Flotsam and Jetsam - Trump Still in China

As far as I know. Don Surber say Trump conquers Red China, "He has the oil, the military and the corporate wizards on his side." Don maybe be exaggerating for effect, but it's true, Trump is holding lots of cards. Sasha Gong at Am Great, aks Who Really Needs Whom? Trump, Xi Jinping, and the Illusion of Chinese Strength. "China projects strength abroad, but internal purge politics, economic strain, and structural dependence suggest a far more fragile system than it appears." At PJM, VodkaPundit says Wait, China Is Gonna Buy Oil From WHERE? Alaska. News Wax hears Trump, Bessent Say China May Help Reopen Strait of Hormuz. My breath remains unbated. Jerry Dunleavy IV @JerryDunleavy, "Differences between U.S. & Chinese readouts on Trump-Xi meeting. U.S. mentions fentanyl, no to toll on Strait of Hormuz, buying U.S. oil, & opposition to Iranian nuke. China does not. China warns U.S. about Taiwan & says it is most important issue. U.S. doesn’t mention it at all." At Althouse, "Speaking just ahead of Trump, Xi... said a major question for the two countries was whether they could avoid the 'Thucydides Trap'....", "I'm reading "Xi asks Trump if U.S. and China can avoid 'Thucydides Trap' at high-stakes summit" (CNBC). (That's the original headline. The headline was rewritten, perhaps to avoid mystification, as "Xi warns Trump: Mishandling Taiwan will put U.S.-China relationship in 'great jeopardy.'")"... "Based on an observation by Thucydides in his "History of the Peloponnesian War" that "it was the rise of Athens and the fear that this instilled in Sparta that made war inevitable," [political scientist Graham] Allison used the term to describe a tendency towards war when a rising power (such as Athens) challenges the status of a ruling power (such as Sparta). Allison... argued that "China and the US are currently on a collision course for war."..."

Matt Vespa at TownHall reports the Senate Parliamentarian Just Delivered Some Brutal News About the Reconciliation Package. Eric Daugherty @EricLDaugh, "JUST IN: The unelected SENATE PARLIAMENTARIAN has STRUCK DOWN major provisions of the GOP's ICE-CBP reconciliation funding bill This is RIDICULOUS! The parliamentarian has been a HUGE roadblock, even playing games with the Big Beautiful Bill last year Thune should've removed her a LONG time ago. Now, Republicans have to go back and fix: - CBP sections - Border security, tech and screening funds - Some $2.5B relating to Homeland Security Appropriations And then wait for her "green light" so it can pass with 50+1 votes." "The parliamentarian of the United States Senate is the official advisor to the United States Senate on the interpretation of Standing Rules of the United States Senate and parliamentary procedure. Incumbent parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough has held the office since 2012, appointed by then-Senate majority leader Harry Reid." Term length - "Serves at the pleasure of the majority leader" Time for her to go. Also at TownHall, Kurt Schlichter says Good Riddance to the Awful Thomas Massie in his own inimitable way.

Da Wire is pleased to see Republicans Move To Wipe Out Democrat Seats In Louisiana, South Carolina. "Republican-led Southern states have raced to redraw their congressional maps after the U.S. Supreme Court's decision two weeks ago." But, maybe not as many as they could, still pretending to be the better party. Brianna Lyman at Da Fed hears Democrats Tell Pollsters They’d Happily Ditch Black Districts To Get More Power. At PJM, Rick Moran thinks This One Thing Is the Democrats' Achilles Heel and the Republicans' Super Power.

Andrew Kolvet @AndrewKolvet, "UNBELIEVABLE. Vice President Vance just did a double take after hearing this wild stat dropped by Dr. Oz: "You're saying that we kicked off 800 fraudulent healthcare providers off of the Medicare system and not a single one of them called the government and said, 'hey, you made a mistake?'" "It's just completely insane."" Financial Express, Empty offices, Indian HR calling the shots: ICE uncovers rampant OPT abuse by foreign students. At the Victory Girls, Minnesota: Different Day, More Fraud, A Minnesota “grocery store owner” was charged yesterday with $1 million dollars in EBT food stamp fraud. "Abdid Wahid Mohamed, the owner of Minnesota Food Grocery LLC, allegedly used EBT cards registered to others to purchase items at Sam’s Club and Costco in 2021 before turning around and reselling them in his store, Fox 9 Minneapolis reported.""

PJM's Stephen Kruiser sings I'm California Dreaming About Karen Bass Losing Her Job. Jen O'Connell at RedState, LA Mayoral Candidate Proposes Backyard BBQ Ban to Fight Wildfires, Gets Raked Over the Coals. Bonchie @bonchieredstate, "Spencer Pratt: “We need to clean up homeless camps, get rid of the drug addicted everywhere, prepare for fires better, and lower taxes.” Nithya Raman: “We need to ban the normals from cooking hamburgers.” The right vs. left paradigm perfectly illustrated." Quote California Post @californiapost, "LA mayoral hopeful Nithya Raman proposes backyard BBQ ban https://trib.al/qaHiUo7." VodkaPundit at Insty finds THE CHICAGO WAY: Spencer Pratt Can Win Because Angry People Vote. Just Ask Former Chicago Mayor Michael Bilandic. But so do the homeless, either by ballot harvesting or direct payments. Also, THIS IS MY STATE ON DEMOCRATS: Colorado Unfiltered @COUnfiltered, "So let me get this straight… Citizens get pissed that Colorado roads are held together with crack sealant, expired hopes, and orange cones from 2007, so they launch a ballot initiative to constitutionally force transportation money toward… you know… transportation. And the State Senate’s response is HB26-1430. A bill specifically designed to basically go: “Ok sure, you can vote for road funding… but we’re gonna offset it, redirect it, cut fees somewhere else, reshuffle transfers, and accountant-ninja kick the actual impact into another dimension.” That is objectively insane behavior..."At Twitchy, Schadenfreude-a-PALOOZA! Abigail Spanberger VETOS Collective Bargaining and HOOBOY, Their RAGE Fuels Them.

Melinda Hennenberger at RCP calls it How ‘Trumpian’ of the Left To Go After Susan Collins’ Tremor. I just thought she drank a lot of coffee... 

John Solomon at JTN reports the House Judiciary Chairman urges DOJ to permanently dismiss all Trump cases after bombshell report ""It's probably time that this all just ended," Jim Jordan told Jsu the News." Some in FBI still hanging onto the remains of Jack Smith's case for whenever a Democrat can get into office. 

Brian Cates - Political Columnist & Pundit @drawandstrike, "Trump's already irretrievably crippled their 'human wave' migration machine by defunding it. All those "Catholic charities" aren't getting the US Treasury/USAID money any longer. Trump's been shutting off their REVENUE STREAMS to the human wave machinery for over 15 months at this point. And all this criminal networking is intertwined. Human trafficking, drug trafficking, sex trafficking, arms trafficking, gambling, contraband, moving stuff around public sanctions, when you cut off one network, you affect all the others also. The **last and easiest step** is the domestic stuff. Trump is actually a massive humanitarian. He knows who set up most of those 'rogue narcoterror regimes' to our South. WE DID. WE DID THAT. Well, to be fair, the people FORMERLY IN CONTROL OF OUR US FEDERAL GOVERNMENT and most especially, our CIA did that..."

Northern Barbarian @xnoesbueno, "Lost in the reaction to @NickKristof doing journeyman's work pushing Hamas propaganda is the tremendous service he's done by promoting the most apt possible metaphor for modern American journalism: Dog Rape. Credit where credit is due." Quote John Podhoretz @jpodhoretz "New Wirecutter feature: We tested the rape skills of these 15 breeds of dog. Here are our rankings. x.com/dansenor/statu…"

Western Lensman @WesternLensman, "Here's Joe Biden calling a reporter he didn’t like “a stupid son of a bitch." Normalized like that?" Quote Mehdi Hasan @mehdirhasan, "When did we normalize this? When did it become okay for a president to tell a female reporter she’s a ‘dumb person’ for asking a totally legitimate question about his contradictory answers? Was there a specific date and time it become okay? Normal? Normalized? x.com/atrupar/status…"

From Campus Reform, UCLA med school illegally discriminated based on race, DOJ concludes. I prefer my doctors chosen for ability, but maybe that's just me. Aaron Sibarium @aaronsibarium, "NEW: In a mandatory anti-racism class, Penn State told 1L law students they must "acknowledge the reality of systemic racism" and "dismantle systems that racialize, subordinate, and oppress." One student withdrew from the law school over the class. We obtained shocking audio." Teach them how to lie early; it's an important lawyerly skill.

At NYPo, Former BLM activist goes scorched earth on ‘scam’ group, insists systemic racism in US isn’t real.

Leslie Eastman at LI notices CDC Official Dusts Off Familiar ‘Six Feet’ Playbook Regarding Hantavirus. "So far, 11 passengers have tested positive for Andes strain, with 3 in critical condition. An expert asserts that assurances of low risk to general public is “calm-mongering”." Eventually, like a broken clock, they'll get one right.

The Wombat has FMJRA 2.0: Marking Time up and at'em at The Other McCain.

Flotsam and Jetsam - SCOTUS Nixes Racial Gerrymandering

Voting 6-3 along exactly the lines you'd expect, the Supreme Court overturned lower courts who had demanded states set aside certain seats to create safe congressional seats for racial minorities based on the Voting Rights Act. The ruling doesn't forbid gerrymandering on a partisan basis (looking at you Texas, Virginia and California), and puts a large number of seats in red states vulnerable to redistricting favorable to the GOP. As you might imagine, Democrats are throwing a hissy fit. Matt Vespa at TownHall, The Supreme Court Has Ruled on the Voting Rights Act. Matt Margolis at PJM, Supreme Court Drops HUGE Ruling on the Voting Rights Act. "In a 6-3 ruling in Louisiana v. Callais, the majority held that Louisiana's congressional map — redrawn to include a second majority-black district — constitutes an unconstitutional racial gerrymander under the Fifteenth Amendment. The Court stopped short of striking down Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act entirely, but it dramatically narrowed the ways in which states may use race when drawing congressional maps." Capt. Ed at Hat Hair, NEW: SCOTUS Narrows Section 2 of Voting Rights Act, Strikes Down Racial Gerrymander. Benny Johnson @bennyjohnson, "MASSIVE WIN: Supreme Court just ruled 6-3 that drawing Congressional districts solely based on race is UNCONSTITUTIONAL. Republicans could flip a dozen Democrats seats in the South alone ahead of the midterms." At Althouse, "The justices, split along ideological lines, ruled that the voting map was an unconstitutional racial gerrymander." "In her dissent, Justice Elena Kagan accused the court’s conservative majority of gutting the Voting Rights Act. " From "Live Updates: Supreme Court Strikes Down Louisiana Map in Voting Rights Case" (NYT)."The upshot of Rucho was that, as far as federal law is concerned, a state legislature may use partisan advantage as a factor in redistricting. And litigants cannot circumvent that rule by dressing their political-gerrymandering claims in racial garb.... [T]he Voting Rights Act did not require Louisiana to create an additional majority-minority district, [so] no compelling interest justified the State’s use of race in creating SB8." Sundance at CTH, Supreme Court Rules Racial District Gerrymandering Violates Constitution. Ace gives it the red, all-caps italic, with the flaming skull (more than third attempt at Trump's assassination), IN EPOCHAL RULING, SUPREME COURT HOLDS, 6-3, THAT RACIAL GERRYMANDERS ARE UNCONSTITUTIONAL -- MUCH LESS REQUIRED BY THE CONSTITUTION, "I don't know if the southern states affected like this can impose an emergency redistricting double-quick for the midterms, but some analysts believe that this ruling will eventually flip 19 Democrat seats to Republican." At Twitchy, Newsom Press Office Has Total Meltdown Over Supreme Court Gerrymandering Ruling and Florida’s New Maps. Next up? At the Free Bacon, EXCLUSIVE: In Cities Across America, Homeless Services Are Doled Out Based on Race and Sexual Identity, "Some formulas give race more weight than any other variable." Beege Welborn at Hat Hair, I Love a Theatrical Production - FL Passes DeSantis Redistricting Map, +4 for GOP and John Sexton notes a New Jersey Pregnancy Center Wins at the Supreme Court.

Jerry Dunleavy IV @JerryDunleavy, "Yes, Cole Allen is an attempted assassin, a Bluesky brain rotted idiot, and a dangerous guy, but the dork factor here should not be overlooked." Quote Kyle Cheney @kyledcheney, "JUST IN: Federal prosecutors release new images and details of Cole Allen and his alleged attempt to assassinate president Trump. Here is a mirror selfie he took about 30 minutes before charging past the magnetometers." Kurt Schlichter @KurtSchlichter, "The dude is going to spend the rest of his life in federal prison. He gave it all up just for this photo. It’s horrifying." Quote Jeff Blehar is *BOX OFFICE POISON* @EsotericCD, "LOL at the glamour selfie with completely unnecessary gear. (Wire cutters??) A generation of semi-autistic narcissists. x.com/kyledcheney/st…" David F. Pierre, Jr.@TheMediaReport1, "No radical footprint." You. gotta. be. kidding. me." David M. McIntosh @DavidMMcintosh, "This is what happens when Democrats and the media rant and rave nonstop for 10 years about how Republicans are 'literally Hitler' because they disagree with their policies. This isn't a new phenomenon either, remember Robert Bork!" Hat Hair's Beege Welborn thinks It's Over If 'Don't Think Shooting People Down in the Street Is Necessarily the Answer' IS the Answer. Matt Margolis Guess Who This Democrat Blames for the Latest Trump Assassination Attempt, Give up? Trump of course! Ace, Assassination-Prep Specialist Congressman Dan Goldman: The Person Responsible for Trump's Third Assassination Trump is Trump Himself. "Do you want to take this kinetic? Because this is how you take this kinetic." Twitchy, Left: 'Trump Must Lower the Temperature!' Wajahat Ali: Literally Begs Trump to Die in FOUL Rant (WATCH). At Da Wire, Chloe Trapanatto says There’s A Reason Why The Left Keeps Trying To Kill Republicans, "It's because they despise our very existence." Michael Goodwin at NYPo, hears The Dems’ newest phrase in raging at the GOP is to go ‘Kill yourself’.

Terrence K. Williams @w_terrence, "Dear Jimmy Kimmel, listen to me very closely. I’m a comedian. I’ve made fun of Jill Biden. I’ve made fun of Michelle Obama. I’ve roasted First Ladies before. But I have never in my life joked about Jill Biden becoming a widow or Michelle Obama becoming a widow. I’ve never joked about Joe Biden or Barack Obama having an attempt made on their life. I’ve never laughed at the thought of their wives standing there in fear, wondering if their husbands are going to make it home alive. Because that is not comedy. That is sick. You could have joked about Melania being married to Trump. You could have joked about politics. You could have even gone after her accent like liberals usually do. But no — you chose to joke about Melania Trump becoming a widow. And let’s be honest, Jimmy: when you hate Donald Trump as much as you do, that doesn’t sound like a joke. It sounds like how you really feel. They always say there is truth in comedy." Stephen Kruiser at PJM says Here's an Idea — Just Let Jimmy Kimmel Continue to Cancel Himself. Tim O'Brien at PJM, The FCC’s Bad News for Disney/ABC: The Time for Playing Nice Is Over.

At Armed Forces Press, BREAKING: Air Force Academy Female Insubordination Threatens Secretary Of War During Global Conflict - Former Superintendent Lt Gen Michelle Johnson Reportedly Leads Charge Against 'Old White Men' Recently Elected To USAFA AOG. Court martials are in order. Sundance sees Consciousness of Guilt – Fed Chairman Powell Refuses to Leave Fed Board After Term Expires, “I will leave when I think it’s appropriate to do so” "Today, after announcing yet again the Fed will not lower interest rates, Chairman Jerome Powell announced he will not leave the board of the federal reserve even after his term has expired and he is replaced by recently advanced Kevin Warsh. Powell said he plans to maintain a “low profile” as a governor, but it will be the first time since 1948 that a Federal Reserve Chairman has stayed on the board at the end of their chairmanship." Hat Hair's John Sexton thinks Philip Kennicott's Ballroom Panic is Wearing Thin.

Matt Vespa thinks Speaker Johnson Just Clinched a Massive Win in the House Today Jake Sherman @JakeSherman, "BIG WIN FOR JOHNSON HOUSE PASSES BIG RULE FOR FARM, FISA, BUDGET RESOLUTION 216-210 After TWO HOURS on the floor." Cam at Bearing Arms observes the New Funding Bill for DOJ Includes Big Cut to ATF Budget, Deregulation of Some NFA Items.

Also from John Sexton, Putin Scales Back Military Parade, Seems Agreeable to a Ceasefire with Ukraine. Sundance, President Trump Notes Extended Conversation with Russian Federation President Vladimir Putin.

Capt. Ed cites Axios: Trump Leaning Toward a Blockade-Plus-Limited(?)-Booms Strategy and 'Death Spiral': Iran May Be Near Tipping Point, Says WSJ. Seems reasonable to me. Trump far prefers using money to beat adversaries than bombs, but the Mullahs need some extra encouragement. At RedState, Ward Clark sees Rubble and Ruin: Epic Fury Now Pushing Iran Into Economic Free-Fall and Nick Arama says Iranian Leader Ghalibaf Tries a Desperate Bluster, Gets Decimated by Bessent. Open Source Intel @Osint613, "The Iranian rial hit an all-time low today, 1,810,000 to one U.S. dollar. Six weeks of war with the U.S. and Israel have flooded the open market with demand for foreign currency. Reuters." Mediaite reports Trump Slams German Chancellor for Claiming Iran Has ‘Humiliated’ USA: ‘Doesn’t Know What He’s Talking About!’ Eyal Yakoby @EYakoby, "BREAKING: The UN has elected the Islamic Republic of Iran as VP of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Review Conference Just last year this very committee found Iran to be in violation of the committee’s policies. You literally cannot make this up." The news is its very own parody.

From the Free Bacon, Obama-Biden Iran Negotiator Says Trump Doesn't Have Enough Experts, Bemoans ‘Genocide’ in Gaza "Wendy Sherman unloads in interview with Mishal Husain of Bloomberg." At Breitbart Bus, Dollar Diplomacy and the Breaking of OPEC.

From Da Caller, Ghost Of Kamala’s Campaign Crawls Out Of Cave For One More Zinger — Turns Out It’s A Historical Botch Job. Whining about historically accurate red coats on American soldiers at the royal visitation.

At the Center Square Calif, Agencies discuss what to cut as state deals with $35B deficit. Hat Hair's John Sexton sees it's Off the Rails: Price of CA High Speed Rail Soars to Over $230B and Dave Strom says California Is an Unfunny Joke. The Orange County Reg, More than $2 million seized from Pasadena clinic accused of Medicare fraud. Bobby Panzenbeck @Panzenbeck, "Its free, you just raise taxes on other people and expand the already bloated budget and those actions have no economic consequences whatsoever. There are adults who actually believe this." Quote Katie Porter @katieporterca, "Californians need real affordability solutions. Free Child Care. Zero-Tuition UCs and CSUs. That’s what I’ll deliver as governor." NYPo predicts Vacations under threat as California’s oil stockpile hangs on by a thread. At his substack, Born Lucky, Stacy McCain examines The Destructive Impulse of Liberalism "Where is 'progress' leading? And other questions you should never ask."

Cathy Salgado at PJM reports the North Carolina Elections Board Finds 34,000 Deceased People on Voter Rolls. Politics & Poll Tracker @PollTracker2024, "CNN: As Democrats brace for a bruising primary in Michigan’s US Senate race, Mallory McMorrow, one of the party’s top contenders, has quietly deleted thousands of old tweets — including posts in which she took jabs at the rural Midwest, lamented ever leaving California, and said she continued to vote there after she said she’d moved permanently to Michigan." 

Having failed to excite us with his threat of Global Warming, Al Gore revisits his hits of the 70s, and promises a new Ice Age. Dave Strom, More Globaloney: The Ice Age Is on the Way. Lee Zeldin @epaleezeldin, "The ultimate authority on all questions involving life on earth, Al Gore, is now declaring that global warming is out, and global freezing is in. Safe bet that he found a whole new angle to line his pockets off the climate grift." It'll come some day; he's just wrong about when.

Northern Barbarian @xnoesbueno, "Straight from the Comey playbook. What feds have always done. If anyone deserves it, it's this treasonous douchebag. He and all the others who pushed that Russia bullshit at Obama's behest, plus all of you in the media who regurgitated it, deserve more than that." QuoteChris Cillizza @ChrisCillizza "Ronald Trump doesn't really care if Jim Comey goes to jail. He just wants to make Comey's life miserable for as long as possible." Remember Gen. Michael Flynn? Ace, Dan Bongino Flushed Deep State Leakers Out of the FBI By Using the "Canary Trap" Technique. Sundance claims Dan Bongino Says He’s Scared of the FBI. Mitch Berg at Hat Hair VIP, They Came To Chew Gum And Serve Search Warrants. And They're Out Of Gum. Raiding the "Quality Learing Center" and 21 other suspected fraudulent daycares in Minneapolis.

Megan Basham @megbasham, "Wheels coming off for Southern Poverty Law Center" as donors dry up.

Cosmin Dzsurdzsa @cosminDZS, "I WAS LEAKED a confidential Canadian Forces report that reveals a Quebec officer training platoon had 83% permanent residents. The program descended into ethnic infighting between West African factions, "lack of respect" for women and a 48% grad rate."

Stacy McCain discourses on Methods of Journalism 301. "OK, there’s your daily quota of Important News, but you didn’t need me to tell you that story, did you? Social media and 24/7 cable news have changed the game in ways that could not have been imagined back in the day when most people got their news from the daily paper, or the 30-minute nightly broadcasts on ABC/NBC/CBS. Now any random son of a bitch with a WiFi hookup can be a “journalist,” which means that I have to find a way to do something different, something valuable, something that might inspire you to hit the tip jar for $16.04. And it so happens that getting a WiFi hookup is relevant to the real reason I wrote this post:" Roger Simon says 'Sixty Minutes' Needs a Drastic Overhaul, "It's part of the problem, not the solution." Conquest's Law #2 Any organization not explicitly right-wing sooner or later becomes left-wing. It just take's right-wing organizations longer. Tom Odell @TomOdell, "CBS moderator Ryan Yamamoto has just lied in the debate. He claimed that Ronald Reagan (as governor of California) was responsible for cuts In social programs that created homelessness in California. That is a categorical lie. The social programs that Mr. Yamamoto is referring to were cuts signed into law by Pat Brown, Jerry Brown's father, who was Governor before Reagan..."

Ilya Shapiro @ishapiro. "Appalling behavior by @UCLA_Law." Quote FIRE @TheFIREorg, "UCLA Law has threatened its @FedSoc chapter with punishment if it publicly identifies students seen on video disrupting last week’s viral campus event with a Department of Homeland Security lawyer. But when protesters named chapter members online? No signs of concern." Campus Reform reports Harvard petition calling grading reform racist disappears from public view. Timur Kuran @timurkuran, "DEI has been counterproductive generally. By forcing people to focus on race, it has unavoidably heightened racism, not dampened it. If DEI were an antidote to racism, there would exist scores of studies providing the evidence. None exists." Quote Caleb Hammer @sircalebhammer, "A Harvard Business Review finding showed that mandatory race training in workplaces produced higher levels of racism in the end, similar to the white bear suppression effect. We were so close to a colorblind society… then all the crazies ruined it with performative politics."

Still more at the Wombat's In The Mailbox: 04.29.26 (Afternoon Edition) and In The Mailbox: 04.29.26 (Evening Edition).

Flotsam and Jetsam - Comey Indicted Again, King Chuck Drop By for a Visit

Let's dispose of this one first. Da Signal has a Report: James Comey Indicted Again in the eastern district of NC. "CNN reported that the charges are connected to Comey’s photo posted online of a sea shell arrangement that said “8647,” which was viewed as a threat to Trump, the 47th president." John Sexton at Hat Hair VIP, Comey Gets Indicted Again. Althouse finds "The two charges stem from a photo that Comey posted online showing seashells on a beach that were arranged to write out '86 47.'" ""Trump is the 47th president; '86' can mean banning or removing someone, but it can also be slang for killing a person. Comey quickly removed the post after receiving criticism that the phrase could be used to communicate the threat of violence." From "James Comey indicted over 2025 social media post allegedly threatening Trump/The former FBI director issued a video statement maintaining his innocence and criticizing the current Justice Department" (WaPo)." I think this is a chickenshit charge. On the other hand, Comey deserved to be indicted for a large number of crimes related to Russiagate, and his out of the gate obstruction in Trump's first term, but alas, the statute of limitations on those crimes has mostly passed. I predict this prosecution fails, but the process will be some measure of just punishment.

Matt Margolis at PJM thinks The Way Bongino Flushed Out Deep State Leakers Was Pure GENIUS. Or fairly obvious. Give each person a different set of facts, and see who which set gets leaked. A full-throated defense of Pam Bondi from LHGrey @grey4626, "I have been asked for my opinion about Pam Bondi...so here it is... Pam Bondi, in my opinion...was deployed as a precision instrument in a theater of institutional warfare where the Attorney General’s role is less about courtroom theatrics and more about reshaping the Department of Justice’s internal architecture from within a bureaucracy engineered to resist exactly that. To mistake her fifteen-month tour for failure is to misunderstand the architecture of power itself..." I don't know that I agree, but it's worth reading. Paul Sperry @paulsperry_, "BREAKING: Just-declassified FBI/DOJ Clinton Foundation docs reveal the same inspector general, Michael Atkinson, who relaxed whistleblower rules and misled Congress re the Eric Ciaramella/Adam Schiff impeachment plot, was involved in the 2016 decision to scuttle the Clinton Fdn. investigation as a then-DOJ prosecutor."

Matt Margolis also reports a Top Fauci Aide Indicted for Concealing Records in COVID Origins Cover-Up. Hat Hair's Dave Strom is hoping for COVID Consequences Coming? Sean Spicer @seanspicer, "Anthony Fauci adviser indicted by Department of Justice David Morens, 78, has been charged with conspiracy against the United States; destruction, alteration, or falsification of records in federal investigations; concealment, removal, or mutilation of records; and aiding and abetting." He was too low in the food chain to get an auto-pen pardon. Clay Travis @ClayTravis, "A doctor and top assistant to Anthony Fauci has been arrested for destroying emails relating to the origins of Covid. Finally! Buckle up, more is coming." Quote Senator Ron Johnson @SenRonJohnson, "More than two years ago, my PSI staff discovered and made public emails in which Dr. David Morens bragged to colleagues about his efforts to avoid transparency by destroying federal records and using his personal email to communicate on “sensitive issues.”" At Althouse "These allegations represent a profound abuse of trust at a time when the American people needed it most — during the height of a global pandemic." "Said Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, quoted in "Anthony Fauci adviser indicted by DOJ on charges of concealing COVID records" (NY Post)." Paul D. Thacker @thackerpd, "EXCLUSIVE: NIH has removed virologist Ralph Baric from all his grants; UNC placed Baric on leave. Senior HHS officials says UNC was complicit in starting the COVID pandemic. “Baric designed the gun,” he said. “But the Chinese built it, and then they pulled the trigger." 

At Althouse, King Charles arrives at the White House. Sundance at CTH hosts President Donald Trump Hosts a State Dinner for King Charles III and Queen Camilla at the White House – Livestream Links. Beege Welborn at Hat Hair likes 'We Two Kings' and the Art of Trolling. Northern Barbarian @xnoesbueno, "What he said." Quote Jim Hanson @JimHansonDC, "President Trump has made a major outreach to the English people. He treated their royals wonderfully and this speech shows we recognize just how important Britain used to be. They must choose to join us in the New Golden Age of Civilization and reject the globalist multi-culti spiral they are currently in. British culture still exists as they attempt to bury it..."

And I suppose we must continue on with our coverage of the third Trump assassination attempt. Matt Margolis hears Jimmy Failla Mocked Lax Security on Hot Mic BEFORE Trump Assassination Attempt. John Sexton sees Cole Allen Believed the Butler, PA Assassination Attempt was Staged (Update).

At Twitchy, Short Supply: Stephanopoulos Has ‘Little Patience’ for Those Blaming Dem Rhetoric for Political Violence. MAZE @mazemoore, "After Paul Pelosi was attacked in 2022, Jake Tapper did an entire show on the dangers of stochastic terrorism and of systematically demonizing a person. Tapper blamed the right and QAnon for inciting the attack. He said calling someone a pedophile or claiming that someone is out to hurt people will result in violence..." Kurt Schlichter @KurtSchlichter, "Hey, another of our friends tried to murder some patriots. Go grab that stock pic we always use of some guys who didn't kill anyone - the one where we killed an unarmed woman. That one." Quote Isaiah Martin @isaiahrmartin, "Opinion: The right must learn to live with a liberal leader without reaching for violence, or for rhetoric that makes violence feel thinkable. x.com/usatoday/statu…" Shawn Farash @Shawn_Farash, Can someone on the Left tell me what rules we're playing by? If Donald Trump saying "March peacefully and patriotically" on January 6th is "inciting a violent insurrection"... Then what is it when Hakeem Jeffries calls for "Maximum Warfare everywhere all the time"? Because if we're playing by the Left's rules, Hakeem Jeffries should be held legally responsible for the mass assassination attempt at the White House Correspondents Dinner. Their rules. Not mine." PJM's Stephen Kruiser observes, Hakeem Jeffries Isn't Man Enough to Argue With Karoline Leavitt and Vicky Taft hears Shorter Pritzker: Trump Deserved It, and I'll Justify It by Completely and Hilariously Wrecking Myself. Nick Freitas @NickJFreitas, "Democrats “increase the temperature” until something excessively violent happens and then insist that Republicans “lower the temperature” by giving Democrats everything they want…lest more violence happens. It's a political extortion racket." Erick Erickson @EWErickson, "What we have are: •The assassination of Charlie Kirk. •Two assassination attempts on Donald Trump by known progressives, plus a third in Butler, PA, where the kid was clearly mentally ill. •The attempted assassination of Brett Kavanaugh. •The attempted assassination of Josh Shapiro and his family. •The attack upon the Alvaredo, Texas ICE facility that left a local police officer wounded. •The attack upon the McAllen, Texas ICE facility that left three officers injured. •The attack on the Dallas, Texas ICE facility that left one dead and others critically wounded. •And what CNN calls “Rep. Steve Scalise shot,” which was actually a mass assassination attempt on 24 Republican members of Congress, in which 4 people, including Congressman Scalise, were shot by James Hodgkinson," and The Left's Assassins. At NYPo the Divine Ms. Devine says Dems must heed Trump’s call for unity in the wake of frightening WHCD shooting: ‘Resolve our differences.’ They won't. At TCW, Trump-haters wonder why he would be an assassination target. Eric Florack at PJM asks What Leads to the Assassination Mindset? Jarvis @jarvis_bes, "Ordinary mainstream left of center position." Quote Jesse Arm @Jesse_Leg, "In our last @ManhattanInst survey, we found that 46% of today’s Democratic coalition believes “the assassination attempt against Donald Trump in July 2024 was orchestrated by his supporters to increase sympathy for him.”" Richard's Substack wonders Can The Left Abandon Political Violence? "Political Violence has been a "religion" for the Radical Left." At Am Great, the Great Victor Davis Hanson sees the left going From One Assassination Attempt to the Next: Mainstreaming Violence Against a President "Trump’s assassination attempts underscore how rhetoric that casts political opponents as existential threats can move from language to violence." Brendan O'Neill at Spiked disdains The bougie nihilism that is killing America, "The third attempt on Trump’s life confirms it: polite society is becoming violently intolerant." Amy Curtis at TownHall thinks Greg Gutfeld Nailed It With His Comments About the WHCD Shooter: Andrew Kolvet @AndrewKolvet, "Greg Gutfeld just delivered the single most succinct and cutting indictment of the leftwing media's complicity in Saturday's WHCD attack: "This guy did hear voices. They were Ted Lieu's, they were Brandon Johnson's, they were CNN's, they were The View, they were MS NOW." "I think this is a helpful assassination attempt because it is the first one that shows you can be radicalized by liberal smugness." "He wasn't a crank. He was not deranged. Don't buy into that narrative ... He was just following orders." Greg nails it." The Babylon Bee @TheBabylonBee, "Trump Indicted For Inciting Assassination Attempt."  

Hollywood in Toto thinks Melania’s Right, But Firing Jimmy Kimmel Would Be Wrong. PJM's Scott Pinsker looks at Jimmy Kimmel’s Blood Feud With Melania Trump: Why Disney Fiddles as Its Magic Kingdom Burns. Cruadin @cruadin, "Roseanne getting the axe over a joke was 100% the work of Obama & Co. A good thing to remember when they start acting Outraged!™ over any criticism going the other way." Quote End Wokeness @EndWokeness, "Roseanne mocks Valerie Jarrett's looks ABC: *𝘀𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝗰𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗱 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻 𝟱 𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘀* Kimmel "jokes" about kiIIing of Trump..." Stephen L. Miller @redsteeze "while we are on the free speech topic this is an actual thing that also happened under Barack Obama. A guy who had nothing to do with the Benghazi terrorist attack arrested.
@jaketapper absolutely silent. Because he was not a millionaire late night comedian friend." Stephen L.Miller @redsteeze, "This is a real thing that actually happened. Also a rodeo clown in random fuck USA lost his job because he wore an Obama mask."

Batya Ungar-Sargon @bungarsargon, "An example of how they cook the books to absolve the Left of violence in the WSJ today: A graph it published that seems to show near parity between Left and Right wing political violence is sourced to the Center for Strategic and International Studies, which by its own admission reclassified pro-Palestinian violence as "ethnonationalist". It classifies all antisemitism as Right-wing, and all pro-Palestinian "attacks on Jewish individuals or institutions" as "ethnonationalist." This is just nakedly partisan propaganda presented as "data" and then mainstreamed in the American press. More in my column below linked."

At RCD, Power Play or "How Trump Is Running the Most Aggressive Geopolitical Play in a Generation—and Why It Has to Be This Way." Gunther Eagleman™ @GuntherEagleman, "President Trump just dropped this gem! Trump saved America $298 MILLION on the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool: The historic pool, where MLK gave his “I Have a Dream” speech, was a leaking, filthy disaster. Government bureaucrats wanted $300 MILLION and 3+ years to rip it up. Trump said hell no. Called in real pool experts, scrubbed the original granite, sealed it, and topped it with American Flag Blue industrial coating. $1.5–2 MILLION Done in 2 weeks Will last 40–50 years and look better than 1922 This is how you run government like a business. Promises kept! Taxpayer dollars saved!"

John Ʌ Konrad V @johnkonrad, "John Thune has become a punching bag for good reason but there is a more insidious force at play nobody can talk about. Let me explain… The staffers in Thune’s office have been asking Trump Naval and Maritime appointees questions about me before confirmation hearings. I doubt John Thune knows who I am. His staff absolutely does. They track me. They hate me. And they will quietly bleed pushing out any appointee I’m friends with...." A long one, but worth it. 

Secretary Doug Burgum @SecretaryBurgum, "@USGS has found that the Appalachian region of the U.S. contains enough lithium to replace 328 YEARS of imports! Thanks to world-leading mineral science, permitting reform and renewed investment in domestic mining, @POTUS has reclaimed America's mineral independence." But only if the NIMBYs don't succeed in blocking it, for China's sake. 

Capt. Ed at Hat Hair hears Trump to Iran: Get Serious Or Drown In Your Own Crude; UPDATE: Another Ship Seized. VodkaPundit thinks Iran Has DAYS Until This Crisis Hits NYPo, Iran on brink of ‘irreversible’ damage to oil fields as storage runs out during blockade. From Quillette This Is Not the 1970s, "Amid the great uncertainties produced by the Iran War, some likelihoods have begun to emerge." Beege Welborn is shocked The UAE Has Left OPEC. They don't like the big players telling them how much they can sell.

Capt. Ed says Hmmm: Did SCOVA Tip Its Hand On Dems' Redistricting Referendum Debacle? Mary Chastain at LI, reports the Virginia Supreme Court Denies Emergency Stay to Certify Redistricting Vote. "Tazewell County Circuit Court Judge Jack Hurley blocked Virginia from certifying the results, finding that “the referendum violated several provisions of the state constitution.”" Ace kills two birds with Virginia Supreme Court Denies Democrat Motion to Impose Gerrymandered Map During the Hearings Over Its Legality, Comey Indicted for Threating Trump's Life with "8645" Post? Fox reports Election probe targets 'unusual' reports in wake of Virginia redistricting referendum, "Fairfax County reported a late tranche of votes that helped the 'Yes' camp cross the finish line in the referendum" once they knew how many they needed. Payton Alexander @AlexanderPayton, "Support DC Squarehood for a second Costco." Quote Martin Austermuhle @maustermuhle, "BREAKING: D.C. could get a second Costco! If a Republican-sponsored plan to reunite Arlington County and Alexandria with D.C. comes to pass, that is." 

PJM's Cathy Salgado is pleased to report the FBI and DHS Raid Dozens of Minnesota Fraudsters, Including ‘Quality Learing Center’. NYPo, ‘Quality Learing Center,’ 20 other Minnesota daycares raided by FBI as part of massive fraud investigation. At WJ, Breaking: FBI Raids 'Quality Learning Center' and 21 Other Locations in Somali Fraud Crackdown. Tim Walz rushed to take credit. At Fox,
Patel turns tables on Walz in response to viral tweet on Minnesota fraud raids: 'Come again?' "Patel said the FBI, DOJ and DHS partners 'drafted and executed every search warrant today'." Ace, DOJ Lear Somali Pirates a Lesson, Raiding 22 Pirate Plunder Operations in Tim Walz's Third World Hell-Hole of Minneapolis "Not even Minnesota, the state. Just concentrated in Ilhan "World War Eleven" Omar's fortified colony of Minneapolis." Don Surber says The B in EBT stands for Bentley. “Somewhere in America, a Lamborghini owner is buying groceries on the taxpayer’s dime.” With examples. 

Ben Smith at RedState in the Warmth of Collectivism Mamdani Declares ‘Historic’ Crisis After Blowing Deadline, Pushes State Bailout. Well, what did you expect? At the Upheaval, "Managerial Bureaucracy’s Threat to Democracy and Humanity" "Transcript of remarks delivered to the 2025 Civitas Canada Conference, Ottawa, May 3, 2025." Matt Lamb at LI hears about Leftists are Refusing to Pay Taxes to Protest Iran War, Deportations. "Liberals are openly boasting about not paying their federal taxes. The media is happy to help boost their stories." Good luck with that.

Kevin Kiley @KevinKileyCA, "The cost of High-Speed Rail is now estimated at $231 billion. Our country has never seen a fiscal disaster of this magnitude." Quote Rob Pyers @rpyers "This evaluation of the CA High Speed Rail Authority's draft 2026 business plan from a former chair of the CA HSR Peer Review Group... x.com/SenStricklandC…" Kane 謝凱堯 @kane. In 2022 San Francisco progressives authored the Prop K "Amazon Tax". The way it was written taxed small businesses and restaurants. Similarily the 2026 "Billionaire Tax Act", as written, allows politicians to raise taxes for everyone, not just billionaires, w/o asking voters." Quote Kim-Mai Cutler @kimmaicutler, "None of the billionaire tax coverage about Sergey Brin in Bloomberg or the NYTimes reports the most important structural detail of why he opposes it so much more than Jensen. It taxes voting shares as ownership. It taxes Page and Brin as if they own 50+% or >$2 trillion of Google rather than 3% each. Jensen does not have super voting shares so he is just taxed like his actual ownership of Nvidia. Imagine if you were taxed like you earned 10 times as much as you actually did last year. bizcarson@teddyschleifer" At Da Mail, Billionaire Google founder's savage put-down to Gavin Newsom as he quits California. John Sexton is suggesting Xavier Becerra as the Moderate Choice for CA Governor?

Mike LaChance at LI, Watchdog Report Reveals Teacher Unions Have Contributed a Fortune to Left Wing Causes “Show me your budget and I will show you what you value; and what the teachers unions value is political power and advancing a left wing, social justice agenda.” But we knew that. Insty, at his NYPo gig says Democrats’ rants confirm their enemies list is serious business.

 
Libs of TikTok @libsoftiktok, "BREAKING: Andrew Dezelan, a Democrat running for Indiana State Senate, was just arrested after allegedly campaigning door-to-door while HIGH ON COCAINE. He also reportedly physically struggled against the police when they confronted him about having drugs. Dezelan has received preliminary charges of possession of cocaine and resisting law enforcement." Casey Jones, better watch your speed!

Breitbart notices Columnist George Will Drops 50 Years of Support for Mass Migration, emphasis on "mass." Atop Da Hill, Trump backs idea of changing ICE’s name to ‘NICE’, National Immigration and Customs Enforcement." That it would piss off liberals is a bonus. Oilfield Rando @Oilfield_Rando, "We imported tens of millions of the huddled masses and we are $40 trillion in debt. When do they make us richer? Where’s the break even point?" Quote reason@reason, "For somebody motivated only by nativism, America's declining attractions for the world is a win in itself. But people who really care about this country should want it to be so free and prosperous that it remains a shining city upon a hill that entices the world's huddled masses—while making us all richer." Ronny Jackson @RonnyJacksonTX, "I see people always asking: “If they hate America so much, why do they keep coming here?” Simple answer: They don’t come here to become Americans. They come here to USE America. They flood in, FEAST on our welfare system, commit MASSIVE FRAUD, and then try to impose their backwards values on us - values that are COMPLETELY INCOMPATIBLE with our Constitution and our way of life. DETAIN AND DEPORT EVERY LAST ONE OF THEM!!" Oilfield Rando @Oilfield_Rando, "The Ohio article is up! Be sure the read the bit about NYAP, a nonprofit tax exempt resettlement org whose CEO is a social worker with a $2 million salary! The other officers all bank +$300k a year!" Quote Morse Research @Morse_Research, "Ohio Refugee/UAC resettlement: 45,000 arrivals, $672 million awarded Between 2012 and 2026, 33,011 foreign nationals have been resettled in Ohio as refugees or Special Immigrant Visa (SIV) recipients with full taxpayer-funded U.S. Refugee Admissions Program (USRAP)..."

Wilfred Reilly @wil_da_beast630, "You love to see it." Quote Neetu Arnold @neetu_arnold, "Harvard’s Gender Studies program hits 15-year enrollment low 22 students are enrolled this year, a 60% drop from the 2022-2023 peak of 55." But where will Starbucks recruit baristas? The Chronic asserts The Yale Report Won’t Save American Higher Education.

Dave Strom is sad about a Benefit Concert for Bondi Beach Victims Canceled; Choir Refused to Sing Along With Jews.

And still more at the Wombat's In The Mailbox: 04.28.26 (Afternoon Edition).

Flotsam and Jetsam - ProPublica and West Point Try to Smear Hegseth and Fail

Dave Strom at Hat Hair has the story of how ProPublica Almost Succeeded in Smearing Pete Hegseth. 

EXCLUSIVE: Emails, Phone Logs Reveal How Botched Hegseth West Point Story Imploded

After a West Point spokesperson falsely claimed that @PeteHegseth had not applied or been accepted to the school, ProPublica reached out to Hegseth's lawyer, asserting that the Secretary of… pic.twitter.com/bN9ahCwC1p

— Reagan Reese (@reaganreese_) December 12, 2024

Ace, "That's How Real Journalism Works:" Leaked Emails Show How ProPublica Tried to Manufacture a Smear Against Pete Hegseth. At ET, West Point Apologizes, Confirms It Accepted Trump Nominee Pete Hegseth to the Academy, "The academy had falsely said that Hegseth did not even apply to the school." ProPublica is a anti-conservative so called news outlet. The writer will probably get fired for missing. But West Point is a military outfit, and, first, they should not have commented on Hegseth's records without checking with him, and second, they shouldn't have quickly assented to ProPublica request, and then screw it up. If somebody didn't get fired quickly, I'm sure they will be once Hegseth is confirmed. At Da Signal, ‘No One Gets Away With That S**t’: Alums of Hegseth-led Veterans Group Dismantle Media Narrative. RCD, For Pete's Sake ... Enough! "This is the real message: The Administrative State is not pleased. The Pentagon is panicking. The Deep state has come to the conclusion that they are in deep sh…." Paul Kengor at Am Spec, Pete Hegseth, Rachel Levine, and the Promising Return to Normalcy. It’s refreshing to once again have political appointees with normal scandals. Virginia Kruta at Da Wire, Hegseth Spares No Feelings In Quip To Media: ‘I Don’t Feel The Need To Respond To CNN’.  At the Wombat's In The Mailbox: 12.13.24, This Ain’t Hell, Pete Hegseth: Allowing Gays in military a part of Marxist agenda and The Federalist: Sen. Todd Young (R-IN) Invites A Primary Challenge By Refusing To Back Hegseth, How Team Trump Turned The RNC Into A Get-Out-The-Vote Machine, Leftist ProPublica’s Failed Hit Piece Just Made Pete Hegseth Defense Secretary and Power Line, A fair chance, ProPublica style.

At TownHall, Matt Vespa, Bombshell: The FBI Spied on Kash Patel, but we knew that. And Wray signed off on extended spying. Ace, Former CIA Director Counter-Terrorism: Tulsi Gabbard is Well-Qualified to be Director of National Intelligence and Rein in the Incompetent and Malign "Intelligence" Community. "This is a big endorsement for Gabbard. Bernie Hudson is as qualified a judge as anyone, and he's writing in National Review, to let other institutions-aligned people know that Gabbard is worthy." At OTP, New Border Czar Targets Chicago: ‘Your Mayor Sucks And Your Governor Sucks’. At the Wombat's In The Mailbox: 12.13.24, Louder With Crowder: Tom Homan Promises To Prosecute Mayors Who Impede ICE, Shark Tank, Progressive Democrats Whine Lake Appointment To VOA Is “Abuse of Power”

 Althouse read WaPoo, Headline writers blithely omit "a" and "the," but there's a big difference between "the polio vaccine" and "a polio vaccine." "The Washington Post splashes this in our face: "RFK Jr. ally filed petition to revoke FDA approval for polio vaccine." I suspect that many readers experience alarm — Oh, no, it's crazy to take away the polio vaccine! — and read no further. But it's not the polio vaccine. It's a polio vaccine. From the text of the article:" It's the Sabin, live-virus vaccine. A child of the 50's, I remember the polio epidemics and scares, how people were relieved when a vaccine came out, but kids especially liked the Sabin vaccine, because it was given with a sugar cube instead of a shot. But, yes, we've known for a long time that the Sabin vaccine converts into full blown polio in rare cases. People have argued that, in fact, the Sabin vaccine is what is keeping polio alive in the wild. It may or may not be true, but it's not a silly argument. Da Fetched, Whoopi Goldberg: RFK Jr Is “Fat Shaming” Obese People by Promoting Healthy Diets.  At the TN Star, Tennessee U.S. Senator Marsha Blackburn Introduces DOGE Acts to Cut Wasteful Government Spending. 

Paul Bedard at WaEx thinks Trump forms MAGA ‘Dream Team’ for 100-day sprint. Sundance at CTH hears  Alaska Senator Lisa Murkowski Lament the Horror of Next Four Years Accountable to the Voters, Ace's THE MORNING RANT: Why I’ll Support an Ethically Flawed Politician Who Advances My Agenda. At Althouse, What the NYT is saying today under the heading "Trump Transition." "On the front page of the NYT website right now. . . "

Capt. Ed at Hat Hair reports A Good Penny To Turn Up In Trump-Vance Box Tomorrow. Fox, JD Vance confirms Daniel Penny will attend Army-Navy game after acquittal in subway chokehold trial. Althouse, "I’m grateful he accepted my invitation and hope he’s able to have fun and appreciate how much his fellow citizens admire his courage." "Said JD Vance, quoted in "Daniel Penny accepts VP-elect JD Vance's invite to be his 'personal guest' at the Army-Navy game Saturday. ""

Katie Couric and Jessica Tarlov admit Republicans sending illegals to blue cities worked. Call it the “smartest thing they ever did.”

Correct. The only way to make left-wingers change is to have them suffer the results of their own policies.

pic.twitter.com/AUaqyMPXR2

— Bonchie (@bonchieredstate) December 13, 2024

Driscoll at Insty, BURIED LEDE: KATIE COURIC ACTUALLY GOT A STORY RIGHT! ‘Smartest Thing They Ever Did:’ Katie Couric, Jessica Tarlov Admit GOP Leaders Sending Migrants North Was Game Changer (Da Caller). "The ghost of Saul Alinsky smiles: “Make opponents live up to their own book of rules. ‘You can kill them with this, for they can no more obey their own rules than the Christian church can live up to Christianity.’”"

Capt. Ed watches NBC: Hamas Backing Down Over 'Trump Pressure'. 

Beege Welborn at Hat Hair sees An Interesting Thing Happened on the Way to an East Coast Longshoreman's Strike. Sundance at CTH, President Trump Supports Dockworker Position Against Automation. Da Beast, Canada Threatens to Cut Power to U.S. Over Trump Tariffs. 

At OTP, DC Restaurants Hate MAGA, Trump, Wait Staff To ‘Throw A Drink’ In Their Faces. Beege Welborn says Hey, Screechers - Leave Those Eats Alone! Nice one. Greg Price@greg_price11, "My favorite part of this story is when a liberal bartender was forced to admit that Republicans are cooler people than Democrats." Dave Strom at Hat Hair says About D@mn Time! when a Republican congresscritter proposes to revoke home rule for D.C. "Washington, D.C., is poorly run, an embarrassment to the country, and has proven its inability to responsibly govern itself."

COVER OF THE WEEK:

Capt. Ed hear Pennsylvania's Josh Shapiro: Why Did Biden Let Corrupt Judge Off the Hook?. Because "they" put the pardon in front of him. NYPo, Biden slammed for commuting sentence of notorious ‘Kids-for-Cash’ judge convicted of imprisoning juveniles for $2.1M kickbacks. Althouse, "Though Mr. Biden has the prerogative to confer broad immunity with what are sometimes called safe harbor or protective pardons, doing so now on a large scale would be difficult to achieve..." "... at least with any principled consistency.... [E]ven the broadest presidential pardon couldn’t fully protect someone Mr. Trump was determined to harass. . . . So writes the Washington Post Editorial Board, in "Biden should rule out preemptive pardons/Trump might target his enemies, but get-out-of-jail-free cards are unnecessary and imply guilt." Ace, Merrick Garland's Corrupt DOJ Makes Up New "Rule:" When January 6th Political Prisoners Accept Their Pardons from President Trump, That Counts as a Legal Admission of Being Insurrectionists. At PM,  Bennie Thompson would accept Biden's pardon after chairing J6 committee, "The president, it’s his prerogative. If he offers it, to me or other members of the committee, I think it — I would accept it, but it’s his choice," said Thompson.  PJM's Stephen Kruiser says Great — Biden Just Let All of Hunter's Friends Out of Jail. At the Wombat's In The Mailbox: 12.13.24, EBL, Biden Crime Family is Pounding out the Pardons!, American Greatness, The Real Criminal Here is Not Hunter Biden, Biden’s Pardon Is A Smokescreen for Corruption and Biden’s Paranoid Pardons and Leftist Morality. Nicholas Ballasy at JTN reports Former FBI informant Alexander Smirnov pleads guilty to lying to agency about the Bidens. "Smirnov reportedly told the FBI handler in 2020 that Biden and his son accepted $5 million from the Ukrainian energy company Burisma several years prior. According to the court filing, the turned out to be false, "as the Defendant knew." NewsMax reports Trump Will Pardon 'Most' Jan. 6 Defendants During First Hour in WH.

Ace wakes up and notices Biden's Selling Off All the Materials Trump Bought for Building a Border Wall, to Prevent Trump From Building It "And he's selling tons of steel and concrete for pennies on the dollar. This will force Trump to re-buy all the material he already bought." Charlotte Hazard at JTN, Texas Lt Gov Patrick wants to buy construction materials auctioned by DHS, donate them to Trump, "Message to the White House right now: I will bid on all of that wall and we will buy it in Texas and we will give it to Donald Trump," Dan Patrick said." WokeSpy, New York Times Surprisingly Admits Joe Biden Is to Flame for “Largest Surge in Illegal Immigration in U.S. History” I assume they meant Blame. At the Wombat's In The Mailbox: 12.13.24, BattleSwarm, Biden: I’m Going To Force Taxpayers To Pay For Illegal Alien Healthcare. Federal Judge: Like Hell You Will. Dave Strom, Trump Goes After Climate Fanatics; UPDATE: Biden Says "Expect More Climate Funding" Before He Leaves. Richard A. Stern@RichAStern, "INFLATION IS BACK UP. Wonder why? The Fed has worked to quietly pump another $650 billion newly created dollars into the market over the last year. This artificially gave the economy a buzz before the election, but now comes the inflation hangover. As the money supply goes, so goes prices..." From WaEx, Biden gives economic farewell speech as voters say good riddance. WaEx, Jimmy Carter 2.0: Yet another Democratic presidency ends in disaster. At least Jimmy was fundamentally honest, misguided but honest. 

Matt Vespa Reports  Pelosi's Injuries in Luxembourg Are Quite Serious. Busted hip. Sundance, During CODEL, Pelosi Falls Down Marble Steps in Luxembourg. Ace, Nancy Pelosi Suffers Serious Injuries -- a Fractured Hip -- After Falling Down a Staircase in Luxembourg, "Any hip injury at age 84 is a major cause for concern." At Da Fetched, Calls for Term Limits Mount as Leaked Photo Shows Mitch McConnell Being Carted Around in Wheelchair. Time to go.

WokeSpy is concerned about Six Shot Missed Within 5 Feet:  House Task Force Publishes Damning Report on Trump’s Attempted Assassinations. At the Wombat's In The Mailbox: 12.13.24, BattleSwarm, How Do You Miss Six Shots From Five Feet Away? Panic. 

Campus Reform reports Socialist University of Pennsylvania prof apologizes for praising CEO-killer suspect, school condemns her post. At Spiked at explanation of Why the online left is simping for Luigi Mangione. "The celebration of the alleged assassin speaks to how morally and politically unmoored some ‘progressives’ have become." Mike LaChance at LI, hears Elizabeth Warren Triy to Walk Back Horrendous Comments on Murder of Healthcare CEO, “I should have been much clearer that there is never a justification for murder.” At Althouse, Peter Thiel talks to Piers Morgan about Daniel Penny and Luigi Mangione. "It's an interesting discussion, but many people are getting hung up on Thiel's very awkward, disfluent manner of speaking:"

John Sexton at Hat Hair, Bluesky: A Land of Unicorns, Rainbows and Death Threats and More Bluesky Blues: 'We Draw Battle Lines and F***ing Enforce Them'. TechCrunch, Bluesky at a crossroads as users petition to ban Jesse Singal over anti-trans views, harassment. Insty, SUCCESS: Elon Musk@elonmusk, "That is the goal. This platform only seems to”right-wing” to the left." Quote, Stat Shepherd@stat_sherpa "𝕏 stands out as the most politically balanced social media platform. Unlike many other platforms, 𝕏 has an almost equal split between Democrat (48%) and Republican (47%) news consumers. As you would expect, the data don't align with the "right-wing dominance" narrative."

At the Wombat's In The Mailbox: 12.13.24, Don Surber explains Why I want Dems to rely on MSM. Keep fooling themselves. 

Herr Professor Jacobson at LI sees Fifty-One Discriminatory Scholarships At University of Rhode Island Challenged By Equal Protection Project, “We’re going to seek to make URI a test case for the Trump administration.” From the College Fix, ‘Totally unacceptable’: House Education committee criticizes Dept. of Ed. targeting of Christian colleges. From the Free Bacon, Amy Wax Threatens To Sue Penn for Race Discrimination, Breach of Contract, "The embattled law professor says she will take legal action if Penn doesn't lift the sanctions against her." Also, Ex-CCP Officials Funneled Millions to US Universities, Nonprofits To Promote Green Energy, Tax Forms Show, "Energy Foundation China, which operates primarily from Beijing, promotes energy policies designed to weaken US, watchdogs warn." Ace, New York Times: Is the "Awkward" Era of the "Diversity Blockbuster" Behind Us? "If even the Marxist New York Times is contemplating the end of DEI even in Hollywood, then the era of DEI must really be coming to an end." Christopher F. Rufo@realchrisrufo, "Now is the time for a blitz through the institutions. The Left is exhausted. BLM is shattered. Trans is imploding. Trump has a mandate to abolish DEI, defund left-wing racialism, and restore public authority over the public institutions. The counterrevolution starts now." But at Commentary, Christopher Rufo’s Dangerous Wishful Thinking.

YaHoo! UCLA student sues California doctors, says she was 'fast-tracked' into transgender surgery.

Linked at The Pirate's Cove in the weekly Sorta Blogless Sunday Pinup and links. The Wombat has FMJRA 2.0: A Christmas Break From Baseball up on time at The Other McCain.