Flotsam and Jetsam - Desperately Searching for a Theme

And not finding it, so I'll just start at the top and work down. Sundance at CTH is back on a Russia kick with President Vladimir Putin Explains Why NATO Wants a War Against Russia, Oil, Gas and Orange Juice and “One Ping Only, Vasily”. From News Wax, Putin at BRICS: Warns Europe Over Ukraine, Urges Challenge to U.S. Dollar. Back to sundance for President Trump Announces Obamacare Refunds, President Trump Speaks to Journalists Departing from Shannon, Ireland and President Trump Discusses a “United Ireland” as Prime Minister Carney Seeks “Associate Member” EU Status. At Althouse, "President Trump said he 'loved' the political backlash to his comments in support of a united Ireland." ""Speaking before he attended the last day of the Irish Open golf tournament, Trump doubled down on his claim that reunification was inevitable and 'may as well happen now.' Asked about the reaction to his comments, which were criticised by political parties in Westminster and Stormont, Trump said he 'loved' the reaction. 'I loved my comments,' he added." From "Trump revels in ‘united Ireland’ uproar as Gerry Adams weighs in/With the US president ‘loving’ the stir his comments made, the former Sinn Fein leader says they reflect a wider sentiment held by Americans" (London Times)."

Northern Barbarian @xnoesbueno, "Here in the States we are aware not all Canadians are dicks. The polling plus stadiumsful of boos just seems to indicate most are. We’re concerned about the plight of Canadians. It doesn’t serve our interests to have an impoverished third world nation beholden to the PRC on our northern border. We’d rather see you prosper. All of us get richer. But elections have consequences. ..." Quote Lisa @YoungStreete, "Americans are starting to look at Canadians differently. And Canadians may want to pay attention. For as long as I can remember, Americans always liked their polite neighbours to the north. That goodwill is being eroded by a Canada increasingly seen as woke, anti- American (not just anti-Trump) and brainwashed by the state run media. CBC News whitewashing 9/11 (please don’t call it a terrorist attack). CTV News making 9/11 about “Islamophobia”. When did remembering the VICTIMS of 9/11 become so controversial in Canada and how did we allow it to happen? How much further does Canada have to slide into insanity before Canadians finally wake up?" Ken Timmerman at Am Great explains why It’s Time to Recognize Iran’s Complicity in the 9/11 Attacks. "The 9/11 Commission highlighted Iran's complicity in the attacks on pages 240-241 of its final report." CIS looks at the numbers, Since 9/11, the Number of Immigrants from the Muslim World Has Grown by 1.8 Million. "Population doubling largely reflects legal immigration." I24 News has a Report: Chinese satellite images aided Iranian strike that killed 3 US troops in Jordan. Labrador Skeptic @SaysSimulation, "A Chinese surveillance satellite breaking up into little pieces right after US troops were killed with the help of a Chinese satellite is quite the amazing coincidence, now that you mention it. Gray Zone warfare in space, but that's a dark shade of gray." Quote Theophilus Chilton (Scots-Irish Supremacist) @Theo_Chilton, "Replying to @SaysSimulation, "Probably why a Chinese surveillance satellite "broke apart" in orbit yesterday." Ace is not all that upset that Saudi Arabia Is Stuck Between A Rock And A Hard Place...Oh Well!

At the Eternally Radical Idea, Greg Lukianoff has Reflections on 9/11, FIRE releases 2027 College Free Speech Rankings, AdGo & I parse AI’s ‘librarian’ from its ‘car keys’, & more! From the College Fix, Conservative students’ 9/11 memorial defaced with pro-Palestinian, pro-Antifa vandalism. From I&I, 25 Years After 9/11, America Dotes On Its Enemies.

From News Wax, Trump: 'Whoever Wins AI Wins' and US House Speaker Warns Curbing AI Too Sharply Could Leave China Ahead. Sundance claims Barack Obama Tells Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries to Organize the AI Control Bill for #1 Priority Passage Following the Midterm Elections.

Doog @doogadoo11, "I'll be the first to admit the GOP has been shit But Trump has been amazing And that's why I will Vote Red up and down the ballot in November I want to position him for as much success as possible during his final two years." What he said.

Vic Nava at NYPo hears Ilhan Omar ‘married her brother’ and could be deported: DHS secretary. Show me the DNA test. PJM's Bob Spencer asks and answers What Happens When We Elect People Who Hate America to Congress? This. Hat Hair's Beege Welborn giggles at MSNOW whining Fetterman's Surprise GOP Convention Video was a Trap and Dems Are Falling Into It. Also at Hat Hair Larry Elder examines The David Duke Standard and The Hasan Piker Exception, and Betsy McCaughey wants to Call in the Feds to Investigate Lawless Mamdani. Nick Arama at RedState sees Talarico Gets Nailed for Another Whopper About His Donations That Leaves Jaws Dropping. Joe Chalfant at TownHall thinks Dan Sullivan Just Handed Mary Peltola a Debate Beatdown. Spencer Pratt @spencerpratt, "Incredible. Rachel Maddow didn’t push back on Karen Bass AT ALL as she calls the Palisades Fire investigation a waste of time & resources. Lady…6K homes burned, hundreds of people died, and you illegally deleted all of your messages. Integrity is dead." No Pasaran! says If someone suggests using a Nazi concentration camp for their opponents, aren't they in fact the actual… Nazis?

At Twin Cities.com, Joe Soucheray: Start by using words correctly. These are not ‘homeless camps’, they're just bums. Da Signals Tyler O'Neil calls it ‘ANTI-DEMOCRATIC’: Nonprofits That Received Tax Dollars Unite to Oppose Rules Cracking Down on Waste, Fraud, and Abuse. Waste, fraud and abuse is their bread and butter. The last thing they want to do is end it.

From the Victory Girls Clancy Holdout Juror Now The Target Of Media Doxxing. PJM's Vicky Taft wants you to Guess Who Helped Doxx the Holdout Juror in the Lindsay Clancy Case. The defense attorney's wife? At TownHall Matt Vespa thinks What a Lindsay Clancy Juror Said About This Case Is Just Insane "“This would be something that could change something to make it better for other women,” said juror Paula Devlin."

Sensurround @ShamashAran, "nothing to see here, just the @ACLU celebrating Charlie Kirk's death at a fundraiser." Gunther Eagleman™ @GuntherEagleman, "They didn’t even hide it. A year after they murdered Charlie Kirk, an account asks “Who should get Kirked next?” and puts JD Vance on the list, right next to Scott Presler and Nick Shirley. That’s not a joke. That’s a hit list with a question mark. Protect the VP. Investigate the poster. And stop pretending this culture of celebrating assassination is free speech." Quote ThePersistence @ScottPresler, "“Who should get Kirked next? Leave your answer in the replies! Shirley, Presler, Vance, the list goes on!” Evan, that’s not very nice, especially since you’re in Philadelphia, PA." Matt Vespa is annoyed This Virginia City Seems OK Blowing Taxpayer Dollars on a Gross Anti-Charlie Kirk Display. Hat Hair's Josh Hammer thinks America Has Not Learned the Right Lessons From Charlie Kirk's Murder. No, liberals learned they can get away with "stochastic terrorism."

From Twitchy, 'Birthing Person' Jones Tried to Smear XX-XY's Jennifer Sey and It Was a MASSIVE Backfire. jimtreacher.substack.com @jtLOL, "Shouldn't you be called Birthing Person Jones?" Quote Mother Jones @MotherJones, "Jennifer Sey, the founder of XX-XY Athletics, a sportswear startup that openly calls transgender people’s identity a “lie,” has spent the last two and a half years stoking the flames of the national panic over trans athletes. Enter Sophie Cunningham."

Sarah McLaughlin at Expression expresses disbelief at Australia’s top bureaucrats who want protection from ‘harmful’ social media videos, "The clips can ‘invite ridicule’ of public officials." If you can't stand the heat, get out of the limelight.

Eric Kaufmann @epkaufm, "White liberals remain the only segment of society that prefers other races to their own." Quote Crémieux @cremieuxrecueil, "A few years back, a friend of mine looked into the 2018 American National Election Study pilot, and he found that every racial group felt warmth towards members of their own race, except for White liberals I wanted to see if that replicated and expand on it."

Timur Kuran @timurkuran, "Carnegie Mellon is paying the price for a 2021 hire made amid the moral panic that followed George Floyd. The professor’s thin research record, narrow intellectual range, and political activism should have prompted serious scrutiny. In a freer intellectual climate, hiring committees might have said plainly that no appointment was warranted, let alone a tenure-track appointment involving decades of commitment by a distinguished university..." Quote Carnegie Mellon University @CarnegieMellon, "Dr. Uju Anya is currently on voluntary professional leave from the university and is not teaching courses on our campus this academic year. We are deeply concerned by recent hostile and threatening social media posts by Dr. Anya and are reviewing this matter closely." Tim Groseclose @Tim_Groseclose "Brilliant post by Prof. @timurkuran. Yes, the bigger problem CMU needs to face is how this woman got hired in the first place. If I were president of CMU, I'd do an in-depth look at the Dept. of Modern Languages." From Campus Reform, Education satisfaction hits record low as college readiness declines. Inside Higher Ed, After Kirk’s Death, a Third of Students Say Posting ‘MAGA’ Is a Fireable Offense. "The Israel-Palestine conflict remains the most taboo topic on college campuses, according to FIRE’s latest free speech report."

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.

Happy St. Patrick's Day

Go n-eirí an t-ádh leat!

Níl agam ach beagáinín Gaeilge.

Flotsam and Jetsam - Biden Returns, Goes on Vacation

Sometimes it's good to be the boss, as Red State's Nick Arama points out, Biden Returns From Vacation Overseas, Leaves on Another Vacation, and Insults His Interior Sec. At the PI, Biden to Open Up Medicaid, Obamacare to About 700,000 Illegal Immigrants, essentially forcing us all to pay for the invasion of our country. Meanwhile, as Addison Smith at JTN observes Robin Hood in reverse: Biden green agenda raising prices for consumers, profits for Dem donors, "Reverse transfer of wealth effects aggravated by new regulatory crackdown on gas cars." From WaEx, US banks lost money on mortgages for first time on record, but I hear the economy is going gangbusters!

At Da Caller, in LEAKED DOCS: NATO Ally Hungary Called Biden Admin A ‘Top 3 Adversary.’ From RCP, Former CIA Officer Larry Johnson: This Is A Controlled Leak To Prepare The Public For "Crash Landing" Of U.S. Foreign Policy. How much lower can we go? Jazz Shaw at Hat Hair hears the leaks revealed At least four more Chinese spy balloons? Perhaps 20?

Ed Driscoll at Insty, THE CORBYNIZATION OF THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY CONTINUES APACE: ‘A Voice of Truth:’ Kamala Harris Praises Unrepentant Anti-Semite Al Sharpton. "Nice Axios parody by the Washington Free Beacon, by the way." Politico whines that Dianne Feinstein digs in "The senator’s confidants and allies scoff at her detractors and are firing back. . . .They argue her request this week to be replaced on the committee while recuperating from shingles should satisfy critics — at least for now." Chris Bedford at WaEx maintains There Is Zero Reason For Republicans To Cooperate With Dianne Feinstein’s Request.

At the Deseret News, Trump and DeSantis give dueling speeches at National Rifle Association convention as WaEx reports DeSantis super PAC puts Trump in crosshairs with 'gun-grabber' ad. At Da Mail, Mike Pence calls for 'quick executions' for mass shooters at NRA conference: VP is BOOED in home state at speech calling to 'institutionalize the obviously mentally ill' and slamming 'trans activist' in Nashville school slaying. Jazz Shaw, Pence wants Republicans to "run as Republicans" whatever that means anymore. KT at Hat Hair reports on the  AWFL Protesters storm the stage as DeSantis delivers speech in New Hampshire. He makes the right enemies, though that isn't that difficult. Twitchy says a TPUSA ambassador goes all-in to defend ‘gangbang’ of female Ron DeSantis supporter. Hat Hair's Capt. Ed hears from the NYT: Youngkin a no on 2024 too. I'm OK with that, maybe he can make Virginia redder in the meantime.

NewMax, Ex-Trump Lawyer Sues Jan. 6 Committee for $67 Million. I think he has a point, but I doubt it will go anywhere.

Passantino filed a $67 million Federal Tort Claims Act Complaint against the congressional panel, claiming the group "manufactured and promoted a false narrative" about him, "maliciously interfered in the attorney-client relationship," and disregarded his civil rights "to further a political agenda" against former President Donald Trump. "Liz Cheney and her collaborators on the January 6th Committee decided to peddle a false tale about Mr. Passantino and his relationship with his client without any regard for the truth or whether they were destroying the reputation of a good man; a reputation built over decades," Passantino's attorney, Jesse Binnall, said in a statement.

Sauron's Eye, Judge rejects Trump's request to delay New York rape trial. "A federal judge rejected a request Thursday to delay former President Donald Trump's trial this month on civil claims that he raped a woman in the mid-1990s, but he has granted a request by Trump's lawyers to gather more evidence about who is paying the accuser's lawyers. New revelations that a major contributor to Democrats helped finance the litigation against Trump by columnist E. Jean Carroll prompted attorney Alina Habba to ask for a one-month delay of the April 25 trial."

At the Peacock, Ex-Capitol Police officer sentenced after sending 'stupid and reckless' messages to Jan. 6 rioter "Michael Riley was convicted of a felony count for deleting messages he sent to a Jan. 6 rioter after he learned the rioter was speaking to the FBI. After the Capitol attack, he messaged Jan. 6 rioter Jacob Hiles, a boat captain he knew from Facebook, telling Hiles he was "a capitol police officer who agrees with your political stance" and saying Hiles should “Take down the part about being in the building they are correctly investigating and everyone who was in the building is going to be charged. Just looking out!”

CNN, Former Trump intel official testifies in Mar-a-Lago classified documents probe. Grenell says Trump declassified the Mar-a-Lago documents. “There is no approval process for the president of the United States to declassify intelligence. There is this phony idea that he must provide notification for declassification but that’s just silly. Who is he supposed to notify? I think it’s the height of swampism to think the president should seek bureaucrats’ approval.”

At the PI Rusty Weiss notices that the Biden Administration’s Response to Pentagon Leak is More Social Media Monitoring. From HE, MATT PALUMBO explains How the fact-checking industry fuels online censorship of conservatives. Tim Graham details how NPR Won't Hide Their Red-hot Hatred of Republicans and Fox News.

JTN's Ben Whedon reports Montana lawmakers vote to ban TikTok statewide. "The measure would bar TikTok from operating in the state and forbid app stores from offering it for download in Montana." I wonder how that's going to work.

From the Free Bacon, Washington State Democrats Vote to Hide Transgender Runaways From Parents. Jazz Shaw, YGBKM. Washington to secretly remove children from parents if they defy trans procedures. At Da Blaze, Elon Musk calls for life in prison for any parent or doctor who carries out sex-change surgery on children. Yeah, maybe. 

Riley Gaines

At Bounding into Sports, Women’s Sports Advocate Riley Gaines Describes Recent Assault And Mob At SFSU Speaking Event: “I Feared For My Life.” Campus Reform reports on a Protester arrested for harassment at Riley Gaines' U Buffalo event. More of this. Breitbart, has a Survey: Most Americans Oppose Allowing Men to Compete Against Women in Sports, Oppose Puberty Blockers for Children. Twitchy thinks Katie Porter was CRUSHED by Piers Morgan and Bill Maher after slamming Riley Gaines on women’s sports

Katie Porter randomly took a shot at Riley Gaines during Maher's show, claiming the point of Riley's activism is "Getting likes"

"Riley is speaking up for herself."

"I think she's speaking up for pretty much every female athlete in the world" pic.twitter.com/8F5J67vVxb

— Eric Abbenante (@EricAbbenante) April 15, 2023

Sarah Arnold at Town Hall hears Bud Light Execs Reportedly Panicking To Undo Dylan Mulvaney Billion Dollar Damage. PJM's Chris Queen thinks it's BRUTAL: Bud Light Feels the Backlash After It Sneaks Back on Social Media. At Da Wire, Joe Rogan Takes Surprising Stance On Bud Light Controversy “Like — what they’re doing is just spreading the brand to an extra group of people. Why — If something is good, do you give a f*** who’s got it?” If it was good . . . Also from Da Wire, Anheuser-Busch CEO Behind Failed Bud Light ‘Apology’ Is A Former CIA Spy Handler. Weird, maybe they are running the country.

Sam Brinton

Addison Smith at JTN reports Ex-Biden Energy Department official Brinton gets no jail time in luggage theft plea deal "Brinton has been accused of stealing airport luggage on more than one occasion." Probably appropriate for a first time conviction, but the guy? clearly has issues. Choosing a nuclear waste disposal chief because he was flagrantly nuts was clearly a misstep. At the Babylon Bee, 'Why Don't More People Use Public Transit?' Asks Naked Hobo On Subway

Liberty Unyielding says White privilege courses now mandated at more colleges, such as Bates College

K.T. at Ace's has an all encompassing post on the culture war, How to be divinely secular (or at least support secular divinity). Read it all.

The Wombat resurfaces with Late Night With Rule 5 Sunday: Double-Dip Extra Scoop Donna D’Errico Edition at The Other McCain.

Flotsam and Jetsam for 4/15/23

A much thinner edition than usual, as I spent most of yesterday rolling around on the couch. I feel much better today, 85% or so.

Beege Wellborn at Hat Hair contributes Irish POTATUS: He's walking! Yes, indeed, he's walking. RNC Research@RNCResearch, ""The fact that Hunter Biden now is in Ireland with his dad — it's not a coincidence," says @JoeConchaTV. "He's in China. He's in Ukraine. He's in Russia. He's in Ireland...for what services exactly does somebody like Hunter Biden provide?" Scott Johnson at Power Line calls it Biden’s malarkey tour. Joe Biden was born with a bit of the Blarney Stone up his ass. Vicky Taft at PJM, White House Insider Says He Can Prove 'Conspiracy' Between Joe, Hunter, and Ukraine. Paul Mirengoff at his substack reports Biden's nominee for Secretary of Labor is in trouble. As is typical of this administration, pretty much an in your face pick of exactly the wrong person for the job. Meanwhile, things are going swimmingly, as sundance reports Consumer Spending Drops Again in March – Significant Sales Drops in Dept Stores, Electronics and Home Improvement

Bob Hoge at Red State announces Mike Pompeo Announces He's Not Running for President in 2024, 'Personal Decision'. Sundance, Mike Pompeo Announces He Will Not Run for GOP Nomination in 2024. While infinitely better than the current resident of the White House, I never saw him as a viable candidate. Tom Jackson at Hat Hair VIP, Already too late for DeSantis? Puh-leeze.

Capt. Ed at Hat Hair, Hmmm: Billionaire Dem donor funding rape/defamation lawsuit against Trump. Am I supposed to be surprised or something? At the Victory Girls Letitia James Deposes Donald Trump. Still beating the dead horse about misvaluing properties. 

Sundance, The DNC and Marc Elias Disconnect.

Ace, Breaking: The FBI Lied About Its "Spy on Catholics" Document Only Being the Work of One Low-Level Employee. "Just one "low-level employee." Whose plan was approved by two "senior intelligence analysts." At Bacon's Rebellion, Richmond FBI Office Used Undercover Agents to Spy on Traditional Catholics. Mark Moore at NYPo, Biden’s DOJ recommends no jail time for abortion activist who vandalized church, assaulted worker. Compare and contrast with Mark Houck, whom the DOJ tried to convict for possible 11 year sentence for a minor scuffle outside an abortion clinic. 

“It is very clear that the Biden Justice Department has politicized and weaponized the FACE Act to go after pro-life Christians praying outside of abortion clinics like Mark Houck while turning a blind eye to violent felons terrorizing and badly damaging Catholic churches like Maeve Nota,” Mike Davis, founder of the Article III Project, ​a nonprofit that advocates for conservative justices, ​told Fox News Digital.

“The Biden Justice Department tried to put Houck in prison for 11 years for defending his son while recommending no jail time for Nota after this deranged trans terrorist badly damaged a Catholic church, fought with the police, assaulted a church employee, and scared the hell out of a little old lady praying,” Davis said.

Kira Davis at Red State,  Bud Light Twitter Account Face-Plants Into the Weekend, Gets Brutally Roasted on the Way Down: Bud Light@budlight "TGIF?" "Well, we know for certain a lot of folks at Anheuser-Busch are thanking God it is Friday so they can stop answering the phones for the weekend. Not everyone was happy to send them off into the weekend with good vibes, however." At NYPo, Anheuser-Busch CEO offers flat apology following Bud Light’s Dylan Mulvaney backlash “We never intended to be part of a discussion that divides people,” Anheuser-Busch InBev CEO Brendan Whitworth said in press release titled “Our Responsibility To America. We are in the business of bringing people together over a beer.” Twitchy, Anheuser-Busch CEO breaks company silence with statement that’s NOT expected to make things better. Matt Walsh@MattWalshBlog, "The statement won’t satisfy their conservative customers because there is no apology or acknowledgment of wrong. And it won’t satisfy the Left because it doesn’t affirm transgenderism and admits at least (without using the word) that the trans issue “divides people.” Sundance, Anheuser-Busch CEO Issues Statement Following Rebranding of Bud Light Backlash. "The way I read between the lines of this statement is that Mr. Brendan Whitworth was well aware of the branding effort and marketing plan.  He approved it.  CEO Whitworth cannot fire Budweiser Light Vice President of Marketing, Alissa Heinerscheid, because Whitworth himself approved the marketing strategy.  That’s the way the weasel-words read to me."

NYPo, Ron DeSantis rips ‘fraud’ transgender swimmer Lia Thomas in Liberty University speech. Bill Kassel at Am Think thinks he knows How the Left Uses Transgenders. Anything to stir division and hatred. I always figured that necrophilia would be the next big thing on the left. The absolute definition of a victimless crime. 

John Sexton at Hat Hair finds NBC News: Nashville shooter's motive remains unclear

I’m starting to get the same feeling I had when the FBI couldn’t figure out why a left-wing nut with a list of Republican office holders in his pocket shot up a bunch of Republicans at a baseball field in 2017. The answer seemed obvious to most people but since there wasn’t a message saying “I’m going to kill Republicans” in the shooter’s handwriting the FBI was at a loss. And here we are again with the local police and the FBI looking over the Nashville shooter’s writings and unable to see a motive.

While local investigators said they are continuing to analyze the writings with assistance from the FBI’s Behavioral Analysis Unit in Quantico, Virginia, some in the community said the writings must be made public without delay to help people understand the carnage and Hale’s state of mind.

I’m finding this hard to believe but obviously I haven’t seen the “manifesto” the shooter left behind. I will note that one of the people who has read all of Hale’s writings claimed they didn’t add up to much of a manifesto at all. He described them as more of a rambling diary.

Dave Strom at Hat Hair is amused that, Striking back, Consumers' Research now provides "woke alerts". "Useful tool or publicity stunt? Probably a bit of both. In either case, you have to give credit to Consumers’ Research for having a clever idea and executing it well."

The intent behind this initiative finds its root in a 2021 decision at the organization to launch a new initiative targeting woke corporations and pushing back against their dangerous ideas, which go far beyond the embrace of transgender ideology.

They target ESG and all woke ideologies in major corporations, and have made that a focus of their organization. This is a very good thing indeed because Leftism is eating out the core of the free market and harming consumer choice.

I was unaware of the organization because it has been overshadowed by the larger Consumer Reports, but it actually is nearly a century old. Its focus on political ideology may be recent, but its pedigree is substantial.

Perusing the website makes one thing very clear: woke politics has become a staple of modern corporate America. They report on the spread of wokeness in specific companies and provide the receipts. Their message is clear: the people who can change corporate behavior are the consumers who provide the resources to make it possible. If you want to win the culture war you need to put your money where your mouth is.

Conservatives tend to be horrible at doing that, while liberals are less so. 

Irish Pole Dancer Axes Canadian Competition

Ceola McGowan

 BBC, Pole-dancing axe thrower wins world title

An Irish woman has been crowned the world axe-throwing champion after winning a competition in Canada.

Ceola McGowan, from County Sligo, saw off competitors from across the world to win the World Double Bit Axe Throwing Championships on Sunday.

She said she hoped her win would inspire more women to get involved in the sport.

 

The 31-year-old was introduced to axe throwing by a friend while at university.

She told BBC News NI her target had been to win the title by the age of 35.

Speaking about her first experience of the sport, she said: "I ran home and put on as much plaid [clothing] that I had and big wellies because all I knew I was heading out to this big barn in the Wicklow mountains to meet these bearded axe throwers."

After her first throw of the axe, Ms McGowan said she was "immediately hooked" and took up the sport competitively just five months later.

That's no woman to trifle with. 

The Wombat has Rule 5 Sunday: IJN Musashi out on time and under budget.

A Chesapeake Bay St. Patrick's Day Miracle in Ireland

Chesapeake Bay Magazine: 1st Chesapeake Blue Crab Found on Ireland Coast

The Chesapeake Bay blue crab, icon of our region, has turned up in Irish waters for the first time ever. And wildlife experts there say its presence could pose a serious threat to native marine life.

Blue crabs are an invasive species in Europe, like snakeheads or blue catfish here on the Bay. Marine scientists consider them a large and aggressive crab species, highly effective at reproducing.

Ruth McManus spotted a dead blue crab washed up among seaweed on Dollymount Strand in Dublin on Feb. 15. She’d never seen anything like it before, and so she sent a photo to Dave Wall at the National Biodiversity Data Centre in Waterford, Ireland.

Wall confirmed the species and tells Bay Bulletin a blue crab claw was also found on Dollymount Strand around the same time. He says it may be from the same crab. Certainly, Irish biologists hope there aren’t more than one.

 They should be so lucky.

A breeding population of blue crabs began to establish in the Mediterranean Sea around 2012. How did they get there? Wall says it’s likely they arrived via ballast waters from ships traveling from America. There are now blue crab fisheries established on the Mediterranean, some of which import the crab into Europe.

As for the crab that wound up on the Dublin shore, Wall theorizes it may have been an import from a local fishmonger that someone bought and released into the water—not realizing the consequences of introducing an invasive species to local waters. The National Biodiversity Data Centre notes an investigation by the Irish Sea Fisheries Protection Authoriy found an Irish wholesale fishmonger was regularly importing blue crab to sell to Asian customers.

Wall says the invasive blue crab has had a major impact on marine ecosystems in the Mediterranean, “wiping out native shellfish species and fouling and damaging fishing nets.” He notes they have no natural predators in Europe, so the population is difficult to control.

“It’s definitely not a species we want to see becoming established in Ireland,” Wall says.

Will it become necessary for St. Patrick to return to drive the Blue Crabs out of Irish waters? Stay tuned. 

I'm not all that worried about Blue Crabs establishing themselves in Ireland. The waters off Ireland are pretty cool year round compared to the Blue Crab habitat on the East Coast of North America. With planktonic larvae, and a large oceanic gyre moving from North America, across the North Atlantic, and down Europe, if Blue crabs could survive there in, they probably would already be there.

The Wombat has Rule 5 Sunday: Lilly Bakamoto waiting at The Other McCain.

Some Saint Paddy's Day Fare

And if that isn't enough:

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Here’s to a long life and a merry one. A quick death and an easy one. A pretty girl and an honest one. A cold pint and another one!

Linked at Pirate's Cove in the weekly Sorta Blogless Sunday Pinup and links.

No Republicans Need Apply

The last allowable bias. Stacy McCain on the Sarah Hukabee Sanders restaurant expulsion: No Republicans Allowed: Restaurant Owner Ejects WH Spokeswoman

These are the owners of @RedHenLex

Ms. Wilkinson is a Democrat who hates Republicans so much that she does not want to serve any Republican customers. Could I offer an intelligent discussion of the Trump administration policies that Ms. Wilkinson criticized? Yes, but you cannot argue with hate. No amount of facts or logic can persuade someone like Ms. Wilkinson, whose beliefs are based in an irrational prejudice. She hates all Republicans, and there is no point wasting your time by arguing with partisan fanatics.

A basic principle of courtesy is that one should never go where one is unwelcome. This is why, for example, I have never participated in any kind of “counter-protest,” although I’ve covered quite a few during my journalism career. When the Revolutionary Communist Party held a protest at the 2016 Republican National Convention in Cleveland, I was there with my camera and notebook, but I certainly did not argue with that ranting mob of anti-American extremists.

Sometimes, courtesy is just smart business. If I had told those Commies what I really thought of them (i.e., “the only good Communist,” etc.), this might have interfered with my ability to get the story, and perhaps endangered my personal safety. So I just kept my mouth shut and did the job I was there to do. And this has been my practice at all manner of events. Covering Hillary Clinton on the campaign trail in 2008, for example, I was unctuously polite to her staff, and even met Chelsea Clinton, who struck me as very nice young lady.

If a right-winger like me can be courteous to Communists and Democrats, why can’t Ms. Wilkinson be courteous to Republicans?

Ed Dricoll at Instapundit:

THE LEFT IS NOT ENJOYING LIVING UNDER THE RULES THEY CREATED: Yelp Users Slam Virginia’s Red Hen Restaurant After It Refused Service to Sarah Huckabee Sanders and Her Family.

Indiana’s Memories Pizza could not be reached for comment — because they’re now out of business.

I've never been to Lexington, IIRC, but if I did, I would not eat at the Red Hen there, because they don't want me.

I wonder if they apply that to employment too?

2500 Bare Naked Ladies Can't Be All Bad

Women bare all in record-breaking charity skinny dip in Ireland

Thousands of Irish women shed their inhibitions and their clothes on a secluded beach fifty kilometres south of Dublin on Saturday for a world-record setting "skinny dip" to raise funds for a children’s cancer charity.

Lucia Sinigagliesi, the Guinness World Records official that adjudicated the naked swim, said that 2505 women spent at least five minutes in the sea to set a new world record.

The previous record was set in Western Australia in 2015 when 786 participants swam naked to promote a positive body image near the regional capital Perth, in waters that are usually around 23 degrees centigrade at that time of year.

On Saturday, the sea temperature off Magheramore beach, where the Irish swim was held, was a bracing 12 degrees, despite a recent spell of warm weather.

For those of you more comfortable with the more biologically useful Fahrenheit scale, that's a bone chilling 53.6 F

The swim has been an annual event since it was started by Dubliner Dee Featherstone in 2013, just weeks after her own mastectomy. The events have raised more than 153,000 euro, not including what will be raised this year.

"Oh my god it was amazing. I have never been naked in front of anybody before, except my husband, and it was brilliant and bracing. It was great craic," Deirdre Betson from Dunboyne told a Reuters reporter after leaving the water.

"We are all different shapes and sizes and ages and it was just super."

However, it's pretty well apparent that most of these Irish lasses are getting their fair share of bangers and mash and Guinness.

Wombat-socho has "Rule 5 Monday: Shakira Law And The Rock Sharky" ready for your digital pleasure.

News From Ireland

Doctors stunned to find massive ‘air pocket’ where man’s brain should be

A “fit and well” man has been discovered living with a whopping 9 centimeter-sized air pocket where his brain should be.

The unidentified Northern Ireland man, 84, was referred to a hospital by his doctor after he suffered multiple bad falls and had been feeling light on his feet.

He went on to experience a feeling of weakness in his left arm and leg over three days, which is when shocked medics at Causeway Hospital in Ireland discovered the massive air pocket where his brain should be.

Miraculously, a report published in the British Medical Journal Case Reports revealed he was suffering no confusion, facial weakness, visual or speech disturbance and the man said that despite the stumbles he was feeling well.

Apparently the Irish don't need that part of their brain.