Showing posts with label Senate. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Senate. Show all posts

Thursday, July 30, 2026

Flotsam and Jetsam - The Fauci Fallout

If you weren't out doing something fun or useful yesterday, you probably know by now that former NIH Director Anthony Fauci made a long appearance at the Senate Homeland Security committee led by Rand Paul, where, as I pointed out yesterday, other than an opening statement saying Rand Paul had it in for him (true, but for good reasons), he said almost nothing, other than to take the 5th amendment 111 times to Republican questions ranging from pointed to ridiculous (what color is your tie?), while receiving tongue bath from Democrats loyal to the Covid lockdown regime. If you need to count them for yourself you can find the whole sordid affair at from sundance at CTH, Dr Anthony Fauci Testifies Before Senate Homeland Security Committee or at Althouse, Fauci invokes the 5th Amendment privilege at the Senate hearing today. Ace, Deep State Mafia Boss Anthony "Little Bones" Fauci Pleads the Fifth, "This is what I thought he would do. But now I wonder if he has any legal right to invoke the Fifth." Matt Vespa at TownHall, So, That's Why Fauci Pled the Fifth, Despite a Blanket Pardon From Biden, state charges? No, that's just the excuse. He just didn't want to own up to all his Covid shenanigans. John Ocasio-Rodham Nolte @NolteNC, "This also states it well... The pardon put Fauci in a position where he could either testify truthfully and face no prosecution, or invoke the Fifth and face a contempt charge. Obviously, Fauci decided telling the truth was more dangerous (even with no fear of prosecution) than facing prosecution with a contempt charge. Why? That's the question." Quote Kyle Cheney @kyledcheney, "Pleading the 5th is tricky, legally, because Fauci is pardoned for all pre-2025 conduct — fear of a future perjury trap is a lot to hang a blanket assertion of 5th Amendment privilege on. And it also opens him up to being held in contempt and prosecuted on that basis." The Vigilant Fox @VigilantFox, "PAUL: "Dr. Fauci, would you like to at least answer this one question for us today...?" FAUCI: "On the advice of counsel, I respectfully decline..." PAUL: "The chairman has DENIED your assertion of privilege and directed you to ANSWER, but you nonetheless refuse and stand on privilege despite the existence of the pardon." "It's AGAINST THE LAW to obstruct an investigation of Congress. There will be repercussions to your refusal to testify today." Sean Davis @seanmdav, "Rand Paul did the impossible today: he found a way to make Anthony Fauci not talk. Rand Paul got the world’s most promiscuous media whore to suddenly not want to be on camera behind a microphone." Secretary Kennedy @SecKennedy, "Dear Diary... If I plead the Fifth, will I still be famous?" Pradheep J. Shanker, M.D.@neoavatara "Its over." Quote Senator Rand Paul @SenRandPaul, "Fauci claims he is pleading the Fifth because of my so-called “obsession” with prosecuting him and because I released his "private" diary. The American people know better. He is protecting himself. There is more to this. This is not over." Tim O'Brien at PJM, Fauci’s Disastrous Senate Hearing Signals That It’s Time to Put the Autopen on Trial Through Him. PJM's Stephen Kruiser sighs Regrettably, Anthony Fauci Slept Very Well Last Night.

PJM's Cathy Salgado, Rand Paul Orders Fauci’s Lawyer Removed As Hearing Grows Chaotic. From News Wax, Fauci Solicited Award Noms From NIH-Funded Scientists, for awards with cash prizes. At Hat Hair, Capt Ed quotes Hawley to Fauci: 'You Got Rich, Didn't You … While People Were Dying?' Matt Van Swol @mattvanswol, "If you only watch ONE video from the Fauci hearing today, it should be this one... Bernie Moreno: "It was about six years ago today that I decided I'm going to give up my businesses, sell them all, run for office, run for the United States Senate. Here I am sitting in front of you six years later, saying, "Who the fuck do you think you are for doing that?" It is a total disgrace what you did to this country and my Democrat colleagues are standing there defending you...." RazörFist @RazorFist, "2020: The Science™ is settled 2021: Trust the Science™ 2022: Sorry you lost your job for not trusting The Science™ 2023: We have recalled The Science™ from the market 2026: The Science™ pleads the 5th." Bridget Phetasy @BridgetPhetasy, "My biggest takeaway from this Fauci stuff is that we aren't mad enough."

Matt Vespa, TMZ Had a Total Meltdown Over the Attacks on Fauci...and They're Not Alone. Brad Polumbo @brad_polumbo, "Never forget they literally made action figures of this man..." Drew Holden at Holden Court thinks Legacy Media’s Fauci Love Affair Might’ve Buried COVID’s Origins, "Ahead of the doctor's public testimony, making sense of what the dominant press helped to keep buried." PoIiMath @politicalmath, "If there was another Covid-style pandemic, it would probably be because scientists were carelessly researching deadly novel viruses in large urban centers." Quote Mehdi Hasan @mehdirhasan, "It’s very clear, sadly, that if there was another Covid-style pandemic today, the level of total disinformation, misinformation, lies, cherry-picked quotes and documents, and conspiracies on this hellsite would mean tens of millions, not just millions, of dead Americans." From Da Caller, Meet The Republicans Who Sided With Anthony Fauci To Shut Down The Country "“Hope Hicks and I convinced him to essentially put Easter on hold for this year,” Fauci wrote." Nick Arama at RedState notices Brandon Gill and Ted Cruz Have a Field Day With James Talarico's Old Fauci Post. Brandon Gill @realBrandonGill, "Do you think James Talarico still plays with his Fauci action figure?" Ted Cruz @tedcruz, "James Talarico called Fauci a superhero. Today, Fauci took the Fifth 111 times. Apparently accountability was sold separately." Leslie Eastman at LI hypes a New Documentary the Asserts Deborah Birx Was Real Culprit Behind Disastrous Covid Lockdowns. "“It Wasn’t Fauci: How the Deep State Really Played Trump” shows how a career bureaucrat seized control of the government and created a disaster. And Birx had help…from Pence." She did kind of slither away unscathed, didn't she. Insty at his substack explains Why Fauci Matters. "He's not just a powerful guy who acted in bad faith. He's a totem to a whole class of people who don't care about that."

I'm of two minds about Fauci. Scientists are allowed to be wrong. It's part of the process of discovery, as long as you change your mind once evidence show it.  But you're not supposed to conspire to blackball those with opposing opinions, and keep up the pretense of being right after you've been proven wrong. And there's the prize stuff, which is just plain corruption. Drew Pinsky put it pretty well here.


At Am Great, the Great Victor Davis Hanson worries The Socialist Monster Awakens, "The Left’s socialist revolt did not come from nowhere—it was the inevitable offspring of years of Democratic radicalization, now turning against the party that created it." Mark Tapscott at Insty asks IS SOCIALISM A FAD OR FULL-ON THREAT?. "Are the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) just a passing fad or a real, long-term threat to the Democratic Party and ultimately America? That’s the question discussed on the latest edition of the Outstanding podcast by host Casey Harper, The Washington Stand’s Managing Editor for Broadcast, Matt Carpener, chief of Family Research Council (FRC) Action, and yours truly." VodkaPundit at PJM hears 'Welcome to Socialism': A Clinton Hand's Stark Warning About Mamdani "In a piece headlined "Welcome to Socialism," Penn wrote that Mamdani’s administration "with fanfare" released its list of "960,000 owners of real estate in New York City that have been determined they could owe the pied-a-terre tax because NYC computers have determined they own what was billed as a market value of $5 million or more."" NYPo opines Mamdani’s vindictive pied-à-terre hitlist reveals his true colors. I think we already knew his colors, red with a dash of green. John Sexton, Business Groups to Sue Mamdani Over Subsidized Grocery Stores. Govt. subsidized competition. At NYPo, Jonathan Turley opines Mamdani’s grocery stores will be the most expensive markets in NYC — paid for by you, the taxpayer.

Hat Hair's John Sexton wonders Are Democrats Worried About Their Antisemitism Problem?. Nope, they're wallowing in it, and Dave Strom sees El-Sayed is Gaining Strength and Stevens Is Sputtering Out. Victory Girls notice MI Candidate Abdul El-Sayed Maligns PA Senator John Fetterman. Stephen L. Miller @redsteeze, "It's hilarious that you think he's leaving the party and that the party is not leaving him. You continue to be the absolute king of misreading the situation." Quote Chris Cillizza @ChrisCillizza, "I don't know if John Fetterman is going to switch parties. But man he is doing everything that someone who is going to switch parties. Wrote about it here:"


At AMAC, The Left’s Imaginary Food Stamps “Crisis” "SNAP enrollment has dropped by about 4.5 million people over the past year—an 11 percent decline. While critics call this a "crisis" and blame the Trump administration for stripping benefits from needy families, the reduction largely reflects new work requirements and stronger anti-fraud measures under the One Big Beautiful Bill. This article examines the data behind the debate and explains what's really driving the change in food stamp participation."





At Twitchy, Deranged WNBA Owner Berates Teenage Fans Supporting Fair Play for Women. Dave Strom hears Sophie Cunningham Fans Harassed in Seattle for Standing Up for Women's Rights. From Ace, Department of Education Investigates Minnesota's Use of "Trans Dolls" with Swappable Genitalia to Promote Transgenderism to Young Children "I think it's time to simply eject Minnesota from the United States. It's a diseased appendage that must be cut off to save the rest of the body. It just gets worse and worse every single day." And "Trans" Man Beats Mother to Death With Hammer, "Coming to a girls locker room near you. But how could you keep him out of a women's locker room? As you can see from the photos that run with that story, he looks exactly like a woman. It's uncanny!"

And more from the Wombat at In The Mailbox: 07.28.26 (Evening Edition) and In The Mailbox: 07.29.26. The Wombat has FMJRA 2.0: In The Bowels of the Draft up on time and under budget at The Other McCain.

Wednesday, July 29, 2026

Flotsam and Jetsam - Fauci Takes the Stand and the 5th

It's on C-Span now. Rand Paul is setting the stage. Leslie Eastman at LI, Sen. Rand Paul Releases Document Trove Detailing Pre-Pandemic Biosecurity Breaches. "New document release shows Customs and Border Patrol intercepted undeclared biological materials tied to this network of American and Chinese coronavirus researchers in 2018, and the FBI stopped the agency from intercepting a key covid researcher in 2021." Rand Paul @RandPaul, "If Anthony Fauci comes before my committee tomorrow and perjures himself, his preemptive pardon from Joe Biden will not protect him." Quote Eric Daugherty @EricLDaugh, " JUST IN: Sec. RFK Jr. just said Dr. Fauci can be prosecuted on PERJURY — DESPITE the pardon — if he lies in front of Rand Paul's committee this week "He has immunity against all of the things that he did prior to President Biden signing or the electronic pen signing his pardon, but he could perjure himself now. There are many things that he said that we know are lies, and @RandPaul presumably is going to ask him about those things." "And if he lies again, then he could be subject to perjury prosecution." Fauci has not faced a SINGLE ounce of credibility. We need it, badly!" At PJM, Stephen Kruiser notes it Turns Out Fauci Is an Even Bigger Donkey's Derrière Than We Thought and Sarah Anderson thinks Anthony Fauci Just Handed Marco Rubio One Heck of a Campaign Ad. NYPo's Divine Miranda Devine: Anthony Fauci was the ‘big head’ of COVID response. Matt Vespa at TownHall, This Fauci Diary Entry Will Cause Your Blood to Boil. Bill Melugin @BillMelugin_, "NEW: Dr. Fauci writes in his diary that in June 2021, he received a (classified?) briefing from the CIA on the origins of COVID-19 while in a SCIF (Sensitive Compartmented Information Facility) at NIH, and reveals that the CIA told him they had intercepted Chinese communications in Wuhan, including indications that the Chinese had transferred pangolin viruses from Beijing to Wuhan. Additionally, Fauci writes that the CIA had information from sources that the Chinese military had conducted unknown experiments in Wuhan, and that the CIA had information about a "super spreader" event in China in July 2020 in relation to "passage of a virus in a laboratory." Fauci writes that the CIA briefer, who he names, was "almost pathetic in her naivety and obvious lack of appreciation of any of the science of what she was talking about."" Liz Wheeler @Liz_Wheeler, "We were… right. - Social distancing was a hoax - Masks were a joke - Lockdowns were worthless - mRNA jabs were dangerous - Case fatality rate was low - Ivermectin worked - Hydroxychloroquine also worked - Remdesivir was a killer - COVID came from the Wuhan lab - Fauci funded it Fauci lied about it all. Fauci lied to profit himself. Fauci abused YOU to bolster his ego, money, and power. Put the despicable villain in prison." Elaine @elbh, "Fauci broke our societal trust in ways we will never regain. As confidence was lagging anyway, he caused the collapse. Science. Journalism. Government. Hollywood. Culture. Economics. Law Enforcement. Judicial System. Our fellow Americans. All of it. It will not return in our lifetime."

Dave Strom at Hat Hair, Pravda Totally Buries Fauci Diary Revelations. Mike Lee @BasedMikeLee, "Hats off to @bariweiss and CBS This is news And yet it doesn’t read like it was sanitized by the DNC." Quote CBS Evening News with Tony Dokoupil @CBSEveningNews, "Diary entries by Dr. Anthony Fauci are shedding light on his soaring notoriety during the COVID epidemic. The documents, released by Republican Sen. Rand Paul, include Fauci's reflections about being invited to a-list parties, but also some uncertainty about the origin of COVID." Hans Mahncke @HansMahncke, "Perhaps surprisingly, both the New York Times and the Washington Post have now published articles on the Fauci diaries. Unsurprisingly, both are complete whitewashes. They sanitize his record and reduce the criticism to the suggestion that he may have been a little too narcissistic. Neither outlet confronts the diaries’ central revelation, which is that Fauci repeatedly said one thing in private and another in public..." Matt Vespa, Why a Former FDA Official Got Very Uncomfortable During This Interview on CNBC. Glenn Greenwald @ggreenwald, "It was well-demonstrated that US and EU elites who imposed strict lockdowns during COVID deemed themselves fully exempt. Countless examples, including Gavin Newsom having a nice maskless dinner with lobbyists, and Pelosi in the hair salon. But @JakeTapper should explain this:" Quote a newsman @a_newsman, "Jul 27Has Jake Tapper addressed why he was having Anthony Fauci over for dinner while husbands and wives of seventy five years were saying goodbye to each other over zoom?" At Althouse, "[His diary] paints a portrait of Dr. Fauci as obsessed with himself, reveling in his own importance and the celebrities he knows..."

From Ace, Revealed: Five Months After Fauci Got Vaccinated, He Suffered a Pulmonary Infarction, an Adverse Effect Associated With the "Vaccine." He Kept This a Secret. "Anthony Fauci is Science, you know. He suffered the exact kind of adverse effect millions of other people were experiencing. Rather than reporting this, he kept it secret from the public." Mike Davis @mrddmia, "Of course, Trump was right. And undermined constantly by government bureaucrats who worked for him." Quote CNN Politics @CNNPolitics, "President Trump contradicts the US intel community by claiming he's seen evidence that the coronavirus originated in a Chinese lab https://cnn.it/3d7KSuC."

Cynical Publius @CynicalPublius, "I had a dream last night that Michael Crichton was still alive and he wrote a book called “Two Weeks to Stop the Spread.” The book’s main character was a megalomaniacal, narcissistic senior US health official who was using NIH funds to work with China to engineer a virus designed to wipe out the world’s elderly and infirm populations, thereby decreasing the public health and expense burden foisted on younger generations...."

Fauci just took the 5th, after an opening statement blasting Rand Paul. Now, Rand Paul reminded him he was unconditionally pardoned by Biden, and therefore the 5th amendment doesn't apply, but Fauci is sticking to it.


Ben Whedon at JTN sees Thune pours cold water on canceling recess to pass SAVE America Act. "Trump on Monday called for Thune to cancel recess to pass the bill, but Thune said nothing had changed." From the Victory Girls, John Thune: Pass The SAVE America Act Already. Sadly, even if they busted the filibuster, I don't think they have the votes, thanks to Sen. Murkowski, Collins and Paul. From Ace, Mitch McConnell Released from Hospital, But Still Not "Medically Cleared" to Do His Job; Democrat Governor Andy Beshear Demands He Return to Senate or Resign. "It was so important to McConnell to remain in office forever. Even after he'd been kicked out of the leadership position due to his opposition to most mainstream Republicans."

Amanda Head at JTN, From proving ground to payday, Trump’s Michigan trip shows auto industry shifting into high gear. "Under Trump’s trade policies, companies such as General Motors (GM) are shifting production of certain vehicles stateside." Carlo Carrasco is happy Japan Determining Lifting Import Prohibition On Fresh US Potatoes. From Da Caller, Trump Admin Putting Major Medical Association’s Billing Code ‘Monopoly’ Under The Microscope


Dave Strom at Hat Hair wonders Is Socialism Really Gaining Steam, or Are Socialists Just Gaming the System Better? Da Wire, Mamdani Just Handed The Internet Thousands Of Names And Addresses. "The Department of Finance uploaded a searchable database including the addresses and names of property owners." Jack Posobiec @JackPosobiec, "Anyone who has read the history of communism knows what step comes after naming the enemy land owners." Quote Bernadette Hogan @bern_hogan, "The city published a list of all properties -- and the names of the owners -- that *could be* subject to the new pied a terre tax in a very easy to search Excel sheet:" VodkaPundit at PJM, NYC: Begun, the Class War Has. Alex Berenson @AlexBerenson, "Last week, my mom got a "pied-a-terre" tax notice. She has lived full-time in her townhouse FOR 30 YEARS (she and my dad bought it for under $1 million). She has no other residence. Is NYC not bothering with basic checking of its own tax lists? She's 81 and has three weeks to get her name off the list or she owes $56,000. (Yes, I said I'd help.) Thanks, Zohran Kwame." Ace notes Mamdani Publishes Names of Property Owners Whose Estates Will be Confiscated, "The list of properties to be hit with a huge tax penalty, large enough so that the owners will mostly be forced to sell, turns out to be a bigger list than the laughing boy socialist demon had promised."



Ruby Rippey
From Althouse, "One afternoon he brings matzo ball soup from Max’s deli, my favorite. Another time, a mixtape." "Writes Ruby Rippey, in "How I Blew Up—Then Rebuilt—My Life/When news of her affair with Gavin Newsom exploded into the public eye, it was only the outward mark of a long-rippling private implosion. In the wreckage of the scandal, Ruby Rippey faced her demons but lost her voice. Twenty years later, she is ready to share her story" (Vanity Fair). Spencer Pratt @spencerpratt, "Residents in the Palisades put up Mad Max barricades because construction site theft is so rampant since Karen Bass directed LAPD to remove police patrols from the neighborhood. As if the fire victims haven't dealt with enough...the vile communist is punishing us further." From Reason, California's War on Goats Could Worsen the Wildfire Crisis "Standard minimum wage and overtime laws now apply to the state's goat herders, whose animals clear brush and reduce fire danger. The costs are unsustainable." 

Jeffrey Rosen takes on Birthright Citizenship and Presidential Removal: A Historical Deep Dive. Kyla Becker at RedState sees a Rogue Judge Finally Gets an Act Named After Him - What It Does Is Hilarious. "Schmitt is calling it the BOASBERG Act. It stands for the Blocking Overt Attempts at Shopping By Enforcing Randomization Guidelines Act. ... Fox News Politics @foxnewspolitics, "BOASBERG ACT: Sen. Eric Schmitt introduces legislation named after the federal judge who has repeatedly clashed with the Trump administration — designed to end judge shopping in federal courts by requiring random case assignment. The bill would prohibit chief judges from influencing which cases they oversee, require public disclosure of assignment practices, and create penalties for anyone who meddles with the process. Courts would have 120 days to comply. Schmitt called Judge James Boasberg "the poster child for a rogue judge" who "exposed serious loopholes in our judicial system." Boasberg, an Obama appointee, has blocked Trump's deportation efforts, halted visa restrictions, and landed the Signalgate case — drawing impeachment calls from Trump and a misconduct complaint from the Justice Department."


Stacy McCain sees ‘Suburban Teens’ Make Headlines. "In addition to Vanessa Morales, whose father doesn’t speak English, the other “suburban teens” killed in the crash were identified as Cristofer Lopez Montan, 19, and Yuarem Garcia-Pena, 18, both of Woodstock, and Yaritza Martinez Villeda, 17, of Crystal Lake. So these kids weren’t exactly the cast of Sixteen Candles or Pretty in Pink. On the one hand you can understand that, on those rare occasions when the perpetrators of crime in Chicago aren’t “urban youth,” the local media are eager to convey the message that it wasn’t the usual suspects this time."


Dave Strom realizes DEI Requires 'Good' People to Lie. Wall Street Apes @WallStreetApes, "This should horrify every American A man tries to walk through Minneapolis with an American Flag He immediately gets harassed, threatened with physical violence. Shortly after a car pulls up quickly and a man gets out to rush him to cause harm. He has to run and yell he’s calling the cops The American can’t even sit in his car without worried about being assaulted “This sh*t hurts my heart, man. ..." Lisa Britton @LisaBritton, "One minute we’re being told air conditioning is sexist towards women. The next we’re being told women are the true victims of heat waves. It just never ends!" From Da Mail, Plagiarism or jealousy? Youngest black professor in Cambridge history set to publish extraordinary life story - including how he couldn't speak, read or write during childhood - as he's now accused of copying others' work.

At WaEx, Teachers union uses felons to attack school choice in Arizona. Matt Van Swol @mattvanswol, "My story about pulling our son out of NC public schools to homeschool him reached far more people than I expected. So I owe you the full explanation. Fair warning: it's worse than you think. ..." Really long but worth it.

Friday, July 17, 2026

Flotsam and Jetsam - Trump Says China Messed with 2020 Election, Intelligence Covered for Them

President Trump gave a national address last night, and the major networks, with the exception of Fox, refuse to run it live, preferring to cherry-pick clips to make him look bad. As we expected, the subject was largely revelations about the 2020 elections recently pried out of the reluctant hands of the intelligence agencies, that China hacked the voter roles (why? or was just because they could), and boosted opposition to Trump, that the intelligence agencies conspired to conceal that, the same agencies that pushed the Russian collusion delusion in 2016 and after, and that the American voting system is full of holes by design, from 200,000 illegal aliens (at a minimum) registered to vote, and mass mail-in voting as a potential vehicle for fraud. All stuff we kind of knew. Hopefully, though this is the start of some real actions. So, nothing really new here, but additional confirmations of what we already suspected.

Before the speech, Althouse found "Democrats on the House Intelligence Committee are urging the nation’s top spy chiefs to stop President Donald Trump if he tries to declassify cherry-picked intelligence material that unfairly sows doubt about the 2020 election..." at Politico. So, inciting insurrection. Clandestine @WarClandestine, "This clip is extremely important, because it reveals how the Dems/MSM plan to counter the revelations about 2020. They are going to try to shame MAGA into “letting it go”, because it happened 6 years ago. They are using the Hillary “what difference does it make” defense. They are going to try to belittle and dismiss the magnitude of the findings, in a desperate attempt to avoid accountability for their treasonous activity. They have been caught, and they know it. Their only remaining hope is to convince the American People that it’s not a big deal. They will fail." Teri Christoph at RedState hears She's Back! Karoline Leavitt Torches CNN Anchor's Shameless Gotcha Ahead of Trump's Address to Nation. Northern Barbarian @xnoesbueno, "Tragically, no matter what evidence he presents, it will be disputed, dismissed and/or ignored by people who will shriek dictatorship and election-rigging when he moves to address the corruption. Tragically, because confidence in election outcomes is now a partisan issue. ..." QuoteJoshua Reid | Redpills.tv @realjoshuareid, "BREAKING: If these reports are accurate, Thursday night could become one of the most consequential Presidential Addresses in modern American history. According to @PaulSperry_, President Trump is expected to present newly declassified intelligence alleging: ▪️ Chinese interference in the 2020 election ▪️ Hacking of state voter registration databases, ▪️ A broader intelligence cover-up involving FBI, CIA, and ODNI records, ▪️ More than 100,000 non-citizens including illegal immigrants on voter rolls, If this evidence is released as reported—and the four sets of declassified FBI, CIA, and ODNI documents are made public this Friday—it won’t just reopen the debate over 2020 and potentially lead to indictments. It will set up the predicate for Trump to declare a National Emergency on Election Integrity and Infrastructure." Driscoll at Insty is GETTING READY FOR THE SPEECH: Cynical Publius @CynicalPublius, "Going into tonight's speech, remember this: all the GOP wants to do is make voter fraud detectable and provable. That's it. For some odd reason Democrats support systems that make voter fraud nearly undetectable to a standard a court wlll recognize. Odd, doncha think?"

As usual, sundance at CTH hosts the address largely without comment, President Trump Speech to the Nation – 9:00pm ET Livestream Links. If you prefer with your speech with a little left-wing cant on the side, you can find it at Althouse, "What Trump did NOT do was even purport to show a single ineligible voter voted in the 2020 election, or..." "... that any voting machines were actually compromised, voting machines or voter registration databases breached, or election results inaccurately reported. Overall, this was an underwhelming announcement delivered with low energy that changes nothing about how state and local election administrators should run elections. If his government had actual evidence of noncitizen voting, there would be indictments; Trump has been hounding US attorneys to bring such cases, and the fact that he hasn’t shows that these claims likely have no legs.... He also did not offer anything new by way of policy proposals...."Writes Rick Hasen, in "Trump’s Underwhelming Announcement on Voting Does Not Even Purport to Show That Any Illegal Votes Were Cast in the 2020 Election or That Voting Machines Have Been Hacked or Vote Totals Inaccurate; He Also Made a Pitch to Pass the SAVE America Act But Offered No New Federal Mandates" (Election Law Blog)." Matt Vespa at TownHall, President Trump Reveals What We All Suspected About the 2020 Election in Primetime Address. Mary Chastain at LI, Trump: Declassifying Documents Showing China’s Election Interference and “Deep State” Cover Up. “In light of the brand new and irrefutable information I have revealed tonight, my administration is in the process of notifying states whose election data was compromised by the People’s Republic of China and others.” ThePersistence @ScottPresler, "If I were the Republican Party, I would do a query for every address where 6+ voters are registered. Then, I would go through that list to look for how many of those addresses are P.O. Boxes, vacant lots, malls, businesses, churches, shelters, or other non-residential locations. Then, after locating those non-residential locations, I would see how many of those voters voted & whether they voted by mail."

Spencer Pratt @spencerpratt, "Notice how Nithya Raman just completely disappeared after they blocked us out of the general election? She's not campaigning at all. Like a pickpocket disappearing into the crowd. Just a ghost. I told you her campaign was a scam. Colluding with Bass from the start." From RCP, Latino Voters and the SAVE Act. Most support voter ID. 

At Althouse, JD Vance on Joe Rogan. "I'm only an hour and a half into this, but it seems the 2 men are handling themselves well enough" At News Wax, Vance Says Admin 'Screwed Up' Epstein Files, Hits Israel. It was a no-win situation. No matter how swiftly or how completely you released the material, it would never be enough for skeptics, who would, and did, accuse you of holding out. The Victory Girls think Marco Rubio Gives an Epic Speech on Political Terrorism. PJM's Sarah Anderson calls it a Must Watch: Rubio Goes Hard on the 'Unique Evil' of Far-Left Terrorism, Promises More to Come. At Todd Blanches confirmation hears Matt Margolis sees Former AG John Ashcroft School Adam Schiff in the Most Brutal Way ""Mr. Blanche has said that he believes the president has both the right and the duty to use the Justice Department to go after his enemies," Schiff said, before turning to Ashcroft and asking, "Do you subscribe to that view?" It was a trap dressed up as a question, and Ashcroft didn’t fall for it. "I believe that the Attorney General of the United States has the right and responsibility to enforce the law uniformly, and if the law has been broken by the president's 'enemies,' he has a duty," Ashcroft said, adding that lawbreakers "do not become exempt from following the law merely by their enmity to the president of the United States." Then he flipped the script entirely. "As a matter of fact, the people who break the law are in enmity with the people of the United States," Ashcroft said. "We used to call people who break the law, 'public enemies.'"" At Twitchy, CNN Legal Analyst Norm Eisen Flirts With Libel of Todd Blanche on Nicolle Wallace’s Show.

John Ocasio-Rodham Nolte @NolteNC, "Trump is the most dynamic and effective president I’ve seen in over 40 years of watching politics. And even if I agreed with you, I’d still rather have the GOP in power at cocktail parties than demonic Democrats opening the border and butchering kids. I’m fine with complaining about the GOP, even Trump. But this “why should we vote for them” approach is suicide-by-killing-the-good-in-pursuit-of-perfect." Quote Tomi Lahren @TomiLahren, "Replying to @NolteNC I’m a little sick of these republicans talking a big game and riding on Trump’s coattails only to get to DC and shill for the foreigners. We didn’t elect them to go to cocktail parties and fundraise for their next election. It’s diabolical. If we do get taken over my the communist Left it’ll be because the do NOTHING right betrayed us and our vote! I will NEVER apologize for calling out so-called public servants. Ever. They work for us and right now, they are doing a piss poor job."

At the Chronic, Trump’s OMB Puts Taxpayers Back in Control of Their Money. Rapid Response 47 @RapidResponse47, "@POTUS announces that any American veteran who has driven a heavy truck for our military will soon be eligible for a Commercial Driver's License." Newsweek whines Trump To Fast-Track Truck Licenses For Veterans–Who Is Eligible?

Althouse, "Pete Hegseth wants a manly military. And he really, really wants you to know how badly he wants a manly military.", ""In his 2024 book, The War on Warriors, Hegseth worried that the military risked becoming 'effeminate, and apologetic'; he insisted that what liberals really want is 'soft men, and a weak military,' and he scolded 'Pentagon pussies' who refuse to stand up for soldiers on the battlefield. As secretary of defense, Hegseth has blocked the promotion of female military officers, removed the first woman to lead the Navy, and ordered a review of women’s 'effectiveness' in ground-combat roles. He has also used the Defense Department’s social-media channels to post a steady stream of tougher-than-thou videos...." So begins the Atlantic article, "Pete Hegseth Wants YOU to Test Your Testosterone/The secretary of defense has a questionable plan to monitor the hormone levels of every service member over 30" (gift link)." A better use of money than vaginoplasties for men. Insty, PENTAGON REFUSES TO PUNISH PILOT FOR LOW BEACH FLYOVER.

Beege Welborn at Hat Hair, David Muir and ABC News Thought They Had the Blues UPDATE. Pete Hegseth @PeteHegseth, "The flyovers will continue until morale improves." At News Wax, Guard Deployment to DC Will Last Through Trump's Term and 6th Straight Day of Attacks Underway as US Strikes Deeper Into Iran.

Ben Whedon at JTN, Senate GOP poised for largest turnover of the millennium due to Trump primaries, retirements, "Republicans currently have 53 seats in the upper chamber, but are essentially guaranteed to see at least eight of their ranks not return for the next Congress, marking what will be the largest instance of intra-party turnover in the past quarter-century." Depends on how you count Mitch.

PJM's VodkaPundit gasps when hear hears Oligarchs Just Snuck HOW MUCH Money Out of Russia? Three hundred billion dollars, a real vote of confidence.

Kevin Killough at JTN reports Critics cast doubt on Biden's claims he personally wrote upcoming memoir ""How many chapters are about your time hiding in the basement while someone else ran the White House?" Rep. Nancy Mace asked in response to the announcement."


At NYPo, Swalwell pal Sen. Ruben Gallego had sexual relationships with two House staffers, sources reveal to The Post. "Minutes after this article was published, the senator gave a non-denial to an NBC News journalist on Capitol Hill, uttering, “I’m not going to engage in gossip.” At Ace, Surprise! Eric Swalwell's Adultery Wingman, Rueben Gallego, Banged At Least Two House Aides, "Noooooo. Not the guy who handed his nine-months-pregnant wife divorce papers so he could bang his side-piece openly (while claiming it's a "new relationship"). I shan't believe it. Take your filthy lies, NY Post, and hit the road, Jack!!!" Ryan King at NYPo, Arizona Congressional Dem hopeful caught following OnlyFans, witchcraft accounts. Kurt Schlichter at TownHall just says Leftist Women Are an Abomination. He didn't have to be sexist. Capt. Ed at Hat Hair, sees Desperation? DNC Demanded NDAs Before Finance Meeting.

Misty Severi at JTN reports Fetterman draws red line for Democratic Party, says he would leave if it abandons Israel. "The warning comes the same day that over 100 House Democrats voted against sending more aid to Israel, though the amendment containing the proposal failed to pass because of wide Republican support."

Libs of TikTok @libsoftiktok, "Los Angeles International Airport railway is now $1 billion over budget and years delayed The contractor is now SUING the city for blaming them for the delays and claims the delays were actually the city’s fault Another Newscum failure reeking of corruption." Unleash Prosperity claims Obamacare Fraud Cut in Half This Year.

Insty demands “JUSTICE.” "Now More Than Ever, Ensuring Supreme Court Justices’ Personal Security Is Critical. “This is outrageous stuff and, obviously, totally unacceptable." From Bearing Arms, Supreme Court Ruling in Viramontes Could Reshape Gun Rights Nationwide and Ninth Circuit Judge Says It's Time for SCOTUS to 'Benchslap' Court Over 2A Rulings. "So, what to do? I have a suggestion. The Supreme Court should consider summarily reversing some of our wayward Second Amendment decisions. To put it more colloquially, it’s time for some benchslaps. Nothing less will give this court any pause before ultimately blessing every arms restriction it reviews." From Shooting Newsweek, Reducing Violent Crime Isn’t Complicated, You Just Have to Want to Do It. John Sexton at Hat Hair examines The Latest Attempt to Use the Courts to End Fossil Fuels.

At Althouse, "I do love revenge, I will say that,' adds Meeropol, 57, taking a sip from an iced Americano... 'I’d always loved revenge movies." "That's from "The woman behind E Jean Carroll: I do love revenge, I will say that/Ivy Meeropol has made a film starring one of Trump’s biggest foes. And she has her own beef with the president — dating back to her grandparents’ execution" (London Times). Meeropol = Ivy Meeropol, the documentarian who made a movie about the man, Roy Cohn, who "helped to send her grandparents, Ethel and Julius Rosenberg, to the electric chair, leaving her father orphaned at the age of ten." Now, Meeropol has a movie about E. Jean Carroll."

Hat Hair's Dave Strom notes 'Diversity' Is Not Our Strength if They Hate Us and When 'Human Rights' Becomes Civilizational Suicide. From Ace, Gaza Family of 18 Wins "Right" to Settle In England Despite Speaking No English and Being Determined to be a Net Detriment to Society, "The judge agreed the family of welfare ticks would be a net negative to British society, but commanded them all to be settled in England anyway, because... because the family would be missing out if they weren't allowed to jump on the UK welfare train," and The Illegal Alien Truck Driver Who Killed Three People Last Year Gets Less Than Five Years in Prison, "Yeah, a little more than four years sounds right for a Family Annihilator." Well, no widows or orphans. Jesse Kelly @JesseKellyDC, "If you’re a ruler and you don’t care about your country, the foreigner is a much better resident than the citizen. The foreigner won’t complain while you pillage the place. He only asks for a cut of the loot and some legal protections." Quote Alex James @actualAlexJames, "Why did all Western countries suddenly implement infinity migration without any public discussion or vote?"

John Sexton hears Bluesky Gave Up on Competing with X. At the Eternally Radical Idea Greg Lukianoff has More tips for being non-partisan in a partisan age "It ain't easy, it can be exhausting, and you're not always going to get everything right. But you have to keep trying." No I don't.

From WaEx, The zombies aren’t coming. They’re already teaching your kids. Campus Reform, LSU fires former DEI official earning nearly $330K amid spending cuts. "The university eliminated 25 positions as part of an effort projected to save $3.7 million." At CJ, How a Mellon Grant Fueled Fringe Scholar-Activism in Texas, "Funding of $5 million supported academics who want to “decolonize education” and dismantle capitalism and “heteronormativity.”" Ben Smith at RedState, Are You Serious? Virginia School Board Refuses to Drug Test Teachers After Classroom Fentanyl Overdose. "A Virginia school board voted 4-3 to protect teachers from the indignity of drug testing, two years after a second-grade teacher overdosed on fentanyl in her own classroom, in front of her students."

Oilfield Rando @Oilfield_Rando, "Hearing from tradesmen that one of their main job criteria is bureaucracy. Employers will hire them away from other employers with the promise of same money, but not having to deal with all the app shit. The compliance/app regime is getting that bad, even out in the field."

The Wombat has FMJRA 2.0: Slowly I Turn up and garnering clicks at The Other McCain.

Tuesday, July 14, 2026

Flotsam and Jetsam - Sen. Graham Dead, Long Live Sen. Graham

Darlene Graham (Nordone), that is. Don Surber lauds Lindsey Graham, a profile in courage. At PJM Dave Manney notices A Power Vacuum Has Opened in the GOP. Trump's Next Move Could Define It and Matt Margolis thinks Trump Drops a Bombshell Pick for Lindsey Graham’s Seat, his sister Darline Graham Nordone. I don't think that's a bombshell, I think it's a placeholder. At Althouse "I recommended, to Governor Henry McMaster, Lindsey Graham’s wonderful sister, Darline, to serve as interim Senator from the Great State of South Carolina." ""This would be a fabulous tribute to Lindsey, who loved her dearly!" Signed President DONALD J. TRUMP, at Truth Social." At Ace, Trump Endorses Lindsey Graham's Sister to Replace Him, "Uhhh... I don't like politics becoming so dynastic. But I guess the idea is that his sister taking over for the rest of the term would be non-controversial right now. All of the people who want to run for the seat also want to be appointed to fill out the term, because that gives them a huge incumbency advantage. Appointing Graham's sister to the seat avoids that... assuming she really only serves for the remaining months." From Sundance at CTH, President Trump Endorses Interim Senate Replacement, Darline Graham Nordone and South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster Holds Press Conference Announcing Vacancy Appointment of Darlene. Capt. Ed at Hat Hair, CBS: McMaster to Appoint Graham's Sister to Fill Out His Term After Trump Nomination. I guess we just have to hope she's not a flaming liberal. Scott Pinsker at PJM notices The (Pink) Elephant in the Room: Why the Whisper Campaign About Lindsey Graham’s Sex Life Matters. He reminds me a bit of an old friend from work, who, when a new woman asked if he was gay because he showed no interest in dating at all, I replied, "I don't have the vaguest idea." For all I know he was completely asexual, an unusual position for an evolutionary biologist.

Buck Throckmorton as Ace's has in the MORNING RANT: Great Economic News You Won’t Get from the Legacy Media. At Da Signal some Georgia Polling: Jackson and Collins Can Win as Trump’s Approval Rises. Hat Hair's John Sexton sees Trump vs. California NIMBYs.

Hat Hair's John Sexton tells us What's Burning in Russia Today? Lots of Things. VodkaPundit at PJM says Ukraine’s New Naval Strategy Is Brilliantly Simple. Ukrainska Pravda claims Russian hackers breached cameras on NATO logistics routes to track weapons shipments, and Pravda is known for the truth... Sundance at CTH smirks at Moodys: Without U.S Military Leading Europe, Credit Rating for EU Sovereign Countries Will be Lowered "Now, tell me again how Europe is not living on the back of America." VodkaPundit at Insty, THIS IS FROM THE SUN, SO TAKE IT WITH A GRAIN OF SALT — BUT IT’S TOO CUTE NOT TO SHARE: Desperate Castro family offer Trump private ISLAND for ‘super resort’ as president threatens to decapitate Cuba regime. “The idyllic Cayo Santa María super resort would be renamed ‘Trump Island’ – but only if US sanctions are lifted and plans for a luxury hotel casino project go ahead.”

PJM's Sarah Anderson hears Rubio to ICC: Hands Off the United States — Oh, And We're Shutting You Down. At Hat Hair Beege Welborn sees Sec State Lays a Flaming Marco Down on That Rogue ICC.

Fred Fleitz at Am Great thinks Trump’s Patience With the Iranian Regime Runs Out "President Trump’s decisive action this week reaffirms that the United States will not subsidize aggression through endless patience." Rapid Response 47 @RapidResponse47, "@POTUS on Iran: "It was a done deal, and then they broke it. They always break it. We've had 10 deals with these people — and so we're just going to hit them very hard... They're a bad group of people. They've been this way for a long time." No way out, but through. AP whines US attacks Iran and Tehran retaliates across the Middle East as both vie for control of strait. At Hat Hair, John Sexton sees Airstrikes on Iran Continue, Capt. Ed, Trump: Blockade on Iran Is Back, Baby, Bigger Than Ever and threatening US tolls for passage, Dave Strom, Trump: US Will Take the Strait and Run It; UPDATE: Trump Reimposes Iran Blockade, Duane Patterson, The Only Toll In the Strait of Hormuz Is Being Paid By the Iranian Regime and Dave Strom again, NYT: Former Iran President Ahmadinejad Was Israeli Spy. From News Wax, NY Times: Mossad Recruited Iran's Ahmadinejad. Ace, Hmm: Former Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad Was Recruited as a Spy by Israel; Israel Hoped He Could Take Control of Iran After Assassinations of Iran's President and His Advisors, "So that was the plan. But plans tend to not survive first contact with the enemy." Even if it isn't true, I could see why Mossad would spread the rumor. Keep them worried about their "friends." i24 News, ‘Revenge is certain’: Iranian newspaper publishes ‘hit list’ naming Trump, Netanyahu. "Hamshahri depicted 13 US, Israeli and European officials in prison uniforms as Mojtaba Khamenei renewed Iran’s pledge to avenge his father’s killing." Is this supposed to be a surprise? Struan Stevenson at TownHall alliterates Bread, Bombs, and Bankruptcy: Iran's Theocracy Faces Its Final Reckoning and Cameron Arcad, Iranian Drones in Cuba? Here's What Trump Knows. All the more reason to take care of the Cuba problem.

LOL. LMAO even.
TownHall's Kurt Schlichter observes No Democrat Has the Brains or Courage to Not Be Crazy but Matt Vespa thinks Dems Are Getting Really Tired of Bernie Sanders' Political Schtick. EducatëdHillbilly™ @RobProvince, "Is every communist a failed millionaire nepo baby?" Quote Stu Smith @thestustustudio, "Fergie Chambers, heir to the Cox media fortune and a major funder of militant pro-Palestine groups, was detained in Spain as the Trump administration seeks his extradition on federal charges carrying up to 30 years in prison." Robby Starbuck @robbystarbuck, "People can laugh but don’t underestimate these people. In only a few years, these weirdos seized control of the city where this photo was taken (Denver). They mostly don’t have kids. Socialism and communism are their child and they’ll die for it like we’d die for our actual kids. If you want to beat them longterm, the silent majority must see them as threats to our kids lives, because they are. Only then will we have the fortitude to dismantle them. And you’re going to have to drop the silent part of "silent majority"…. Because to beat communists, you must overrun them, you must be louder, you must be stronger, you must be more vicious like a lion protecting their young and you must be just as willing to sacrifice." Quote End Wokeness @EndWokeness, "Look at the crowd at today's DSA event. They tried to delete this. Too late." Dave Strom finds 'This Is Socialism' Propaganda Is Ridiculous. Sarah at Insty, THEY’RE NOT ANTI-ICE, THAT’S JUST THEIR COVER: INSURRECTION: Anti-ICE Mob Tries to Break Into Susan Collins’ Maine Office. Emma Camp opines Capitalism Gets a Bum Rap. "For many young people it’s simply a stand-in for the status quo. But the status quo is a huge improvement over the alternative." True capitalism has never been tried. 

A Larry vid at Hat Hair, Newsom Embraces Communists, Will Soon Regret It. VodkaPundit at PJM, Paramount Plays Hardball Against Newsom's Regulatory Goons. Brad Slager at RedState calls it Insanity: Steve Hilton Uncovers Why Police Can't Clear LA's Homeless Camps, NGOs sue them. Dave Strom hears Keith Ellison: Even You Need 'Gender Affirming Care' by using a very broad definition of gender affirming care. Speaking of changing definitions, at Twitchy, HIDE THE WOMEN! Zohran Mamdani's Explanation of Why R*pe Is Rising In New York Is Abominable. End Wokeness @EndWokeness, "Mamdani on why rape is up in NY: "A lot of it is from expanding what counts as rape." PM, MAMDANI’S NYC: Homeless encampment with drug trafficking, prostitution reaches 12 blocks. From Ace, Muskily Heterosexual James Talarico Woos the Most Important Voting Bloc in Texas, Perverts Who Attend Drag Queen Shows, "He's such a moderate centrist," and Humiliated by His Fawning Over a Nazi Rapist, Ro Khanna Tries to Change the Subject By Trying to Force His Way Past an Israeli Checkpoint and Then Crying "Jews Are Abusing a Brown Man!" When They Stop Him (for Ninety Minutes, to Check IDs), "Ro Khanna's absurd idea that he can be president took a big hit when his Rapist Wingman Graham Platner was forced to withdraw." From Althouse, The Republican never wins the governorship in Colorado, so what do Republican primary voters think they are doing?, "I'm reading "He Says He Killed a Man. Republicans Nominated Him Anyway" by Michelle Goldberg in the NYT. ... Goldberg leaves out the details about that killing. Grok relays the story as told by Marx: "severe childhood abuse (physical, sexual, and emotional) by multiple figures, including being beaten, electrocuted, tortured, and nearly killed (e.g., left in a cooler).... stepfather placing a gun in his hands, guiding his finger to pull the trigger, and shooting a man in the back of the head....""

Bryan Beal @bryanrbeal, "The fact this one dude - by himself - can walk into any state and find blatant fraud everywhere he goes proves two things: 1) the fraud is rampant at an unprecedented scale and 2) the government agencies who are supposed to protect our tax dollars are either completely incompetent or complicit in the fraud." Quote jay plemons @jayplemons, "Nick Shirley uncovers an adult day care in Flushing, Queens with 7,000 phantom members. Nick: “This public document says you have 7,899 members.”" I assume complicity. Lauren Chen @TheLaurenChen, "The shocking part of this is how most growth in the healthcare industry has come from bureaucracy, not actual healthcare." Quote Mary Talley Bowden MD @MaryBowdenMD, "Over the past 34 years, healthcare has replaced manufacturing as the top employer in the vast majority of states." The more people involved, the less each person feels any obligation for the outcomes. 

From NYPo, Facebook co-founder Dustin Moskovitz bankrolled $480 million activist crusade that’s made your bacon and eggs pricier.

TheBlaze @theblaze, "Democrat Senator Elissa Slotkin: “The SAVE America Act would make it hard for any Democrat in any state to win any election.”" From Ace, More Illegal Aliens Discovered Voting Illegally in US Elections, "John Solomon at JusttheNews:"

Swann Marcus @SwannMarcus89, "Cambridge disabled Shot Spotter because they said it was racist. Then a black Public Works employee got shot, lay undiscovered for over an hour while bleeding out in a public park, and died because first responders didn't know a shooting happened."

The Hollywood Reporter reports Hunter Biden, Nick Fuentes Interview Nearly Turns Physical, Report Says, "The sit-down, brokered by Channel 5's Andrew Callaghan, reportedly grew heated before cooler heads prevailed." When you want both sides to lose.



Libs of TikTok @libsoftiktok, "“Shocking”? There is literally nothing shocking about big tech suppressing stories that are inconvenient and harmful to Democrats." Quote New York Post @nypost, "Negative news about alleged rapist Graham Platner was suppressed by Big Tech, shocking study finds." And at the substack, Fort Worth Police EXPOSED for Violating 1st Amendment.

From CJ, Tal Fortgang says Stop WOKE Is Stopped—But Reform of Higher Education Will Go On. "A court struck down Florida’s ban on classroom indoctrination, but states have other means of wresting control of public education from dubious faculty." From the College Fix, Texas public university won’t fund professor’s travel to DEI-forward event and New Hampshire trans-female athletes drop lawsuit following recent SCOTUS decision. At Compact, Title IX Is Holding Back US Men’s Soccer.

Amy Curti sees CNBC Lists the Ten 'Worst' States to Live In. See If You Can Spot What They Have In Common, "To score the states for quality of life, we use hard data on factors like crime rates, air quality and healthcare. We also consider the cost and availability of childcare, inclusiveness of state laws, and reproductive rights."

End Wokeness @EndWokeness, "This is not a right-wing parody video Toronto Police actually posted this." From Lawrence Person's BattleSwarm Blog, “A Culture of Courage”: A German Celebrates American Freedom. Beege Welborn is suspicious of The Murder of Ann Widdecombe in England. Jarvis @jarvis_best, "Things are getting serious in the UK. If it turns out a terrorist murdered her, he'll almost certainly be looking at a VERY steep fine." Quote GB Politics @GBPolitcs, "BREAKING: Counter-Terrorism Police have now taken charge of the investigation into the suspected murder of Ann Widdecombe, following the emergence of significant new information and evidence."

The Wombat has FMJRA 2.0: Slowly I Turn up and garnering clicks at The Other McCain.