Showing posts with label Tesla. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Tesla. Show all posts

Sunday, June 29, 2025

Flotsam and Jetsam - Budget Battle Bubbles Up

But first, a little gloating. Salena Zito at WaEx reviews A very consequential two weeks for Donald Trump’s presidency. Hat Hair's John Sexton cites Smerconish: Trump Had One of His Best Weeks Ever. Cathy Salgado at PJM notes Trump Touts Cheapest Summer Gas Prices Since 2021. From Da Wire, ‘America Is Hot Again’: A Week Of Wins For The Trump White House "Successful strikes, a ceasefire, NATO success, two Supreme Court victories — and the lowest gas prices since 2021." At Althouse, "A stunning 51% of Hispanic, naturalized US citizens voted for Trump over Harris, according to the Pew Research Center’s 2024 election post-mortem." " From "Trump won more than half of foreign-born Hispanics — still would have beaten Harris if every eligible person voted in 2024 election: analysis" (NY Post). And here's "Behind Trump’s 2024 Victory, a More Racially and Ethnically Diverse Voter Coalition/A study of the 2024 election, based on validated voters" (Pew Research Center)." Also, He wasn't complaining. He was cogently critiquing. "I'm reading "Donald Trump’s latest Nobel peace prize effort? DRC and Rwanda/Foreign ministers from the feuding east African nations joined the president on Friday after he complained last week that he would not receive an award" (London Times)."  Da Blaze, S&P 500 hits new record high following months of Trump tariff doom and gloom.

A Hat Hair video, Down to the Wire on the One Big Beautiful Bill. At Fox, Trump's 'big, beautiful bill' faces Republican family feud as Senate reveals its final text "Republican leaders gamble on lawmakers buckling under White House pressure to pass 'big, beautiful bill.'"  Atop Da Hill, Republicans race toward crucial vote on Trump megabill despite uncertainties. PJM's Bob Spencer reports Senate Approves Big Beautiful Bill Debate, Three GOPers Defect. Bob Hoge at RedState sees Schoolyard Games: Chuck Schumer Uses Juvenile Tactics to Delay Vote on Big, Beautiful Bill. From OTP, Schumer To Force Senate Reading Of BBB In Effort To Waste Time. An asshole tactic, but one both sides have used. They should assign some AI to read it aloud in triple time. From NYPo, Trump warns Senate Republicans failure to pass ‘big beautiful bill’ will be ‘ultimate betrayal.’ OTP, Musk Condemns Latest Senate Bill, Says It Will ‘Destroy Millions Of Jobs’ and Massie Tweaks Trump: BBB ‘Allows Funding Sex Changes For Minors’. Sarah Arnold at TownHall, Trump Explodes on Tillis Ahead of BBB Vote, Vows to Back Primary Challenger to Remove Senator From Office. From Politico, Senate Republicans dial back endowment tax plans again, and Hat Hair's Beege Welborn whines Basically, the Senate Parliamentarian is writing the bill. Do I have that right?

Capt. Ed at Hat Hair hears 'Razin' Caine: Fordow's Gone After a 15-Year Plan Succeeded and NYT admits Israel, Trump Stopped Iran Nuke ... Which Was Trump's Fault. From Pop Times CNN’s Scott Jennings Schools Former Obama Aide Stealing Credit for Trump’s Iran Strike. Josh Hammer at Am Spec says the Shock-and-Awe ‘Midnight Hammer’ Iran Strike Encapsulates Trump Doctrine. "It was ‘America First’ foreign policy — neither nation-building nor naïve isolationism." NewsMax reports Trump Calls for Iran Inspections to Halt Nuclear Program. Da Wire, Trump Says He Will ‘Absolutely’ Start Bombing Iran Again If They Enrich Uranium To High Levels. At Althouse, One reason to say Trump didn't "obliterate" Iran's nuclear program is that the uranium is still there, even if under 200 meters of collapsed mountain. "They could mine that uranium. Is that what the "anti-obliterationists" might mean?" A pretty good discussion of the problems with that in the comments. From NewsMax, Trump Derangement Syndrome Blinds Hypocrites on Iran. Fox, Lindsey Graham: US should ‘absolutely not’ intervene in Iran regime change. Dave Harsanyi asserts Trump Learned the Lessons of Iraq. At TownHall the Great Victor Davis Hanson says In the End, Everyone Hated the Iranian Theocracy. From OTP, Fetterman Will Vote Against Senate War Powers Resolution. Breitbart recounts how a Small Crew of Young American Soldiers Took on Iranian Missile Barrage in Qatar.

From LifeZette, Set to Flow: Scott Bessent Details Trump’s Trade Deal with China. Responsible Statecraft wonders Could Trump's Congo-Rwanda mineral deals actually save lives? "The admin is signing peace and economic pacts today with countries that should be bursting with investment, not swimming in blood." Sundance at CTH issues A Note of Caution – Kevin O’Leary Talks About U.S-Canada Trade With a Massive Blind Spot (O’Leary is only a few months away from exploding against President Trump in a manner that will make the Elon Musk statements about Epstein and Trump seem small by comparison.  As yet another Canadian financial voice that just doesn’t get it, O’Leary has no idea the USMCA is about to end. And when it does, oh boy… he will go bananas.) and Chinese Company GE Moves Washer/Dryer Manufacturing to USA

At Fox, Trump celebrates Supreme Court limits on 'colossal abuse of power' by federal judges, "Trump lamented the 'handful of radical left judges' who blocked his executive orders." Gunther Eagleman™ @GuntherEagleman "Why did Justice Kagan oppose nationwide injunctions in 2022 but support them now? @ScottJenningsKY: "In 2022, Justice Kagan actually gave an interview and said out loud what a lot of conservatives have been saying this year, which is that how can it be that an individual district court judge can issue a nationwide injunction and effectively grind a presidency to a halt and, you know, take years and years and years for it to go through the process?" "Now, she obviously voted the other way this time around. I wonder what caused her to change her opinion."" Mike Miller at RedState, Liberal Justice Kagan Explained Why District Courts Can't Be Allowed to Constrain Presidents... in 2022. From Twitchy, Justice Brown-Jackson's Cosmic Blunder: Citing Alien Perspectives in Supreme Court Dissent. What would the LGMs think? Kurt Schlichter @KurtSchlichter, "I think the liberal justices convinced them." Quote Ben Dreyfuss @bendreyfuss, "Conservatives seem to have convinced themselves that the liberal justices on the Supreme Court are not just wrong about stuff but actually stupid. It seems unhealthy." Kimberly Ross @SouthernKeeks "Ok, pack it up. Found the tweet of the day." The Victory Girlsare not unhappy that a SCOTUS Ruling Causes Angst For Authors And Teachers Unions. Breitbart Bus Dig sees A Major Defeat for the Legal Attack on Tariffs Nick Ballasay at JTJ reports Chief Justice Roberts urges elected leaders not to attack judges due to threat of violence. “It becomes wrapped up in the political dispute that a judge who’s doing his or her job is part of the problem.”

From ZeroHedge, Incoming Riots Or Just July 4 Prep? White House, Treasury Lined By Anti-Scale Fence. I expect Democrats to hold widespread riots on July 4 this year. At the Orange County Reg, Congress passes resolution condemning ‘violent riots’ in LA amid immigration enforcement operations "Rep. Young Kim led the resolution, with support from California Republicans. Area Democrats, however, admonished the effort." Insty says WEIRD, HUH? John Ʌ Konrad V @johnkonrad "And we still don’t know the name of the agent in charge of Butler. Unbelievable." Quote End Wokeness @EndWokeness, "11+ months later, yet we still know 0 about the guy who nearly took out Trump… " Ward Clark at RedState reports a 'Transgender' Teen Accused of Torching Teslas Faces Long Prison Term.

From sundance, SSCI Chairman Cotton Wants to Diminish DNI and Return More Power to CIA. "It’s a complicated dynamic, but not so complicated that we cannot understand the motives.   Prior to Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard taking office, the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence had no problems with the DNI office.  However, with DNI Gabbard now stretching her wings to diminish the CIA, suddenly the Senate seeks to control the DNI."

At NewsMax, Mamdani's Victory: Death Knell for NYC. The Telegraph, New York braces for billionaire exodus after socialist Zohran Mamdani’s win. Bob Slager at RedState, tongue firmly in cheek writes For New Yorkers Looking to Flee, a Cautionary Warning: Florida Is Not the Paradise You May Envision. At WaEx, Democrats continue leftward lurch with socialist candidate for New York City mayor. Michael Barone says The Barista Proletariat Wins in New York. "The Barista Proletariat," I like that! Jerry Dunleavy at JTN traces NYC mayoral nominee’s anti-Israel views, political rise closely tied to Palestinian activist Sarsour. "Zohran Mamdani characterized the mayor's race as a "fight for Palestinian freedom." The Democratic Socialist, who could be the next mayor of America's biggest city, has a yearslong affiliation with infamous Palestinian-American activist Linda Sarsour." Tom Knighton at BA hears Zohran Mamdani: "Violence is an Artificial Construction" Jerry Dunleavy IV @JerryDunleavy, "Mamdani has repeatedly said he would “Defund the Police” — and, back during the heyday of the George Floyd riots, he even pushed back when Cuomo said that Defund the Police didn’t really mean defunding the police, with Mamdani insisting that the slogan meant exactly what it said." Fox Bus, Bill Ackman promises to fund centrist candidate to defeat socialist Mamdani in NYC mayoral race "Trump supporter Bill Ackman calls for 'crowdsourcing' centrist candidates to defeat Zohran Mamdani." From Althouse, "Mr. Mamdani’s father recalled that a teacher in Cape Town had once reported Zohran for a surprising answer to the question of what color he was." "While the other children in the class said white, Black or colored (a term used in South Africa for people of mixed race), Zohran answered 'mustard.' 'I found it most touching,' his father recalled." A testament to the value of early indoctrination.

At Campus Reform, USC hires Kamala Harris’ husband as law professor despite past controversies. The grift goes on. Oilfield Rando @Oilfield_Rando "All that hard work fighting racist highway overpasses and this is the thanks he gets. Sad!" Quote Political Polls @PpollingNumbers, "Frontrunner Pete Buttigieg has 0% support in the black community for 2028 according to a new Emerson poll." Insty finds them DESPERATE FOR MASCULINITY, BUT, YOU KNOW, NOT THE ICKY MANLY KIND: “But the NYT dream of somebody on their side to counteract the ‘manosphere’? It’s just sad to continually display the neediness for someone to help you defeat Joe Rogan… a man who was on your side and is still trying to be on your side.”

From OTP, Haitian Migrants Face Mass Deportation After Termination Of Legal Protections. Reagan Reese at Da Caller, DOT Sec. Sean Duffy Launches Nationwide Audit Into American Trucking Industry And Illegal Immigration. RedState's Rusty Weiss calls it Savage: Trump Diverts Biden's FEMA Funds for Illegals to Florida’s ‘Alligator Alcatraz’ Detention Center. PJM's Bob Spencer thinks Trump’s Description of Ilhan Omar is 100% Spot-On “does nothing but complain about our Country, yet the Failed Country that she comes from doesn’t have a Government, is drenched in Crime and Poverty, and is rated one of the WORST in the World, if it’s even rated at all.”

Stacy McCain has a LGBTQIA2S+ Pride Month Update: Fugly Tranny Gets Tased in Portland ICE Riot. FAFO. Matt Margolis at PJM is amused when J.K. Rowling Destroys Trans Ideology With One Savage Tweet: J.K. Rowling @jk_rowling, "Attention all men telling me I look like a trans woman: I’m sensing that this isn’t meant as a compliment. In fact, the implication seems to be that trans women look male, or odd, or ugly. This is appallingly transphobic and I’ll thank you to take your bigotry off my timeline." T. Becket Adams @BecketAdams "Why are we posting big, fat fucking Ls all of sudden??” There’s an extremely easy answer." WokeSpy wonders Will Atlanta Prosecutors Go Bloodthirsty in Charging Teens Who Cut Up Pride Flag? "A group of teen boys is facing years in prison for stealing a couple of “pride flags” from an Atlanta gay bar and cutting them up. Stealing private property and destroying it is vandalism, at least, and anyone who does it should be prepared to pay the price. But people aren’t talking about charging these minor boys with vandalism or mischief. The media, at least, definitely hopes prosecutors will throw the book at them for “hate crime” charges. It’s almost too much to have to type those words, as the very idea of a “hate crime” is flatly unconstitutional, though many states keep prosecuting using these unusual punishments. Stealing a piece of cloth does not, actually, become a more heinous crime simply because it’s a “gay” item,” or a “black” item."

The Wombat has FMJRA 2.0: Not Long Before The End up and garnering clicks at The Other McCain.

Friday, May 2, 2025

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."


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.


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.""


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."


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

Thursday, April 17, 2025

Flotsam and Jetsam - Boasberg Threatens Contempt Over Wife-Beating Illegal Alien

Well, I've got contempt for him. John Sexton at Hat Hair, Judge Boasberg Threatens to Hold Trump Administration in Contempt "District Judge James Boasberg issued a ruling today that basically finds the Trump administration in contempt for deportation flights that took place contrary to an order he issued last month. The judge also gives the Trump administration one week to correct its behavior and potentially avoid the contempt finding." Ace, The Anti-Trump Judge Who Gets All Anti-Trump Lawsuits Assigned to Him to Hold Contempt Hearings Against Trump, "Enough of this." The redoubtable Julie Kelly at substack says Jeb Boasberg's "Criminal Contempt" Finding Makes Mockery of Separation of Powers, "After setting the contempt trap, Judge James Boasberg today snapped the trap shut with a wild 46-page opinion accusing Trump officials of "willful disregard" for his now vacated court orders." Sundance at CTH, Judge Boasberg Threatens “Criminal Contempt” Charges Against Trump DOJ, Threatens to Appoint Independent Judicial Branch Criminal Prosecutor Against Trump Administration. Randy Barnett @RandyEBarnett "Somebody sure wants to create a constitutional crisis" Quote Shipwreckedcrew @shipwreckedcrew, "Lots coming today from Judge Boasberg's opinion after I have a chance to review it in detail. One clear issue I see coming; Yes, there is much SCOTUS case law about litigants being required to comply with Court orders -- even if erroneous -- until they are reversed. ONE of that case law deals with a contest between two branches of the federal government where the Exec. has been dragged into Court without jurisdiction, the court does not appropriately establish that it has jurisdiction, and the court then issues an unlawful order directing the Executive branch to act in a particular manner. SCOTUS is going to need to defuse this bomb that Judge Boasberg has started the timer on." Matt Margolis at PJM reports A Federal Judge Just Threatened the Trump Administration, not Boasberg, "U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis is now threatening contempt proceedings against the Trump administration for not complying with her order to return Kilmar Abrego Garcia from El Salvador."

Meanwhile, the media and the Democrats are desperate to get back the judged MS-13 El Salvadoran wife beater and sex trafficking "Maryland Man" they allege was illegal deported back to his home country, where he remains in prison. Kurt Schlichter @KurtSchlichter "In fact, there is considerable evidence of both. We know, for instance, that the government proved it to an immigration judge and that it was upheld on appeal. We know he has hurt people because his wife swore to it when she got a restraining order against him. I’ll include it so you can’t ignore it. I mean you can ignore it and you probably will, but I want everyone to know what you’re doing." Chuck Glasser at Insty, THE ECHOES OF “CATCH AND RELEASE”: It turns out that “loving father and husband” Kilmar Abrego Garcia isn’t the poor victim the legacy media wants you to think he is. JustTheNews exposes this guy’s history: "“The deported El Salvadoran man at the center of an intense court battle was flagged in 2022 by the Biden administration as a “suspect alien” who was possibly involved in “human smuggling/trafficking” after a traffic stop hundreds of miles from his Maryland home, according to Department of Homeland Security (DHS) documents reviewed by Just the News.” The details show that during a routine traffic stop, the van Garcia was driving was full of people with no documentation, and the state trooper noted there was no luggage in the vehicle, leading the encountering officer to suspect this was a human trafficking incident. Duane Patterson at Hat Hair says Anti-Trump, Inc. Misses the Point Entirely On Maryland's Ward Cleaver. Teri Christoph at RedState, Startling New Info Emerges on Deported MS-13 Illegal—and It Makes Chris Van Hollen Look Even More Foolish. Gunther Eagleman™ @GuntherEagleman "After landing in El Salvador, officials just told Democrat Senator Chris Van Hollen ‘you’ll have to arrange the meeting through the Trump administration’ Go home." Ace, Democrat Senator Chris Van Hollen Flies to El Salvador to Spring Credibly-Accused MS-13 Gang Member and Domestic Abuser from Prison and Bring Him Back to the US, "All of the Democrats are competing to be the nominee in the wide-open race to be the doomed 2028 nominee. They're all engaging in publicity-grubbing stunts, from The Fiercely Heterosexual Cory Booker storing up for his next Pee Party and now to Chris Van Hollen doing the country the service of importing an MS-13 gang member." Sundance hosts White House Press Briefing – 4:30pm ET Livestream. Matt Vespa at TownHall, Today's Guest at the White House Was a Shocker...and Heartbreaking. Townhall.com @townhallcom "BREAKING: The mother of Rachel Morin has joined @PressSec Karoline Leavitt at the White House Press Briefing."

Stacy McCain admits error in an update on the Pennsylvania governor's mansion fire bombing's confessed arson, Cody Balmer Update: Crazy, Yes, But Also Ranting About ‘the Palestinian People’. Atop Da Hill, Suspect in Shapiro arson attack cited plight of Palestinians: Police. Jake Tapper @jaketapper "Pennlive: police warrant says arsonist targeted Pa. Gov. Shapiro for “what he wants to do to Palestinian people”" At Althouse, "The man accused of setting fire to Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro’s residence Sunday indicated he was motivated by his views on the Israel-Gaza war and believed Shapiro needed to stop the killing of Palestinians..." ""... a newly unveiled search warrant says. Cody Balmer, 38, made the declarations in a 911 call after he left the property, in which he reported his own attack to dispatchers..." Ace notes The New York Times Hides the Socialist Party Registration of the Pennsylvania Governor's Mansion Arsonist from Its Readers. "Whoops. One of those inadvertent omissions, I'm sure." Vince Langman @LangmanVince, "In case you're wondering why the Josh Shapiro arson story has completely disappeared in less than 24 hours." Drew Berquist sees an MSNBC Host Blames Trump After Arson Attack Against PA Dem Governor Shapiro. Bonchie @bonchieredstate, Just to recap, we’ve now had a CEO murdered, two assassination attempts against a now-president, a governor nearly killed with his family, and businesses burned to the ground…all by left-wingers. But CNN just can’t find any examples of left-wing extremism." At the Wombat's In The Mailbox: 04.16.25 (Afternoon Edition), Matt Taibbi says Taylor Lorenz Is Cretinous & Deranged and Louder With Crowder Ukrainian immigrant with ties to satanic cult murders his parents to obtain money for his next target… Donald Trump.

Ace reports The Director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency Refers Corrupt NY AG Letitia James to the DOJ for Committing Blantant Mortgage Fraud "Oh frabjous day! In applying for a mortgage, she claimed a Virginia property was her primary residence, while serving as a NY official. She did this because mortgages for first (primary) residences are cheaper. She also apparently claimed that her father was her husband because married couples get breaks on mortgages. She signed all this. This is fraud, on its face." Remember, no one is above the law! At Fox, Jonathan Turley unpacks a criminal referral against New York AG Letitia James (video). At Althouse, "The Trump administration has begun to scrutinize the real estate transactions of New York’s attorney general, Letitia James, in what could be the opening move..." "... of President Trump’s first investigation into one of his foremost adversaries... From "Trump Official Scrutinizes N.Y.’s Attorney General Over Real Estate/The head of a U.S. housing agency told prosecutors that Letitia James appeared to have falsified real estate records, a move that could be the start of an investigation of a key Trump adversary" (NYT)" NYPo reports Letitia James dodges questions about mortgage fraud scandal outside NYC home, pretends to be on the phone. Bob Hoge at RedState thinks Anti-Trump Crusader Letitia James' Response to Possible Federal Charges Is Laugh-Out-Loud Hysterical. "Attorney General James is focused every single day on protecting New Yorkers, especially as this administration weaponizes the federal government against the rule of law and the Constitution. She will not be intimidated by bullies — no matter who they are."
From the NY Sun, Trump’s Tariff Maneuvers, Guided by the Principle of Reciprocity, Are Succeeding, Despite Critics, "Bessent and other officials maintain that levies are being adjusted not to retaliate, but to expedite negotiations." AMAC, ‘Massive Numbers’: Trump’s Economic Agenda Sparks $7 Trillion In Investment. At ET, Trump Touts Progress After Trade Talks With Japanese Officials. "The Trump administration is working with dozens of countries to negotiate new trade deals, White House officials said." The Slantic whines Iran’s Negotiating Position Gets Worse and Worse, "Events have forced the Islamic Republic to negotiate with the United States." At the Wombat's In The Mailbox: 04.16.25 (Afternoon Edition), Vox Popoli Trade Deficit = Whip Hand, Donald Trump makes the textbook economics explicit." VodkaPundit at Insty says HMM: "Chinese factories are taking the trade war somewhere new. Chinese suppliers have been flooding American social media this week, urging users to outflank President Donald Trump’s 145% tariffs on Beijing by buying directly from their factories."


Teri Christoph at RedState reports A Third Senior Pentagon Official Has Now Been Placed on Leave As Investigation Into Leaks Widens "Colin Carroll, chief of staff to Deputy Defense Secretary Stephen Feinberg, was suspended Wednesday, just one day after two high-ranking officials on Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth's staff were placed on leave." Cynical Publius at Da Fed says Fired Insubordinate Officers Reveal Massive U.S. Military Resentment Against Elected Civilian Command.

Liz Shield at Am Great feels Morning Greatness: 20,000 IRS workers take Trump buyout offer. At Fox, White House proposal axes UN, NATO funds and halves State Department budget, "A draft State Department budget calls for allocating $2B for ‘America First’ priorities." From WaEx, Trump to sign memo combating Social Security fraud "“The memorandum will direct the [Trump] administration to ensure that ineligible aliens are not receiving funds from Social Security Act programs,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said while announcing the memorandum Tuesday." Breitbart, Trump, DOGE Deny Federal Housing, Jobs Benefits to Illegal Aliens. Insty, GOVERNMENT WASTE IS WILDLY EXAGG–: Elon Musk@elonmusk, "Twice as many credit cards are issued and active than the total number of government employees! Crazy." Quote Department of Government Efficiency @DOGE, "Credit Card Update! The program to audit unused/unneeded credit cards has been expanded to 30 agencies. After 7 weeks, ~470k cards have been de-activated. As a reminder, at the start of the audit, there were ~4.6M active cards/accounts, so still more work to do." At Hat Hair, John Sexton has Tesla Vandalism Update #3.




NYPo ed board, Harvard may be free to target Jews — but not on the taxpayers’ dime. Don Surber calls Harvard a Welfare Queen, "It cries independence while depending $9 billion from Uncle Sugar" At Ace's Quick Hits "CNN reports the IRS is preparing to rescind Harvard's tax-exempt status" From the Free Bacon, At Harvard-Hosted 'Wikipedia Edit-a-Thon,' Law Students Target the Pages of Firms That Criticized School's Response to Anti-Semitism. "Harvard Law students also edited Wikipedia to downplay anti-Semitic activity on college campuses." Capt. Ed, Will Trump Do a Bob Jones on Haahvaahd? UPDATE: Here It Comes? William A. Jacobson @wajacobson, "My take: Harvard is not defending academic freedom, it's trying to prevent academic freedom and to maintain a leftist and anti-Israel monoculture." Randy Barnett@RandyEBarnett "People should familiarize themselves with Bob Jones University v. United States, 461 U.S. 574 (1983)."


Leslie Eastman at LI is amused and more than a little angered by Mainstream Media Attempts to Generate Excitement Over Blue Origin’s Bevy of “Glamornauts” "Meanwhile, alternative media was a little more skeptical of mission’s contribution to female power or a serious space program."

Sunday, April 13, 2025

Flotsam and Jetsam - Trump Drops Tech Tariffs on China

From Power Line's Week in Pictures
Apparently the whines of the "lap-top class" became too insistent, and President  Trump exempts smartphones, laptops, and semiconductors from new tariffs (TechCrunch). At Hat Hair, Capt. Ed  Trump Exempts Hi-Tech Items From China Tariffs, Josh Hammer sees  Trump's Life's Work Culminates in Confronting Communist China,  Larry Elder notes the irony as The Left Discovers Milton Friedman, except all the inconvenient parts. and Salena Zito celebrates the Reversal of Fortune in Homer City: New Manufacturing Project a 'Game Changer'. MSN, In Secret Meeting, China Acknowledged Role in U.S. Infrastructure Hacks. Beege Welborn at Hat Hair Feels an Oligarchy Coming On - I Hope It's Not Painful. Matt Taibbi at Racket says Burn it all Down "Globalization, once hailed as a panacea, has proven to be fundamentally corrupt and needs to be blown to kingdom come."

Ksenia Karelina
Sundance at CTH reports Steve Witkoff Has Third Meeting in St Petersburg, Russia with President Vladimir Putin. From Da Wire, Trump Calls On Russia ‘To Get Moving’ On Peace Deal: ‘Too Many People Are Dying’. "The president's frustration with Russian President Vladimir Putin has grown in recent weeks." From Fox, Russian American ballerina Ksenia Karelina has message for Trump after release from Russia, "President Donald Trump says he is ‘glad to have’ Karelina back home."

Hat Hair, Bill Maher Discovers Trump Doesn't Eat Small Children, Honest Enough to Admit It, Beege Welborn Maher's entire 'Book report on My Visit to the White House' is here: Capt. Ed, Bill Maher: My Visit With Trump Shocked Me. Matt Vespa at TownHall, Here’s What Blew Bill Maher’s Mind After Having Dinner With Trump. Sundance also hosts Bill Maher Describing His White House Dinner with President Donald Trump. Althouse likes "He's much more self-aware than he lets on in public.... Everything I've ever not liked about him was — I swear to God — absent at least on this night with this guy...." ""I've had so many conversations with prominent people who are much less connected... And he mostly steered the conversation to: What do you think about this?... There were there were so many moments when I hit him with a joke or contradicted something and no problem.... I never felt I had to walk on eggshells around him.... I voted for Clinton and Obama, but I would never feel comfortable talking to them the way I was able to talk with Donald Trump.... I feel it's emblematic of why the Democrats are so unpopular these days...." Nick Arama at RedState thinks you should Watch Bill Maher Brutally Shut Down a WaPo Reporter After He Attacks Meeting With Trump and reports Gretchen Whitmer's Very Embarrassing White House Picture Goes Viral

Matt Margolis thinks What Trump Did With Obama's White House Portrait Is Epic. Moved it from the front entrance and replaced with the classic Trump assassination photo "Predictably, critics immediately began claiming this was some sort of breach of protocol, suggesting the Obama portrait had been removed entirely. White House Director of Communications Steven Cheung swiftly shut down that narrative with characteristic directness: Steven Cheung @StevenCheung47 "Pipe down, moron. The Obama portrait was just moved a few feet away. Quote Chris D. Jackson @ChrisDJackson, "So Trump ditched tradition, broke protocol, and took down Barack Obama’s portrait—just to hang his own. Straight-up tin pot dictator energy. Insecure and petty to the end." It's perfectly normal for administrations to move pictures around. Did they think that was sacred? Sundance hosts President Trump Delivering Remarks on Air Force One Following Physical at Walter Reed.

At Twitchy, OOPS! End Wokeness DEMOLISHES the Left's Gaslighting About Plane Crashes With a Simple Chart. End Wokeness @EndWokeness, "You will not see this plane accident chart on TV because it doesn't fit the narrative." Kurt Schlichter @KurtSchlichter, "If you want to know why we haven’t won a war in 30 years, it’s officers thinking that what they feel is important and needs to be shared with the wide wonderful world" Quote Thomas Doherty @dohertytjp "Replying to @infantrydort. She told the base staff (Danes, Canadians, and Greenlanders included) that she didn't feel the same way as Vance. So what. What Trump and Vance are saying is borderline illegal - implicit threats of force. Col. Meyers parroting that shit would not be moral or ethical. . . "

Da Caller reports Musk Slashes DOGE Savings Forecast By 85%. It's harder than they thought. Also,  GOP-Ordered Audits Find Wisconsin Universities, State Agencies Failed To Track DEI Spending. If you want to brag about it, you track it. From Fox, Dem states to blame for most of the nearly $400 million in unemployment fraud over last 4 years, DOGE says, "California, New York and Massachusetts doled out more than $300M in improper unemployment payments over the last four years, according to DOGE." Payoffs to the base. Francis Menton, the Manhattan Contrarian wonders Is There Any Fraud In The Medicaid Program? Here's A Place To Start Looking. John Sexton at Hat Hair reports EV Sales Continue to Climb in the US, Except for Tesla

Adrian Vermeule @Vermeullarmine, "The problem with SCOTUS’ whole approach to this case — and the point generalizes to other cases as well — is that it is too clever by half. Subtle distinctions (“facilitate” vs. “effectuate,” release from custody in El Salvador vs. return to the US) are trampled over by district judges, like this one, who are obviously gripped by a sense of mission to #resist the administration." Quote Margot Cleveland @ProfMJCleveland, "Just dripping with mutual respect, don't you think? x.com/ProfMJClevelan…" Adrian Vermeule @Vermeullarmine "This is now a real mess, caused by over-finessing by SCOTUS in a situation that called for clarity and decisiveness, combined with patently unreasonable behavior by the district court - weakness at the top and willfulness at the bottom." Adrian Vermeule @Vermeullarmine, "Unreal" Quote Kyle Cheney @kyledcheney "XINIS begins by summing up SCOTUS order, which she notes "affirmed all aspects of my decision and prior orders save for requiring clarification." "This court amended its prior order and made clear what the government must do consistent with the Supreme Court’s directive."


More "stochastic terrorism" from the left, MD Kittle at Da Fed reports Another Day, Another Alleged Would-Be Trump Assassin Charged. From Butler PA of all places. 


Da Wire explains Why Trump Is Reclassifying Illegals Who Were Given Social Security Numbers As Dead, "Many of the illegal aliens were receiving Medicaid benefits or other taxpayer-funded assistance programs " and having a "dead" social security number will stop that, eventually.

The NYSun reports More Bad News for CBS News as Ratings for Gayle King’s ‘Alienating’ Morning Show Plummet Amid Looming Settlement With Trump. "‘CBS Mornings,’ one of the network’s main money-making programs, saw its average total viewers drop below 2 million for the last two weeks of March."

From NYPo, NASA axes ex-DEI chief after giving her new job title in apparent effort to evade Trump crackdown. From the Free Bacon, NASA Jet Propulsion Lab Parts Ways With Top DEI Officer In Wake of Free Beacon Report. "Neela Rajendra said deadlines are an obstacle to ‘inclusion.’" Good, now fire whoever let it happen. At Da Fed, Shawn Fleetwood sees How DEI Left Service Academies In A ‘State Of Decay,’ And How Trump Can Fix It.

The Wombat has Rule Five Sunday: Bunny Season! and FMJRA 2.0: No Grandeur, Lots of Misery, Just One Victory awaiting your attention at The Other McCain.