOME PLUMMETS. MORTGAGE RATES SURGE! Vote red! Add about $49T to the deficit over 10 years, which the Council of Economic Advisers puts at roughly $355K per household: - $22K: lost take-home pay per worker every year if they raise taxes to pay for it - 12%+ 30-year mortgage rates if they borrow it - 130% to 160% higher prices over the decade - 254% federal debt as a share of GDP by 2036, more than DOUBLE today - 39.6% average federal income tax rate, up from 14.1% - 6.9M jobs lost from the 32-hour workweek at the high - 3.3M rental homes lost to rent control DSA also calls for ABOLISHING the police and the prison system, which then costs lives!" At TownHall, a video, Socialism Offers 'Liberation,' but It's Really About Control. Russ Greene @GreenPlusAnE, "Robert Nozick explains socialism's attraction to intellectuals: they don't care about the "working class". Rather, they resent capitalists for earning more money than them, despite their apparently inferior merit. They're disappointed meritocrats, not suffering laborers." From NotTheBee, Democrat confuses 'Mein Kampf' and 'Communist Manifesto' during attack on Republican opponent.

PJM's Vicky Taft has another edition of West Coast, Messed Coast™ — After Decades, Could This Political Earthquake Happen? Yes, If You Vote. "Could it be that after 40 years in the progressive oppressive wilderness, Oregon could elect the first GOP governor since Vic Atiyeh in 1982? Let's grab the Magic 8 Ball. "Most likely," it reads. California is murkier, but hope springs eternal. We'll talk about it." NYPo reports Nithya Raman takes double-digit lead over Karen Bass in new LA mayor’s race prediction. Frying pan, fire. With the caveat that midterm polling sucks. From the Free Bacon, High Hopes Never Die: Buttigieg Surges to 1 Percent With Black Voters, "Plus: Kamala Harris flexes her famed rhetorical chops on the campaign trail."

John Sexton reports Letitia James Takes Over Cornell 7 Case (She Issued Her Judgement Days Ago). Coddled Affluent Professional @feelsdesperate, "Hochul is a very unpopular governor and her aids probably told her to do this because they think it will rally the base. The only thing that it will do is further delegitimize the prosecutorial apparatus. If you’re a ‘reasonable Dem’ this should be a blackpill because Hochul is a Catholic from Buffalo - she’s supposed to be a sensible, moderating force and not a rabid, unprincipled ideologue." Quote Phil Holloway @PhilHollowayEsq, "New York Governor Kathy Hochul has removed local DA Matthew Van Houten from the Cornell 7 case She says she lost confidence. And has thus appointed New York AG Letitia James. Politics has fully infected this case." Buck Sexton @BuckSexton, "You appoint Laetitia James as special prosecutor because you want a predetermined outcome, not an investigation or an impartial prosecutorial decision based on fact and law Hochul knows this. Everyone does." Insty, IF YOU WONDERED IF THE CORNELL THING WAS A POLITICAL OP: Hochul Names Letitia James as Special Prosecutor in Cornell Case and IF IT WASN’T OBVIOUS BEFORE, THE LAETITIA JAMES APPOINTMENT MAKES IT SO: Northern Barbarian @xnoesbueno, "The October Unsurprise" Quote Paul @WomanDefiner, "Lol, democrats plan to gas up mentally ill females by highlighting the Clancy trial, the Cornell 7 story, and the execution of the first female inmate in decades is kind of ingenious but utterly destructive long term. All of these stories are built on bald faced lies or lies by omission. Millions of dollars is being thrown at leftist online personalities and foreign bot farms to push it. I bet they highlight a few more before November." Dan McLaughlin at NRO explores The Moral Wilderness of the Cornell Seven Case "We should get the facts and the law straight before holding a moral panic — but we should still demand a more moral society." That ship has sailed. Northern Barbarian @xnoesbueno, "It is necessary for you to believe this young woman did not lustily agree to be gangbanged. By white males (also a brown one and an Asian one but never mind that.) Through the first Tuesday in November, anyway. After that, never mind. The fun part will be the slander suits, prosecutorial abuse suits after the dust settles." Quote C3 @C_3C_3, "Well well well… The signed statement did not claim she was drugged against her will, unconscious, or gang-raped, and that sex stopped when she asked."

Josh Blackmun at the Volokh Conspiracy says Somehow the N.Y. Times Made Me Sympathetic To Chief Justice Roberts. "Jodi Kantor's latest expose tells us nothing about the Court's decision but does destroy John Roberts's last refuge from scoundrels like me."

Matt Margolis, Renee Good's Family Sues the Government. Here’s Everything That Blows Up Their Case. From Campus Reform, UIC students protest CBP recruiting, demand ‘sanctuary campus’

Vodka at Insty looks at France, Visegrád 24 @visegrad24, "A French woman tells one of the second and third-generation migrant rioter no to vandalize her city He responds by trying to set her face on fire." Rick Morab at PJM, Rioting at French Schools Explodes Nationwide as the Government Is Running Scared. Beege Welborn, No Worries: Rotherham Man Explodes on Street, Determined to Be a 'Household Accident.' Stephen Kruiser thinks The United Kingdom Has Outlived Its Usefulness to the Free World. cdrsalamander @cdrsalamander, "They’ve destroyed their cities." Quote Richard J. Schenk @RichardJSchenk, "EU Commission staff refuse to move to Brussels North station due to crack smoking, public defecation & human trafficking. The EU’s disastrous migration policies also destroyed Brussels North, but Eurocrats think only regular people should have to live with the consequences." VodkaPundit at Insty says OH NO, PLEASE DON’T SPARK WORRIES: ":Japan’s harsher permanent residency rules, hiked visa fees begin, sparking xenophobia worries. “The Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Act sets three requirements for permanent residency: good conduct; assets or skills sufficient to make an independent living; and the person’s permanent residence being in Japan’s national interest. The government revised its guidelines Oct. 1, making the second and third requirements stricter.” Those rules aren’t xenophobia — they’re just good sense."

Beege Welborn sees a Maine Wire Reporter Needed the 'Reflexes of a Cheetah' Today 

Some lunatic just attempted to murder our reporter @iAmJoeSokol.

We have the entire chilling interaction on camera.

We will take all necessary actions to demand justice. pic.twitter.com/Iwlpf3BWIx

— The Maine Wire (@TheMaineWire) October 1, 2026

I&I sees Reality Slaps College Graduates In The Face "The job market is booming for young people – but not those with college degrees. Are employers finally coming to realize that colleges these days mainly produce coddled, know-nothing, whiny, entitled brats? A recent analysis from Burning Glass Institute found that unemployment among those 22-34 years old without a college degree is lower than it’s been in decades, but those with college diplomas are having a much harder time finding work than before." The college educated have not done a good job of demonstrating their usefulness. 

Rusty Weiss at RedState, Bad News, Bra Burners: Sydney Sweeney’s Naked Sports Ad Just Hit the Jackpot "Sweeney’s naked sports ad for Novig has done more than just turn heads. It helped the prediction-market platform quadruple its valuation, from $500 million earlier this year to $2 billion by the end of September. Oh, and also sure to enrage the woke sports mob? The "Euphoria" star is an equity investor in the company. The paper value of her undisclosed stake has likely skyrocketed, too. "Novig continues to field investor interest and could raise additional capital soon at an even higher valuation," the Wall Street Journal reported. Everything she touches turns to gold."

Confirmed: Sydney Sweeney knows ball. pic.twitter.com/EXQ4PzVZsi

— Novig (@Novig) September 9, 2026

Matt Margolis, Michelle Obama Accidentally Admits That Trans Ideology Is Biologically Absurd. "Men would film themselves going into labor, and honoring their pain, you know? There would be trophies given," she said. She went on to say that "there would be the birth-Olympics," and then played the part of one fella congratulating another. "Well done, dude! Bob, you did that without an epidural!" Hold the phone here. Haven't Democrats been telling us for years now that men can get pregnant? Why, yes they have."

And, of course more still left on the Table at the Wombat's In The Mailbox: 10.02.26 (Afternoon Edition) and In The Mailbox: 10.02.26 (Evening Edition). Linked at Pirate's Cove in the weekly Sorta Blogless Sunday Pinup and links.  The Wombat has FMJRA 2.0: A Winning Homestand up and garnering clicks at The Other McCain.

Flotsam and Jetsam - Supreme Court Lets Trump Regulate Mail-in Voting

Matt Margolis at PJM hears SCOTUS Gives Trump HUGE Win on Mail-In Voting. "Trump signed the executive order, called "Ensuring Citizenship Verification And Integrity In Federal Elections, in March 2026. It directs his administration to build lists of eligible voters and orders the U.S. Postal Service to deliver mail ballots only to people on those lists. The Postal Service laid out its implementation plan last week, but the clock is ticking. Some states start sending mail ballots in just a few weeks, leaving the administration little time to get this right before the midterms. More court challenges remain possible." Again, like the ballroom, it's one of those "we haven't really decided yet, but you can proceed for now" decisions. At Althouse, "Supreme Court Allows Trump Plan to Restrict Mail-In Voting, for Now." "The administration asked the court to clear the way for President Trump’s order that creates 'state citizenship lists' and directs the Postal Service to decide who gets a mail-in ballot". Mark Mendlovitz @MendlovitzMark, "The Supreme Court ruling that lets the Trump Administration proceed with mail ballot security measures has Democrats freaking out, but what's really driving them bonkers is less about providing voter lists for eligibility determination (though they are certainly worried about that) and much more about MATCHING BARCODES of the outer and inner envelopes in a mail ballot package. Here is why that's the problem for them. If surplus mail ballots collected from people who aren't voting by mail are somehow voted on behalf of OTHER PEOPLE, it becomes readily detectable that a ballot was repurposed from its originally intended voter to someone else on the voter rolls. The "no-match" condition means that ballot was taken from the originally intended voter or it was given away. Either way that's how fraud can be easily detected. Keep in mind, the barcode matching requirement does not require any personal information that isn't on the outside of an envelope, and it doesn't prevent states from using mail to conduct elections, so the hysterical reactions are confirmation they know the gig is up."

VodkaPundit at PJM notes Bessent to Reveal 'Economic D-Day' Against Iran. ""The U.S. Treasury is preparing to expand secondary sanctions on countries and companies doing business with Iran, forcing trading partners to choose between Tehran and access to the dollar-based financial system," Unusual Whales posted Monday, summarizing a paywalled Financial Times report." Francis Sempka at Am Spec, Trump is Combining Geoeconomic and Kinetic Warfare Against Iran, "American impatience has repeatedly undermined the political gains of military victories. The war against Iran may be no different." wretchardthecat @wretchardthecat, "Iranian oil shipments to Asia have nearly dried up as US pressure on Tehran disrupts supplies. Chinese refiners are facing tighter availability, with Iranian crude prices shifting from a discount to a premium of around $4 a barrel. A major factor behind the shortage is the impact of US efforts to block Iranian oil shipments. Loaded Iranian tankers have been unable to leave the Persian Gulf, while empty vessels remain stranded outside the region." Brian Cates @drawandstrike, "You're gonna see a lot of weird shit go down over the next 2 weeks. Some of these 60+ entities will REFUSE to stop the money laundering. They can't. If they do, financial drug/human/sex/arms/dark web networks they've spent DECADES building and expanding will start collapsing. They're in a damned if they do, damned if they don't situation now. Gird your loins...the strong ripples of this are gonna show up in some really strange places in Europe." Quote Rapid Response 47 @RapidResponse47, "@SecScottBessent: "Let me be clear: any entity that facilitates money laundering on behalf of Iran will be removed from the U.S. Dollar system. The clock just started ticking." x.com/RapidResponse4…"

Ben Smith at RedState observes Google Pulls Every Last Pixel Product Out of China. Fred Fleitz at Am Great warns Before Trump Meets Kim Jong Un Again, Five Things Must Happen First "These steps build on the existing strong U.S.-South Korea partnership, advance American interests, and create space to resolve lingering bilateral frictions." 

At TownHall Matt Vespa sees NBC Tried to Do Major Damage Control for Abdul El-Sayed. Tim Scott Shut It Down. At PJM Vicky Taft watches NBC's Welker to Head-Shaking Tim Scott: Let's Pretend That El Sayed's Terror Ties Don't Count and Dave Manney notes PETA Savaged Kristi Noem. For Abdulrahman Mohamed El-Sayed, It Found Excuses. From Da Caller, ‘That’s Not My Grandpa’s Democratic Party’: JD Vance Blasts Dem Senate Candidate El-Sayed. Vic Nava at NYPo, Abdul El-Sayed asks Fox News’ Jesse Watters ‘Are you circumcised?’ in bizarre moment as he defends sex change surgery for minors. Tyler O'Neil at Da Signal hears Far-Left Streamer Hasan Piker Says He’s More Respectful of Charlie Kirk Than Kirk’s Widow. Well, he is Muslim after all. Driscoll at Insty, on HOW IT STARTED: Socialist Robert Reich on Election Night 2024 Warned Elon Musk: “I guarantee you I’m going to make life so difficult for you, really so difficult for you, so just be very careful of yourself.” How It’s Going: Jon Najarian @jonnajarian, "Whenever I need a good laugh, I just read Elon's response to this intellectual dwarf." John Kass asks Daddy, Where Do Communists Come From? "These young Americans don’t have the work ethic or inclination to build a career or a business. They don’t want the burdens of traditional family life. They’re disappointed and confused. Their contributions to society are mostly street chants beginning with the words “Whadda we want?”"

retard mode ✞ @retardmode, "gary indiana not having power is an amazing story of diversity >entire city council is black >every electric company executive is black >black residents can’t stop shooting at vehicles working to restore power and they all blame racism for going without power for so long." Will Chamberlain @willchamberlain, "The people who made a secular religion out of George Floyd’s death are here to tell you that you shouldn’t dare politicize Iryna Zarutska’s murder."

PJM's Cathy Salgado asks Hiding Much? Newsom Signs 'Stop Nick Shirley Act.' cdrsalamander @cdrsalamander, "We need to find a new name for “nonprofits“. They are very profitable for those who run them." Quote Katy Grimes @KATYSaccitizen, "The Receipts: California Assemblyman Corey Jackson Steers $6 Million to His Own Nonprofit. Assemblyman Dr. Corey Jackson also named his own nonprofit, his legislative district’s “Nonprofit of the Year.”. $6M is listed in the California FLOOR REPORT OF THE 2026-27 BUDGET." TownHall's Dmitri Bolt lays it out This Is How Much of a Difference Rooting Out Fraud Could Make for Medicare's Lifespan. Eric Daugherty @EricLDaugh, " HOLY CRAP! Dr. Oz reveals that if 100% of fraud is abolished from Medicare, the Medicare Trust Fund will DOUBLE its lifespan "In JUST this past year — we cut $42 BILLION of fraud from Medicare...by NEVER letting the money out the door."..." Wilfred Reilly @wil_da_beast630, "This is a plain reality almost everyone ignores. You can think we over-spend on Israel or Gaza aid, some weapons system, etc. But, Defense and State COMBINED are like 11% of the budget. Significantly cutting gov't size requires targeting entitlements." Quote Andrew Follett @AndrewCFollett, "47% of government spending is on some form of welfare. Only 8% is on defense. Reducing welfare spending is profoundly difficult politically...but it must be done or we will go the way of Rome. x.com/Handre/status/…" At PJM VodkaPundit notices California’s Revenge on Paramount Comes With a $7 Million-a-Day Price Tag.

On Tinfoil Tuesday PJM's Kevin Downy asks Which Politicians AREN'T Chinese Assets? Bob Hoge at RedState, So You're Saying There's a Chance? Polling in CA Gubernatorial Race Takes Surprising Twist. Steve Hilton @SteveHiltonx, "SHOCK POLL: It’s a SINGLE-DIGIT race for governor. Becerra 49% / Hilton 41% / 10% Undecided We’ve cut the margin from 25% to 8% in less than two months! Our campaign is SURGING; the Machine is reeling. Keep the pressure on!" I suppose it's possible, but I'm not counting that chicken just yet.

TheFOO @PolitiBunny, "Those campers were literally in Ontario, Tim. Holy shit. lol" Quote Governor Tim Walz @GovTimWalz, "When a group of YMCA campers needed to be rescued during the wildfires on our northern border, it was Canada who immediately helped. Not a word from Trump." To be fair, Trump could have used it as an excuse to invade Canada.

PJM's Tom Jipping and Hans von Spakovsky have August’s Dishonorable Judicial Conduct Award: Judges Balk at White House Ballroom. From the Center Square, AGs conceal records tied to longstanding plans to sue Trump. 

Shooting News Week is glad the Ninth Circuit Smacks Down Anti-Gun Orgs That Sued ATF Claiming it Didn’t Regulate ‘Ghost Guns’ Nearly Enough.

Gavin McInnes @Gavin_McInnes, "Ah, so it WAS an invasion. Got it." Quote NEXTA @nexta_tv, "Morocco has made territorial claims against Spain Moroccan Justice Minister Abdellatif Ouahbi said Rabat maintains “historical and geographical rights” to the cities of Ceuta and Melilla and wants to create a special mechanism with Madrid for negotiations." Ace cites Morocco: Now That We've Sent Criminals to Invade Your Country, We Are Prepared to Negotiate Your Surrender of the Conquered Territory. Brendan O'Neill at NYPO opines ‘Rape leaflets’ for migrants enrage the British public — and prove Trump’s point. Visegrád 24 @visegrad24, "German nurse on how security in the ERs has changed due to mass-immigration: “If 2 Arab boys need to be taken care of, I’m not sending two girls in. As soon as certain surnames come up, we bring in the police.” She speaks about the problems with clan members: “It usually doesn't take long for 20, 30, 40 family members to show up in front of the hospital. They have special Telegram groups where they alert each other, and they want to make their presence felt in a way that's often aggressive: 'We're here; we stand by our people—and you can expect trouble if anything happens to them.' In these circles, it's common for the mothers and women to scream loudly and in high drama. This high noise level is a stress factor for the staff and also for the patients.”"

Christian Heiens @ChristianHeiens, "Once you remember that this man used to be the chief intellectual leader of the Conservative movement for 25 years, it all starts to make sense why the GOP functioned like controlled opposition from the 1990s until Trump came along. Because that’s exactly what they were." Quote Bill Kristol @BillKristol, "Abolish ICE. Now."

jimtreacher.substack.com @jtLOL, "(She made up a quote and attributed it to a man who couldn't defend himself, because he had just been murdered.)" Quote The New York Times @nytimes, "Breaking News: An arbitrator ordered The Washington Post to rehire Karen Attiah, a columnist who was fired over her social media posts about the assassination of Charlie Kirk." From Ace, Arbitration Board Says That Racist Grifter Karen Attiah Was Wrongly Fired for Making Up Fake Racist Quotes "by" Charlie Kirk and Celebrating His Murder; Hasan Piker Mocks Kirk's Murder in Hate Rally, "Karen Attiah is a degenerate, unqualified DEI hire formerly, and now presently, employed by the Washington Post to write the same three columns about racism, colonialism, "Islamaphobia" and sexism over and over again while hammering checks."

At TownHall, Steve Miller explores How Would a Jason Arday Scandal Play Out Here? We've already seen it with the Harvard Preznit. The left will defend anything if they're black and left. Adrian Vermeule @Vermeullarmine, "The issue isn’t that the universities won’t admit to being progressive seminaries. (Does anyone not realize what they are?) It’s not a consumer disclosure issue. The real problem is substantive: progressivism is bad, it has injected poison into the body politic for decades, and universities should be ordered to the good, the true and the beautiful." Quote Heterodox Academy @HdxAcademy "We propose that universities that are committed to progressive policies simply say so." In a new @washingtonpost op-ed, HxA President John Tomasi and Harvard Professor Tyler VanderWeele encourage progressive schools to model themselves after religious colleges." Crémieux @cremieuxrecueil, "This is really sad: When psychology professors are asked whether they'd put the truth before social equity concerns, 66.4% of male professors said yes, but fewer than half of female professors (43%) agreed. In both groups, too many put equity before truth." Try it in a real science. At Althouse, "In 2021, Columbia University law professor Philip Hamburger argued that the U.S. public school system violates the First Amendment." ""'Education,' he wrote, 'consists mostly in speech, and parents have a right under the First Amendment to exercise authority over what their children hear.' Forcing families to accept government messaging — or pay a steep price to escape it — amounts to unconstitutional pressure. A lawsuit filed in Nebraska on Aug. 13 brings that argument into court — and could open a path toward universal school choice." From "Are public schools unconstitutional? A Nebraska court will decide. The challenge to compulsory education combined with public-school-only funding could lead to universal school choice" (WaPo)(gift link)."

Matt Margolis thinks you should Check Out Spencer Pratt’s Brutal Takedown of the Left’s Defense of Lindsay Clancy. Cernovich @Cernovich, "Whoa." Quote Freedomain @StefanMolyneux, "How would women be reacting if Lindsay Clancy had murdered the children of a Somali neighbour?" Marko Jukic @mmjukic, "I am begging sensitive young men not to make decisions about women and family based on the bottom-of-the-barrel gender war ragebait that if blasted in everyone's faces 24/7 barely makes eks dot com profitable to advertisers in a free market." Quote Spergler Acolyte @SperglerAcolyte, "The timeline as of late has hardened my decision to never have a wife nor kids." Gavin McInnes @Gavin_McInnes, "Crazier still: it WAS written about Islam. Atwood was disgusted by what the Muslims were doing to women during the Iranian revolution and she imagined that happening here." Quote Lauren Chen @TheLaurenChen, "The fact that leftists use the Handmaid's Tale to protest Christianity while ignoring the fact that it's way more similar to Islam will never not be hilarious to me."

vittorio @IterIntellectus, "testosterone literally counteracts conformity give men testosterone and they become less responsive to audience expectations and put more weight on their own judgment relative to other people’s testosterone is the independent-thought hormone this explains so much it’s not even funny." Quote Templarpilled @Templarpilled, "Please read the abstract of this study. Men who received testosterone boosters did not care about being watched by two women when making decisions."

New York Post @nypost, "Enes Kanter, Royce White not eligible for WNBA after draft declarations." Physics Geek @physicsgeek, "Look at all the bigoted transphobes attacking her just for speaking her mind. She'll show all the haters in the WNBA next year." Quote, Clay Travis @ClayTravis, "Enes Kanter, one of the bravest women I know, just got kicked out of a @wnba game after being cursed out by a Chicago player. Is this any way for one woman to treat another?! I can’t believe this league is real." I think they made their point. At Ace a Real Headline: "WNBA team reveals new 'non-binary' turtle mascot to taunt Indiana Fever star Sophie Cunningham" "Is the WNBA okay?" No. 

The Wombat has FMJRA 2.0: Embracing The Suck up on time and under budget at The Other McCain (if you count Megan).