Science is Dead, Long Live Science

 Leslie Eastman at LI, Proposed OMB Rules Could Reshape How US Science Is Funded and Published, "Laughably, unhappy scientists complain proposed grant system overhaul could politicize research funding — as if that weren’t already happening."

The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) is proposing major changes to the rules that govern how federal grants, cooperative agreements, and other financial assistance are managed across the government. The goals are to increase oversight of how taxpayer money is used, align awards with current law and administration policy, and reduce what OMB views as unnecessary burdens on recipients.

These changes apply to all federal agencies, including the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the National Science Foundation (NSF). The 412-page behemoth certainly has the potential to shake up the science-industrial complex that has gutted American trust in science to a meager 36%.

Among the action items embedded in this OMB plan, the new rules would allow agencies to terminate awards if they conclude that a grant “does not effectuate program goals, federal agency priorities, or the national interest as they exist at the time of the termination,” and also under any additional termination provisions written into award terms. This substantially widens discretion beyond classic noncompliance or performance failures.

Given the grants that continued to fund Wuhan bat virus research, the ability to slash funds for dangerous research should be viewed as a positive.

The proposed rules would also forbid spending federal funds on publication costs (e.g., journal publication fees), which is a significant departure from longstanding practice and directly affects the dissemination of research funded by federal grants.

I was utterly unaware of any policy mandating that agencies would be force to continue  funding work that they no longer believed was important to their mission. In fact, once, a grant on which I was a PI was delayed for over a year because the agency (guess who) decided they would rather have a satellite than our project. To be fair, we eventually did get the money, or at least most of it.

I'm sure the fear here is that the Trump administration will cancel a bunch of grants issued during the Biden administration that do not conform to their vision. There are lots of examples, but prominent among them would be climate science. For many years, one the magic phrases that helped get funding was "global warming" (or "climate change"). A lot of investigators who promiscuously promised to link their work to "climate change" may be regretting that choice.

Flotsam and Jetsam - The Third Time was Not the Charm

Two whole days, and we're still discussing the most recent attempt by a hard left-wing fanatic to kill President Trump and members of his administration. Althouse noticed it's even pushed Iran out of top billing at the NYT, The Iran war drops from the top screen of the NYT home page. Sundance at CTH hosts Sunday Talks – Acting AG Todd Blanche Discussing the WHCA Assassination Attempt – Suspect Was Targeting Administration and Attempted Assassin – Cole Tomas Allen’s Manifesto Revealed. "And I am no longer willing to permit a pedophile, rapist, and traitor to coat my hands with his crimes." Dave Strom at Hat Hair, Manifesto Released: He Believed All the Lies the Democrats Now Claim They Never Said. Sauron's Eye, has a bunch of Live Updates including White House Correspondents' Dinner shooting suspect wrote that he planned to target Trump admin. officials. Althouse, "Turning the other cheek is for when you yourself are oppressed. I’m not the person raped in a detention camp. I’m not the fisherman executed without trial." ""I’m not a schoolkid blown up or a child starved or a teenage girl abused by the many criminals in this administration. Turning the other cheek when *someone else* is oppressed is not Christian behavior; it is complicity in the oppressor’s crimes." From the tweets of Cole Tomas Allen, quoted in "WHCD shooting suspect Cole Allen flooded social media with anti-Trump fury: 'you are f–king damned'" (NY Post)." At Twitchy, Jonathan Turley Shares the Truth: The Left Called It a False Flag — Then the Shooter’s Ties Flooded Out. KanekoaTheGreat @KanekoaTheGreat, "10. The scary part: Cole Allen looks like he came from a good family. Caltech graduate. Master’s in computer science. His beliefs mirrored mainstream Democrat talking points. Yet he charged a Secret Service checkpoint with a shotgun—willing to die for a shot at the President. This is why the left constantly calls Trump "Hitler," ICE the "Gestapo," and us "fascists." That rhetoric is how violence gets justified against Trump, Charlie, or any of us. And it’s escalating. The “luigi left” is growing. Even Caltech grads from good families, repeating mainstream Democrat talking points, are willing to die for a shot at the President." Will Ricciardella @WillRicci, "The WHCA alleged shooter wasn’t some nut job lurking on the fringes of society, forgotten by the system. He was well-educated, credentialed, employed, and institutionally formed. That’s what makes this so disturbing. At first glance, this doesn’t look like a breakdown of the system, it looks more like a product of it. Academia, media, and politics helped build the moral permission structure. Let that sink in." Cynical Publius @CynicalPublius, "Cole Allen is the Dunning-Kruger Assassin. Allen is not some random nut job from the fringes of society. He’s a very articulate graduate of Caltech, which means he has a high degree of native intelligence. He’s in the education profession. He is on BlueSky. He goes to No Kings protests. He’s your basic rank-and-file Democrat. But it’s that high native intellect that led him astray..." Andrew Follett @AndrewCFollett, "It the Divine Right of College Degrees! Leftist elite aspirants like the shooter get violent because society doesnt give them the status they think theyre entitled to." Rob Henderson@robkhenderson, "Relative to Americans with a high school education, Americans with graduate degrees are twice as likely to support political violence. More education = higher support for political violence. It couldn't be otherwise." Vince Langman @LangmanVince, "If you read Cole Allen's manifesto without knowing who wrote it, you would think it was written by one of the following: Hakeem Jeffries Kamala Harris Tim Walz Gavin Newsom MTG Nancy Pelosi Adam Schiff Candace Owens Jimmy Kimmel Rachel Maddow Jamie Raskin." C3 @C_3C_3, "Want some truth? Cole Allen isn’t a radical. He’s a mainstream Democrat in 2026. That’s how far Left the Democrat Party has shifted." Benjamin Domenech @bdomenech, "Remember that Rutgers study that found more than half of left of center respondents said it would be at least somewhat justified to murder Donald Trump? Maybe we should believe the left when they declare who they want to kill." Northern Barbarian @xnoesbueno, "Yeah, they're not going to do that. Too invested. Alienate their base. Some things to too false but true to be acknowledged as false. You're asking pathological liars to admit they are pathological liars. Not gonna happen." Quote Karol Markowicz @karol, ""I am no longer willing to permit a pedophile, rapist, and traitor to coat my hands with his crimes." This would be a great time for Democrats to admit Trump is not actually a pedophile, rapist or traitor. Just telling the truth would go a long way to reducing the insanity." Shipwreckedcrew @shipwreckedcrew, "So a public school teacher in Calif. travels to DC with a collection of weapons. He has booked a room at the hotel where a highly publicized event is taking place with the POTUS as guest of honor. He has a large presence on social media, and he has written manifesto concerning his views. And absolutely no one in his circle of friends or fellow travelers knows anything about it????? Not likely. This could get interesting."

 Mike LaChance at LI notes the WHCA Dinner Shooting Occurred as DHS and Secret Service Have Been Unfunded for More Than 70 Days “a lapse driven by Democrats blocking funding bills and rejecting multiple GOP-backed proposals to reopen the department” Mark Steyn say The Secret Service Makes Me Nervous "If I were Donald J Trump, I wouldn't want these guys anywhere near me. But then again he has no choice in the matter"

Sundance hosts Sunday Talks – President Trump Fox News Interview Following Assassination Attempt at White House Correspondent’s Dinner. Tim O'Brien at PJM, Something’s Changed: Trump Explains Why People Want to Kill Him, Some Journalists Discover He’s Human. From Twitchy, Trump Obliterates Norah O’Donnell: 'You’re Disgraceful' After She Tries Smearing Him With Assassin’s Lies. Althouse wonders Was Donald Trump too mean to Norah O'Donnell on "60 Minutes" last night? I'll argue both sides. "Maybe you've noticed there's a big uproar over this part of the show." No, and why should we care about her feelings? Western Lensman @WesternLensman, "Bash: You and many Democrats have used some heated rhetoric against the president. Do you think twice about that when something like this happens? Raskin: What rhetoric?" Richard Grenell @RichardGrenell, "You encourage the mentally unstable to take action against Trump every night. Be self-reflective. Are you encouraging this violence, Jake? Do you have TDS?" Quote Jake Tapper @jaketapper, "President Trump releases photos and a video of the security event tonight at the WHCA Dinner. Grateful the president and all other attendees are OK. Thanks to the US Secret Service and law enforcement for their quick actions tonight’s " Robby Starbuck @robbystarbuck, "After both the Butler assassination attempt AND tonight, the @washingtonpost ran with headlines that made it sound like Trump fled from ‘loud noises’. They’ll do anything to minimize leftist violence. @JeffBezos has more people to fire." Nick Arama at RedState sees Hell Freezes Over As Media Reveals Remarkable Actions Trump Took After WHCD Shooting. Rapid Response 47 @RapidResponse47, "@jonkarl says @POTUS called him shortly after 7AM: "He was calling to see if I was ok with what happened last night...he reiterated many of the things he said in his press conference last night, emphasizing the unity he felt in that moment...and he was quite firm about this: 'That dinner must be rescheduled.'" Scott McLallen at TownHall, You Won't Believe Who the Left Blames for Last Night's Assassination Attempt. Of course I will: Daily Wire @realDailyWire, "Immediately after a gunman opened fire at the White House Correspondents' Dinner, Lincoln Project co-founder @SteveSchmidtSES blamed President Trump for "poisoning the rhetoric" in America: "He is a vile and disgusting man."" From Twitchy, Apology Lasted Hours: Jvnior Promises to Stop Lying, Immediately Posts Bogus IDF Shirt on Trump Shooter.

PJM's Scott Pinsker predicts Political Fallout of Yet Another Assassination Attempt: Danger for the Dems! Scott Johnson at Power Line The fire this time. Brittany Bernstein’s NR story quotes the president notes from his press conference. He said the dinner guests were “totally unified” by the evening’s events. “This was an event dedicated to freedom of speech that was supposed to bring together members of both parties with members of the press and in a certain way it did,” he said. He later added: “In light of this evening’s events, I ask that all Americans recommit with their hearts in resolving our differences peacefully. We have to resolve our differences.” Well, that’s not going to happen. It might be sufficient unto the day if we renounced political violence as a means to an end in our republic." Matt Vespa at TownHall sees The Left Were Absolute Psychopaths Following the Attack on the WHCA Dinner. Auron MacIntyre @AuronMacintyre, "Now is a good time to familiarize yourself with the prelude to the Spanish Civil War Because if the right doesn’t learn that particular lesson of history very quickly we’re about to repeat it" Quote Jesse Kelly @JesseKellyDC, "Communists are demonic and violent. Democrats are communists. No rhetoric will change or be “toned down.” That has never happened one time in the history of communism. Toning them down is utterly destroying their institutions. All else is cope." Christian Heiens @ChristianHeiens, "After the Spanish Right won the 1933 elections, Communists in Asturias launched a revolution, killing thousands before the army was deployed to finally put an end to the chaos. They did the same thing in Catalonia, and when that too was quelled, they engaged in a low-level terrorist campaign all over the country, planting bombs, sabotaging infrastructure, assassinating newspaper editors and political figures, and staging general strikes all over Spain. They kept doing this until they finally won the 1936 election, at which point the Left went full mask-off and began unleashing thousands of criminals into the streets, ransacking businesses, dragging conservatives out of their homes to beat them, and going into the countryside to expropriate private property. The entire country descended into a state of near-total anarchy in a matter of months..." Batya Ungar-Sargon @bungarsargon, "The week we learned Charlottesville was funded by the Left and NYT published an interview justifying murder, President Trump survives a third assassination attempt. We don't have a political violence problem in America. We have a Left-wing political violence problem in America." Savanah Hernandez @Savsays, "Never forget how immediately after Charlie Kirk’s assassination, Destiny stated that “we need conservatives to be afraid of getting killed when they go to events” The left consistently calls for us to be killed/hurt and then cheer when we’re killed. Wake up to where we’re at." Quote Will Chamberlain @willchamberlain, "Reminder that Hasan Piker publicly advocated for President Trump’s assassination Perhaps one of his lunatic followers decided to give it a shot." Rothmus @Rothmus, "“The right think guns are used for hunting and protection, because that’s what the right uses them for. The left think guns are used for murder, because that’s what the left uses them for.” (Matt Tabor) Few statements capture the divide between right and left on guns more truthfully than this." Quote Mostly Peaceful Memes @MostlyPeaceful. "“Who had gay black school teacher?” 

PJM's Sarah Anderson says Let's Hear It for the (Trump Administration) Men! Sergeant News Network @sgtnewsnetwork, "HEROIC: Footage shows Stephen Miller shielding his pregnant wife during the shooting at the White House Correspondents' Dinner Stephen Miller is the BEST Husband & Dad." Bethany S. Mandel @bethanyshondark, "You can tell a lot about a man about how they instinctively respond when it hits the fan. In this photo, Stephen Miller moves on top of his pregnant wife to protect her. Pete Hegseth stands over his wife, surveying the scene while leaning over, protecting her." From Suzy Weiss at the Freep, My Takeaway from the WHCD? Dudes Rock. Victory Girls, WHCD: Displays of Normal American Masculinity Triggers The Left. To be fair, what doesn't?

Behind the Black, Trump fires the entire governing board of the National Science Foundation "The article at the link, from the journal Science, takes the typical one-sided propaganda press anti-Trump view, interviewing only those who oppose Trump and spending most of its time screaming “He’s destroying science!” A wider view would ask this: Is there a reason that the president of the United States, elected by the American people, might have reasons to question the management of this board? At the moment the federal government is running a deficit that is back-breaking, and this board publicly criticized Trump’s effort to rein in spending when he proposed a 55% cut in NSF’s budget. If they are not going to cooperate with their boss, then maybe they should leave, and not let the door hit them as they head out." I'm just going to speculate that they continued their DEI and Global Warming emphasis. At the RCP, The Left ‘Lost’ on DEI Then They Did What They Always Do "They dropped the letters but kept the levers."

At 1945, I Have Seen the Ukraine War Up-close: Don’t Declare Russia the Winner Just Yet

Cam at Bearing Arms is not happy with Virginia, but is pleased to report Virginia House Democrats Deny Spanberger's Gun Ban Amendment ***UPDATED*** Leslie Eastman at LI on How California Swapped Gold for Grift:“Affordable Housing” and “Green Energy” Became NGO Slush Funds. "Programs sold as compassion function as taxpayer‑funded lifelines for the very political machine that hollowed the state out in the first place."

The Victory Girls, decry Shoplifting Socialists: Protesting Capitalism One Lemon At A Time. Too bad Noah Smith has to explain Why shoplifting is bad, "It may feel like a small act of rebellion, but it hurts a lot of people who don't deserve it."

Libs of TikTok @libsoftiktok, "In case anyone was wondering why Democrat Rep Dave Min is scootering to work and not driving his car…. It’s because he was arrested for drunk driving and was sentenced to three years probation." Quote Cassie Semyon @casssemyon, "It’s hard to miss @CongressMin on Capitol Hill — he’s the one riding the electric scooter. Now’s he’s turning his love for the speedy method of transportation into bipartisan legislation to create federal standards for e-bikes and other micro-mobility methods." Heh!

Sundance thinks It’s Time for a National Conversation About The CIA "Against revelations about the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) funding violent domestic extremist groups, consider this graphic" Bill Otis at Ringside of the Reckoning looks at The Southern Poverty Law Center indictment "It looks like deserved karma for race-huckstering grifters, but is it a legitimate fraud case?" He seems to think its a tough case to make, but I believe it's worth the trouble.

Hat Hair's Josh Hammer wonders Does the Right Still Believe in 'No More Souters'? Of course we believe it. But that doesn't mean it couldn't happen.

Guy Benson @guypbenson, "Buried many paragraphs deep: The dad in this Egyptian family is the jihadist who firebombed Jews in Boulder CO during a vigil for Israeli hostages. Dad murdered a Holocaust survivor." Quote Texas Tribune @TexasTribune "Breaking: An Egyptian family of six believed to be the longest held at the controversial South Texas Family Residential Center in Dilley were redetained Saturday after federal judges this week ordered their release. They are being sent to Egypt on a private plane, according to one of the family’s lawyers."

At Hat Hair Larry Elder still remembers On CNN, Democrat 'Election Deniers' Get a Pass.

David Bernstein @ProfDBernstein, "Every time a leftist professor defends students disrupting an event on campus as "free speech" or "no big deal," there should be an action squad that shows up to that professor's next class and disrupts it in similar fashion."

Flotsam and Jetsam - Waltz Out At Nat Sec, In At UN?

Mike Waltz, whose sloppiness in setting up that Signal chat that inadvertantly included virulently anti-Trump Jeffrey Goldman of the Slantic, has been eased out of his seat as National Security Advisor, and offered the UN Ambassadorship, assuming he can pass Senate confirmation (which is not a given). While there have been memorable UN Ambassadors (Jean Kirkpatrick comes to mind), the whole UN is such a shit show that it's hard not to see this as a demotion. At Sauron's Eye, Mike Waltz out as national security adviser, but Trump says he'll be ambassador to U.N. Fox, Mike Waltz, other National Security Council staffers out in latest Trump purge following Signal chat leak, "Fox News confirmed Waltz and his deputy, Alex Wong, left the office Thursday."  NYPo, Trump taps Mike Waltz as new UN ambassador, Rubio as acting national security adviser. Capt. Ed at Hat Hair, BREAKING: Waltz Out As Nat-Sec Adviser? UPDATE: Rubio Interim NSA, Waltz Gets New Gig at UN.  Althouse, "But most of Mr. Trump’s advisers had already viewed him as too hawkish to work for a president who campaigned as a skeptic of American intervention and is eager to reach a nuclear deal with Iran and normalize relations with Russia." "I'm reading "Trump is ousting Michael Waltz, his national security adviser" (NYT)." Ace, Mike Waltz Rumored to be Leaving his position as NSA, along with his aide, Alex Wong. "From Trent Crimm, the Independent . . ." "Adam Smith, representative from Washington, is very mad that Republicans won't repeat Russian Collusion and spend years of committee time looking into this."

Matt Vespa at TownHall thinks he knows Why the Liberal Media Thinks Trump's First 100 Days Are a Disaster: No Wonder. "When you boil down why the press is so mad, it’s simple: Trump is doing the opposite of what Biden would have done." Michael Goodwin at NYPo says Trump’s first 100 days illustrate his strengths and mindset —decisive, bold, and in a hurry. Mike LaChance at LI notes Network Coverage of Defense Sec. Pete Hegseth Was 100% Negative in Trump’s First 100 Days, “I think we’re controversial because we’re OVER the target!” Doing the opposite of Biden. From Da Fetched, Enough to Kill 119 Million: Trump’s First 100 Days Mark Major Fentanyl Crackdown with 22 Million Pills Seized. Good, but we need it shut off at the source. At Althouse, Talk about Trump's third term goes on and "Look, it would be easy for me not to just respond, when you say that, and I could just let you go on. But I’m a very honest person." "Said Donald Trump when The Atlantic's Jeffrey Goldberg asked him why he doesn't quit saying he won the 2020 election." At the Wombat's In The Mailbox: 04.30.25, Don Surber says Trump changed DC this time. At the Wombat's In The Mailbox: 05.01.25 (Afternoon Edition) Louder With Crowder, “You’re fake news”: ABC News’ Terry Moran tried coming after Donald Trump, Scott Jennings has Trump rally crowd laughing, but what he says about Trump’s “bad” polling will truly trigger CNN and Dems, and Exposing 3 Major Anti-Trump LIES (What You Need to Look For).

At NewsMax, Lutnick to Newsmax: Some Trade Deals 'Less' Than Weeks Away. Natalia Mittelstadt at JTN reports China exports drop amid tariff fight with U.S. "A gauge of new export orders decreased this month to its lowest reading since December 2022." Althouse finds Maybe you have enough toys. "I'm trying to read "Trump, on Tariffs, Says ‘Maybe the Children Will Have 2 Dolls Instead of 30’/At the end of a cabinet meeting, the president allowed for the possibility that trade war could disrupt supply chains" (NYT)." PJM's Matt Margolis claims Trump is Winning: China Caves to Trump on Tariffs Again. "In a stunning reversal that validates President Donald Trump's hardline stance, China caved on Tuesday and lifted its punitive 125% tariff on American ethane imports." Sauron's Eye, U.S. vehicle sales surge as buyers hope to beat tariff hikes. Eric Worral at WUWT dismisses the Claim that Trump Tariffs are to Blame for the UK Economic Slump (Not Climate Policy). Hat Hair's Dave Strom sees that Europe's Problem With Trump Is That He Tells Them the Truth. That's so undiplomatic!  

At the Wombat's In The Mailbox: 04.30.25,  Louder With Crowder Here’s Why Canada’s Election Results Are A Golden Opportunity For Trump, America & Alberta, Vox Popoli, The Ports Shut Down, Postcards From Barsoom: Post-Mortem For The Canadian Election.  And at the Wombat's In The Mailbox: 05.01.25 (Afternoon Edition), Don Surber, The Trump and only, Matt Taibbi: When Genius Failed…Again, also, NYT Accuses Trump Of Inventing The Surveillance State.

Sean Davis @seanmdav "With very few exceptions, Republicans in Congress don’t seem interested in doing anything other than being in Congress. As our country teeters on collapse, the most powerful branch in our government is run by do-nothings who are terrified of using their power to save the country, while their opponents are champing at the bit to get power back so they can finish us off once and for all." Quote Cernovich@Cernovich, "The Republican Congress isn't interested in enacting Trump's agenda. No judges impeached. No funding cut for DC courts. No nothing."

At Breitbart, Judge Blocks Trump from Deporting Alleged Venezuelan Gang Members from South Texas Using Alien Enemies Act. Da Caller, Trump-Appointed Judge Blocks Administration From Using Alien Enemies Act To Deport Gang Members. Remember, the court did not address that in their Kilmar Abrego Garcia intervention. Atop Da Hill, Trump administration asks Supreme Court to end protected status for 600,000 Venezuelans. Miami Herald reports Judge says she’s ‘shocked’ Florida attorney general defied her order on immigration arrests "Williams issued a preliminary injunction late Tuesday prohibiting all state law enforcement officials and police agencies from arresting undocumented immigrants who come into Florida." John Kass says Democrat Judges Spit on Rule of Law. Fox, Ex-New Mexico judge, wife who allegedly harbored illegal Tren de Aragua member released on bond. "A federal judge released the couple on $10K bonds under certain conditions." Dave Bernstein at Insty has NEWS YOU WON’T FIND IN THE NEW YORK TIMES: "Potential deportee and Columbia grad student Mohsen Mahdawi won a habeas hearing yesterday. That perhaps temporary victory should not obscure the truly blockbuster revelation in the judge’s opinion, that Mahdawi was reported to the authorities and investigated by the FBI in 2015 after he told a gun store owner that he was involved in murdering Jews in Israel, and telling another individual that he liked to kill Jews, all why eyeing various firearms. The judge, seemingly intent on teaching the Trump administration a lesson did not take these statements very seriously, but (a) Mahdawi should have been referred to ICE for deportation in 2015; and (b) if he can’t be deported now, something is very wrong with our immigration system. Meanwhile, I won’t bother linking to the Times’ story on the habeas ruling but, no surprise, no mention of Mahdawi’s love of Jew-killing."

Terence P. Jeffrey maintains America's Immigration Laws Are Just. Tim Graham is amused by the media Blurring Trump's Posters Displaying Illegal Immigrant Mugshots. At the Wombat's In The Mailbox: 04.30.25, Rep. Jamie Raskin Says The Biden Administration Knew The Right Way To Deport People.

Habba to Newsmax: Law Firms 'Were Colluding' Against Trump, who keeps milking them for cash and free legal services now. "The firms of Kirkland & Ellis LLP; Allen Overy Shearman Sterling US LLP; Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP; Latham & Watkins LLP; and Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft, LLP announced they would each provide $125 million in free legal work for causes including veterans and combating antisemitism. In exchange, the White House would absolve the firms of any investigation into their hiring practices. Habba said the firms signed "because they knew they didn’t want any investigations opened into them.""  At the Wombat's In The Mailbox: 04.30.25, Twitchy: Julie Kelly Destroys Fired J6 Prosecutor For Her Crocodile Tears, Everything Is “Swine” Among Democrats, and Rep. Jamie Raskin Says The Biden Administration Knew The Right Way To Deport People Louder With Crowder: Another Dem congressman attempts to defend his Articles Of Impeachment against Trump.

National Review is sort of grateful that the  National Science Foundation Cancels Hundreds of Grants to Left-Wing Research Projects. Ace, EPA cancels 781 Environmental Justice Grants because Trump is a big ole meanie who ran on just this sort of thing, and you should be super mad about it. "You regretting your vote yet, MAGAts?!" WokeSpy has a 2024 Voter Fraud Bombshell: DOGE Discovery Leads To Arrests. Two Ukrainians arrested for voting. "This arrest marks the first publicly known case where DOGE’s internal intelligence has led directly to law enforcement action." Breitbart reports Neil Young Rages at Elon Musk in Latest Hippie Rock Song: ‘If You’re a Fascist, Get a Tesla’. I guess you can't tell him to just shut up and sing. 

From OTP, Bizarre Kamala Harris Speech Talks Elephants, Trump In 18-Minute ‘Comeback’. "Bizarre 18-Minute Speech Talks Elephants, Trump." Althouse, Kamala is back, and she's teaching the wisdom of the elephants. Beege Welborn at Hat Hair, So What Happened When the Coconut Queen Stepped Up to Sing? NewsMax cites Netanyahu: Beeper Attack Moved Up, Held From Biden for Fear of Leaks. Jerry Dunleavy at JTN reports Hunter Biden drops lawsuit against IRS whistleblowers, who say suit was 'attempt to intimidate’ "Hunter Biden has finally given up his lawsuit against the IRS whistleblowers who exposed the federal government's slow-walking and mishandling of the investigation into Joe Biden's son."

Matt Vespa enjoys how House GOP Reps Mock Dems for Being Totally Lost and Adrift. Beege Welborn sees Hogg and Carville, Fightin' in a Tree - What Happened Next Was OMG. James Carville @JamesCarville "Just called @DavidHogg111. He reminded me of the story of, after the battle of Shiloh, Henry Halleck urged President Lincoln to fire Ulysses Grant. Lincoln said: “I can’t fire him. This man fights.” David Hogg fights. The DNC needs him." At WaEx, Sanders rebuffs Schumer’s claim that Democrats are ‘totally united,’ widens split with party establishment. Hat Hair's Dave Strom says Yes, Democrats Are Imploding, But No, They Are Not Doomed. Da Mail, Democrat's 'grotesque' blanket statement about Latinos sends internet ablaze  "'First, they came for the Latinos outside of the Home Depots trying to get work so that they could feed their families,' Rep. Hank Johnson, D-Ga., said during a congressional hearing on Wednesday. 'I didn't say anything about it, because I'm not a Latino at the Home Depot,' the Democrat continued." Mitch Berg at Hat Hair VIP,  paraphrasing Hawaii, Michigan Democrats: "We Could Learn a Thing Or Two From The Stasi..." Da Caller notes Leading National Democrats Are Now Calling For Outright Violence.

Sarah Anderson at PJM says You Won't Believe What Rubio Found In Biden's State Department Files, but I believe it. Leah Barkoukis at TownHall, In Cabinet Meeting, Rubio Reveals Biden Admin Had 'Disinformation' Dossier on 'One Person at This Table'. Only one? Drew Berquist, Marco Rubio: Biden Admin Kept a Secret File on Trump Cabinet Member.  

TownHall's Jeff Charles, Trump Didn't Have to Humiliate '60 Minutes' Like This, but He Did It Anyway "The president on Wednesday said his lawsuit against the three entities “is a true WINNER” and claimed they “cheated and defrauded the American People at levels never seen before in the Political Arena.” Over the 60 Minute reimagination of the Kamala interview. From Breitbart, Exclusive–Morris: The White House Correspondents Dinner Taught Me That Media Bias Isn’t About Politics, Just Insanity. "I mean, like, actually insane. Delusional. Zero self-awareness, or awareness of reality. Not everyone, but, mostly." Bob Hoge at RedState hears 'I'm Black—You're Not': CNN Panel Explodes Into Ragefest As 'The View's' Ana Navarro Loses Her Mind. Are we sure she was in possession of it?  Becky Noble at RedState, Here's the Latest Idea for the White House to Bypass Legacy Media, and It's Glorious. "In yet one more way to bypass the rapidly and increasingly irrelevant mainstream media, the White House has announced the launch of what they are describing as a "Drudge-style" website that will promote pro-Trump stories and give accurate information on what is happening throughout the administration. The new site is called "White House Wire.""

From GateWay, BREAKING: President Trump Signs “Ending Taxpayer Subsidization of Biased Media” Executive Order to Defund NPR and PBS. NewsBusters hears NPR CEO Claims They Are 'Foundational Infrastructure For Our Country'. 

Hat Hair's John Sexton reports Robby Starbuck Sues Meta Over False Claims Its AI Made About Him "What he found, after querying Meta's AI himself, was a whole list of false claims about him. . . Large language models like Meta's AI can hallucinate false answers about a topic, but he wondered if these specific claims may have absorbed from some "source" when Meta's AI was scraping the internet for training material. However, Starbuck's research team couldn't find anyone making these specific claims about him anywhere else online. Also, other AI companies did not make the same errors."

Jim Piereson at CJ on why Trump Is Likely to Win His Fight with Universities. "The administration holds many cards, and it seems determined to play them all." At the Free Bacon, Scathing Harvard Report Details Pervasive Anti-Semitism Driven By 'Politicized Instruction'. "'I am sorry for the moments when we failed to meet the high expectations we rightfully set for our community,' says university president Garber." Rick Moran at PJM VIP, Harvard Reluctantly Admits that Woke Politics Destroyed the School. Ilya Shapiro@ishapiro "Worse than I thought it would be. If Bob Jones U deserved to lose its tax-exempt status, doing the same to Harvard—and every other school that so baldly fails to uphold its civil-rights obligations—is a no-brainer." Quote Yehuda Teitelbaum @chalavyishmael "BREAKING: Harvard Just Released its Final Report on Antisemitism and Anti-Israel Bias. It’s 300+ pages and pretty devastating to read."

NRO reports HHS Report Finds No Strong Evidence Supporting ‘Gender-Affirming Care’ Effectiveness. Ryan King at NYPo, Gender dysphoria should be treated with therapy instead of transition treatments, massive Trump-ordered HHS report urges. NewsMax, Ed Dept Investigates Washington State Over Trans Athletes. At the California Globe, CA Democrats Predictably Kill Sen. Grove’s Bill to Secure Women’s Prisons from Predatory Trans ‘Women.’ ‘This measure ensures the protection of biological women at birth in shared spaces such as sleeping quarters and restrooms.’ At the Wombat's In The Mailbox: 04.30.25, Louder With Crowder CA lawmakers refuse to make it a felony to buy teens for sex and…wait, what?

The Wombat has FMJRA 2.0: Out of the Cellar (Again) up at The Other McCain.

Flotsam and Jetsam - "All Zelenskyy had to do was put on a tie, show up, smile, say thank you, sign the papers and have lunch"

There's so many digits being spilled on the Trump/Zelenskyy rift I'm having trouble sorting and ranking them, but here goes nothing: Stacy McCain says Zelenskyy Self-Destructed, So Why Are Media Acting Like Trump Is to Blame? Rapid Response 47 @RapidResponse47 "@ScottJenningsKY: "All Zelenskyy had to do today was put on a tie, show up, smile, say thank you, sign the papers, and have lunch. That's it — and he couldn't do that." The Washington Post's Josh Rogin: "I actually agree."" At RedState Bonchie wonders What the Heck Was Zelensky Thinking? , Bob Hoge thinks Stephen Miller Crushes It: Many 'Remarkable and Disturbing' Things Zelensky Said That Led to Epic Blowup and Ward Clark notes National Security Advisor Mike Waltz Weighs In on Zelensky's Miscalculation of Trump: Rapid Response 47 @RapidResponse47, ""It's not clear that Zelenskyy truly wants to stop the fighting. He came in, even though he was warned not to, determined to litigate all of that," says @MikeWaltz47. "This was the wrong approach, wrong time in history, and definitely the wrong president to try to do this." Brandon Morse at RedState VIP, The Approach Trump Had in the Zelensky Meeting Is One Democrats Can't Wrap Their Head Around. Matt Margolis at PJM, Stephen Miller Reveals What Triggered the Oval Office Showdown with Zelenskyy. Lack of appreciation. And It Looks As If the Media Missed the Real Story Behind Trump and Zelenskyy’s Tense Meeting. At Hat Hair, Dave Strom shares The Most Important Thing That the Zelenskyy Meeting Showed to Me "Europe sees us as the petulant child who deserves a scolding, when in fact they are freeloaders who act like 35-year-old manchilds living in their parents' basements lecturing their parents that they don't understand how important playing video games is," Zelensky and European Leaders Digging a Bigger Hole. Matt Vespa at TownHall thinks Treasury Secretary Bessent Had the Perfect Line for Zelensky's Trainwreck Visit to the White House: Rapid Response 47 @RapidResponse47 "@SecScottBessent on President Zelenskyy: “This is one of the biggest ‘own goals’ in diplomatic history.”" Hat Hair, True Dat: Miller on Zelensky's Oval Office Disaster: America@america "White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller: “President Trump defended Americans after YEARS of being fleeced and abused... American hearts swelled with overflowing pride today to watch Trump put Zelenskyy in his place.”" At Insty, ROGER KIMBALL: Zelensky goes to town. Victor Davis Hanson@VDHanson, "Ten bad takeaways from the Zelenskyy blow-up 1. Zelenskyy does not grasp—or deliberately ignores—the bitter truth: those with whom he feels most affinity (Western globalists, the American Left, the Europeans) have little power in 2025 to help him. . . ." From Althouse, "To Trump's team, it was three strikes — and now officially out of favor — for Zelensky," and "Body-language and behavioral expert Darren Stanton said he thought Zelensky appeared 'quite angry from the outset' and got 'caught up in his own ego.'" Phil Wegman at RCP, ‘Living in a Bubble’: How Zelensky Miscalculated Trump. At Fox, Ukraine ambassador's reaction to fiery Trump-Zelenskyy Oval Office clash goes viral "As shaky microphones hovered above the spatting leaders, Markarova lowered her head to her right hand and closed her eyes."

Sundance at CTH looks at the interview with Bret Baier, Zelenskyy Discusses Breakdown of White House Discussions – Nothing is Acceptable Unless USA Troops are Put Into Ukraine and Team Zelenskyy Has a “Security Guarantee” Plan to Recapture all Lost Ukraine Territory. Breitbart, Zelensky Refuses to Apologize After Outburst at Oval Office: ‘Not Sure We Did Something Bad’. Matt Vespa, Here's the Tweet That Perfectly Captured Zelensky's Interview on Fox News, Marc Thiessen @marcthiessen, "This @ZelenskyyUa interview with @bretbaier is like watching a drowning man who refuses to grab the life preserver he keeps getting thrown" Bonchie, Zelensky Goes on a Tweet Storm, and It's Likely Going to Make Things Much Worse. At ET, Zelenskyy Defends Oval Office Remarks, Stresses Need for Security Guarantees. David Sacks@DavidSacks, "WHY ZELENSKY CANNOT MAKE PEACE Zelensky’s meltdown in the Oval Office began over his refusal to accept a negotiated settlement to the war. Even the Vice President’s use of the word “diplomacy” provoked a heated response. So why can’t Zelensky make a peace deal? 1) He will lose power. Zelensky cancelled elections in Ukraine and remains in power through martial law. Despite what USAID propaganda polls may claim, Zelensky is unpopular in Ukraine and would likely lose a fair election. That could leave him vulnerable to retaliation from political opponents he has imprisoned or seized assets from. In short, Zelensky needs the war to justify his continued rule. . . "

Breitbart claims Democrats, Never Trumpers Inflated Zelensky’s Arrogance Before Oval Office Disaster. The Unsinkable Mollie Hemingway has more specific charges, Twitchy, Zelenskyy's Oval Office Debacle was a Set Up...By the Dems: Mollie Hemingway Brings the Receipts. Mollie@MZHemingway " . . .

Zelensky repeatedly declined opportunities to sign the deal in Kyiv and Munich, and requested the meeting at the White House. It later came out that Rice and Tony Blinken, Victoria Nuland, and Alexander Vindman may have been personally advising Zelensky to do this meeting in the way he did -- that they recommended him to be hostile and to try to goad Trump into blowing up. Even though he didn't, and even though Zelensky's actions horrified many normal Americans, the Obama team went on the airwaves to falsely characterize what happened.

I think their goal was to have a wonderful performance by Zelensky, an angry Trump appearing to scuttle the deal, and the support of the neocon portion of the GOP to start applying pressure on Trump to have US Troop commitments as part of the "security guarantee." It was a set-up, in Susan Rice's interesting choice of words.

Instead, Zelensky had one of the worst stage performances of his acting career, and Trump was statesmanlike (against all odds) throughout. Zelensky followed Team Obama's advice to be hostile to a tee, but it didn't land how they thought it would. Surprisingly, one of the most important aspects of it not working out might have been Lindsay Graham's reaction. Had he and other neocons thought Zelensky was being reasonable, Trump would be having to fight (even moreso) the neocon portion of the GOP in addition to Team Obama's dirty tricks. Even the "conservative" neocon pundits on TV last night were admitting Zelensky had royally messed up.

The Great Victor Davis Hanson has a video at Da Signal, Trump’s Righteous Criticism of Zelenskyy. At NewsMax, Trump Calls for 'Ceasefire Now' Between Russia and Ukraine. Don Surber has a REPRISE: Why conservatives oppose the war. At the European Conservative, Trump, Vance Shake Europe Awake From Liberal Dream. At Hat Hair, Smack-Talking Europe Steps in It With Baltic States. From the American Conservative, Trump Takes on the Blob in the Oval Office. "The meeting between Trump, Vance, and Zelensky is a great clarifying moment, the first time president Trump or any president has, in a dramatic way, said no to the Washington establishment consensus in foreign policy, or, more informally, the blob. The blob, as most know, always gets its way. Through well-funded think tanks, establishment journalists, the military–industrial complex and its many congressional supporters, tells us the proper way to think about foreign policy. Since the end of the Cold War, it has operated with no real opposition."

The Great VDH at Am Great, Who Caused the Counter-Revolution? "Trump’s first month is a shock treatment to decades of spending, open borders, and bureaucratic bloat—restoring what was lost while critics decry the cure more than the disease."

Theo Sparks, De-worming America ...............from Rico. "America has a bad case of the "worms." As the proverbial 'can of worms' is revealed bit-by-bit so does the de-worming of America progress. America owes Team Trump and DOGE a yuge debt of gratitude... now note that the "worms" are the only ones complaining about it!" At Twitchy, Elon Musk Puts George Soros and the Legacy Media on BLAST in New Conversation with Joe Rogan. Da Caller, ‘What They’re Doing Is Evil’: Musk Tells Rogan He Thinks Media Motivating Violence Against Him Like Trump. Althouse, "Until this week, government officials had resisted answering inquiries as to who was formally in charge of [DOGE], except to say that it was not Mr. Musk." "(Nor is Mr. Musk among its employees, the government said.) On Tuesday, a White House official said that Amy Gleason, a former health care investment executive, was serving as the acting administrator. . . . "Judge Appears Skeptical of Claims That Musk Isn’t Driving DOGE/The judge prodded government lawyers for additional clarity on Elon Musk’s role in a case that directly challenges the constitutionality of his operation and his part in the rapid reshaping of government" (NYT). At HuffPo, Democrats Are Searching For Ways To Rein In Elon Musk, "They don’t have many good options." Pirate's Cove has a Saturday Funny: Trump Trying To End Meaningful Government "Realistically, the cuts to spending and personnel that the Trump administration has imposed so far are drops in the bucket. The budget is almost $7 trillion. The “work”force is around 2.4 million. Getting rid of some has driven Democrats mad Trump administration sets out to create an America its people have never experienced ? one without a meaningful government. The U.S. government is attempting to dismantle itself."

From Power Line's Week in Pictures

The Guardian explores #AltGov: the secret network of federal workers resisting Doge from the inside. Cynical Publius @CynicalPublius "Mrs. Dr. Publius asked me to post something: Go watch the anti-MAGA/DOGE protests and infiltrated town halls. Notice anything? Where are the black people? They are not there because they are tired of being weaponized and used as human shields by rich white Democrats. . . ." Steve Moore at Hat Hair, Trump Is Right -- Fire Bad Federal Employees and Reward Good Ones. Pirate's Cove Trump Admin Fires Hundreds Of NOAA Climate Cultists. ET, Social Security Announces Significant Workforce Reductions. AP whines Social Security Administration could cut up to 50% of its workforce. Maryland, My Maryland, from the Balmer Sun, Gov. Wes Moore steps up help for fired federal workers, plans to hire them in state government. We're only running a $5 billion deficit. At Hat Hair, Salena Zito wonders Where Was '60 Minutes' When Rust Belt Jobs Were Cut? NewsMax, Education Dept. Offers $25K Buyout to Many Employees.

NewsBusters is shocked, shocked, USAID Granted $1M in Tax Dollars to George Soros’s Radical Global University. At WokeSpy, MTG Blows the Lid Off USAID as Democrat Slush Fund—Dem Rep Loses It and DOGE Finds Top Biden Aide Received Millions Through Shady Contract for “Migrant Housing.” TNP reports USAID Freeze Forces Closure of India’s First Transgender Clinics. Bummer, dudette. Campus Reform, Sen. Ted Cruz publishes database showing NSF spent $2 billion to promote DEI, ‘neo-Marxist class warfare propaganda’ 'Science' is dead, long live science. 

From LifeZette, Trump Reveals Who Biden Really Blames for 2024 Loss—Not Who You Think. Obama and Pelosi! And Tim Walz Melts Down: ‘Our Country Is Being Stolen by Fascists and Nazis!’ Tim Walz who? Twitchy, CBS News Makes It Clear Biden and Harris Were Lying When They Said the Open Border Wasn't Their Fault. Lincoln Brown at PJM finds it clear, Dems Fight for Fentanyl. Da Caller reports Judge Assigned To Hear DNC’s Lawsuit Against Trump Donated To Biden. From the Pop Times Jocelyn Benson Claims SAVE Act to Ensure Only U.S. Citizens Vote is “Dangerous”.

From Da Blaze, Liz Wheeler tells Glenn Beck about meat behind Epstein 'nothingburger,' fallout of White House embargo. Elon Musk@elonmusk "Imagine if you were suddenly appointed AG or head of the FBI. You were just thrown on a ship with a hostile crew. Until you appoint some new crew members and figure out the ropes, you can’t steer the ship effectively. It’s literally impossible." Quote Elon Musk
@elonmusk, "People don’t understand that you don’t get instant power here x.com/wallstreetmav/…" Keelhaul a few to get the point across. John Solomon at JTN reports FBI’s Patel says Trump 'honeypot' story not true, defends female agent. "Conservative media reported a whistleblower provided evidence the FBI under former Director James Comey ran a “honeypot” operation against Trump to try to entrap him as far back as 2015." MD Kittle at hopes Da Fed Patel’s FBI Could Shine Light On Nashville Trans School Shooter’s Manifesto. I missed this when it happened, Chuck Norton, Shocker: "Patriot Front" Disbands One Day After FBI Director Chris Wray Resigns. Hmmm. From the Pop Times, Gabbard Drops Bombshell: CIA Agents Using Media to Threaten National Security. "I have people within the intelligence community reaching out to me personally and directly saying, ‘Hey, you need to know about this.’"

Woke Spy, When Pardoned J6er Confronts Him: January 6’s Media Cop Fanone Erupts. At NewsMax, Boxes of Classified Documents Taken by FBI From Mar-a-Lago Returned: Trump. "They are being brought down to Florida and will someday be part of the Trump Presidential Library," he wrote, without clarifying if all the documents that had originally been kept in the boxes had also been returned."

Paul Sperry at RCW hears Critics Suspect a Softball Ethics Verdict Is Coming on Hunter Biden's Law License.

From ET, Leakers of ICE Operations Have Been Found, Will Be Fired, Noem Says "“I have found some leakers,” Noem said. “We are continuing to get more. They will be fired and there will be consequences.”" WokeSpy, Famed NYC Illegal Alien Shelter Shutting Down as New Arrival Numbers Plummet. Shawn Fleetwood at Da Fed, Youngkin Orders Virginia Police To Assist Trump Admin’s Deportation Operations. From the Peacock, ACLU sues Trump administration to halt immigrant transfers to Guantanamo. Defence Blog, Pentagon deploys Strykers to US-Mexico border. NewsMax, Hegseth Warns Mexico of Military Action Over Border. WSJ, Hegseth Warned of Military Action if Mexico Fails to Meet Trump’s Border Demands "Defense secretary’s closed-door comments have unnerved Mexican officials negotiating to avoid 25% tariffs."

The Free Bacon finds it ironic that the Bezos-Owned Washington Post Gives Readers a Guide on How To Boycott Bezos-Owned Amazon. 'If you do need to buy something, shop local. And if you can, take the day off from work.'

At RCD, CJCS, CNO Fired over DEI, Is the Marine Commandant Next? From the Washington Stand, Whistleblower: Biden Turned the NSA into ‘a Cult Hellbent on Pushing Gender Ideology.’ 

Oregon, My Oregon, Toni Airaksinen, wants you to Meet The University Nurse Who Refuses to Treat Jews, Calls Them “Vermin,” “Dogs” "“I would refuse to treat you. I don’t take care of animals. Dogs. Rats. Vermin of any kind" wrote Camesha Lynn Hart, RN at OHSU." From the College Fix, Professor sues U. Illinois, claims it discriminated against him as a ‘white male.’

🚨 This is *exactly* what @GovJanetMills and Maine's Democrat Majority were afraid of:

Maine girls are seeing the *national support* that they are receiving and are choosing to speak out against biological males in girls' sports.pic.twitter.com/d8yHWqpBaE

— Rep. Laurel Libby (@laurel_libby) March 1, 2025

WokeSpy hears James Carville Mock Americans Fighting for Women’s Sports: “These F**king Idiots.”  "And, you know, whenever this topic comes up, say, ‘Look, I’m sorry. I just don’t think a lot about track meets."

The Wombat has FMJRA 2.0: Return to Mediocrity ready and willing at The Other McCain.

Flotsam and Jetsam - DOGE Rebates? Kash Ekes By

At ET, Trump Makes Sweeping Changes in First 30 Days in Office and 30 Takeaways From Trump’s First 30 Days in Office, "The president is reshaping federal government and foreign policy through a staggering number of executive actions and policy moves." At Da Fetched, Michael Cohen on President Trump’s Executive Orders: ‘He Already Owns the Libs.’ Althouse finds President Trump and Elon Musk vouch for each other's goodness. "On Fox News, in the presence of a mumbly, inert Sean Hannity" Well, everybody is a good guy in their own mind, but I agree. Trump wants to save the US, and Elon wants to save mankind. Also, I was reading Trump's social media posting — "'Congestion pricing is dead. Manhattan, and all of New York, is saved. Long Live The King!" At NewsMax, Trump Still Wants 'One, Big, Beautiful' Budget Bill. In the immortal words of Mick Jagger, "You can't always get what you want, but if you try sometimes, you can get what you need." Toni Airaksinen remembers Trump Promised to Fix McDonald’s Ice Cream Machines—Will He Deliver?. I doubt he can, but Elon can. Insty, ME, TWO MONTHS AGO: "End Home Rule for Washington, DC. Trump, now: End home rule for Washington, DC." At Da Caller, You May Have Missed This, But California Taxpayers Dodged A Green Bullet … With Trump’s Help.

Mike Solana@micsolana, "the reason they keep hammering on this offensively stupid position — that trump, in a few weeks of governance, has somehow caused these plane crashes — is they literally have nothing else. the democrats have never been this lost in any of our lives." Quote Rep. Eric Swalwell @RepSwalwell, "No president has had more planes crash in their first month in office than Donald Trump. x.com/briantylercohe…" Bonchie@bonchieredstate, "Gayle King tried to bait the Delta Air Lines CEO into blaming Trump for the recent crashes. It did not go as she planned." Christopher F. Rufo @realchrisrufo, "Airlines that started promoting DEI quotas for pilots made it inevitable—and rational—for the public to ask questions about every plane crash from that point onward. When competence is no longer the highest criterion, the whole system is compromised." Quote United Airlines
@united "Our flight deck should reflect the diverse group of people on board our planes every day. That’s why we plan for 50% of the 5,000 pilots we train in the next decade to be women or people of color. Learn more and apply now: http://uafly.co/UnitedAviateAc." Twitchy, That had to Hurt! Delta CEO Sets Gayle King Straight on FAA Cuts and Plane Crashes. Christopher F. Rufo @realchrisrufo "It's okay that most pilots are white men. It's okay that most cornerbacks are black. It's okay that most nail salon owners are Asian. It's okay that most nurses are women. Demanding mathematical "representation" assumes that people have the same interests and talents. Absurd." At LI, Pete Buttigieg Suddenly Interested in Transportation Issues, Sean Duffy Responds, “Mayor Pete failed for four years to address the air traffic controller shortage and upgrade our outdated, World War II-era air traffic control system.”

Tom Knighton at Bearing Arm sees a Senator Try to Bash Kash Over GOA Support. At WaEx, Senate confirms Kelly Loeffler as next SBA administrator. Drew Berquist hears Pete Hegseth Launches Investigation Into One Of Joe Biden’s Biggest Scandals, the Afghanistan debacle. At LifeZette, RFK Jr. Kicks Off First Federal Probe as HHS Chief—And It’s Huge [WATCH]. From TCW, RFK has the vaccine cultists in a spin. Matt Vespa at Town Hall thinks This Trump Pick Might Have the Toughest Path to Confirmation. PJMs Stephen Kruiser fears Trump's Labor Secretary Pick Is a Commie Fox in the MAGA Henhouse. Yet another department that could be eliminated.

From NewsMax, Trump Rips Zelenskyy: 'Dictator Without Elections' and in return, Zelenskyy says Trump Lives in Russian 'Disinformation Space'. Also, Russia Mocks US With Massive Drone Strike on Ukraine. Sundance at CTH sees IT BEGINS: President Trump Starts Peeling Back the Zelenskyy Mask and French President Macron and British PM Starmer Coming to U.S. to Discuss Ukraine with President Trump.  Dave Strom at Hat Hair hears Yes, Newsweek Really DID Say That Out Loud... Newsweek @Newsweek "There are concerns that the Ukrainian president could be voted out of office if the country holds an election." Hat Hair's John Sexton wonders Is the US Position on Taiwan Changing? Althouse, "If you are running in fear of your own voters, there is nothing America can do for you. Nor, for that matter, is there anything that you can do for the American people that elected me and elected President Trump." "Said JD Vance, quoted by Jonathan Turley, in "Vance rightly excoriates Europe: What values are we defending?" (NY Post)." TCW,  Bravo, JD Vance, speaking up for real Europeans. At RCW, In Dealing With China, Trump May Have a Trick Up His Sleeve. From Breitbart an Exclusive — Secretary Rollins: USDA Exploring ‘Federal Solution’ to Stopping China from Purchasing U.S. Farmland. Hat Hair's Beege Welborn hears Canadians Talking Tough About 'Not Kissing the Ring of the Gangster From 'Mar-A-Lago'.

Jim Thompson at RedState reports a Retired NFL Punter Disrupts a Council Meeting, Declares MAGA a 'Nazi Movement'. Drew Berquist, NYU College Republican Leader Ousted Over Barron Trump Remark. Nick Ballas @NicholasBallas, "Video of Democrats protesting the Trump administration at the Kennedy Center via interpretive dance." The Fourth Rail wonders Is Donald Trump Destroying The Left's Political Sanity? Destroy what? 

From Liz Stauffer at LI, Elon Musk: We’re Watching the ‘Thrashing’ of the Bureaucracy. “If the will of the president is not implemented, and the president is representative of the people, that means the will of the people is not being implemented, that means we don’t live in a democracy, we live in a bureaucracy.” Althouse finds "Musk is a parasitic illegal immigrant. He wants to impose his freak experiments and play-act as God without any respect for the country’s history, values or traditions." Said Steve Bannon, quoted in "Bannon Calls Musk a ‘Parasitic Illegal Immigrant’/Stephen Bannon, a top adviser during President Trump’s first term and a popular figure among his supporters, said Elon Musk wants to 'play-act as God' as part of his push to overhaul the federal government" (NYT). I think he's jealous. 

NewsMax, Musk Shows Interest in DOGE Rebate Checks to Taxpayers. Matt Margolis at PJM, This Might Be the Best Idea for DOGE Yet. Rebates? I think some rebate, say 25% of the money saved by DOGE would be a good idea, to keep people invested in it, but the majority should go into reducing the deficit, which will kill the nation in the long run. Reason reasons DOGE Can't Slash Government Without Congress "The federal leviathan can’t be dismantled by executive action alone. To truly cut spending and rein in the bureaucracy, the administration needs buy-in from the branch that built it." It's tough, though; Congresses main power is to spend money to buy votes. Vicky Taft at PJM, Officer, I'd Like to Report the Wreck of Another CNN 'News' Host. Dave Strom, CNN Flummoxed as Stephen Miller Explains the Rule of Law. Nick Arama at RedState sees Stephen Miller Breaks Out the Crayons for Awesome Schooling of CNN Host

Stephen Miller has to whip out the crayons to explain how the federal government and presidential advisers work.

"I understand that even a temporary interruption in federal employment is a great crisis and catastrophe for you and CNN." pic.twitter.com/lVudki9XHe

— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) February 18, 2025

'Becca Downs at TownHall hears Chuck Schumer Makes Quite the Admission About Wasteful Spending. Breaking911 @Breaking911,"SEN. SCHUMER: "Of course, there's some wasteful spending, but you don't use a meat axe & cut everything!" Nope, the gentle approach hasn't worked. Matt Margolis, WATCH: Did a Senate Democrat Just Call for an Insurrection? “Massachusetts is where revolutions are born,” Markey began. “And the revolution against Donald Trump and Elon Musk starts here.” Ward Clark at RedState notes Dems Are Still Freaking Out About the DOGE, but Karoline Leavitt Just Isn't Having It. Karoline Leavitt @PressSec, "To all of the Democrats who are planning to protest this week, here’s an explanation on DOGE, from your party’s own beloved leaders!" Quote Rapid Response 47@RapidResponse47 "Presidents Obama and Biden clearly love the work @DOGE is doing" Video at link. mrcTV reports By Blocking Federal Funding Freeze, Judge Kept Millions Flowing to a Non-Profit He Headed. Joy Pullman at Da Fed says Besides Bludgeoning The Constitution, The Judges Stopping DOGE Are Boosting Inflation. BrownStone explains How USAID Assisted the Corporate Takeover of Ukrainian Agriculture. Tyler O'Neil at Da Signal details USAID’s Troubling Ties to the Woke Nonprofits That Called the Shots in the Biden Administration

At NYPo, Zeldin EPA discovers $2 billion stashed away by Biden admin for Stacey Abrams-linked climate group. From the Center Square, DOGE says it has saved taxpayers $55 billion so far. Da Fetched reminds us the Biden Admin Spent $20 Billion in Taxpayer’s Money on Services for Migrants – Inc Cars, Home Loans. Ace, Just One Agency, the Department of Health and Human Services, Spent More Than Ten Billion Dollars to Care for Illegal Aliens In One Year Alone, "This is just one agency, in just one year." At LifeZette, MSNBC Admits to Huge Social Security Overpayments, Anchor Left Speechless. Christopher F. Rufo @realchrisrufo, "SCOOP: Following my investigation, the Department of Education has terminated $226 million in grants to its "comprehensive center" NGOs that have been pushing schools to "decenter whiteness," reject the "gender binary," and reduce the number of "white students" in STEM. Winning." Madeline Leesman at TownHall hears DOGE Share an Alarming Update About the Treasury Department. 

NYT whines I.R.S. to Begin Laying Off Roughly 6,000 Employees on Thursday. Sundance is jazzed, The IRS will Begin With 6,000 Layoffs This Week? Atop Da Hill, National Science Foundation cuts 10 percent of staff, mostly probationary. Madeline Leesman hears Are NASA Staffers Next on the DOGE Chopping Block? ABC News @ABC "As thousands of federal employees continue to be terminated, sources at NASA tell @ABC News that 10% of its workforce has been laid off." Daniel McCarthy at Chronicles discusses The Civil Service’s Partisanship Problem.

Presidents come and go, but the permanent federal bureaucracy remains the same, and it has a distinct partisan tilt. When Americans send a Republican to the Oval Office, they get a government still administered mostly by the other party.

Yes, that makes a sham of democracy. But no president before Donald Trump was prepared to confront the problem.

Because the bias in the federal civilian workforce (which consists of more than 2 million employees) favors their side, the likes of Bill Clinton, Barack Obama, and Joe Biden were never going to fix it. And earlier, when the parties were less ideologically polarized and there were still quite a few conservative Democrats and liberal Republicans, it wasn’t as obvious as today that the bureaucracy’s partisan slant meant a workforce opposed to the duly elected president—when he’s not a Democrat.

Plenty of good links at the Wombat's In The Mailbox: 02.19.25 (Morning Edition) 357 Magnum: Bubbles of Useless Research, also Don’t Hurt the Terrorist’s Feelings, EBL, Delta Toronto Crash, Twitchy: Chuck U. Schumer Claims Trump Is Crashing Planes To Enrich Billionaires, ABC News Headline Inspires Gutfeld’s Four-Step Summary Of Why Legacy Media Is Circling The Drain, and CNN Anchor Upset At DOGE Nuke Firings Was Unaware Sam Brinton Stole Women’s Luggage At Airports, Louder With Crowder, The new cringe leftist protest anthem dropped, this one squeals about “moving forward” from Trump and Elon, Vox Popoli: Nobody Asked You, The 7-Year Honeypot, State Implies Support for Independence, and Cold Water, Jim McCoy: A Brief Interminable Peace, CDR Salamander: So, About VP Vance’s Speech, Don Surber: AP’s silly gulf war, and STUMP: Visualization of Social Security Fraud(?).

From Da Fetched, Elon Musk: Biden Left ISS Astronauts in Space on Purpose for ‘Political Reasons’. From Behind the Black, Musk: Biden delayed the return of Starliner’s astronauts “for political reasons” thinks that is exaggerated. 

From Da Caller, DOJ Prosecutor Leading DC Criminal Division Suddenly Resigns. Objected to probe of some of Biden's awards to climate groups. I thought all the top prosecutors were being fired anyway. Paul Bedard at WaEx hears Watchdog pushes for investigation of ex-Gen. Milley’s Jan. 6 planning. At Hat Hair reports FBI Houston Says They've Thwarted a 'Mass Casualty Attack' at Local School. All well and good, but did they have a hand in conceiving it too? You have to ask.

Stacy McCain still on the case of the Trans Vegan Death Cult, ‘Ziz’ Misgendered and Other Highlights of Tuesday’s Court Hearing for Cult Suspects. 

PJM's VodkaPundit, As Promised: Trump Hits Latin American Gangs, Cartels With 'Terrorist' Label. Mary Chastain at LI, State Dept. to Designate Tren de Aragua, Cartels as Terrorist Organizations. "On his first day in office, President Donald Trump signed an executive order to put these gangs on the FTO list." At Althouse, "During Trump's 2017-2021 presidency, he considered terrorism designations for cartels but ultimately shelved the plans." "But now: "US declares Tren de Aragua, other cartels are global terrorist organizations" (Reuters)." Econ Times, US declares Tren de Aragua, other cartels are global terrorist organizations. Sundance, State Dept Poised to Designate Latin-America Gangs Tren de Aragua, MS13 and the Sinaloa Cartel as Foreign Terrorist Organizations. Breitbart REPORTS: CIA Flying Surveillance Drones over Cartels in Mexico. Cathy Salgado at PJM notices Illegal Crossings Dropped as Soon as Trump Took Office. From ET, Judge Denies Trump’s Bid to Partially Implement Birthright Citizenship Order, "The Trump administration asked the court to ‘stay the injunction’s nationwide application,’ limiting its effect to the plaintiffs in the case."

From Da Blaze, ABC News faces fury for labeling 'slain' Hamas hostages as merely 'deceased'. At Twitchy, ABC News' Trump Headline Inspires Greg Gutfeld's 4-Step Summary of Why Media Is Circling the Drain GregGutfeld@greggutfeld, "step one: foment anxiety. step two: report on the anxiety. step three: pretend you didn't cause the anxiety step four: wonder why everyone hates the media." QuoteABC News@ABC, "President Donald Trump's immigration policies already are affecting schools across the country, as officials find themselves responding to rising anxiety among parents and their children, including those who are here legally. Read more: https://abcnews.link/BMuLEov"

From Da Wire, Boy Wins Girls’ Pole Vault Championship In Maine Days After State Pledged To Defy Trump Order. “Two years ago, [boy’s name] tied for 5th place in boys pole vault. Tonight, ‘[girl’s name]’ won 1st place in the girls’ Maine State Class B Championship.” Beege Welborn, Orange Resistance: Maine Goes Boldly Forth Allowing Males to Compete As Women. Scott Renor at Da Fed, Defying Trump Executive Order, California Forces Girls Into Basketball Playoff With Boy. Take away any federal funding. Greg Piper at JTN reports a Shot fired at women's volleyball coach who exposed male on team as she preps suit over termination "Melissa Batie-Smoose was in a virtual meeting for her Title IX lawsuit with Mountain West Conference players when "I see the bullet hole." California lawmakers offer bills to protect girls, women, parental rights against gender ideology." NewsMax, Kan. Bans Gender Care for Minors as GOP Lawmakers Reverse Gov's Veto. The Washingtonian whines Trump’s Kennedy Center Cancels Pride Concert That Would Have Featured Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington "No explanation was given, the chorus says: "We regret that this opportunity has been taken away.""

From the College Fix, UVA professor compares Kamala Harris loss to ‘violence of chattel slavery’. At Breaking Defense, DEI, DOA: How the defense industry is racing to bury its diversity efforts.

Just in! Kash Patel confirmed, 51 -  49, Murkowski and Collins joining the Democrats. Ace, with the trademark flaming skull and red italic font, Kash Patel Confirmed as Next Director of the FBI, 51-49; Only Murkowski and Collins Vote "No" on the (Fake) Republican Side

The Wombat has FMJRA 2.0: Aspiring to Mediocrity ready and waiting at The Other McCain.