Flotsam and Jetsam - What The He!! is John Thune Doing?

TownHall's Matt Vespa wonders What Is John Thune Doing? As little as possible, and obstructing House Republicans when he has the chance. "Now, with government spending back on the agenda and us set to run out of money on September 30, you once again disregard House Republicans, adding that you’ll pass your own continuing resolution with Democrats. John, THEY WANT A SHUTDOWN. Are you blind, deaf, and dumb?" Also, Speaker Johnson Had a Legislative Hat Trick Today While Thune Wants to Sell Out to Dems. Jen O'Connell at RedState, John Thune Just Stabbed Mike Johnson—and House Republicans—in the Back. I think it was in the front.

Amy Curtis at TownHall likes how Scott Jennings Humiliated a CNN Panel Following Revelations of New Jersey Voter Fraud. Nick Sortor @nicksortor, " HOLY CRAP! The identity services provider New Jersey uses at the DMV is FIRING BACK at Gov. Sherrill, saying the NJ DIVISION OF ELECTIONS were the ones who registered 6,600 foreign voters This was NOT a “software error.” This is a SCANDAL. “IDEMIA's role is to transmit information through the motor vehicle system. The voter registration information is transmitted to the New Jersey Department of State, Division of Elections, which is ultimately responsible for verifying eligibility to vote. Information submitted by IDEMIA must still be validated and adjudicated by the Division of Elections.” So the Division of Elections MANUALLY APPROVED over SIX THOUSAND foreigners to vote. They were not automatically registered by the software provider as the governor claimed. Time to come clean, @GovSherrillNJ!" From Ace, Software Firm at Center of NJ's Illegal Alien Voting Scandal: There Was No "Glitch," Our Softward Did Exactly What NJ Wanted It To Do. 1. Foreigners never vote in our elections. 2. A few foreigners vote in our elections, but it's not a problem. 3. Foreigners do and should vote in our elections. Democrats are at #2. NewBusters notices The View Claims No Election Has Ever Been Stolen Before Trump Speech.

At PJM, VodkaPundit envisions Puting passing the hat, Buddy, Can You Spare 1.5 Trillion Rubles? "that's exactly what happened last week when the Kremlin attempted to sell OFZs (like U.S. Treasuries), but buyers said Nyet! so hard that "Russia’s Finance Ministry pulled the plug" on bond auctions until further notice, Crypto Briefing and others reported this week." Sundance at CTH admits befuddlement as Zelenskyy Removes and Replaces Leading Military Officials "None of these moves by Ukraine President Zelenskyy make any sense against the background story of them having incredible success against Russia. You don’t replace the entire military leadership apparatus if things are going swimmingly." So Ukrainian politics are probably at play. He also hosts Promethean Action PAC Reviews Motive of Canada -vs- USA on Trade and Tariffs.

Sarah at Insty says I DON’T TRUST ANY NUMBERS THESE DAYS. HOW MANY OF THESE ARE ON THE GIG ECONOMY? "Shocking 105 million Americans are not working – more than during COVID or the Great Recession. They’d probably count me in this."

Capt. Ed at Hat Hair, Trump: Bridge and Power Day Has Arrived If Iran Attacks Shipping. John Hinderacker at Power Line approves of Trump’s New Iran Policy. Ace, Trump: Every Time Iran Fires on a Ship, We Will Destroy One Bridge or Power Plant, make that two. wretchardthecat @wretchardthecat, "Eleven days into the US strikes on Iran the targets appear to be: 1. Iranian coastal targets; 2. Probable command and control centers and weapons sites. There isn't enough publicly available information to infer an implied purpose to these attacks. However their very anonymity suggests the targets are not symbolic, but rather obscure installations with an unpublicized military value. It would make sense but only if we had the secret map, which alas, we do not." Northern Barbarian @xnoesbueno, "Douche reporter got owned attempting a gotcha." Quote "Eric Daugherty @EricLDaugh, "JUST NOW — REPORTER: What will you say to the families today of the fallen troops? PRESIDENT TRUMP: "We love you. We love your child. That's what they are to them — their children. There's no games, no nothing. That's their child. All you can do is throw out your heart." PJM's Rick Moran appreciates The Exact Moment the Gates of Hell Opened for Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.

It concerns Jonathan Turley that Democrats Dismiss Our Constitutional Traditions as ‘Nostalgia’. Katya Sedgewick at the Everyman Commentary examines The DSA's Plan to Remake America. "In light of recent victories in New York by Democratic Socialists, it is important to appreciate how they are not shy about wanting to eradicate and remake our current government institutions." Sasha Stone has a short take on how The Democrats Have a Communist Problem. End Wokeness @EndWokeness, "Hasan Piker framed the 9/11 front page This is an enemy of America." Jonah Goldberg @JonahDispatch, "Okay. I can accept this. If “The Nazi propaganda starts when people say Mao is worse than Hitler” as you say, then it’s not propagandistic to say that Mao was merely almost as bad as Hitler. Now, I think the “which genocidal murderer was the worst” game can get pretty stupid, because people often seem to think that coming in second or third to Hitler absolves mass murderers of any condemnation. ... Quote evan loves worf @esjesjes, Replying to @ProjectLiberal. "First of all you should look up the definition of genocide. Second of all the Great Leap Forward maybe killed around 40 million largely by accident. The Nazis killed like 55 million very much on purpose. The Nazi propaganda starts when people say Mao is worse than Hitler." Then Readers added context, "The 55 million figure represents total global casualties in WWII, not people killed directly and intentionally by the Nazi regime. Scholars estimate that victims of the Holocaust and Nazi persecution numbered around 11 to 17 million." Dave Bernstein at the Volokh explores How Did Support for International Humanitarian Law and Norms Morph into Support for Hamas and its Goals? Matt Vespa, There's Another Reason Why This Dem Rep Won't Seek Re-Election, but, of Course, CNN Buried It “There certainly were not people who were so anti-Israel when I started, and there are within the progressive caucus now,” Cohen said."

Hat Hair's John Sexton reads the Slantic: 'The DSA Is a Parasite' and Someone Should Say So. Dan McLaughlin @baseballcrank, "Karl Marx & Frederick Douglass were both born in 1818. Marx grew up in comfort, Douglass in chains. Marx thought the world owed him more comfort; Douglass only demanded liberty, & he'd do the rest." Quote Ben Shapiro @benshapiro, "Unsurprising. The most resentful people in the US are those who believe they are owed everything and fail; the least resentful are those who were given nothing and achieve." Capt. Ed says Platner, Mamdani, Talarico, and Now AOC: Scratch a Commie, Find a Mommy paying the bills. Geiger Capital @Geiger_Capital, "MSNBC host accidentally nails it… The far-left is driven by over-educated failures who can’t succeed in the real world, which is why they overwhelmingly hide in academia, NGOs and push socialism." Quote Chris Hayes @chrislhayes Replying to @NateSilver538, "The most left wing people in America are people with post graduate degrees who are financially strapped and the most right wing are people without 4 year college degrees who are rich." Spencer Pratt @spencerpratt, "As I’ve said…the socialist trend is for privileged dorks with enough family wealth to squander a decade as a perma-student, but not enough talent to actually achieve anything. Educated beyond their intelligence." Quote Nate Silver @NateSilver538 "Income and education are usually positively correlated. But sometimes the relationship breaks down. What's the most Democratic voting group in America? People with post-graduate degrees but lower-to-middle incomes."

From Da Wire, The Islamist-Marxist Takeover Of Middle America. "El-Sayed is the inevitable political result of Michigan’s multi-decade experiment with mass Muslim immigration." Beege Welborn says I'm Not Sure Democrats Need the Commie-Hamas Wing of the Party to Help Sink Them. Capt. Ed, About Last Night: DSA Flops in AZ As Trump Ascends. John Sexton, Democrats Have a Massive Cash Problem. They ran out of OPM? Rick Moran hears GOP Has Twice the Cash on Hand for Midterms as Democrats. It's Actually Worse Than That. The Great Victor Davis Hanson at Am Great throw cold water on The Left-Wing Unicorn Hunt for the White Male Working-Class Voter. "Democrats can't win back the white working class with staged populism while embracing the policies and elites that drove those voters away."

At Da Wire, Trump Official Throws Cold Water on Mamdani’s Netanyahu Promise, "The arrest of Netanyahu has been a fantasy of New York's Democratic Socialist Mayor since before his election in 2025." Jim Geraghty at NRO hears Mamdani Finally Admits He Can’t Arrest Bibi. Noam Blum @neontaster, "I get why Mamdani thought becoming mayor made him the generalisimo president of New York. Growing up in a fancy Ugandan compound with its own private militia will do that to a person." Dr. Maalouf @realMaalouf, "Shocking data reveals: 95% of Zohran Mamdani’s engagement comes from foreign, mostly Islamic nations. 60% from Pakistan alone. How is this not considered foreign influence?" At TIME, What We Know About Mamdani’s First Planned City-Owned Grocery Stores. I didn't realize TIME still existed. The Manhattan Contrarian is suffering, Rolling Blackouts Hit New York. I'm sorry for you, but your fellow New Yorkers voted for them. Have you considered moving someplace sane?

At Twitchy, ActBlue Fraud Hits El-Sayed Campaign: 88yo No-Computer Granny ‘Donated’ $150K (and 47 Times). ActBlew is up to its old tricks. 

Law and Liberty has an essay on California’s Road to Serfdom. The Victory Girls observe that Jennifer Seibel Newsom is Earning Side Eye Even From Democrats. Cathy Salgado at PJM, Robert Kennedy Pauses Medicaid Funds for Fraud-Riddled California, Minnesota.

From the Free Bacon, Appeals Court Affirms 5-Year Prison Term for Source who Leaked Tax Info to NY Times and ProPublica, "IRS leak was ‘attack on our constitutional democracy,’ with aim ‘to influence an election through illegal activity’" Stacy McCain discourses On Lawyers, Samoans and Journalism.

Paul Sperry@paulsperry_ "The New York Times claims: "We acknowledge mistakes in our reporting with corrections. If you spot an error, please let us know at corrections@nytimes.com." OK, we spotted a big one in 2018. It's your Pulitzer submission for the Russiagate hoax you perpetuated. Will you correct it?:

Good news from WaEx, ICE and CBP averaging 1,593 arrests per day, highest since Trump took office.

Greg Lukianoff at The Eternally Radical Idea thinks Administrators — not just DEI administrators — are the biggest threat to free speech on campus "There is no way out of the current academic freedom and free speech crisis on campus while universities remain as bureaucratized as they are." From Fox, Elite universities face federal cash squeeze over millions tied to China-linked entities. "Donors include firms tied to the Chinese military and a Beijing research institute appearing on two government watchlists." You can take US money or Chinese money but not both. 

Show us on the doll where the 78 degree summer day touched you. https://t.co/EyrJdNfAy1

— Sean Davis (@seanmdav) July 22, 2026

Flotsam and Jetsam - Govt Goes into 'Shut-down Lite'

Did you notice? About half the Federal government has gone into the usual shutdown mode (essential workers only, with retroactive pay, and presumably retroactively paid vacation for the rest) until the House and Senate come to an agreement that mollifies the usual suspects, mostly Democrats opposed to ICE (which is already funded by the BBB!), and a few silly Republicans willing to let the perfect be the enemy of the good (I'm looking at you, Rand Paul). From NewsNation, Trump on partial shutdown: ‘Hopefully enough people will use their heads’, not a safe bet. "Multiple federal agencies, including the departments of Defense, State, Treasury, Homeland Security (DHS) and others, saw their funding lapse at 12 a.m. Saturday, launching the government into another temporary shutdown. Senators raced to pass a major funding package consisting of five regular appropriations bills and a two-week stopgap measure for DHS by the Friday night deadline. But it still needs approval in the House, which is not set to return to Washington until Monday. Democrats had pledged to block the full $1.2 trillion package over objections to the DHS funding portion, which included an additional $10 billion for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)." Ryan King at NYPo, Mike Johnson ‘confident’ gov’t shutdown will end Tuesday – as he shoots down Dem demands. unseen1 @unseen1_unseen, "The trump economic plan is working. Tariffs, deregulation, tax cuts, rate cuts, illegal immigration crackdown, energy build out." Quote Truflation @truflation, "US CPI inflation dropped significantly today from 1.24% to 0.86% in our independent price data, the lowest since 2020. Truflation US CPI today: 0.86% Y/Y. The biggest downward drivers were: 1. Utilities down -0.13% 2. Clothing -0.08%, 3. Housing -0.05%, 4. Transport -0.05%, 5. Food -0.04% " At Da Signal, ‘Substantial Refunds’ Coming to Taxpayers Soon, Senior Treasury Official Says. At Fox, Doug MacKinnon opines on The most unique thing Trump could do with stolen money recovered from blue states "Trump administration should create a lottery system to aid disadvantaged citizens." I don't like it. There should be nothing random about who gets it. From CJ, Trump’s Fed Pick Could Be Just What the Central Bank Needs "If he acts in harmony with his past statements, Kevin Warsh could restore the Fed’s integrity and independence."

USA Today, I'm a conservative. I want a whole lot more John Fettermans. "Fetterman's nuance on Noem, DHS funding vote is refreshing"

Democrats are still praying for the pony under the pile of Epstein horse shit. Nick Arama at RedState, About Those 'Tips' on Trump and Epstein in Latest Files Dump. "as with anything that the left spreads about Trump, there's a big catch they leave out. These are what one might kindly term "random nutter" contacts, meaning there's no evidence to support any of the claims. That's why I'm not going to post them. Even the NY Times is showing some sense for once, and they're not even going there. For example, one claim involved the Trump National Golf Club in Rancho Palos Verdes in 1995-1996. Yet the golf course didn't even exist then, which puts a small crimp in the claim. But that hasn't stopped folks on the left from spreading it." NYPo, Trump threatens to sue Michael Wolff, Epstein estate — and insists fresh document dump absolves him.

Fortune reads the tea leaves, Top energy expert says probability the U.S. will attack Iran soon is 75% as risk of major disruption to oil supply is priced in — ‘this one is real.’ Sundance at CTH hosts Sunday Talks – Venezuela Opposition Leader Maria Corina Machado Discusses Her Goals and Objectives. From News Wax, US May Make a Deal on Cuba, Trump Says, "I think, you know, we’ll be kind.”

PJM's Matt Margolis likes how the ‘Melania’ Movie Humiliates Critics and Media Naysayers with Historic Box Office. "Over at Rotten Tomatoes, the film earns a mere 6% from critics, but a stunning 98% from fans." At TownHall, Kevin McCullough compares Melania vs. Hillary. From NYPo, Trump announces two-year closure of Trump Kennedy Center for major renovations. No skin off my nose. 

Larry Elder at Hat Hair has a fun 12 Question Quiz: What 'Fascist' 'Xenophobe' 'Tyrant' Said This?

Scott Pinsker at PJM notes The Two Agents Who Shot Alex Pretti Have Been Doxxed — and Liberals HATE Their Names! Pascal-Emmanuel Gobry @pegobry_en, "Your multiracial working class coalition, sir:" Quote Thomas Chatterton Williams @thomaschattwill, "The two federal immigration agents who fired on Minneapolis protester Alex Pretti are identified in government records as Border Patrol agent Jesus Ochoa and Customs and Border Protection officer Raymundo Gutierrez. https://propublica.org/article/alex-pretti-shooting-cbp-agents-identified-jesus-ochoa-raymundo-gutierrez" NBC reports DOJ opens a civil rights probe into Alex Pretti's fatal shooting in Minneapolis, deputy AG says, ""We’re looking at everything that would shed light on what happened that day and in the days and weeks leading up to what happened," Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said Friday." PM points out this poll, JUST IN: 92% of likely GOP voters approve of Trump, 93% approve of deportations after Pretti shooting. CBS abets a criminal, Agents were pursuing an immigrant when they killed Alex Pretti. Now, he shares his story. "I think, maybe if I hadn't gone to that place, or I don't know, a little later or a little earlier, I mean, that never would have happened," Huerta Chuma told CBS News during a phone interview conducted in Spanish."

At the Victory Girls Don Lemon: Invading Church Services Is Journalism. From NYPo, Don Lemon needs to choose —journalist or agitator, he can’t be both. Marc J. Randazza @marcorandazza, "The FACE Act was a great compromise. The left wanted people to be able to get abortions in peace. I think that’s fair. We wanted to go to church in peace. That’s fair. And the left agreed in large part because they probably thought “what kind of a banshee goblin fucktard would want to go and start intimidating people from going to church?” They felt like they gave up nothing. Fast forward and they’ve become such a bunch of nose ring gothapottamus lunatics that they can’t even leave churches alone." Douglass Mackey @douglassmackey, "My passport was confiscated by DOJ for 4.5 years. J6ers charged with misdemeanors were given pre-trial house arrest. Tim Hale was held in solitary confinement pre-trial for 18 months. And a MN federal judge just granted Don permission to take his annual vacation in France." At PM, disgust that Hollywood celebs give Don Lemon a STANDING OVATION at Grammy gala after arrest for storming church. At Althouse, "I've got nothing but respect for Don Lemon's husband." "Do you see that man's face?" Commenter Wilbur says Yeah, I remember the look on my father's face every time he had to bring my mother home from jail or prison. Mark Hemingway @Heminator, "This should be in the ellipses hall of fame." Quote Ted Lieu @tedlieu, "Replying to @B2BFCM and @WhiteHouse
“Congress shall make no law … abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press.” Frank J. Fleming @IMAO_, "Did he just yada yada freedom of religion?"

Sundance hosts DHS Secretary Kristi Noem Discussing Minneapolis Chaos Amid Ongoing ICE Operations. News Wax, Trump Orders DHS to Avoid Protests in Democrat-Led Cities Without Federal Request, let 'em burn. Hat Hair's Josh Hammer calls it The Rise of the New Confederacy. "In essence, Ellison and his Minnesota's Democratic Party leadership confreres argue that the constitutional federalism articulated in the Tenth Amendment and its corollary of "states' rights" can shield the Land of 10,000 Lakes from the long enforcement arm of federal immigration law. Ellison and Minnesota Democrats claim that by declaring their state and cities to be illegal alien "sanctuaries," they can "nullify" federal immigration law. Stop me if you've heard that one before." At Da Caller, LAPD Says It Will Not Enforce Gavin Newsom’s Mask Ban For ICE Agents. Fox, Seattle mayor pushes local police to track, investigate ICE agents' enforcement activities, "Mayor Katie Wilson is requiring Seattle Police officers to investigate and document ICE activities with body cameras after deadly Minneapolis shootings," Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson puts ICE ‘on notice’ with executive order seeking prosecution of agents, "Brandon Johnson signs executive order directing police to document alleged illegal activity by federal immigration agents." and Alleged MS-13 gang member accused of 5 murders in home country nabbed in Virginia, "Illegal alien who allegedly admitted to 5 murders in El Salvador arrested in Virginia just weeks before Gov Spanberger ended ICE cooperation." Greg Price @greg_price11, "In order to stop the U.S. government from defending our borders, checking IDs, and removing people who don't have a right to be here, we must set up a border, check IDs, and remove people who we don't want here." Quote CrimeWatchMpls @CrimeWatchMpls, "Submitted from south Minneapolis - Agitators have set up roadblocks and are checking people's ID who try to pass through the area from 32nd to 34th and Cedar Ave. This is absurd." Dave Strom at Hat Hair sees Antifa Can Do Anything It Wants in Portland and Get Away With It Apparently. Twitchy says 'Uh oh, Trump's Lost San Francisco': Brian Allen Works Overtime to Make Anti-ICE Uprising a Thing. NYPo, The perils of toxic empathy in Minneapolis makes it feel like 2020 all over again. Fox Business, San Francisco bakery faces online backlash for selling controversial 'F--- ICE' cookies "Owner Hilary Passman says she has no plans to stop selling the controversial shortbread cookies." At Da Signal, Go Big, Then Go Smart: Trump, ICE, and the Law. How to Skip the Left’s PR Trap.

David Burge @iowahawkblog, "An aspiring artist and war veteran went to a beer hall. Now he and his girlfriend are dead in an underground bunker." Quote Q.S. Quay @hemingquay "Turns out you can make anyone seem innocent if you leave out the middle part of the story where they committed the crime. “A math professor moved to a cabin in Montana. Now he’s serving life in prison.”"

Scott McLallen at TownHall reports Judge Blocks Trump's Executive Order Requiring Citizenship to Vote. Of course, we always knew this would have to be appealed up the the Supreme Court.

From Althouse, Has there ever been a worse impersonation on "SNL" than Pete Davidson's complete failure even to attempt to seem the slightest bit like Tom Homan? "Look:"

Tim O'Brien at PJM sees ‘Midtermunition': Mamdani Is Already Trashing New York to Third-World Status. At Insty, THE “WARMTH OF COLLECTIVISM” TURNS OUT AS USUAL: Robert Pondiscio @rpondiscio, "Just arrived in NYC where, nearly a week after the storm, the warmth of collectivism has proven unable to melt snow. Or collect trash." UPDATE: Zohran Mamdani Wore Custom Carhartt to Tackle His First Snowstorm as Mayor: Snowstorms have long been an aptitude test for New York City mayors. For this particular blizzard, Mamdani coolly dressed the part. "So he’s flunked the test, but at least he was sharply dressed."

From Althouse, "Newsom was profoundly dyslexic.... By the third grade, he had worked himself into a panic over his trouble with reading and math." "Writes Nathan Heller, in "Gavin Newsom Is Playing the Long Game/California’s governor has been touted as the Democrats’ best shot in 2028. But first he’ll need to convince voters that he’s not just a slick establishment politician" (The New Yorker)." Going for the sympathy vote. At Civitas, California’s Proposed Billionaire Tax and Its Portents for Normal People. Billionaires leave, take jobs with them. Pirate Wires sees Death by Ballot Prop: How California Outsourced Legislation to the Mob, "a brief history of organized shoplifting rings, housing deadlocks, and other fun consequences of the state's 'direct democracy' experiment."

Brandon Straka #WalkAway @BrandonStraka, "Michigan election fraud claims explode as poll workers testify they were threatened, blocked from challenging ballots, and shut out of rooms while disputed votes were processed." Driscoll at Insty, THE PEOPLE WHO CAST THE VOTES DECIDE NOTHING. THE PEOPLE WHO COUNT THE VOTES DECIDE EVERYTHING: Hans Mahncke @HansMahncke, "The most indefensible part of what happened in Georgia in 2020 is that you do not need body cam footage, confessions, or insider testimony to know, as in know with absolute certainty, that a small group of people locking themselves in a room until well after midnight to count ballots with no supervision and no observers is unacceptable and will always be unacceptable. Even if the suitcases pulled from under the tables were somehow legitimate, and there are plenty of reasons to doubt that, it still would not matter. Counting votes in secret in the middle of the night, with no oversight and no way to verify what was or was not happening, is fundamentally illegitimate. I still cannot fathom how this was ever allowed to happen, and even more astonishing, how after the surveillance footage was released, everyone involved closed ranks and pretended there was nothing to see. Elections simply cannot be run this way." Quote Robert Bowes @Robert_B_Bowes, "Ruby Freeman on body cam said she was told by Fulton election bosses that the (Biden) count was low, it was really low and to scan as many ballots as she could. She said there were no more to scan and then "Boom, under the table, cut the zip ties" and then scan them and rescan them; so that's how the number went up."

CBS whines Detroit judge, 3 others, accused of embezzling $273K from vulnerable adults. The Canadian Press is pretty happy about the Misconduct complaint dismissed against judge who handled El Salvador prison deportation case, Boasberg.

Matt Margolis hears the peasants at CNN are revolting: There’s a Revolt at CNN Over Scott Jennings, because he makes all the Democrats and CNN journolists look bad.

From Campus Reform, Fordham restricts public media promotion of ICE-defense training. At The College Fix, Despite DEI bans, some public universities maintain DEI requirements, research finds, the grift is too good to quit. Adam Schefter @AdamSchefter, "NFL officially appointed influential storyteller Dhar Mann as its first-ever Chief Kindness Officer and Creator of the Week for Super Bowl LX." floridanow1 @floridanow1, "Could you imagine Butkus, Lombardi, Jim Taylor reacting to a NFL storyteller and Chief Kindness Officer?"

The Wombat has FMJRA 2.0: Better Late Than Never up and garnering clicks at The Other McCain.

Flotsam and Jetsam - Trump and the 'Donroe' Doctrine

Carlo Carrasco, Venezuela’s Dictator Maduro Captured By Trump’s America, Will Be Tried In Court. CDB at Ace's Let Slip The Dogs Of War. At NYPo, Nicolás Maduro live updates: Venezuela VP ordered to become interim president: Supreme Court and Venezuelan opposition leader, 2025 Nobel Peace Prize winner Maria Corina Machado poised to take the place of Nicolas Maduro. We'll see about that. From News Wax, Trump Warns Colombia's Petro to 'Watch His A**'. Insty at his substack on Trump, Maduro, and What's Next "Five dimensional chess? Or is it six?" At Twitchy, 'The Irony. The SIZZLE': Hilarious Thread Highlights the BEST Satirical Posts Following Fall of Maduro.

PJM's Matt Margolis explains Here’s How Maduro Was Captured, and It’s Pretty Darn Cool. Matt Vespa at TownHall, So, That's How Delta Force Was Able to Capture Maduro So Easily and Two Papers Found Out About Trump's Venezuela Raid Early. Here's What They Did.

USA Today, Trump calls Monroe Doctrine the 'Donroe Doctrine' after Venezuela raid. Carlos Flores at The Spec wonders Can the ‘Donroe doctrine’ really change Venezuela? A quad from sundance at CTH, President Trump Discusses Capture of Maduro During First Interview, President Trump Holds a Press Conference Following Capture of Venezuela’s Nicolas Maduro, Sunday Talks – Secretary of State Marco Rubio Discusses Venezuela Objectives and Despite Media Protestations – No Congressional Notification Needed or Warranted in Maduro Operation. At Althouse, "You can't turn Venezuela into the operating hub for Iran, for Russia, for Hezbollah, for China, for the Cuban intelligence agents that control that country," Said Marco Rubio, on "Meet the Press" this morning and "'The task in front of him is stupefying,' said a senior U.S. official, noting the dizzying array of policy decisions related to energy, elections, sanctions and security that await," "From "Rubio takes on most challenging role yet: Viceroy of Venezuela/The top U.S. diplomat has pushed for regime change for over a decade. Now the hard part begins" (WaPo)." Joe Cunningham at RedState, House Speaker Reacts to Maduro Capture: 'He Learned What Accountability Looks Like.'

Becca Lower at RedState, Vice President Vance Has a Timely 'PSA' for Dems Melting Down Over 'Illegal' Venezuela Op. Matt Vespa, Oh, So That's Why Vice President Vance Wasn't at Mar-a-Lago Watching the Venezuelan Raid. From Woke Spy, ‘America is Back’: Pete Hegseth Drops a FAFO in Epic Speech on Historic Maduro Mission. 

Eugyppius: a plague chronicle, Entirely irrelevant Eurotards assure the world they are "closely monitoring the situation" after the U.S. strikes Venezuela and captures President Nicolás Maduro." Marc ”七十 Billy” Zeller @Marczeller, "I’m devastated by this illegal capture of an elected head of state by Trump. I live in constant fear my beloved leader, Macron who lives at 55 rue du Faubourg-Saint-Honoré, Paris share the same fate. He’s usually home with Brigitte by 9pm."

Clinton @614clinton "Not a word, and no outrage from the loony left when President Joe Biden had President 'Juan Orlando Hernandez' of Honduras arrested and extradited to the United States for drug trafficking." Scott Jennings @ScottJenningsKY, "Kind of wild just how dumb and dishonest he was." and Hunter Biden rn realizing his Dad could’ve just taken over all the cocaine. Matt Margolis, Kamala Harris Humiliates Herself Condemning Capture of Maduro. Dan Greenfield at Front Page, Week Too Late: Sen. Schumer Vows Vote to Block Venezuela Action Next Week. "No word on whether it will ask for Maduro's return." Nick Arama at RedState, Whoops: Schumer's 'Open Mouth, Insert Foot' Moment as Dems' Hypocrisy Hits Hyper Drive on Venezuela. LifeZette, Democrats Melt Down, Side with Narco Terrorist Dictator, and Against the People of Venezuela. WJ, Democrats Erupt Over Trump's Venezuela Strike, Say Marco Rubio 'Blatantly Lied to Congress'. Anxious anxiously reports Trump faces quick criticism from Democrats over Maduro capture. At Insty, THE PROBLEM IS ALWAYS JUST THAT TRUMP IS DOING IT: Sunny @sunnyright, "I was told the problem was that we were killing narcoterrorists rather than using force to detain and prosecute them. Turns out detaining and prosecuting them wasn’t acceptable either."

Besty Stauffer at LI notes Dems’ TDS Leaves Them Defending a Narco-State, “Portland chants ‘free Maduro’ while actual Venezuelans celebrate in the streets.” Hat Hair, Dems Call a Waahmbulance While Real Venezuelans Rejoice. - "To those who say that the United States is only interested in oil, I ask those people: What do you think the Russians and the Chinese wanted? The recipe for arepas?" At Pop Times, Communists Rally in Times Square Demanding Narco-Terrorists Dictator Maduro’s Release. Wall Street Apes @WallStreetApes, "EXPOSED: The “Hands Off Venezuela” protest taking place in New York City supporting Nicolas Maduro is being organized by ‘The People’s Forum’ The People’s Forum is a NGO that has received over $20 million dollars from a billionaire who lives in China with ties to the CCP The NGOs primary funding over $20 million Neville Roy Singham - Singham’s residence in Shanghai. - His business ties are to the CCP - He attends CCP-related events - He funds media outlets echoing Chinese state narratives" Amy Curtis @RantyAmyCurtis, "The news broke this morning, and they all have pre-printed signs. These people are not genuine. They're all paid astroturfers. Ignore them." Nate Friedman @NateFriedman97, "I showed a "no war with venzuela" protestor how venezuelans are celebrating in the streets. brain.exe stopped working." Drew Pavlou @DrewPavlou, "Luigi Mangione should be allowed to execute American civilians with zero consequences but Trump removing Maduro is Le “War Crime” The left is a joke. Nobody cares what you idiots think anymore." No Pasaran! "Venezuela's Suicide" — Democrat whipsaw from one policy priority to the next: In 2018, Leftists Decried "A Failed State" Under Chavez and Maduro. Matt Vespa, Venezuelan Reporter Had a Brutal Message for the Libs Trying to Blame Trump for the Maduro Raid. Rock Chartrand @RockChartrand, "Massie gets credit for being “pro-American” while discarding the very principle that makes American prosperity possible: property rights. Venezuela didn’t “own its oil” in any meaningful moral sense once it signed contracts, accepted billions in U.S. capital, and then seized assets, equity, and cash flows by force. . . "

Insty, CHAT GPT SOUNDS JUST LIKE THE PROFESSORS ON THE INTERNATIONAL LAW PROFESSORS EMAIL LIST: Arthur MacWaters @ArthurMacwaters "I asked ChatGPT & Grok whether it was a crime for Trump to arrest Maduro (a common & important question today) ChatGPT said yes: - falsely assumed that Maduro was legitimately elected - defaulted to referencing the UN charter and "international experts" - has an anti-American slant, both explicitly and implicitly. It sounds like a left-leaning law professor at any Ivy League school! Grok said no: - correctly explained Maduro's fraudulent rule - explained Trump's power as commander in chief to direct the military to execute federal warrants This is incredibly important to get right, as it will increasingly be the default information layer for society." The old GIGO rule still applies. Also Insty, YOU CAN TELL THINGS ARE GETTING SERIOUS WHEN THE RECRUITING ADS FEATURE WHITE GUYS AGAIN, AND THIS IS WHY: Dale Stark @DaleStarkA10, "Everyone loves to hate on white guys until they need someone to black-bag a head of state and be home in time for breakfast."

From Fox, Iran and Maduro ties suffer major blow following US operation and capture of Venezuelan dictator, "Experts say Venezuela served as operational hub for Iranian terrorism, drug trafficking and power projection in Latin America." John Solomon at JTN, Obama failed to support Iran’s freedom protesters two decades ago, but Trump just rectified that "Another chance at an "Arab Spring": If Iran violently kills peaceful protesters, the United States of America will come to their rescue, Trump said in a 3 a.m. post Friday on his TruthSocial platform. "We are locked and loaded and ready to go."" The Times, Ayatollah Khamenei plans to flee to Moscow if Iran unrest intensifies "The republic’s supreme leader has plotted an exit route out of Tehran should his forces fail to quell dissent, an intelligence report reveals." IIRC the original Ayatollah, Khomeini, returned to Iran from exile in France when the Shah was deposed. Let that be a lesson.

Sundance thinks it's Interesting Timing – Zelenskyy Planning to Remove Head of the Security Service of Ukraine, "considering the recent denial by Zelenskyy that Ukraine had anything to do with the attack on Russian President Vladimir Putin’s residence."

Althouse is aghast when Elon Musk laughs at a prison rape joke. "Shameful." Elon has a teenager's sense of humor, but he's a fucking genius. Just live with it. Also, "'Gossip shows talk about her every day, about her outfits, about her stylist, about her appearances,' he said, a reference to Ms. Guilfoyle’s embrace of the Trump style for women..." ""... Rapunzel hair, false eyelashes, plumped lips, figure-hugging sheath dresses and high heels. 'In terms of public relations, she has done an excellent job,” [the Greek commenter said]. But the 'submissiveness' of so many Greeks lining up to meet her, he said, 'makes us look like a Third World country.' Mr. Georgiadis, the health minister, shrugged off the buzz. 'When she was first named, the people were, "What’s that?"' he said. But the early energy deals, he said, have proved that she has substance. 'If she delivers,' he said, 'who cares if she has a see-through dress?'..." From "Ambassador Kimberly Guilfoyle, the Talk of Athens/The former fiancée of Donald Trump Jr., and the former wife of Gov. Gavin Newsom, is working hard and pushing deals with American business interests. She’s also up late at parties" (NYT)." Also, best ever occupant of the "leg seat" on 'The Five'.

From the Manhattan Contrarian, Mayor Mamdani: Can You Feel The Excitement? "For myself, not so much. The best I can say is that this too shall pass. Hopefully without too much destruction in the meantime, but we have no assurance of that." Francis Sempka at Am Spec, The ‘Warmth of Collectivism’ Comes to New York "Zohran Mamdani and the totalitarian temptation." Herr Professor Jacobson at LI, Kulaks Beware: Mamdani Orders Public Hearings To Shame “Ripoff” NYC Landlords "We have seen this movie before. Mamdani has identified a class of property owners supposedly ripping off the masses, and now he is targeting them. In the Soviet days they were called Kulaks. In NYC under Mamdani, landlords are the new Kulaks." Amy Curtis at TownHall, 'Straight-Up Tyranny:' NYC Councilwoman Sounds Alarm Over Mamdani's Threat to Landlords. Althouse, "I think the reality is that for centuries we really treated property as an individualized good and not a collective good and..." "... in transitioning into treating it as a collective good and towards the model of shared equity will require that we think about it differently, and it will mean that families — especially white families, but some POC families as well — are going to have a different relationship to property than the one that we currently have.” . . . "See also "Zohran Mamdani’s new NYC tenant advocate called to ‘seize private property,’ blasted home ownership as ‘white supremacy’" (NY Post). Excerpt: "Cea Weaver, Mamdani’s new director of the city Office to Protect Tenants, made the statements and urged her followers to elect more communists in several lecturing posts on her now-deleted X account that were unearthed by internet sleuths. 'Seize private property!' she said on June 13, 2018.... 'Private property including any kind of ESPECIALLY homeownership is a weapon of white supremacy,' she said [in August 2019]."" Libs of TikTok @libsoftiktok, "NYC subway and bus fare hikes took effect today. What happened to the free buses that Mamdani promised and campaigned on?!"

Fox 9, Gov. Walz likely to drop out of 2026 MN governor's race: Report. He did. Ryan King at NYPo reports Tim Walz abruptly drops out of Minnesota governor’s race in wake of alleged billion-dollar fraud scandal. At the Chronic, Minnesota’s Massive Somali Fraud Shows the U.S. Needs a Remigration Policy. From LifeZette, Nick Shirley Brings Receipts on Even More Minnesota Daycare Fraud and ‘Somali Democrat Medicaid Fraud’ Ring Got Raided in Maine. Deane Waldman at Am Spec on How Medicaid Made a Billion-Dollar Crime Inevitable "The Somali fraud scandal and the fatal flaw of third-party payment." At Hat Hair, Larry Elder explains why Obamacare Was, Is and Will Always Be a Problem.

From WokeSpy, These Atlanta Churches Have Over a Thousand Voters Registered to Their Addresses, allegedly homeless. I wonder what happened to the mail-in ballots sent to the "church."

Coddled Affluent Professional @feelsdesperate "Climate is over. Pack it up. When Yglesias feels comfortable openly making such pronouncements you can be assured the thing is done."

At the College Fix, After 5 years, teachers falsely accused of Jan. 6 ‘insurrection’ get $120,000 in damages.

Center for Immigration Studies thinks the WaPo Delivers a Nothingburger on ICE ‘At-Large’ Arrests
WaPo Delivers a Nothingburger on ICE ‘At-Large’ Arrests. "The failure to mention sanctuaries is like a review of Star Wars that fails to discuss Luke Skywalker, Darth Vader, or the Force."

The I&I ed board asserts Politico Should Fire Josh Gerstein. "Instead of expressing outrage that fraudsters were stealing massive amounts of money meant to support poor families – and his colleagues in the mainstream press got scooped by a kid – Gerstein issued a veiled threat to people like Shirley. “At some point,” he posted  on X, “the amateur effort to knock on doors of home daycares intersects with robust stand-your-ground laws.”"

The Wombat has Rule 5 Sunday: Hello, Nurse! and FMJRA 2.0: Still Stuck In The Ruts up and garnering clicks at The Other McCain.

Flotsam and Jetsam - X 'Glitch' Exposes Foreign Propagandists

Let's see what washed up over the weekend. In the funnest story from the weekend, Fox X's new location feature exposes apparent fraudster accounts posing as Americans, Gaza journalists "Popular accounts with hundreds of thousands of followers deleted and scrutinized after being revealed as overseas operations." Pirate Wires, Foreign Rage Farmers Exposed by X in Major Update "X just revealed the location of every user on the platform, triggering chaos among foreign rage farmers and slop peddlers — the massive ranks of which have shaped our culture now for years." Rage farmers, I like that. A Driscolly post at Insty, WHOA: Major Foreign Propagandists Utterly Exposed After X Glitch Reveals Account Locations. "A temporary glitch on X led to a credibility bloodbath for a variety of foreign propaganda accounts that were either posing as Americans or lying about their locations in other ways. Days prior, Head of Product Nikita Brier had announced a new feature revealing the origin and current location of users. When it rolled out, though, only account owners could view it. That all changed on Friday night, though. In what is assumed to have been a mistake, everyone’s origins and current locations were made public for about an hour before disappearing. In one instance, it was revealed that one of Hamas’ biggest simps has been lying about being in Gaza." And Insty himself, AS MUCH OF A SCAM AS THE TIKI-TORCH NAZIS WERE: Shaun Maguire @shaunmmaguire, "Greatest feature in a decade. Everything is an Op." Clandestine @WarClandestine, "So it turned out a large chunk of the Jew-hating crowd were foreigners, posing as Americans. It’s almost like the woke-Right is just an astroturfed foreign op to fracture MAGA from within. Israel derangement syndrome is a psyop to make Trump’s supporters turn on him." Herr Professor Jacobson at LI, Foreign Fake MAGA Anti-Israel Accounts Exposed In X “Location” Disclosure, "Now we know that it was all a massive foreign influence operation of fake MAGA accounts meant not to promote Trump, but to turn Americans against Jews and Israel and to sow chaos and division among actual Trump supporters." Robby Soave @robbysoave, "I was reflexively disinclined to believe it was all foreign accounts promoting racism and anti-Semitism under the guise of the pro-Trump America First banner. That sounded too easy, and similar to the (now debunked) idea that all the Trump content on Facebook in 2016 was actually Russian bots. But... this "account based in" feature actually has unmaked tons of groypers as Pakistani, as far as I can tell? Very useful feature, and kudos to Elon Musk and the X team for implementing it. The hate is not coming from inside the house!"

Matt Boose at the Chronic says Trump Already Has an Affordability Agenda: Reduce Immigration. It's a step, an important step, but not the only step. I&I, About That ‘Sh*tty’ Trump Economy. "If this is what constitutes a “sh*tty economy”, then we’ll take more of it. From our perspective, it’s not Trump’s policies that are a problem (although we are not fans of tariffs), it’s his seeming unwillingness to stay focused on the economy." USA Today opines I was right about the pathetic Democrats. And most Americans agree with me. "A new poll found that in the end, Americans blamed Democrats the most for how they handled the shutdown, with 60% disapproving. Come next year's midterms, voters won't forget it." But just remember, in a poll result like that, about half of those disapproving will think Democrats didn't go far enough. Betsey McCaughey at Hat Hair, says Beware Housing Bills With Socialist Goals.

Dave Harsanyi at NYPo calls the Epstein vote a stain on cowardly Congress — whose members won’t stand up for the rule of law. Congress is already pretty stained. At Althouse, "The smart need money; the rich want to seem smart; the staid seek adjacency to what Mr. Summers called 'life among the lucrative and louche'..." ""... and Mr. Epstein needed to wash his name using blue-chip people who could be forgiving about infractions against the less powerful. Each has some form of capital and seeks to trade. . . Writes Anand Giridharadas, in "How the Elite Behave When No One Is Watching: Inside the Epstein Emails" (NYT)". Mediaite reports Marjorie Taylor Greene Didn’t Tell Speaker Johnson She’s Resigning Amid Razor-Thin GOP Majority. Some reports suggest she left over Epstein, but the smart money is because Trump wouldn't support her for GA gov.

Moving to foreign affairs, Sundance hosts Secretary of State Marco Rubio's Press Conference from Geneva Switzerland During Discussions with Ukraine Officials and Sunday Talks – Senator Mark Warner Not Happy with Ukraine Peace Proposal. Ward Clark at RedState sees A New Wrinkle: SecState Distances U.S. From 'Unacceptable' Ukraine Proposal. Althouse, "Is it really possible that big progress is being made in Peace Talks between Russia and Ukraine??? Don’t believe it until you see it..." ""... but something good just may be happening. GOD BLESS AMERICA." Wrote Trump, on Truth Social." I'm confused, but only time will tell. Lee Smith at Tablet says Farewell to the Abraham Accords "MBS’s White House visit marked a return to normalcy in the Middle East, and a U.S. pivot toward China." I don't know if I agree. Sarah Anderson at PJM sees The Skies Empty Over Caracas As the Dictator Dances. For Af's, Elliott Abrams explains How to Topple Maduro "And Why Regime Change Is the Only Way Forward in Venezuela."

Sundance says I Fully Support Donald Trump Because the Alternative Is to Support a Republican. I understand his point, but it's not that bad. There is only one Trump, and he can't stay in office forever. Sasha Stone, MAGA Might be Chaos, but the Left is an Unhinged, Dystopian, Doomsday Cult. Thad McCotter at Am Great looks at The Progressives’ Practical Amorality: ‘Reid Alert!’ "Harry Reid’s false attack on Mitt Romney endures as the template for a progressive movement that wins by bending language, ignoring truth, and blaming others when its policies fail."

Larry Elder at Hat Hair is not amused by Michelle's 'Hair'-Raising Theory: 'White Folks' Stop Blacks From Learning How To Swim.

Sundance at CTH sees CIA Senator Elissa Slotkin Attempts to Change Conversation Away from Seditious Video Promotion Twitchy, GRRL, BYE: Elissa Slotkin Accuses Trump of Putting Words in Her Mouth and HOOBOY Was THAT Stupid. Shipwreckedcrew thinks DOJ Should Begin A Criminal Investigation Of The Democrat Members Of Congress Appearing on Video To Undermine The Military Chain-Of-Command. "18 U.S.C. Sec. 2387 makes it illegal to advise, counsel or in any manner cause insubordination or refusal of duty by any member of the military." Let the process be the punishment. 

Sundance thinks there's Something Sketchy About Narrative Underway Against Deputy AG Todd Blanche. Tom Knighton at BA laughs because Mother Jones and The Trace Are Very Upset That DOJ Is Defending All Civil Rights Now. At TownHall, Scott McLallen likes the way Scott Jennings Blasts Kara Swisher for Calling Hunter Biden Laptop Cover-Up Just 'Politics' and Jeff Charles notes She Punched a Pro-Life Activist and Avoided Charges – but It's Not Over Yet. At the Chi Trib an Editorial: A woman was set on fire on the Blue Line. Chicago can’t shrug this off.

Ryan King at NYPo reports Trump vows to designate Muslim Brotherhood a terrorist organization. From Twitchy, Somali Sheriff in Minnesota Just Called American Officers ‘Foreigners’ and Said He Serves Somalis First. Josh Hammer at Hat Hair explores What Is an American? AG @AGHamilton29, "Reminder Keith Ellison met with the culprits behind the $240 million Feeding our Future MN fraud scheme before they were charged and then he and his son took donations from them amid promises to deter the investigation. We have audio of that meeting." Nick Ballasy at JTN hears DOJ say an investigation underway into pro-Palestinian group surrounding Park East Synagogue. "Dhillon pointed out that obstructing access to a house of worship is a federal offense." From Calling All Rushbabes, Thank you, Secretary of State Rubio! English commentator on our State Department policy toward “international migration.” The FOO @PolitiBunny, "Measles is back because Biden allowed millions of unvetted and unvaccinated illegals into the country." Quote Senator Reverend Raphael Warnock @SenatorWarnock "Secretary Kennedy has spent his time in office spreading doubt about vaccines. Now measles is back." At Shooting News Week, Trump Redirecting BSCA Grant Money Away From ‘Gun Violence’ NGOs to Fund Deportation of Illegals.

From the College Fix, U. Texas professors ponder exit due to academic freedom worries: ‘unbearable,’ ‘unwelcoming place’ "SB 17 forbids diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) offices in system schools as well as various DEI-related trainings and programs. U. Texas closed its Gender and Sexuality Center last year in response to the law. According to a survey by the student paper The Daily Texan, approximately 60 percent of over 430 (mainly undergraduate) professors said they have “considering leaving” UT due to SB 17, which includes 75 percent of College of Liberal Arts faculty." Great, now git! I suspect they can find some candidates who are not political hacks. Campus Reform remembers 5 times deranged leftists attacked conservative campus tables.

Dmitri Bolt at TownHall reports a Trump Ordered Report finds Experts Say No Evidence Supports Gender Treatments for Kids. Critics will, of course, say it was biased, but after the clowns and criminals in the Biden administration, I am not concerned. 

The Wombat has FMJRA 2.0: Finally, A Winning Week up on time and under budget at The Other McCain.

Flotsam and Jetsam - Left Glum about Gaza Truce

Sundance at CTH hosts a series of videos, starting with President Trump Holds Impromptu Presser Returning from Mideast Trip, President Trump Delivers Remarks During Historic Mid East Peace Agreement, President Trump Welcomes World Leaders to Mid East Peace Summit and Takes Group Picture, Next Stop, Egypt – President Trump Travels to Sharm El-Sheikh to Meet With President al-Sisi and World Leaders, Israeli Knesset Welcomes President Trump with Massive Standing Ovation and Blaring Trumpets, President Trump Delivers Remarks to Israeli Knesset (Parliament) and President Trump Arrives in Israel – Video. Leslie Eastman at LI, President Donald Trump Receives Egypt’s Highest State Honor, the Order of the Nile. From Kristen Ziccarelli and Joshua Treviño at Da Fed, Trump Is The Best Statesman Of Our Time Because He’s A Realist. VodkaPundit at PJM, Trump's Middle East Grand Strategy: No Gaza, No Iran, No Excuses. Capt. Ed at Hat Hair notices Time Mag: Guess Which Term Was Missing From Trump's 'Peace 2025' Speech?, "two-state solution." PJM's VodkaPundit, Trump's Middle East Grand Strategy: No Gaza, No Iran, No Excuses and via Insty, THE ROAD TO PEACE NECESSARILY BYPASSED HAMAS: Peace in Gaza! ‘Ceasefire Now!’ Crowd Hardest Hit. Logan Dobson @LoganDobson, "Crazy how the IDF was allegedly committing a “genocide” in Gaza and yet the only photos of public executions are the ones that are emerging right now as Israel has withdrawn." Quote Motasem A Dalloul @AbujomaaGaza, "Security services in Gaza publicly execute Israel’s collaborators, who were recruited and used by the Israeli military to: steal aid, attack starving aid seekers, destabilise internal front . .  "

Jim Geraghty at NRO, Why the Democrats’ Activist Class Couldn’t Celebrate the Cease-Fire They Demanded. Ace noticed, Low-IQ Narcisist and Epic Failure Joe Biden Wants Credit for Trump's Success In the Middle East "On Friday, Politico reported that Biden's staffers had "mixed feelings" about the Trump Team's winning of the hostages' freedom. They claim they were happy they were to be released. But, more importantly, they were spiteful that Trump had accomplished what they failed to achieve. And as usual, you can ignore everything before the "but."" PJM's Mike Cantrell sees Late-Night Hosts Eat Crow, Give Trump Credit for Gaza Ceasefire "Of course, they still slid in a few jabs at him, but overall, it was rather cordial." Via Althouse, Colin Wright @SwipeWright, "I checked in on BlueSky to see how people there are reacting to the release of the Israeli hostages, and it’s the eeriest thing. It’s not trending. There’s no mention of it on the “Explore” tab. I started scrolling the feed and went through hundreds of posts without seeing a single one that mentioned it. Instead, it’s all posts about Mamdani, John Oliver’s new episode criticizing Bari Weiss and Jamie Reed, the “No Kings” protest apparently happening this weekend, Taylor Swift, the Epstein Files, complaints about anti-vaxxers, and snarky takes insisting that Antifa doesn’t exist. That's it. . . " johnny maga@_johnnymaga "Wow. Trump just refused to take a question from ABC News after they cut off his Vice President on their Sunday show and went to commercial break. This is what a leader looks like." Althouse finds It reminds me of the time LBJ saw a portrait of himself and said "That's the ugliest thing I ever saw." "Trump on Truth Social: "Time Magazine wrote a relatively good story about me, but the picture may be the Worst of All Time. They 'disappeared' my hair, and then had something floating on top of my head that looked like a floating crown, but an extremely small one. Really weird! I never liked taking pictures from underneath angles, but this is a super bad picture, and deserves to be called out. What are they doing, and why?" Quoted in "President Trump accuses Time magazine of deliberately using the worst photo ‘of all time’ on a cover praising his peace deal" (NY Post)."

Matt Margolis thinks you should WATCH: Dana Bash Humiliates Hakeem Jeffries Over His Shutdown Theater. Insty, SCHUMER SHUTDOWN UPDATE: Townhall.com @townhallcom, "OMG —
@SpeakerJohnson blows the cover on the Democratic agenda. For Dems to reopen the gov they want "$24.6M for climate resilience in Honduras...$3.9M for LGBTQI+ democracy grants in the Balkans...& $2M for feminist democratic principles in Africa." ?" Bonchie at RedState, Absolute Clown Show: Democrats Try to Storm Mike Johnson's Office, Accost Police Officer.

Dave Catron at Am Spec, Trump Proved ‘Experts’ Wrong About Tariffs, "All of the geniuses who predicted that tariffs would cause a recession were full of BS."

From NRO, Trump Awards Charlie Kirk with Posthumous Presidential Medal of Freedom, pissing off liberals. Remember they gave one to George Soros?

Matt Margolis swears The Virginia Gubernatorial Debate Was a Disaster for Spanberger. Hat Hair's Dave Strom notes Democrats Were More Angry About Governor Northam's Blackface Photo Than Jay Jones' Murder Fantasy. At WaEx Paul Bedard sees a Virginia shake-up: Earle-Sears surging, Miyares overtakes Jones. Jerry Dunleavy at JTN reports Jay Jones wanted to divest from police & pull cops from schools, said Jacob Blake could’ve been him, "Hateful and violent texts sent by Jay Jones have taken the spotlight as he seeks to become Virginia's attorney general. But his animosity towards police and the justice system, and his alignment with the BLM movement has flown largely under the radar so far." From Ace, Schmolls: Jay Jones Now Trails in Virginia, with Winsome Earle-Sears Now Behind By Just Two Points "Jay Jones' sick fantasies about watching children die in their mother's arms, and Deep State Operative Abigail Spanberger's absurd dodging of the transgender question, have suddenly made Virginia competitive in all three statewide races." Bonchie @bonchieredstate, "Every single one of these networks spent weeks covering a Republican aide who criticized the Obama kids’ outfits. But a statewide Democrat candidate wanting to murder kids just doesn’t register. Makes sense." Quote MRC NewsBusters @newsbusters, "The media refuse to cover disgusting text messages from Jay Jones." But Politico found the antidote! From Althouse, "'I love Hitler': Leaked messages expose Young Republicans’ racist chat/Thousands of private messages reveal young GOP leaders joking about gas chambers, slavery and rape.", "Politico reports." "In the Grok answer I added to the post, the "consequences" section is impressive. "Job Losses: William Hendrix (KS) fired from AG Kris Kobach's office; Peter Giunta ousted from NY Assemblyman Mike Reilly's staff; Bobby Walker lost congressional job offer; Joe Maligno quit NY court system role. "Group Shutdowns: Kansas Young Republicans disbanded entirely; YRNF demands all resignations." Far different from the Democrat's reactions to Jay Jones.

Yoni Weinberg at Tablet, The Mamdani Exodus "Faced with rising antisemitism and a radical would-be mayor, New York’s Jewish artists confront a once unthinkable question: Is it time to flee?" No longer to be known as Hymietown?

From Shipwreckedcrew, The Insurrection Act: Officials In Blue States and Cities Are "Running with Scissors" Expecting Nothing Bad Will Happen From Opposing DHS/ICE. "The factual preconditions for invoking the Insurrection Act have already been met -- only President Trump's forbearance in asserting his lawful authority has prevented it from happening." At Althouse, "Nearly half of U.S. presidents have invoked the Insurrection Act. Some (many) more than once." ""We’ve known about this problem for a long time. Plenty of people pointed it out in 2021 when Dems controlled WH+Congress. But nobody wants to give up power when their team has it." Sarah Isgur explains the Insurrection Act in 4 quick points — I'm quoting #4 — after somebody on X calls attention to the time she trounced George Stephanopoulos on the topic:" Defiant L’s @DefiantLs "George Stephanopoulos looks like a fool after a young lady fact-checks his statement about the Insurrection Act." Insty at his NYPo gig, Blue city ‘breaking point’: San Francisco wants Trump’s help on crime. San Fran Chronic, ‘The only solution’: Elon Musk backs call to deploy federal troops to San Francisco. Driscoll at Insty, MISTER, WE COULD USE A MAN LIKE SNAKE PLISSKEN AGAIN: "Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff says he wants Trump to send National Guard to San Francisco; mayor’s office responds. It’s looking grim on the Streets of San Francisco:" Beege Welborn at Hat Hair, DHS Chase in Chicago Ends in Crash, Crowds and Rock Throwing...So Far. Sounds like insurrection to me. Dr. Ben Braddock @GraduatedBen, "“Vials of liquid” is an interesting way to describe a Molotov cocktail" Quote NBC4 Washington @nbcwashington, "A man who had vials of liquid and possible fireworks was arrested outside of the Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle Sunday morning before Red Mass started, police say." Readers added context, "The vials of liquid were Molotov cocktails." John Sexton at Hat Hair, For the Washington Post, It's Always the Right That Is to Blame. Peachy Keenan, It’s Not a “Both Sides” Problem. Stephen Kruiser at PJM notes a Sad New York Times Keeps Beating What's Left of the J6 Dead Horse.

Streiff at RedState, Federal Judges Blame Trump and SCOTUS for a Problem They Created; We Need to Fix It Now. "The issue stems from the simple proposition that a nontrivial number of judges no longer see their job as ruling on conflicts of law. They see their job as ensuring the "correct," and naturally progressive, outcome to cases. The very fact that Trump has had only one minor setback at the Supreme Court, despite having virtually every decision of consequence litigated, is an indication that the legal reasoning and arguments of his team are rock-solid; see SCOTUS Scorecard: How the Trump Administration Is Faring Before the High Court (So Far). With increasing frequency, courts are issuing rulings that amount to "I don't like it." So long as the President has legal authority to do so, that is not an argument that is a tantrum. Sometimes the results are hilariously stupid." Shawn Fleetwood at Da Fed hears In Race-Based Redistricting Battle, Louisiana Urges SCOTUS To Uphold America’s ‘Color Blind’ Constitution. Mediaite whines Trump’s Handpicked Prosecutor Outside DC Cleans Out Office In Shock Move "President Donald Trump’s handpicked U.S. prosecutor recently removed a senior prosecutor in Virginia as she continues a radical reshaping of the office. In late September, it was announced that Lindsey Halligan would replace Erik Siebert as the U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia. Siebert previously resigned over his refusal to prosecute New York Attorney General Letitia James."

At Hat Hair, Dave Strom reminds us Letitia James' 'Tenant' in Mortgage Fraud Home Is a Niece Who Is a Fugitive From North Carolina. Vince Langman @LangmanVince, "Must Watch! You won't see this guy on CNN! Every single mortgage document Letitia James signed over the last 42 years had "falsified information" this was not a "one-off"" Ace, The Niece Living at Big Tish's Mortgage-Fraud Scam-Pad Is, Get This, a Criminal Fugitive, "Big Tish has a family of criminals. Including a criminal absconder. Lock. Her. Up."

Cathy Salgado at PJM, ICE Arrests Double Murderer, Thwarts Chicago Would-Be Shooter. Twitchy, Illegal Aliens Not Able to Renew CDLs After Trump Closed Loopholes CA Was Exploiting. Buck Throckmorton at Ace's says The Trump Administration’s Purge of Illegal Truck Drivers Is Having a Huge Impact. 

From the Free Bacon, Liberal Media, Activists Silent as Bari Weiss Makes LGBT History at CBS News "Groups who claim to promote diversity and inclusion refuse to acknowledge lesbian trailblazer." Driscoll at Insty, calls it the BOTTOM STORY OF THE DAY: John Oliver Slams Bari Weiss’ Takeover of CBS News: She’s ‘Spent Years Putting Out Work’ That ‘Is at Best Irresponsible and at Worst Deeply Misleading.’ “She’s been given editorial control of a massive news organization even though she’s never run a TV network, has no experience directing television coverage and, as one ’60 Minutes’ producer pointed out, is not even a reporter,” Oliver said. “That is true. She didn’t come up through the news side of a newspaper but through the opinion pages, which are a very different thing.” . . . Actually, it should be a perfect fit in one sense — CBS has been “a pure opinion outlet” for over a decade longer than Oliver has been alive." Bluesky Libs @BlueskyLibs, "Why can’t liberals admit that they just don’t want people with opposing political opinions to control news organizations? It’s an understandable reaction (I would be saddened if George Soros bought Fox News). But liberals have to dress up their desire for control in noble principle. It’s so fake." At Splice Today, Mark Judge looks at The Bari Weiss Kavanaugh Flip-Flop. He's got a legitimate bone to pick with her. 

Dave Strom sees that in the UK, 'Hate Speech' Excludes Antisemitism. From the College Fix, Memorial for Israeli hostages vandalized, Jewish students threatened at Lewis & Clark College. At Campus Reform, Rutgers professor known as ‘Dr. Antifa’ flees to Europe after petition to remove him. "Rutgers professor Mark Bray, known as 'Dr. Antifa,' is moving to Europe and teaching online after receiving death threats following a petition calling for his removal. The petition, launched by Turning Point USA, accused Bray of promoting 'militant anti-fascism,' while Rutgers said it is reviewing the situation."

VodkaPundit at Insty, IT WAS ALWAYS A GOVERNMENT- AND NGO-ENABLED SOCIAL CONTAGION:

More evidence that the phenomena of rising trans identification is a social fad, not the result of a "more tolerant society" as some social scientists have argued.

Boys wanting to put on dresses and girls wanting to wear boys clothes is as old as antiquity. https://t.co/tDEhGzsAJD

— Rich Baris The People's Pundit (@Peoples_Pundit) October 14, 2025

"But, wait — it gets better: After years of progress on gender, the male gaze is back." It never really left. 

Plenty more links at The Wombat's In The Mailbox: 10.14.25 (Morning Edition) and In The Mailbox: 10.14.25 (Evening Edition). The Wombat has FMJRA 2.0: No Joy At Fenway at the usual time and place.