Flotsam and Jetsam - Droning on About Drones

Sundance at CTH hosts the Full Presser Video – President Trump Answers Media Questions in Lengthy Mar-a-Lago Press Conference. Ace, Trump Press Conference: There'll be "Hell to Pay" if Hamas Doesn't Release Its Hostages Before My Inauguration; Republican Senators Who Aren't "Reasonable" Will Be Primaried "That clip and others below the fold. Some other clips from his hour and fifteen minute press conference: On the drones: Collin Rugg @CollinRugg," JUST IN: Donald Trump says the federal government knows exactly what the drones are up to, says "something strange" is going on. Trump said he decided to cancel his trip to Bedminster. "Our military knows where they took off from. If it's a garage, they can go right into that garage. They know where it came from and where it went." "For some reason, they don't want to comment. And I think they'd be better off saying what it is." "Something strange is going on. For some reason, they don't want to tell the people." Capt. Ed at Hat Hair hears Trump: Of Course Biden Admin Knows About the Drones. At Althouse, Trump reveals something of what he knows/thinks about the drones (but declines to talk about whether he's received an intelligence briefing). Sundance at CTH, President Trump Answers Questions About Drones, “Something Strange is Going On” I'm quite sure they know what's happening. Clearly, a lot of it is akin to 50's style UFO hysteria, with all sorts of random sightings being attributed to drones. But there are drones out there, and I suspect the military has a pretty good accounting of the ones big enough to matter.  From the Wombat's In The Mailbox: 12.16.24, Twitchy, Return Of Republican President & Press Conferences Stirs CNN’s Daniel Dale From Four-Year Slumber.

Elle Purnell at Da Fed wants you to Watch CNN, MSNBC Repeatedly Air The Same Defamatory Phrase That Cost ABC $15 Million  At Mediaite, MSNBC Rips ABC-Trump Defamation Case Settlement, Says Comment for Which ABC Paid Trump $15 Million ‘Seems to Hold Up’. So sue them too, in a Trump friendly jurisdiction. Capt. Ed at Hat Hair sees the  NYT Hits Panic Button Over Trump Media Defamation Lawsuits for 'Critical Coverage'. At Fox, Liberals unload on ABC's settlement with Trump, defend George Stephanopoulos: 'Knee bent, ring kissed'. WaEx's Byron York discourses on Donald Trump, ABC News, and the toxic legacy of the E. Jean Carroll case  "The development particularly shocked Trump’s most determined adversaries. He’s not supposed to win a case like this! The media have a right to say virtually anything they want about the former president and current president-elect and not have to worry about Trump having some legal recourse to fight back. That, at least, was their implicit assumption." From the Wombat's In The Mailbox: 12.16.24, Twitchy: James Woods Shreds Adam Schiff’s Meet The Press Spin, Chuck Todd – Holding Journalists Accountable For Lies Sets A Dangerous Precedent, 

Althouse, "And and when I talk to people close to President-elect Trump and people who work for him, people on the outside — allies — they already see this as a resounding success." "Said Jonathan Swan at the end of today's episode of the NYT "Daily" podcast, "Pete Hegseth Was Toast. The MAGA Swarm Came to His Rescue."" Hat Hair cites OutKick, "When They Smell Blood in the Water': Clay Travis Defends Unleashing the Hegseth. At OTP, Trump Dares Republicans To Challenge RFK Jr., Tulsi Gabbard And Kash Patel. Sundance, Thom Tillis Threatens Trump Supporters to “Stand Down” on Pressure Because He Only Needs 4 Votes in Senate to Destroy Any Nomination. From the Wombat's In The Mailbox: 12.16.24, The Federalist, If Sen. Thom Tillis Sabotages Trump’s Cabinet Picks, Voters Should Fire Him.  Althouse cites the WaPoo, "When the topic turned to vaccines, the discussion was not about banning the product...." ""Kennedy spoke about the need for better study of the vaccine dosing schedule for newborns and the rise in chronic disease, while also rattling off statistics about the increase in autism rates despite multiple studies that have shown no link between vaccines and the disorder and World Health Organization estimates that immunizations have saved 154 million lives.. Here Trump redirected the conversation... while backing up Kennedy’s desire for more research...." 

Stephen Kruiser at PJM, The Trump 47 Reckoning Is Hitting the Dems From All Sides Now. From the Wombat's In The Mailbox: 12.16.24, The Great Victor Davis Hanson at Am Great, hopes Are the Years of Madness Ending? "The welcomed counterrevolution is one of restoration. No one knows quite what is ahead, but all know that it is at least better already than the current nightmare." Hat Hair's Beege Welborn, looks at Democratic Dead Reckoning. "In this instance, I don't mean being able to find their way out of a paper bag without celestial aids for navigation because it's patently obvious they can't. The exact opposite. I am using 'dead' in the literal sense - deceased, departed, expired, gone, stinks in the sink after 72 hours, aka MUERTO."

Paul Bedard at WaEx hears DEI contractors will be first fired at Pentagon. Liz Stauffer at LI, Veteran Journalist Dismantles Liberal Case Against Trump’s Deportation Plans: ‘It’s Easier Than You Think’ 
“Too many analysts [whom he refers to as deportation deniers] have confused what they want to be true with what actually is true.” At Da Caller, Trump Reportedly Looks To Privatize US Postal Service. At OTP, Gov. Youngkin Announces No Taxes On Tips In Virginia. Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. OTP, Trump: Biden’s Border Wall Fire Sale ‘Almost A Criminal Act’

From the Wombat's In The Mailbox: 12.16.24, The Gellers reports Mail-In Ballot Fraud Study Finds Trump ‘Almost Certainly’ Won In 2020 and Transterrestrial Musings suspects Voter Fraud In 2020.  Steve Richards at JTN, House GOP vows to refer ActBlue fundraising probe to incoming Trump Justice Department, "Chairman Bryan Steil’s committee has probed ActBlue over lax security measures that may have allowed illicit foreign money to flow to American political campaigns." Center Square AZ reports Arizona Republicans introduce Florida-style election reforms to speed results.

Mike Miller at RedState sees James O’Keefe Release Shocking Video of NSC Advisor Admitting Biden Is Far Worse Off Than We Know: 

SHOCKING UNDERCOVER VIDEO: ‘Joe Biden is Dead;’ National Security Council Advisor Inside the White House Details Biden "Can't Say a Sentence."

Henry Appel, a former spy who currently works at the Intelligence Programs Directorate for the NSC, reveals: 'We’re concerned about… pic.twitter.com/jLjifP0jm1

— James O'Keefe (@JamesOKeefeIII) December 16, 2024

Ace, "It's Just a Circus of Lies:" Democrat Megadonors Want the "Obama People" Out of the Party, Claiming They Caused the Historic Loss and Are Just "Grifters". "This is a wonderful story. I don't know how true it is or how widespread these sentiments are, though." John Sexton at Hat Hair hears the Atlantic: Democrats Went Too Far Left on Immigration. From the Pop Times the Mother of Suicide Victim Slams Biden for Commuting the Sentence of Corrupt Judge Who Convicted Her Son in “Kids for Cash” Scheme.

Ben Whedon at JTN reports that, as expected, Judge rejects Trump bid to toss conviction in Bragg case over SCOTUS immunity ruling. "Judge Juan Merchan ruled on Monday that the Bragg case related “entirely to unofficial conduct entitled to no immunity protections."

It’s interesting to see how many people in media are waking up to all the lies we’ve been told. Here’s Stephen A. Smith on January 6th revelations: pic.twitter.com/hIk6nmCW3t

— Clay Travis (@ClayTravis) December 15, 2024

Libs of TikTok@libsoftiktokm "Madison, WI police chief says he doesn’t know if the shooter was transgender and then uses he, she, and they pronouns to describe the shooter. Very odd and bizarre..." pagliacci the hated @Slatzism "I have made contact with the alleged boyfriend of the Wisconsin shooter. He has very graciously provided me the full manifesto, which I verified by having him screen record himself opening it from a direct link the shooter sent to him via WhatsApp. . . ." Althouse, "In the manifesto, called 'War Against Humanity,' the author writes that they have 'grown to hate people, and society' and calls their parents 'scum.'" ""The author also writes that they acquired weapons 'by lies and manipulation, and my father's stupidity' and describes wanting to die by suicide, but feeling like carrying out a shooting was 'better for evolution rather than just one stupid boring suicide.'" Writes Newsweek, in "Natalie Rupnow's Reported Manifesto: What We Know" (about the school shooting that took place in my city yesterday).

Newsweek also reports President Joe Biden's hasty response: "We need Congress to act. Now. From Newtown to Uvalde, Parkland to Madison.... Congress must pass commonsense gun safety laws: Universal background checks. A national red flag law. A ban on assault weapons and high-capacity magazines...."

But when he pardoned his son Hunter for violating existing gun laws, Joe Biden attacked the prosecution as unfair and biased. One might have thought he'd refrain from calling for more gun laws when he so recently and conspicuously treated a gun law as not justifying enforcement. And yet didn't we all expect it — expect that next time there's a school shooting, Joe would indignantly cry out for more gun laws? #hypocrisy

Catturd ™@catturd2 "He didn’t say jack shit about gun control, for weeks, after the CEO shooting. See how that works?" Quote Libs of TikTok@libsoftiktok, "Biden just released a statement calling for gun control in response to the shooting today at a school in Madison, Wisconsin." 'Becca Downs at TownHall, We Have Another Democrat Making Excuses for Murder of United HealthCare CEO. Victory Girls note a Socialist Creates “Most Wanted CEO” Deck of Cards After United Healthcare Shooting. Dave Strom at Hat Hair, By The Numbers: Who Supports Political Violence. Scott Rasmussen@ScottWRasmussen "On a related question, 13% said it is sometimes justifiable to murder someone like United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson as a means to bring about important societal change. The @NapolitanNews survey found that 71% disagree and say such murder is never justifiable. Reply Scott Rasmussen@ScottWRasmussen "Younger voters (34%), Progressive Democrats (29%), people who talk politics every day (24%), and those with a postgraduate degree (21%) were more likely than others to say that such murder is sometimes justifiable."

The Washington Reporter has an Op-Ed: Houston Keene: The federal bureaucracy is appointed, not anointed, "Our society has become far too polarized. Unfortunately, that polarization has spread to what is supposed to be a nonpartisan stable of civil servants working for the American people."

Dave Strom looks at Bluesky's Death Threat Problem.

The Wombat has FMJRA 2.0: A Christmas Break From Baseball up on time at The Other McCain.

Flotsam and Jetsam - More Muskiness

The discussion of the revelations from Elon Musk's release of some Twitter files relating to the censorship of the Hunter Biden laptop story has reached a full swell. Stacy McCain writes #TWITTERGATE: Elon Musk Exposes Twitter’s 2020 Election Interference "One of the things Elon Musk bought for $44 billion was proprietary rights to Twitter’s internal communications and — whoo, doggies! — what a treasure trove it proves to be. . . " Sundance at CTH, Elon Musk Delivering Red Pills to Masses – Notes U.S. Use of Social Media, Including Twitter, to Manipulate Brazil Election and Elon Musk Releases Documents Showing U.S. Government Instructed Twitter Platform to Remove Political Content, a Clear First Amendment Violation. Instructed might be too strong a word, forcefully suggest, backed by the power of the US government might be better. John Solomon at JTN says Bombshell Twitter files suggest censorship driven by politics and connections, not facts. At Da Mail, Elon Musk says Twitter was 'acting on orders from government to suppress' Hunter Biden laptop story . Ryan King at WaEx reports Elon Musk drops new details on Twitter's suppression of Hunter Biden laptop and ranks the Top five revelations from Musk's disclosure on Hunter Biden laptop suppression. PM, Twitter files reveal Vijaya Gadde behind censorship of Hunter Biden laptop story. Jazz Shaw at Haut Hair has A few thoughts on last night's Twitter expose' debacle. Max Abrahms@MaxAbrahms, "The Democratic Party was so concerned about misinformation and election interference that the leaders lobbied the media to lie to American citizens to ensure their candidate became president." Stacey Lennox at PJ Media thinks We Can Reasonably Blame Former Twitter Executives' Censorship for at Least Five Major Consequences

Of course the story would not be complete without reactions from the other side. At the Babylon Bee, Elon Musk Vows To Reveal Government And Media Collusion Once He Figures Out Where These Red Dots Are Coming From. Ian Schwartz at RCP hosts a video, where the unsinkable Mollie Hemingway says the Left Is Freaking Out About Twitter Because So Much Of Their Power Comes From Social Media Platforms. Matt Vespa at Town Hall appreciated Gleen Genwald's take in Liberal Reporter Has a Spot-on Take About How the Media Will React to the 'Twitter Files'. Mediaite hosts The Twenty-Seven Most Embarrassing Reactions to Taibbi Thread About Twitter Censoring Hunter Biden Tweets. At Twitchy, Ben Collins’ pissiness over Matt Taibbi and Elon Musk’s ‘Twitter Files’ speaks volumes about modern MSM and BRAAAAAAAKKKK!: Parrots disguised as journalists attack Matt Taibbi for reporting news. At Da Caller, ‘Humiliating Sh*t’: Corporate Media And Liberals Circle The Wagon, Attack Matt Taibbi For Unveiling ‘Twitter Files’. Jeff Blehar from NRO, cited at Haut Hair, Taibbi's Twitter files exposes key point: sneering elite-media bias. At News Busters, MSNBC Absurdly Claims Twitter Files Makes Twitter Look Good and Haut Hair's Capt. Ed comments "I’m sure it did look good to MSNBC. They were getting exactly what they wanted from previous Twitter management — suppression of dissenting views and voices." Althouse, responds to Elon, And the more conventional news improves its signal to noise ratio, the less relevant Twitter becomes. Elon Musk@elonmusk "The more Twitter improves its signal to noise ratio, the less relevant conventional news becomes." 

Twitchy, Joey Jones doesn’t see Hunter Biden as the victim in Elon Musk’s release of the #TwitterFiles. Joey Jones@Johnny_Joey,"Struggled with addiction and, struggled with addiction and… broke federal and state gun laws, abandoned a child, used his father’s position in our government to get rich, lied about his laptop, dishonored our country’s service…" replying to Jon Favreau@jonfavs "Elon is spending the evening trying to embarrass someone who’s struggled with addiction so that he can juice engagement on the platform he bought that’s hemorrhaging money. Great guy." At Fox, James Woods fires back at Twitter, vows to sue over censorship on 'Tucker Carlson Tonight' "Woods says his Hollywood career was ruined by censorship following his speaking out on Hunter Biden's laptop" At Ace's Thread before the Gardening Thread, K.T has insight on "How did Musk come to choose Matt Taibbi for the Twitter reveal? Well, I can't say for sure, but I have a clue. On November 30, Taibbi and Douglas Murray debated Malcolm Gladwell and Michelle Goldberg in the prestigious Munk Debates in Canada on this subject: "Be it resolved: Do not trust the mainstream media."" Althouse is less than pleased with Donald Trumps response, "A Massive Fraud of this type and magnitude allows for the termination of all rules, regulations, and articles, even those found in the Constitution." "Trump's "truth" is so hyperbolic and disrespectful of the rule of law that it's idiotic clickbait, only worthy of attention because the man is running for President, and apparently, as polls go, the leading candidate." David Strom at Haut Hair calls it Trump commits political suicide.

Bonchie at Red State announces Elon Musk Adds Bari Weiss to the 'Twitter Files' Team, Which is Sure to Cause Mass Consternation. At Twitchy, Elon Musk reportedly gave Bari Weiss access to the #TwitterFiles Saturday. Insty, HE’S A QUICK LEARNER: “I was initially skeptical of Elon Musk. After all, he has never been, or claimed to be, a conservative, and he voted not only for Barack Obama but for Slow Joe Biden. But give the man credit: he is catching on fast.” Capt. Ed notes WSJ: Apple to start moving production out of China

 'Bonchie' at Red State, Deposition Reveals Complex Plot by the FBI to Influence the 2020 Election. Eric Schmitt@Eric_Schmitt "BREAKING: In our deposition of FBI agent Elvis Chan on Tuesday, we found that the FBI plays a big role in working with social media companies to censor speech - from weekly meetings with social media companies ahead of the 2020 election to asks for account takedowns. Sundance at CTH, Under Deposition FBI Admits Giving Targeting Instructions to Tech Giants and Social Media Companies for Blocks and Content Removal

But wait, a lot more washed up on the beach. Weasel Zippers catches Biden: “I’m Going To Georgia Today To Help Sen. Warren.” Reality: He’s Going To Boston….  NewsMax, Newt Gingrich warns Underestimating Biden Has Him Winning. KT at Haut Hair, Biden in Massachusetts: Walker "does not deserve to be a senator" Democrats can't stand Blacks off the plantation. 'Bonchie' reports Joe Biden Moves to Rig the 2024 Primary, by making NC first. It would be a downer for the incumbent to lose the first five primaries and caucuses or so. Ben Whedon at JTN, DNC committee approves making South Carolina first state in its primary calendar, "President Joe Biden earlier this week lent his support to the plan, asserting that the current calendar left out many of the party's diverse voters in the early stages."  Don Surber is delighted that Bidenomics leads to NYT strike, let them enjoy the fruits of their labor. 

AP, cited at Haut Hair, despairs Last outstanding House race called for GOP in CA-13, but as Capt. Ed notes "This pretty much cinches up 222 seats for the GOP, which is exactly what Democrats had in this session. The Colorado-3 race is not yet officially called, as Lauren Boebert’s lead is small enough to trigger the state’s mandatory recount, but Adam Frisch has already conceded it." John Sexton, GOP officially at 221 seats in the House with one race left.

ADN American thinks Hispanic American vote could decide Georgia Senate runoff election, Dems and GOP mobilize Latino target groups. Richard Vigilante at The Next American Century warns In 2024 Republicans won't have the economy to run on. "They better come up with something else to talk about 'cause is inflation going and the recession will be gone, gone, gone" It would be nice, but I don't think so. Matt Hirsch at BoldTV claims young people are responsible for the collapse of the 'red wave,' How Young Voters Impacted The 2022 Midterm Elections. At Fox, West by God Virginia state senator leaves Democratic Party for the GOP, "The Putnam County West Virginia Republican Party welcomed Jeffries to the GOP on Thursday,"

At the TN Star, Legal Group Sues over Racine over Mobile Voting Van. I'll bet it didn't collect ballots in rural red areas. Also, Democrats’ ‘Jim Crow 2.0’ Myth Debunked Again as Early Voting in Georgia Runoff Tops 1 Million. At Gateway Pundit, Failed Candidate Stacey Abrams Now Pushing For Position At The Federal Communications Commission. Just make her the face of the Democratic Party, please! 

 At Da Lid, McCarthy Tells J6 Committee He’s Coming After Them When GOP Takes Over. "McCarthy also said the Republicans’ review will keep in mind the law that prohibits lying to the federal government; it wasn’t clear what or whom he was referring to. He also said the GOP House will hold hearings to learn “why the Capitol complex was not secure” on Jan. 6, 2021."

At Da Fed, Mike Hunter sees how Merrick Garland Ignores Calls For Hunter Biden Probe To Instead Interfere With Trump’s 2024 Chances. At WaEx, Mail thieves steal $20,000 in donor checks to Rep. Elise Stefanik. Jazz Shaw, Did postal workers steal thousands in campaign donations to Elise Stefanik? as she implies? FWIW, there is an enormous amount of mail theft going on now. The water co-op whose board I am on had a small check stolen at DC area postal center and used to make a false check for $23,000. Theft by postal workers is strongly suspected but not yet proven. It doesn't need to be enemy action against Stefanik, but it could be.