Flotsam and Jetsam - Supreme Court Allows Ballroom to Proceed 5-4

With Chief Justice Roberts joining the three liberal ladies in dissent. Fox, Trump's White House ballroom construction gets another lifeline from SCOTUS amid heated legal fight, "Chief Justice John Roberts dissented, calling the privately funded East Wing project 'likely unlawful'." Mary Chastain at LI, Supreme Court Grants Stay on Order Stopping White House Ballroom Construction, "Chief Justice John Roberts sided with the three leftist justices." Sundance at CTH, Supreme Court Rule 5-4 to Eliminate Lawsuit Against White House Ballroom and National Defense Complex – Chief Justice Roberts Joined the Minority. Capt. Ed at Hat Hair, SCOTUS: It's It's a Ballroom Blitz, 5-4; Roberts Hangs With the Hacks, As a Matter of Fact. Supreme Court. "We grant the requested stay. The government has established that it is likely to succeed on the merits of a significant legal question, that it would likely suffer irreparable harm without a stay, and that the balance of equities tips in its favor." Mark Paoletta @MarkPaoletta, "Superb ruling by the Supreme Court! There is absolutely zero standing for the National Trust to sue. Simply not liking a building does not constitute injury. Basic Article III limitation. D.C. Circuit Judge Neomi Rao set the table for this decision with her brilliant dissent finding no standing. This is an encouraging development for the many other cases where leftwing groups baselessly sue to thwart President Trump’s America First agenda, and leftwing district judges issue baseless injunctions despite lacking jurisdiction. Hopefully, this great Supreme Court decision is the beginning of reining in these lawless tactics. President Trump showed great leadership in pushing forward expeditiously to complete this important ballroom/military complex. Well done, Mr. President!" Josh Blackmun at the Volokh Conspiracy, is trying to Make Sense Of The Chief Justice's Tango In The Ballroom Case. "It was the Chief, and not KBJ, who was holding up the case. Was he trying to flip ACB's vote?" Hans Mahncke @HansMahncke, "One of the most galling aspects of all this lawfare is that so much of it is run through 501(c)(3) organizations, meaning organizations whose activities are effectively subsidized by taxpayers. They then use the aura of “IRS approved nonprofit” status to confer a kind of legitimacy on themselves, as though the government has somehow endorsed what they do. It has not. These are private activist organizations pursuing their own agendas. ..." Quote Shawn Fleetwood @ShawnFleetwood, "BREAKING: Supreme Court ends lower court blockade against Trump’s White House ballroom construction. Chief Justice Roberts joins the court’s Democrat appointees in dissent." It's time to end the 501c3 bullshit.

Newsweek opines Iran Is Facing Its Soviet Moment and Possibly Its End. Cathy Salgado at PJM hears Trump Say Iran’s Regime Killed 100,000 Freedom Protesters. Surely, some liberal fact checker will come along and insist it was on 99,999 so far, and Trump is lying. Capt. Ed sees Desperation: Iran Tries Provoking US, Hilarity Ensues "Trump finally appears comfortable with the siege as the prime strategy, as a means to force the IRGC's collapse or at least its desperation. Feed a cold, starve Vahidi. It also appears to be working, and this level of desperation indicates that it may be working even better than we think." At the Victory Girls Trump Reiterates Stance On Iran As War Reheats Again. Rapid Response 47 @RapidResponse47, "@POTUS: "Iran is the number one leading state sponsor of terror... They cannot have a nuclear weapon."" Don Surber is looking forward to Fighting Iran with pirates. Cleetus Olney @CleetusOlney, "CNN: Hegseth fired all of the honest brokers and surrounded himself with “yes men.” Also CNN: Flag Officers “continuously” non-concur with Hegseth. Pick one, you hacks." Quote Haley Britzky @halbritz, "The Secretary sees non-concurs from senior military commanders “constantly”? x.com/seanparnellasw…"

From Ace, Trump Announces Truly Huge Deal to... Take Over 65 Billion Barrels' Worth of Venezuela's Oil Reserves?! Why would they do this? Because successive socialist governments have, get this, run the oil industry into the ground. They did not do basic maintenance and never bothered to upgrade and modernize their infrastructure. They have billions of barrels of oil they never invested any money in so the oil remains underground. The socialists, if you can believe this, simply extracted oil (and embezzled the money) while doing nothing to safeguard the future health of the industry. So Venezuela needs outside help to do the most basic things. Let's elect socialists in America to work the same Economic Miracles! I don't know if I like this. Venezuela has a nasty habit of repudiating past agreements and "nationalizing" -- stealing -- foreign investments in their oil industry."

Beege Welborn likes how Bessent Disses the Carney-Val: 'He's Doing What's Best for Mark Carney and the Liberal Party'. Sundance asserts Canadian Govt Gaslighting Is Off the Charts and reports Chinese Car Company BYD Inquires to Purchase Stellantis Auto Plant in Canada, Barbara Boyd Discusses G20 Outlooks – Abundance Mindset ‘Build More Pies’ (Bessent) -vs- Scarcity Mindset ‘Divide Up Pie’ (Europe). CNN whines Iceland rejects EU membership plan in referendum held under the shadow of Trump’s Greenland threats. Sarah Hoyt at Insty thinks SUPPORTING THE ENEMY OF MY ENEMY ANNOYS THE HECK OUT OF MY ENEMY: Turkey: We Put Out A Warrant For Netanyahu’s Arrest. Israel: Enjoy Greece Having Our Cutting Edge Weapons.

Sundance hosts as President Trump Holds an Oval Office Event to Outline Newest U.S. Prescription Drug Price Reductions. Rapid Response 47 @RapidResponse47, "@SecScottBessent: "She is on the Senate Finance Committee, she is the ranking member of the Senate Banking Committee — and neither she nor her staff know the difference between a foreign exchange intervention or a currency swap. It is shameful."" Quote Elizabeth Warren @SenWarren, "Tough couple weeks for Sec. Bessent. His effort to prop up a foreign currency hasn’t worked. His failed intervention in Treasury markets was blasted by his mentor as burning "two centuries" of credibility." @instapundit @instapundit, "It’s the Anaconda Strategy." Quote Prowler @derzum_, "Replying to @derzum_ Trump's actions against NGOs, gutting of USAID, sanctions on ICC, leaving 66 world organizations, pulling back Civil Rights rulings & DEI regulations, firing federal workers, pursuing election integrity and clearing out fraud all damage the power of the foreign and domestic left."

RedState's Bog Hoge sees The Lake America Memes Are Coming in Fast and Furious, and They Are Laugh Out Loud Funny.

At Sauron's Eye, Michigan Democrat Abdul El-Sayed's deleted tweets on Sept. 11 attacks invite scrutiny of past remarks Ace reports Muslim Brotherhood Spawn Abdulrahman Mohamed El-Sayed Begins Deleting Old Tweets Making Light of 9/11, Claims That Anyone Who Wants to Judge a Senatorial Candidate Based on His Statements and Sympathies Is Engaging in "Cancel Culture", "Some people deleted some tweets about some people doing some things." It's kind of late to be deleting tweets. Hat Hair's John Sexton noticed Abdul El-Sayed Had Thoughts on 9/11 (and the Left Is Outraged About It). Capt. Ed wonders Is This The World's Worst Campaign Video? It looks like a hostage video. PJM's Scott Pinsker calls out Politico’s Big Lie About Michigan’s Muslim Vote. Dave Strom, MI Attorney General to Jews: Sacrifice Your Very Existence to Elect Democrats. Guy Benson @guypbenson, "Wild what’s happening in Michigan" Quote Josh Kraushaar @JoshKraushaar, "Michigan AG Dana Nessel called on Jewish Dems to "place the needs of the world" even "over our own survival" in speech Sunday. “We have a moral imperative to place the needs of the world above even our own self-interest and, yes, even our own survival""

PM claims Mamdani’s free day care plan in chaos as cash-strapped centers warn they may not open. Maybe electing a failed rapper who never had a real job wasn't such a great idea after all. Stu Smith and Daniel Edward Rosen at CJ are worried about Mamdani’s Abolitionist Bench. "The mayor’s new judicial panel reveals the radical direction in which New York’s criminal and family courts may be headed." Gooder and harder. Beege Welborn looks at The LARPing Lowlife King of the DSA, Gustavo Gordillo. From Fox, Far-left streamer Hasan Piker equates Israel's 'right to exist' to Nazi Germany, "The far-left streamer called Israel an 'apartheid state' and compared Zionism to fascism during the conversation."

PJM's VodkaPundit says HE'S RUNNING: This Obama Advisor Just Denounced the DSA, "former Barack Obama advisor and Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel." Karol Markowicz @karol, "We spend a lot of time talking about the left flank of the Democratic party wanting to get rid of prisons and stop celebrating Thanksgiving but the more "moderate" Democrats are openly arguing to end the electoral college and pack the supreme court." Sandy Petersen @SandyofCthulhu, ""Under Communism, everyone has a job". This is absolutely true. Here's what else was true. 1) you were ASSIGNED your job AND the region for that job by the state (i.e., a bureaucraft). You were required to stay in your job at least 3 years. 2) After 3 years, if you wanted to switch jobs, you needed the approval of both your labor board AND your employer. If you switched too often (for example: every 3 years), there were legal penalties, up to imprisonment. 3) promotions were based on party membership, loyalty, and sucking up. I'ved talked to a lot of former Soviet citizens, and zero of them thought merit was of use. Also many nice jobs were only for party members...." In a Hot Hair vid, What the Socialists Get Wrong About the Affordability Problem Is... EVERYTHING. From NYPo, Democratic socialism could cost the US a staggering $200 trillion, report reveals: ‘Closer to Soviet-style communism.’ At WaEx, Socialism in practice means more power for the Trump administration, experts say. Kevin Downey at PJM says Hey, I Know That Guy Who Just Clown-Slapped Rep. Max Frost! Townhall.com @townhallcom, "Maxwell Frost complains that he did NOT have access to the American Dream, gets immediately checked: "You went from driving an Uber to being a politician...! What am I missing?!""

PJM's Dave Manney sees California Lawmakers Keep Giving Businesses Reasons to Leave. Buck Throckmorton at Ace's cites Hampton Prescott on “The Curley Effect” – Municipal Mismanagement that Perpetuates Political Power by Driving Away Responsible Opposition. Lawrence Person's BattleSwarm Blog is astonished by $65 Billion In ObamaCare Fraud? Just wait, there's more.

Page 6 Hollywood says Hunter Biden reveals dad Joe used to visit him in crack den with motorcade and Secret Service.

At NYPo you too can see the Moment disgraced Eric Swalwell is surrounded by FBI agents at San Francisco airport. Sundance wallows in schadenfreude as a Grand Jury Subpoenas James Comey Advisor Daniel Richman. Ace cites a Whistleblower: NY AG and Gigantic Hag "Tish" James Commanded Her Underlings to Find (or Contrive) Criminal Charges Against Trump -- and His Friends and Allies. "This is abuse of office. A prosecutor is supposed to investigate a crime and find the guilty party, not investigate a person to discover crimes (or, in this case, "crimes"). Before anyone can say it: Nothing will happen, of course." This should surprise no one; she campaigned on it. John Sexton sees Larry Krasner's Office Keeps Freeing Murderers, No Matter the Cost.

From the WJ, New Fauci Docs Prove He Repeatedly Told People to Delete Emails He Sent Them. Ace sees Released Emails Show Anthony Fauci Routinely Told "Scientists" To Delete His Emails (So That Congress and Other Investigators Couldn't See Them), "No one is above the law, especially not a three-foot-seven malignant dwarf Bond villain." I'm not sure you can ever really delete e-mail from a federal government server.

Scott McKay @TheHayride, "One thing I notice is that the people angriest about SpaceX and the other economic development wins Louisiana is posting are not the Left. They're the old-money, establishment white Democrats and in particular the trial lawyers...."

Stacy McCain likes his bodycam footage, Police Bodycam Video Shows Response to Antifa Terror Attack on Texas ICE Facility. Lee (Greater) @shortmagsmle, "So out of 500,000+ immigrants, 300,000+ had a documented criminal history? And this is supposed to make me be *against* deportations?" Quote The Washington Post @washingtonpost, "ICE has arrested more than half a million people since President Trump returned to office, and nearly 40 percent do not have a criminal record. As of Aug. 6, ICE had detained more people without a criminal record this year than in all of 2025." Wilfred Reilly @wil_da_beast630, "I think that I would have more sympathy here if virtually the entire political left had not spent years lambasting the President as a racist for calling Haiti a "shithole," organizing single women's tours to the place, and literally running around in shirts reading "Haiti Is Already Great." This may be shallow, but is definitely a reality" quote Steve McEllistrem SteveMcEllis, "Haitians are no longer entitled to temporary protected status even though the State Dept warns travelers not to visit Haiti due to crime, unrest and limited healthcare. So it's okay to deport these folks to terrible conditions that we won't tolerate?" Ace catches up to the fact Grifter Narcissist Milo Yiannopolis Deported by Homeland Security for Illegally Overstaying His Visa. "He's to be deported. Good." Already gone. 

Beege Welborn is enthralled that Sec. Duffy Continues Shutting Down the Illegitimate CDL School Pipeline. Sundance, Dept of Transportation and DHS Hold Press Conference to Announce Emergency Action on Commercial Driver’s License Revocation.

Aaron Hanscom at PJM notes Pedro Sánchez Is Back From Vacation — Guess Which Country He Blames for ‘Disinformation’ About Ceuta. At the Telegraph, Muslim workers threaten strike after Venice mayor blocks mosque. From Dave Strom, Immigration: Too Much of a Good Thing? Muslim Immigration: Too Much of a Bad Thing.

This is the most incredible shot/chaser I've seen. In 2015 this communist lauds Canada for infinity immigration, saying it drives GDP. 11 years later, he's freaking out about Canada's GDP falling off a cliff, asking "what happened in 2015???"
Stupid-smart people strike again! pic.twitter.com/3KC2KIK4sA

— Spencer Pratt (@spencerpratt) August 31, 2026

I would also point out that in 2015, Justin Trudeau was elected.

Stephen Kruiser at PJM, Here's Hoping Trump Leaves the MSM Propaganda Machine in Ruins. John Tierney at CJ exposes The Political Violence Double Standard, "The left-wing kind is discounted; the right-wing kind is exaggerated." At NYPO, WaPo columnist calls source for his own paper’s Iran war report ‘a traitor’ who ‘ought to be prosecuted.’ Irons in the Fire opines Once again, it is not possible to hate most of our Professional Journalists enough, "How, pray tell, did the Washington Post acquire such highly classified information about wartime military operations? Well, as the Post describes, that highly classified information came from “people familiar with [the] assessment,” who “described the assessment to The Washington Post on the condition of anonymity because the document is classified.”" At TownHall, Kurt Schlichter believes The Washington Post Embarrasses Itself Trying to Embarrass Me. I'm not sure they're capable of embarrassment.

@instapundit @instapundit, "Universities suffer the consequences of policies and politics that they supported." Quote Alec MacGillis @AlecMacGillis, ""Despite the often-stunning brilliance and laid-back, tolerant vibe of Burlington, enrollment at the University of Vermont has fallen precipitously, [which] has at least something to do with Burlington’s sketchy downtown area." Marc Porter Magee @marcportermagee, "Reminder: Temple is looking really shaky too." Quote Marc Porter Magee @marcportermagee, "Big problems for Temple: “Projections for enrollment growth over the next few years have been downsized, which would mean a loss of $150 million in revenue over five years.” Inez Stepman @InezFeltscher, "This is absolutely something that could happen. Colleges are in a triple bind: the Trump admin is threatening their funding (and capping govt student loans), the population of college-age people is starting what will be a sharp decline, and parents have never been more skeptical of the value they provide for extraordinarily high tuition, for good reason. I think the chance of significant contraction of the number of colleges, as well as significant shuffle in elite rankings, are more likely than not in the next 5-10 years." Quote Tyler Austin Harper @Tyler_A_Harper, "People are under-pricing the possibility of a black-swan-esque event where significant chunks of higher ed collapse suddenly. At some point parents will decide they will not pay $100-400k combined for their kids to cheat their way through college. I expect a bang, not a whimper. x.com/sfmcguire79/st…" How do you go bankrupt? Slowly, then suddenly.

The Handmaid’s Tale the Left wants you to worry about vs. the Handmaid’s Tale the Left is helping to make happen. pic.twitter.com/f0eo1MhxhF

— Wall Street Mav (@WallStreetMav) August 30, 2026

Flotsam and Jetsam - Francesca Hong Out to Dry

Yesterday was primary day in a few states. The big one to watch, of course, was Wisconsin's Democrat primary, where Francesca Hong, the DSA candidate too radical for Bernie and AOC, was contending with a "normal" Democrat, David Crowley, for Governor. Hong had been polling as the almost prohibitive favorite, by as much as 20 points. At Twitchy, IT'S A BIGGUN! Live Election Results on Twitchy! Primary Night for SC, WI, MN, VT, AL and CT (Shew!). Hat Hair's Capt. Ed sees Panic at the Wisco: Dems Realizing Hong Might Cost Them Midterms. Dan McLaughlin @baseballcrank, ""I started off as a sports journalist and ended up a Communist" has turned out to be a depressingly common career arc." Quote Tiffany War Room @TiffanyWarRoom, "HONG: "I was actually trying to become a sports journalist when I first went to college so I learned you sometimes have bad takes on Twitter." Francesca Hong was a full grown adult and member of the Wisconsin Assembly when she said she wanted to abolish the police and prisons." Amy Curtis at TownHall hears David Crowley Says Francesca Hong Is a Liability on Eve of Wisconsin Primary. AG @AGHamilton29, "Just incredible that I hadn’t even heard about this yet. She voted against a bill that criminalized adults trying to sexually pursue children. Dems have themselves a real winner with the DSA candidate in Wisconsin." Quote Swann Marcus @SwannMarcus89, "I am now unironically likely R on the Wisconsin gubernatorial race. 7 months ago Francesca Hong voted against a bill that made it illegal for teachers to groom their students for sexual purposes Here’s what happened: A 30-year-old teacher messaged a 13-year-old..." At Althouse, The race was close, but Francesca Hong has conceded and the risk of a democratic socialist Governor for Wisconsin is over., "At least this time around. Here's the NYT report (gift link):" "Why were the polls so bad?! The final Marquette poll, from July 22–27, released July 29, had Hong at 38% and Crowley at 7%."

Dave Strom at Hat Hair, 'I Was Just a Kid' Is the Excuse for Being Insane the Last Few Years. Sean Hannity @seanhannity, "Nothing says "principled stance" like needing two different answers six years apart. AOC vs. AOC on defunding the police, side by side." Hat Hair's Scott Pinsker sort of admires The Cunning Genius of AOC’s ‘Woke’ Reboot. At UnHerd, Ryan Zickgraf claims ‘Woke One’ derailed my life, "AOC can’t laugh off its excesses." Robby Soave at Reason begs us Don't Let AOC Retcon Her Starring Role in 'Woke 1' "Would President AOC eschew wokeness? I doubt it." The Babylon Bee @TheBabylonBee, "Democrats Announce You Aren't Allowed To Remember What They Did A Few Years Ago." Ian Haworth @ighaworth, "I love the way we’re talking about 2020 like it’s 1920, and 1619 like it’s 2025." Quote ABC News @ABC, "Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on her support for defunding the police in 2020: “During lockdown, of course, rhetoric in that time is not rhetoric that we would use today.” Enguerrand VII de Coucy @ingelramdecoucy, "By the way, AOC is being very public about getting her eggs frozen for future use because she thinks it’ll allow her to take on the mantle of “motherhood”, having a stake in the game of being concerned for the future for the sake of her children, without having to actually deal with the raising children part. Cynical? Perhaps, but I’m pretty sure that’s the idea here."

Capt. Ed cites El-Sayed: Let Me Tell You Why July 4 Fireworks 'S**k'. At Twitchy, Scott Jennings Says Holiday Hatred Is Window Into Souls of Dem Party’s Anti-American Candidates “I think these are windows into the souls of these anti-American, radical communists.” “If you hate Thanksgiving and you hate the 4th of July, what you’re really saying is I hate some of the pillars that undergird American culture.” “And how are you going to have a conversation with a voter about affordability or public safety or anything else, if you’re trying to get rid of Thanksgiving and the 4th of July?” Hat Hair's Dave Strom heaars Hasan Piker Says It Out Loud: DSA Practicing Taqiyya. Max @MaxNordau, "Abdul El-Sayed surrogate Hasan Piker explains the importance of lying to voters: "I think our politicians, whether they be AOC or anybody else, they're not running away from progress." "So their pragmatism isn't to moderate on their policies. Their pragmatism is to moderate on their comms, on their communication." He admits that El-Sayed's true beliefs are "electoral poison": "You got to moderate your message, even if you don't want to temper your movement, in order to sell it to the public."" Michael Goodwin at NYPo opines the Michigan Senate race displays the radical ‘shift’ the Democratic Party has taken. Jim Geraghty at NRO observes The DSA Has Slogans, but Isn’t Interested in Policies. Northern Barbarian @xnoesbueno, "It's kind of a domestic Death to America theme." Quote Sarah Huckabee Sanders @SarahHuckabee "Democrats’ top candidate in Texas won’t eat meat, their leading nominee in Wisconsin hates Thanksgiving, and now their guy in Michigan is coming out against football. Banner year, guys." Dave Strom sees They're Spoiled Brats: DSA Bigwigs Not Doing Well Under the Klieg Lights. At PJM, VodkaPundit cites DSA on Illegals: 'You Don’t Have to Have Papers to Have Power.' Spencer Pratt @spencerpratt, "Nithya Raman's partner at DSA LA says their goal is to completely abolish police & prisons. When asked what happens if a girl gets raped? Her answer? "I want to talk about street lights." These communists are insane. Crazy slovenly malcontents." Christopher F. Rufo @christopherrufo, "The most notable statistical outcome of the George Floyd Revolution was a significant increase in the black homicide death rate. That is the actual legacy of BLM.." Quote Rotimi Adeoye @_rotimia "The anti-racism book boom made a handful of authors rich. The struggle sessions gave wealthy academic elites a new industry. Meanwhile, did any core data point move? Black life expectancy, the wealth gap, homeownership. Where’s the change? Is the country’s consciousness raised?" At Hat Hair, Mark Judge cites Henry Rollins: 'Communist Countries Suck.'

Dana Loesch @DLoesch, "The terror-loving nepo baby who VERBATIM demanded the NYPD be defunded NOW demands that the same officers risk their lives by traveling with his selfie-obsessed wife so she can make a personal visit to a country for which the US maintains a Level 4: do not travel advisory." Quote New York Post @nypost, "Mamdani blames his staff after NYPD denies NYC's first lady a police escort to the Middle East." Beege Welborn at Hat Hair hears Mrs. Mamdani Won't Get to Take New York's Finest to Syria With Her. wretchardthecat @wretchardthecat, "The very word "Pied-à-Terre" provides a glimpse into Mamdani's world that few ordinary people are familiar with. It goes back to a world before motels, air BNBs and time share. In that world the well-to-do person had a country house and primary residence. Then he had a town house or pied-à-terre as a private urban foothold for the family or individual during the Season. ... Perhaps Mamdami still sees the world in terms of the top-hatted, tuxedo wearing, diamond tie pin garbed, pied-a-terre dwelling capitalist elite which it is his moral duty to tax. But I think the world has changed."

Amy Curtis at Town Hall hears Republicans for Talarico Disbands After We Learned It Was a Really Just a Bunch of Democrats. Enguerrand VII de Coucy @ingelramdecoucy, "I ran into a “Republicans for Talarico” type lady here once, came into my replies talking about how she was a lifelong conservative Republican voter who’d been forced to support Democrats because of how radical the Republican Party had become, so I searched her history and found stuff with her talking about how she’d left the Republican Party because it was too radical… in 2008. Because John McCain was too radical for her." Quote Zach Kraft @ZachKraft7 "RIP "Republicans for Talarico" The Talarico campaign is now officially distancing themselves from the failed group after it was exposed to be made up of lifelong Democrats."

Owen Gregorian @OwenGregorian, "Remember this when someone says voting doesn’t matter." Quote Benny Johnson @bennyjohnson, "WOW: Recount In The Indiana State Senate Race FLIPS Seat to Trump-Rndorsed Paula Copenhaver By THREE Votes She unseated State Senator Spencer Deery, who OPPOSED redistricting." ThePersistence @ScottPresler, "BREAKING NEWS I can’t believe they reported this — they just told on themselves." “Allegheny County Elections Division Manager David Voye said Allegheny County does not have a system to verify citizenship for voters.”The second-largest county in Pennsylvania DOES NOT verify the citizenship of the voters it registers to vote. This is a constitutional crisis." I'll bet that is widely true across the US, especially in blue areas. Althouse finds
"... a blast from the past! The New York Times hasn’t pulled out the infamous 'beer test' for a political candidate since May 22, 2015..." ""... when it ran ['Finding a Candidate You’d Like to Have a Beer With.'] The 'beer test' was once a massively overused campaign reporting cliché. It grew out of a Sam Adams ad campaign in the 2000 race, and from Bush-Gore through the 2016 cycle it was nearly impossible to escape 'beer test' coverage. Then Donald Trump won the 2016 beer test by default — it was hard to imagine Hillary Clinton having a beer at all — leading even Slate to pronounce 'there has never been and perhaps never will be a candidate you’d be more eager to have a beer with than Donald Trump.' That's Matt Taibbi, in "Cliché Alert: Return of the 'Beer Test'/The New York Times reverts to old form, thanks to a blue-party schism" (Racket)."

Amy Curtis hears Virginians Are Turning on Abigail Spanberger. Jason Miyares @JasonMiyaresVA, "Governor Spanberger booed in Galax. Turns out when you break your campaign promise, attempt a Leftist power grab pushing an unconstitutional gerrymandering effort In order to silence rural Virginia voices, coupled with massive tax increases, it results in a frosty reception…." To be fair is wasn't in North by God Virginia.

Hey, Did You Know That the Hunter Biden Laptop Was a Jewish Conspiracy? from Dave Strom. John Sexton hears Paramount CEO Threatens to Exit California after "a group of blue state attorneys general led by California's Rob Bonta sued to block the Paramount/Warner Bros. merger."

At the Breitbart Bus Dig, The Trump Manufacturing Jobs Revival Is Accelerating. Sundance at CTH reports President Trump Announces Release of Robert Gilman from Russian Jail. Buzz Patterson @BuzzPatterson, "You want to know why @realDonaldTrump is focused on Greenland? He’s always one step ahead." Quote Polymarket @Polymarket, "JUST IN: China launches new “Ice Silk Road,” connecting China to the U.K. through the Arctic & cutting the journey roughly in half." Bob Hoge at RedState, British Royal Navy Discovers Spy Cams on K3 Scout Vessels — Data Was Going Straight to China. I wouldn't be shocked at all to hear that's happening here too. 

Eric Daugherty @EricLDaugh, "IT'S OFFICIAL: By the stroke of pen and flanked by RFK Jr., President Trump establishes a new US vaccine schedule that decreases the number of jabs from 72 to 11 — and spreads them out over multiple visits, rather than pumping the child all at once "That's a big one in my book!" MAHA is alive and well!"

Frank Miele at RCP has  A Modest Proposal: Performance Reviews for Senators. Good luck with that!

Larry, in a Hat Hair vid, sees CNN Hosts Triggered by Trump's Escape From Iranian Threat. Doug Powers @ThePowersThatBe, "The story: Iran had a serious plot to kill the president. The headlines: OMG Secret Service protected the president and not every asshole in the media." Quote Jake Tapper @jaketapper, "So the USSS thought the threat against the president was strong enough to surreptitiously remove him from AF1. And then proceeded to let the plane full of White House staffers and reporters take off and fly back to the US." Cathy Salgado at PJM cites an Iranian Media Official: No More Negotiations With Trump. It's not like they negotiate in good faith. 

UK Defense J confirms American warship downs drones with laser weapon, only a test.

Jonathan Turley sees Sam Alito is Locked and Loaded . . . and He is Not Going Anywhere. Jeffrey Rosen discusses America on the Docket: The 2026 Supreme Court at great length.

From Sundance at CTH, The Safety and Efficacy of the COVID-19 Vaccination was Based on Scientific Theories and Medical Speculation. Beege Welborn insists Fauci's Phone Proves 'for the Children' Just Another Fascist Oppression Tool.

Sarah Anderson at PJM says Wait, Rubio Revoked How Many Visas? Just Wait Until You See Why. From NewsWeek, Map Shows H-1B Visa Filings in Democratic and Republican Districts, blue uses more, but it's a bipartisan boondoggle.

Beege Welborn thinks Stopping UK Migrant Inflow Going Swimmingly — 'Swimming' Being Operative Word. The Babylon Bee @TheBabylonBee, "Elon Musk Buys The United Kingdom To Establish Free Speech There From babylonbee.com" Elon Musk @elonmusk, "How much is it?"

From Althouse, "Zuckerberg acknowledged 'a risk that an imbalance of power between individuals and government leads to a loss of freedom or totalitarian state.'", ""His solution was to create superintelligence which ensured that users were responsible for deciding the model’s values, not the developer. He said there should be 'a fully private mode for personal agents where even Meta or any other service provider cannot see or grant access to your information.'"From "Five key takeaways from Mark Zuckerberg’s AI manifesto/The Meta founder outlines a vision of free superintelligent personal AI agents, smaller workforce teams and expanded open-source tech across the nation" (London Times)."

Sundance sees Police and Federal Govt use of Flock Cameras Under Scrutiny. 

At Complete Colorado, Colorado’s one-party rulers enjoy a progressive press pass. 

C Brad Thompson, the Redneck Intellectual, calls The Jason Arday Story The Worst Academic Scandal in 817 Years! Donna-Louise @NoLongerTheFuzz, "Cambridge University: first the Jason Arday disaster, now this. They’ve appointed Farah Ahmed as Assistant Professor of Education — a woman who called Western education a “threat” to Muslims, democracy a “corrupt tradition,” and literacy plus qualifications un-Islamic. She attacked English literature as damaging, condemned treating Islam as just one religion among others, and criticised schools for teaching that child marriage is wrong. Same faculty. Same total collapse of standards. Shocking doesn’t begin to cover it." Rod Dreher @roddreher, "Conquest's Third Law Of Politics: "The simplest way to explain the behavior of any bureaucratic organization is to assume that it is controlled by a cabal of its enemies." You really don't need more than that to explain why Cambridge University does the things it does." Quote The Spectator @spectator, "We can reveal that a former supporter of Hizb ut-Tahrir, now banned as a terror group, has been appointed assistant research professor of education at Cambridge, in the same faculty as Arday.
Farah Ahmed has explicitly attacked 'western education' as a 'threat' to..." Tyler Austin Harper @Tyler_A_Harper, "This is a story about a college lost down the rabbit hole of performative progressivism. But at its heart, it’s about labor exploitation, the hell we put contingent profs through, and how the collapse of the tenure-system paved the way for cowardice and pseudo-radical groupthink." Quote The Atlantic @TheAtlantic, "@Tyler_A_Harper landed his dream job, a tenure-track position at an elite liberal-arts college—but he found himself “being treated like a racial prop rather than a professor.” Read more in our newest cover story: https://theatln.tc/uAlYLOai." John Sexton says Tyler Austin Harper's Take on Woke Campus Life is Worth a Read. From the Slantic,Tyler Austin Harper on Why I Quit the Tenure Track, "The insufferable hypocrisy of elite academia." 

Melissa Chen @MsMelChen, "“Grandpa, I just don’t understand. How was it that given how powerful the United States was, China was able to overtake us and dominate the world?” “Well.. it all started when they examined the whiteness of physics"" Quote David Decosimo @DavidDecosimo, "Never forget that the NSF gave half a million dollars for a ‘critical whiteness studies’ project claiming physics was racist because of its objectivity, meritocracy, & use of whiteboards. Their data were a few videos of in class group work using dry erase boards. Just incredible. x.com/daviddecosimo/…"

From TOI, UK probes major Muslim charity after director charged with funneling aid to Hamas. "FBI alleges Al-Khair Foundation head worked with senior Hamas leader to transfer cash and divert humanitarian supplies to terror group while concealing that it was the beneficiary." Seth Mandel at Commentary, How ‘Israeli’ Came to Mean ‘Jewish’ in the American Press.

Lola @thefempire50, "You’re going to have to explain the difference between a man saying he’s a woman and a man saying he’s a woman." Quote Melanie D'Arrigo @DarrigoMelanie, "Saying “identifies as transgender for the purpose of playing professional basketball,” is admitting that you’re only doing this as a stunt to mock trans women, which makes you a bigot. x.com/foxnews/status…" John Sexton hears from WPATH: Our Standards of Care Are Just an Opinion, you don't say... Vodkapundit at PJM sees Trans Rep Sarah McBride Has a Sad but Can't Stop Laughing "“Support on individual issues facing the trans community, on individual policies around trans rights, by every objective metric, is worse today than it was five years ago,” McBride said."

And more at the Wombat's In The Mailbox: 08.11.26 (Evening Edition). The Wombat has FMJRA 2.0: Another Rough Start up on time and under budget 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.

Flotsam and Jetsam - Hot Takes With Cranberries

Another Sunday morning, and the news is thankfully sparse. Either that, or I did a lousy job of collecting.

From Spiked!, Fauci and the great Covid cover-up, "Did scientists mislead the world about the origins of the pandemic?" Some did, some didn't. I hesitate to consider Fauci a scientist, as he had long given up active research for bureaucratic infighting. At No Pasaran! "Fauci did his bit, played his part, and was lavishly rewarded by the press": So how did a virus with a ~.02%-.04% mortality rate become 24/7 headline news? It became battle prep for the 2020 election steal. The Great Victor Davis Hanson at Da Signal thinks the Hearing Represented ‘Complete Career and Personal Destruction of Anthony Fauci.’ Leslie Eastman at LI asserts Dr. Deborah Birx Must Be Next Focal Point in Covid Mitigation Policy Investigations, "Fauci and Birx are the Bobbsey Twins of the covid pandemic disaster." I'm still not sure I see a crime in her actions, but she has a lot to explain. The Vigilant Fox @VigilantFox, " Stephen A. Smith publicly APOLOGIZES to Kyrie Irving after calling him "selfish" for refusing the COVID jab. "Hindsight-wise, it didn’t make him stubborn or selfish. It made him BRAVE." "I watched Dr. Fauci on Capitol Hill yesterday, and the person I thought about most was Kyrie Irving..." Da Signal reports The New Ban Hawley Wants After Fauci’s Senate Appearance. "Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., is set to announce legislation to bar all federal employees from soliciting cash prizes while they are in office. The announcement follows the senator grilling Dr. Anthony Fauci about the millions of dollars he pocketed while allegedly contributing to the spread and cover-up of the COVID-19 pandemic."

At 1945, Smart Bombs: Military, Defense and National SecurityA Year Ago Putin Had the Momentum. Now Russia Is Importing Fuel and Ukraine Is Taking Ground. "Last August, Vladimir Putin arrived on American soil expecting a favorable deal. Russia held the momentum, the February White House meeting with Zelenskyy was still fresh, and administration officials spoke as though Ukraine would eventually have to settle. A year on, the picture has inverted. Ukraine’s own missiles and drones have reached Russian refineries and logistics far behind the front, Moscow has extended its gasoline export ban and turned to imports, and Washington has moved toward joint drone production and Patriot interceptor licensing. Whether that amounts to a permanent shift is still an open question."

NewsWeek admits Trump Was Right. Six Months Post-Maduro, Venezuelan Recovery Defies Critics. Proving once again, you can vote yourself into socialism, but you have to shoot your way out.

News Wax reports Tankers Hit Near Hormuz as Iran Warns of Wider Disruption. From Resp State, Houthis v. Saudi Arabia: Round 2. This time it's regional. "After fresh clashes with the Yemeni military group, Riyadh finds itself at the center of overlapping wars and skirmishes, including Iran and Iraq." Carlo Carrasco sees America Sanctioning Iran’s Mahan Air Network and IRGC-Linked Front Company. At LI Vijeta Uniyal reports U.S. Warns its Citizens to Leave Middle East Citing ‘Unforeseen Escalation’ With Iran.

From Quotulatiousness "Nobody “designed” capitalism" "One of Karl Marx’s cleverer notions was to come up with a label for the economic system that had slowly emerged from the feudal period in Europe. It wasn’t ever the result of some overarching plan or campaign, it was just the easiest way for producers and consumers to connect without coercion or force. It had no real name until its declared enemy named it." That's why I prefer to call it "the free market," which to be fair, has never really been tried either.

Bad Hombre @Badhombre, "Let’s take it from the top again. Here’s the Democrat lineup going into the midterms: - A diagnosed-bipolar Asian chick with a history of self-harm who’s been institutionalized in a psychiatric ward and overdosed on lithium, and wants to get rid of Thanksgiving. - A guy who plays with a Dr. Fauci doll, proclaims his “love for trans kids,” and met his girlfriend at a gay bar. - A guy who dresses up as a mechanic for fun, married his cousin, and knocked her up twice. - A guy who frequents events where participants get pissed on in a kiddie pool while wearing assless chaps, whose claim to fame is lowering the age of consent for men to have sex with boys as young as 12, decriminalizing knowingly infecting others with AIDS, and supports allowing convicted pedophiles to run for school board. - A Haitian chick who thinks the United States is a “f*cking disgrace,” wants to abolish borders, law enforcement, and prisons. - A Muslim guy who believes the U.S. deserved 9/11, is funded by the Muslim Brotherhood, and whose wife and father-in-law have terrorist connections." At Twitchy, Bill Maher Ends Anti-Communist Rant by Saying He’d Vote for Sarah Palin Over DSA-Aligned Dems. InfantryDort @infantrydort, "This might be the strongest piece Bill Maher has ever made. The communists are here. They’re actually here. Right now. Taking power. What are we going to do about it?" Quote Bill Maher @billmaher, "I'm not voting for anyone who thinks the wrong side won the Cold War or cheers for the Intifada like it's the World Cup." The Babylon Bee @TheBabylonBee, "To Avoid Criticism For Hooking Up With His Cousin, Troy Jackson Converts To Islam, and Maine Dems Explain They Can Either Do 'No Rape' Or 'No Incest' But Not Both.

Fusilli Spock @awstar11, "Hold on, hold on, hold on. Hunter Biden is shitting on President’s children. Does he know he’s Hunter Biden?" Quote Marco Foster @MarcoFoster_, "Hunter Biden: “As it relates to Donald Trump, fuck him. Fuck his son. Fuck his daughter. I mean it, all of them, the whole family down to the grandchildren. I hope for the rest of time their names will live ignominy. They have done the most awful things to my family and to me”"

News Wax, Florida Man Gets 2 Years for Threatening Trump "The Justice Department said court documents show that Villavicencio made online threats of violence directed at President Donald Trump, former Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, and former Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., over several months." Not really big into ideological consistency.

Quotulatiousness covers The invasion of Ceuta. "In the last 48 hours vast numbers of people have learned that Spain still has territory on the African continent, as Morocco enables thousands of young men to cross into the Spanish city of Ceuta. The Spanish government has, to time of writing, refused to declare a state of emergency or to send military forces to assist the municipal authorities in Ceuta. In Spiked, Brendan O’Neill thinks this heralds the end of globalism" At NYPo, Fed-up Spaniards lash out at socialist prime minister after migrant invasion: ‘A third-world country’ Konstantin Kisin @KonstantinKisin, "The level of gaslighting we've had in the last 24 hours is absolutely off the charts. You can fuck off with this shit: - "Cueta is in Africa so it's not really Spain" Pearl Harbor is in the middle of the Pacific Ocean so it's not really the US then? - "A lot of them have gone home" If 60,000 people break into your home and then leave that is better than them all squatting in your home permanently, but they still broke into your house. - "They're refugees fleeing the climate crisis" (James O'Brien came up with this gem) No, they're not. If I was fleeing the climate crisis, I'd bring my wife and kids, not 59,999 other men. They want a better life. They can apply for a visa and if they meet our rules, we'll decide which ones we want to accept and which we do not. Otherwise they're queue-barging and can fuck off. - They can't get from to Cueta to mainland Europe because there's a stretch of water and a border there. Uhh, we're letting boatloads of illegal immigrants into Britain on the daily. There is absolute no evidence European countries have any desire to enforce their borders. - It's not a migrant invasion, it's just Morocco doing it on purpose Oh, it's an *organised* invasion. What a relief." Boxy @Boxy_FT, "The leftoid position is now, without exaggeration: "diversity is our strength and there's nothing wrong with Muslim migrants, but Israel is using them to punish us"" Quote LPC @landpalestine, "Spanish actor Javier Bardem says The migration of 60,000 people from Morocco to Spain was planned by Israel because Spain opposes the genocide in Palestine." Sir Doge of the Coin @dogeofficialceo, "BREAKING: Bonnie Blue is reportedly “furious” after Pedro Sánchez STOLE her idea to let 60,000 migrant men inside in 24 hours."

From Fox, Liberal court stuns with ruling that hands Trump major immigration win. "The panel of two Biden appointees and one Trump appointee ruled on TPS for migrants from South Sudan and Ethiopia." AP whines Trump administration pushes tougher English rules for Mexican train crews crossing into the US. Ned Ryun @nedryun, "I’m pretty sure that’s not what we voted for. . ." Quote The Post Millennial @TPostMillennial, "DHS Sec. Mullin to sanctuary cities: "I'm not handling things like the past secretary had. Let's work to get the worst of the worst off the streets. And then you won't see me in your cities as much. In fact, you probably won't even see us at all.""

At the Telegraph, Berlin Pride attack shows the insanity of the Left’s love affair with Islamism. RAW EGG NATIONALIST @Babygravy9, "I really don't think "You're lucky we've got paid security to prevent you being murdered by Islamists for speaking at the world's oldest and most prestigious bastion of free expression" is quite the pro-immigration flex you think it is, love." Quote Basil the Great @BasilTheGreat. "WOW. A student at the Oxford Union tells Tommy Robinson he is lucky they've put security on for him otherwise their Pro-Islam supporters outside would beat him to death." Quotulatiousness explores Why UK crime victims’ families always sound so similar talking to the media

Driscoll at Insty, AND THEN HE SHOUTED, CAMBRIDGE IS MAGA COUNTRY! "Cambridge Can — but Evidently Won’t — Catch Jason Arday. Arday is one of the U.K.’s newest academic superstars, a true success story as the youngest black scholar ever to become full professor at the University of Cambridge, Britain’s second-best institution of higher learning. His life story is truly impressive, an inspiring tale of a man rising to a prestigious position from severe disadvantages in life — Arday claims to suffer from an autism so severe that he was entirely nonverbal until the age of eleven, and wholly illiterate until learning to read at the age of 18. Now, not only is he a national pseudo-celebrity, as a “high-functioning neurodivergent,” he’s at the top of the academic hierarchy. The devastatingly thorough report by Nathan Cofnas, a scholar at Ghent University (and a former research fellow at Cambridge), summarizes Arday’s remarkable vault up the academic ladder after claiming to have achieved literacy only after he started attending Sixth Form..." As I've always said regarding the many academic plagiarism scandals with DEI involvement, nobody really expect anyone to read that shit. They just got unlucky that AI would make checking easy after they plagiarized.

Hat Hair's John Sexton reports Amnesty Apologizes to J.K. Rowling's Crisis Center for Women. ""We regret that this briefing was uploaded to our website without going through the established internal review processes that are in place to ensure consistency, accuracy and alignment with Amnesty International UK's positions. Its use of language does not reflect the position of Amnesty International UK which is why it was promptly removed." They just couldn't help themselves, it was a reflex. Driscoll has one of his DISPATCHES FROM THE HARRIS ADMINISTRATION: Brian Cates - Political Columnist & Pundit @drawandstrike, "Griner was supposed to come out eventually as trans. And the WNBA was all poised to celebrate that. You all know this, right? Two things ruined it. 1. Caitlin Clark 2. Donald Trump getting reelected." and "Oh forgot one. 3. And the sudden rise of Sophie Cunningham."

The Wombat has Rule 5 Sunday: Getting Strapped and FMJRA 2.0: The Usual Horrible Start to the Season up and garnering clicks at The Other McCain.