Flotsam and Jetsam - Will the Shutdown Shutdown?

The government shutdown is starting to bite, well, democrats mostly. From Fox, Schumer again blocks GOP bid to reopen government as air traffic controllers go unpaid. "Failure to reopen the government on Tuesday came as air traffic controllers missed their first payday. The military is set to miss its first full payday on Friday. Then there is the looming cliff for federal nutrition benefits on Saturday — the same day as open enrollment begins nationwide for Obamacare." American Greatness staff cites Treasury Sec. Bessent: American People Are ‘Hostage’ To Schumer’s and Jeffries’ Poll Numbers. At Hat Hair, Capt. Ed sees the CNN Data Guru warn Schumer Shutdown May Be Making Republicans More Popular. At TownHall Jeff Charles notes Uh Oh, Even CNN Is Admitting the Schumer Shutdown Isn't Going Well for Democrats and Amy Curtis hears Another Democrat Just Said the Quiet Part Out Loud About the Schumer Shutdown. Senate Republicans @SenateGOP, "Chris Coons believes that denying Americans their SNAP benefits may be “unpleasant,” but it’s worth doing because it gives Democrats political “leverage.” Absolutely deranged." Rick Moran at PJM thinks Democrats' Resolve is Wearing Thin as Major Union Calls on Them to Pass GOP Stopgap. Reagan Reese at Da Caller, Independent Women Urges Dem Leadership To End Government Shutdown. Also at Hat Hair, Dave Strom claims The Dike Holding Back Democrat Discontent on Schumer Shutdown Is Cracking, Capt. Ed cites Thune: I Don't Know But I've Been Told, Democrat Feet Are Gettin' Cold and a Larry video, Democrats Abandon Schumer, Demand Shutdown Ends Now.

At ET, These States Lose Most If Federal Food Aid Runs Out, "Large states stand to lose the most federal funding, but a higher percentage of the population receives food assistance in some smaller states." Dave Strom, TikTok Filled With Videos of People Threatening to Loot Grocery Stores. From Twitchy, Oilfield Rando's Genius: Kill SNAP for a Month, Watch Illegals' Foreign Remittances Starve. Oilfield Rando @Oilfield_Rando "I want SNAP to shut down for a month just to observe how much foreign remittances plummet in that month." Pericles @PerryALPHA, "Dominicans and other Caribbean immigrants literally use SNAP as remittances. They load up blue barrels with food they buy with EBT and ship it back to the islands so their relatives can sell them for cash."

John Sexton hears Democrats Are Still Running With This Lie About the Ballroom. From the Free Bacon, Counterpoint: Calm Down, No One Cares About the White House Renovation, "It if makes you feel 'almost the same' as 9/11, there's something seriously wrong with you/" At NYPo, the Divine Ms. Devine notices Trump Derangement Syndrome has morphed into something far more lethal — Trump Projection Disorder. From Politico, Political peril spurs Trump to act on beef prices even as ranchers rage "The average price for a pound of ground beef is $6.32, up about 14 percent since Trump took office." It takes a while to build herds back after the Biden economy decimated them.

Hat Hair's Beege Welborn claims It Turned Out to Be a Gangbuster Japanese Visit. Sundance at CTH hosts President Trump and Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi Speak to U.S. Troops On USS George Washington in Japan and U.S. Ambassador to Canada Informs Govt and Business Leaders No Trade Deals Possible until after Thanksgiving. “Canada burnt the bridges with America,” he said. “Donald Trump did not slam the door.”

John Lucas at Bravo Blue, Insubordinate Generals and Senior Officers Publicly Attack the Secretary of War, "Anonymous but public criticisms topped by massive hypocrisy." And they may have committed a felony "Article 88 of the UCMJ provides that “any commissioned officer who uses contemptuous words” against senior officials, including the Secretary of Defense, “shall be punished as a court-martial may direct.” Nota bene: Truth of the statement is not a defense; contemptuous words suffice regardless of intent." Diogenes at Ace's discourses On Fat Generals and Admirals.

Misty Severi at JTN reports HHS fires senior adviser who opposed COVID-19 vaccines, "The former health official previously served as Trump's adviser in his first term and advocated for using hydroxychloroquine, an anti-malaria drug, for treating COVID-19 infections during the pandemic." :HHS told The Hill that it fired Steven Hatfill over the weekend for cause, but did not provide details about the termination. An official told the New York Times that Hatfill was fired because he misrepresented himself as the "chief medical officer” for the assistant secretary for preparedness and response, but Hatfill said he was ousted as part of “a coup to overthrow" Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., which was allegedly organized by the secretary's chief of staff Matt Buckham." Steven Hatfill has an interesting past. At FBI director, Robert Mueller attempted to railroad him for the anthrax attacks, and the FBI had to pay him a tidy sum when the apparent culprit was identified at Ft. Detrick. I could see the deep state still having it in for him. From Althouse, "Texas becomes the first state to allege that taking [Tylenol] while pregnant can cause autism, despite unsettled scientific evidence." "I'm reading "Texas AG Paxton files Tylenol lawsuit, taking cues from Trump, Kennedy" (WaPo)(free-access link)."

Cathy Salgado at PJM reports Trump’s Truth Social Is First Platform With Prediction Markets Via Crypto Exchange.

From Ace, "I'm Not Done:" Kamala Harris Threatens to Run for President Again. "I've said a bunch of times that I don't think she really wants to run for office again. I think the play here is extortion: Give me my own Harris-branded Clinton Global Initiative grift and I'll go away. If not, I'm running. Speaking as a black and queer woman, I say, You go girl. You secure that bag." PJM's Matt Margolis, We Got Juicy Details on Obama’s Furious Call to Pelosi After Kamala Endorsement. Capt. Ed, 'What the F*** Did You Just Do?': Obama Ripped Pelosi Over Kamala Endorsement. Driscoll at Insty, WHAT A STUPID QUESTION: "Did Jonathan Chait get a lobotomy? I don’t think so, and whatever else he is, stupid is not an attribute I associated with him. So when I saw this tweet I about burst out laughing." Jonathan Chait @jonathanchait, "This is an interview that should inspire some follow-up reporting: how was KJP hired for her job in the first place?" Daniel Friedman @DanFriedman81, "She was hired by the same people and for the same reasons as Kamala Harris, Ketanji Brown Jackson, dozens of federal judges and hundreds of agency appointees. Is that really a rabbit hole you want to go down? Whether the various women of color hired by the Biden administration were the most qualified for their jobs?" At Althouse, "There’s a silent minority of people out there who feel that Biden was taken advantage of, and most people don’t want to say it. Is that what you mean?" "The New Yorker's Isaac Chotiner asks Karine Jean-Pierre in an interview."

Noah Rothman at NRO, Imagine That — Actions Have Consequences. "GOP Ready to Target Mamdani’s NYC Victory." Fox claims Cuomo closes gap on Mamdani as NYC mayor race tightens dramatically in new poll. "Former governor gains ground after Eric Adams endorsement, trailing democratic socialist by 10 points." 10 pts is still a blowout. Ace, Mamdani Holds Rally With AOC in "Show of Force." "The end of New York City. And, speaking as a black lesbian of color, good riddance." PJM's Scott Pinsker thinks Zohran Mamdani’s Fatal Flaw Revealed — and It’s NOT Communism, Socialism or Radical Islam. John Sexton at Hat Hair VIP, Mamdami in 2023: 'When the Boot of the NYPD is on Your Neck, It’s Been Laced by the IDF'. Driscoll, SAY, I’M BEGINNING TO BELIEVE THIS MAMDANI FELLA MAY HAVE JUST A TWINGE OF ANTISEMITISM TO HIM: Zohran Mamdani made vile, conspiracy-tinged statement tying NYPD to IDF, resurfaced video shows, and CLOWN NOSE ON? Stewart Gushes Over Mamdani In Pre-Election Puff Segment. The Babylon Bee @TheBabylonBee, "Mamdani Vows To Knock Down World Trade Center To Build More Affordable Housing https://buff.ly/8MpBGDX." From OTP, Mamdani Faces Criminal Referrals Over Alleged Foreign Contributions To NYC Mayoral Campaign.

Dave Weigel at Semafor worries Left-wing ideas have wrecked Democrats’ brand, new report warns. I&I ed board, It’s Official: The Democratic Party Is Now Straight Up Socialist. Twitchy, Research Fellow Shares DATA-Filled Thread Telling Democrats How to WIN Again and LOL, Lefties CANNOT DEAL. Frank Luntz @FrankLuntz "This is a party who tried to label their opponents "weird" during the 2024 election cycle, Quote Josh Barro @jbarro "This is a sign of a party that does not care about winning: https://welcomestack.org/p/deciding-to-" Garry Tan @garrytan, "If you look at the crumbling policies that destroy blue cities it’s directly traceable to the rapidly growing nonprofit industrial complex." Quote Jason Curtis Anderson @JCAndersonNYC "NYC’s changing of the guard: Wall Street’s shrinking, but the nonprofit industrial complex is exploding—fueled by $20B+ in public funds and staffed by anti-capitalist revolutionaries. Nonprofits now make up 17% of NYC’s private workforce and added nearly all new jobs last year." David Bernstein @ProfDBernstein, "One more thing: The dearth of jobs for Humanities majors was masked for about a decade by an explosion in dubious HR jobs focused on DEI, perfect for, say, an anthropology major with an interest in trans rights. No one's hiring for that anymore, and people who had those jobs are getting laid off." Quote David Bernstein @ProfDBernstein, "In all seriousness, part of the Mamdani phenomenon, and the related growth of "socialism" in the circles of young, highly educated Democrats is that the traditional jobs you'd get as a humanities major from fancy liberal arts colleges--publishing, media, paralegal--have disappeared. 

Sasha Stone thinks The Democrats Have a Nazi Problem "And it's time to call them out." Matt Vespa calls out What's Missing From Abigail Spanberger's Bus? Voters Definitely Noticed. Jay Jones. From the Free Bacon, Inside Jasmine Crockett's Secret Stock Portfolio and Failed Attempts To Become a Marijuana Magnate "Crockett, a potential 2028 Senate candidate, did not report her stakes in major pharmaceutical, fossil fuel, marijuana, technology, and automobile firms." The Telegraph claims Scandal-ridden candidates expose Democrats’ turmoil "As party fights for relevance, each public misstep provides rocket fuel for opponents."

Shipwreckedcrew explores The Mythology And Fact-Lite Renditions of Gavin Newsom's Life On The Perimeter of SF "Aristocracy." "Newsom's family was not "rich" -- they were "rich adjacent" in a way that allowed him to draft his way through life immune from the consequences of failure." From NYPo, Arnold Schwarzenegger slams Gavin Newsom’s claim that California’s redistricting is ‘temporary.’ PJM's Stephen Kruiser thinks The Dem 2028 Speculation Is Entertaining Political Theater.

Anxious is anxious that Trump appeals felony conviction citing Supreme Court immunity. Jonathan Turley @JonathanTurley, "President Trump has filed the appeal in his criminal case. Many of us criticized the case as based on a legally unfounded legal theory tried before a highly biased judge. The brief is a devastating litany of errors ignored by a prosecutor and court hellbent on conviction..." and "...The only silver lining is the possibility that the court system can now redeem itself and lay down new, important case law to prevent future lawfare abuses of this kind."

John Solomon at JTN, AG Pam Bondi probes Biden autopen scandal as House chairman demands revocation of pardons "“We've handed this to Pam Bondi on a silver platter. We've done all the heavy lifting,” the House Oversight Committee Chairman tells Just the News." From Sundance, House Oversight Committee Releases 100-page Report on Joe Biden Autopen – Requests DOJ Open Investigation of All Executive Actions. At PJM VodkaPundit has the CORN, POPPED: House Oversight Nixes Biden Autopen, Refers to DOJ. Capt. Ed, House Oversight: Biden's Autopen Pardons 'Void,' Urge Bondi to Act. I presume this advances by the DOJ charging someone who has one of these pardons with a crime in the covered period, and then the case wends its way through the courts.

Misty at JTN again, Federal judge indefinitely blocks Trump admin from laying off federal workers during shutdown. "The judge also said that she believes the administration's efforts to fire the employees will be deemed illegal and an overstep of executive authority." ABC News, Border Patrol chief ordered to meet with judge daily on Chicago immigration crackdown. 

Driscoll, sees a MANHUNT: Stephen L. Miller @redsteeze "Gosh, I kind of think this was someone worth monitoring." Quote New York Post @nypost, "Charlie Kirk suspect’s trans lover Lance Twiggs goes missing 6 weeks after political assassination https://trib.al/3JZfPlD."

At Am Con, We Secured the Border—but ‘We’re Not Done Yet.’ From ET, Judge Directs Trump Admin Officials to Limit Statements About Abrego Garcia, "The ruling came amid uncertainty about whether the human-smuggling suspect would be deported." Townhall.com @townhallcom, "SUPERCUT: MSNBC has an addiction to calling ICE “gestapo.”" Cathy Salgado hears the Chicago Mayor on Illegal Alien Rapist: ‘Let’s Move On’. From Fox, Whistleblower warns illegal immigrants are sending 'shockwave' through crucial industry, "DOT Sec Sean Duffy accused California of issuing a commercial driver’s license to a foreign national whose truck killed three people." From Campus Reform, UC Berkeley course promotes ‘Abolish ICE’ movement, calls agency a ‘racist deportation force.’

Vigilant Fox @VigilantFox "Barack Obama says the quiet part out loud — it’s time to “experiment” with “new forms of journalism” with “government regulatory constraints.” “Part of what we’re going to have to do is to start experimenting with new forms of journalism and how we use social media in ways that reaffirm facts and separate facts from opinion. We want diversity of opinion. We don’t want diversity of facts. That, I think, is one of the big tasks of social media. By the way, it will require some government regulatory constraints…” VodkaPundit sees Bari Weiss Sharpening Her Axe for '60 Minutes' Crew.

From the College Fix, Faculty work to block Trump administration probe of antisemitism on Calif. campuses and Under Trump 2.0, colleges celebrate Halloween instead of warning against ‘offensive’ costumes. Natalia Mittelstadt at JTN reports DC's sole Confederate general statue returns after vandalized, toppled during 2020 BLM riots, "The inscriptions on the monument do not directly mention Brig. Gen. Albert Pike's Confederate ties, but rather depict him as a leader of the Freemasons."

Still more links at the Wombat's In The Mailbox: 10.29.25 (Afternoon Edition) and In The Mailbox: 10.29.25 (Evening Edition). The Wombat has FMJRA 2.0: Another Fine Mess up and garnering clicks at The Other McCain.

Flotsam and Jetsam - All Biden Orders Void Because of Autopen Signatures?

Matt Margolis has high hopes Could a Bombshell Discovery Render All of Biden's Presidential Actions 'Null and Void'? "Remember when House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) revealed his discussion with Biden when Biden couldn't recall signing the executive order halting LNG exports? Now we know why — he probably didn't. The real question is: Who did? Who was running the country while Biden was not all there? Oversight Project @OversightPR, WHOEVER CONTROLLED THE AUTOPEN CONTROLLED THE PRESIDENCY We gathered every document we could find with Biden's signature over the course of his presidency. All used the same autopen signature except for the the announcement that the former President was dropping out of the race last year. Here is the autopen signature." Libs of TikTok @libsoftiktok, "BREAKING: Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey asked the DOJ to investigate whether Biden’s cognitive mental decline allowed unelected officials to make decisions without his knowledge or approval. If that’s the case, Biden’s executive orders, pardons, and other actions, may be unconstitutional and void." Ace, All of Biden's "Laws" and Executive Orders Were Signed by Autopen (Robotic Signature Duplicator), Putting Biden's Entire Presidency in Question, "The headline is wrong: There was one single thing he actually signed, his notice that he was withdrawing from the 2024 race." Everything else was signed by the Biden staffers' Electronic President Substitute." We knew that Biden was not really in control, but we assumed they were at least shoving the paper under his pen for show. I predict nothing will happen because Biden is a Democrat.

Capt. Ed at Hat Hair, Trump Warns Russia: Back Off And Stop Bombing; UPDATE: Russia Offers Pause. Sundance at CTH, President Trump Warns Russia to Negotiate Quickly or Face Tariffs and Sanctions, Zelenskyy Calls for an Air and Sea Truce as Interim Proposal for Ceasefire Ahead of Talks With U.S Team in Saudi Arabia and hosts Special Envoy Steve Witkoff Holds a Press Conference Discussing Hamas Hostages and Upcoming Meeting with Ukrainian Officials. The Telegraph whines Trump considers pulling troops out of Germany. Beege Welborn at Hat Hair is amused So the EU Pooped Themselves a Defense Budget Raise Yesterday. OTP, Adios, Puerto Rico? "Trump Lobbied To Cut Ties With Island." At Insty, HMM: Space Force general: ‘Golden Dome’ missile shield requires Manhattan Project-scale effort.

At TownHall Cutie Pavlich thinks The Details About Today's Job Report Are Pretty Important. Rapid Response 47 @RapidResponse47, "PRESIDENT TRUMP: For the first time in fifteen months, the job gains for native-born Americans exceeded the job gains for migrant and foreign workers. Employment for native-born workers went up by 284K while foreign born workers went down by 87K." Sundance hosts Kevin Hassett and President Trump Discuss Economy and Jobs During Oval Office Press Availability. From NewsMax, Trump Signs Order to Establish Strategic Bitcoin Reserve. "The reserve will be capitalized with bitcoin owned by the federal government that was forfeited as part of criminal or civil asset forfeiture proceedings, the White House crypto czar, billionaire David Sacks, said in a post on social media platform X."

Hat Hair's John Sexton reports DHS Ends Collective Bargaining for the TSA. Streiff at RedState, Trump Strips TSA Employee Union of Recognition. I'm OK with unions, just not public sector unions. Now, get rid of TSA. Napolitan News Service, 61% Of Voters Favor Moving Control Away From Department of Education. RFK Jr effect? Bloomberg reports Snack Makers Are Removing Fake Colors From Processed Foods, "PepsiCo designed a new spicy potato chip without using its signature—and artificially formulated—dyes. Remaking the original Doritos is proving much harder."

From the Wombat's In The Mailbox: 03.06.25 (Morning Edition), Twitchy: Sounds Like Adam Schiff Better Buckle Up Because It’s About To Get Real, Thread From Doctor Who Had Birds-Eye View Of Democrats During Trump’s Speech A Must-Read, and Megyn Kelly Ends Hateful Hag For Laughing At Video Of Tranny Injuring Payton McNabb, Louder With Crowder, Here are all the moments Democrats embarrassed themselves during Trump’s most pro-America speech ever, Multiple liberal cities are suing the Trump Admin, claim that being a sanctuary for illegals makes their city “safer”, Trump’s America and Why Liberals Won’t Stand for Anything, The culprit responsible for 23 Dem senators sharing the same propaganda identified themselves, and it makes sense now, and America is Back – Breaking Down Everything You Missed in Trump’s Joint Address, Dana Loesch, Is BlackRock Running The Panama Canal Moderately Better Than The CCP? also, Activist Judges – A Look At Judge Amir H. Ali, Don Surber, Zelensky & The Art of the Trumpenfreude. 

And from the Wombat's In The Mailbox: 03.07.25, Louder With Crowder: Donald Trump obliterates that cringetastic Democrat “fighter” video in the most MAGA way possible, Elon Musk needs only six words to SAVAGE the Democrats’ latest silly attack (and attacker) against him, Trump demands MSNBC host “be forced to resign” for wretched thing she said about a MAGA-loving teenage cancer survivor, Dem tries defending “Choose Your Fighter” video to Scott Jennings, gets lesson in politics instead, According To Hoyt, In Which I Go MAHA!, American Conservative,  The Ukraine War’s Finale is Upsetting—but Trump Isn’t to Blame, American Greatness, Secretary Kelly Loeffler to Move SBA Offices Out of Sanctuary Cities, also, Retooling Schooling, American Thinker: The Democrats Descend into Madness, and much more. 

At WaEx, Democrats mount resistance to GOP effort to keep government open. At Twitchy, MOCK-FEST! MA Democrat Claims MAGA Is TOO DUMB to Question Politicians Who Went to Harvard and ROFL. Hat Hair's Dave Strom thinks Anti-Trump Protests Are a Joke. WokeSpy notes Rashida Tlaib Taunts Trump Over Taxes — 11 Years After Being Caught Not Paying Her Own Taxes!. Rusty Weiss at RedState, Jasmine Crockett Says Trump Is Going After Illegals So He Can Send Black People 'Back to the Fields'. Stephen Kruiser at PJM, Dems' Voter Outreach to the Clinically Insane Continues Unabated. Derrick Evans @DerrickEvans4WV "Remember that “choose your fighter” video the Democrat members of Congress put out earlier today? The White House just responded with their own video:" Bob Hoge at RedState, Tim Walz Is Asked to Name the Dems' Next Leader, and the Look on His Face Is Priceless. To be fair, Walz is pretty good at the "deer in the headlights" stare. John Kass awards The Golden Moutza of the Month: Behold "I hope I’m not too late, but it has to go to Tony Evers, the Governor of Wisconsin for trying to change the word “mother” to “inseminated person”…the lunatic left knows no bounds! said, Diane Puetz." Jim Geraghty at NRO says Get Ready for the Democratic Retreat on Trans Athletes.

Stacy McCain, BUSTED: ‘Anti-Poverty’ Democrat Activist Joe Sanberg Accused of Massive Fraud. Scott Adams @ScottAdamsSays, "Are there any Democrat organizations that are NOT some version of Hunter selling art?" Quote Charlie Kirk @charliekirk11, "The NYT reports that ActBlue is in “turmoil.” Mysteriously, seven top executives have all left in the past three weeks, several of whom had all been there more than a decade. None of them will explain on the record why they left." Da Wire, Kamala Aide Under DOJ Investigation For Allegedly Falsifying Paperwork To Get Musk Buyout, "The hiring conspiracy could involve Harris herself, as well as ex-FTC chair Lina Khan." Ace, John Podesta Handed Out $375 BILLION In Taxpayer Dollars to "Pop Up" Organizations Created Only Months Before, "People need to go to prison for 40 years for this." Steve Milloy @JunkScience, "The EPA-Stacey Abrams grift revealed: @staceyabrams just told MSBNC's @chrislhayes that the Biden EPA gave her $2 billion to buy people new home appliances to reduce electric bills. So Democrats upgraded vote buying from Obama phones to Biden refrigerators." Beege Welborn, EPA's $20B 'Slush Fund' Zeldin and DOGE Discovered Looking Really Dodgy. Gold bars, Titanic. Attorney General Andrew Bailey @AGAndrewBailey "@ElonMusk I am here to report $5 BILLION in wasted taxpayer dollars allocated to fund a green energy scam and massive land grab from Missouri farmers and landowners. I’m urging DOGE to immediately identify and cancel any DOE loan guarantees for the Grain Belt Express project."

From Da Signal, Trump Justice Department Could Enforce Expiration Date for Mail-In Ballots. At the Pennsylvania Record, 'Historic' case over future of Pa. elections tossed. "The suit was filed with the hope of ensuring "only votes properly cast are counted" in 2024 and beyond. It complained that standards laid out by the Help America Vote Act and the National Voter Registration Act were not met in 2022 but nothing was done to address that." Permission to rig elections granted.

From Altouse, "President Trump has clipped the wings of Elon Musk by putting the cabinet in charge of federal firings after mounting complaints about the billionaire’s indiscriminate approach to cost-cutting." "Trump told a meeting of his top team that it was time for the 'scalpel rather than the hatchet' after an outcry from voters, including in Republican districts, about the wave of sackings carried out by Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (Doge). This is the first time Trump has acted to rein in the X and SpaceX entrepreneur, who has built a far-reaching power base at the president’s side — cemented by unrivalled access to his home and inner circle — prompting Democrat complaints of a plutocratic takeover of the US government," From "Trump reins in Musk after Doge sacking spree upsets rivals and allies/The president is putting his cabinet in charge of federal firings after voters complain about Elon Musk’s cost-cutting layoffs" (London Times). And, "Mr. Musk, who wore a suit and tie to Thursday’s meeting instead of his usual T-shirt after Mr. Trump publicly ribbed him about his sloppy appearance..." "I'm reading "Inside the Explosive Meeting Where Trump Officials Clashed With Elon Musk/Simmering anger at the billionaire’s unchecked power spilled out in a remarkable Cabinet Room meeting. The president quickly moved to rein in Mr. Musk" (NYT)." If it's in the NYT I start with the assumption that it's a lie. Atop Da Hill, Federal judge rejects request to block DOGE staff from Treasury system. ET, DOGE Announces Termination of Leases for 30 FDA Locations in 22 States. NewsWeek whines Elon Musk's DOGE Cancels Lease at Obama Library Site. Eric Lendrum at Am Great, Social Security Administration Identifies $800M in Savings for Fiscal Year 2025. 

Sarah Arnold at TownHall reports Kash Patel’s FBI Shocks Nation With Treason Arrests Just Two Weeks Into His Role "The U.S. Department of Justice said that two active-duty U.S. Army soldiers, Jian Zhao and Li Tian, and a veteran, Ruoyu Duan, were in the process of attempting to sell national defense intelligence to Chinese agents. Zhao and Tian were stationed at Joint Base Lewis-McChord." DC_Draino @DC_Draino, "I think it’s kinda crazy how you’ll never see a “Michael Brady” or “James McDougall” serving in the CCP army but we have Li Tian’s and Jian Zhao’s serving in ours (and committing treason) There needs to be better vetting, " At Insty, UPDATE: A friend writes: "Shoot them. That’s the normal thing to do. But that way they can’t be traded next time the Democrats are in power. And issue an advisory against Americans going to China, lest they get nabbed on trumped up charges like Putin does. A bit of a shot across the Chinese bow. . . " From Althouse, "The corruption needs to be immediately defunded. The F.B.I. should no longer exist as it’s constituted now." ""The mission should be divvied up. The money should be divvied up amongst other agencies that take the oath to their country seriously.” Said Dan Bongino, in a 2023 podcast, quoted in "How Dan Bongino Would Run the F.B.I., According to Dan Bongino/The newly appointed deputy director of the F.B.I. has a long history of criticizing the bureau and its leadership. He has promised 'dramatic change'" (NYT)." Even if they got this right, the agency is still fundamentally corrupt. Ben Bartee at PJM, AG Pam Bondi: Still-Unreleased Epstein Files to Be Redacted for ‘National Security’. Yeah, I'm pretty sure Epstein was working with some 3 letter agencies to get compromising info on both American and foreign elites. John Sexton at Hat Hair, Lawyer Recommends Dropping Corruption Case Against Mayor Adams. "The outside lawyer who was given the job of reviewing the case Paul D. Clement, a former Solicitor General for the G.W. Bush administration. Today, Clement recommend that Judge Ho drop the case with prejudice." Sundance reports President Trump Removes Perkins Coie Security Clearance and FBI Workstations from Within Law Firm. 

At Insty, KEEP CALM AND CARRY ON: If You’re Panicked, Thinking Amy Coney Barrett Is Another David Souter, Slow Your Roll. Randy Barnett@RandyEBarnett "And @shipwreckedcrew explained how this most recent decision was not a big deal. https://shipwreckedcrew.substack.com/p/no-the-supreme-court-did-not-allow?utm_medium=ios…" Quote Randy Barnett @RandyEBarnett, "A word to the wise from @fourboxesdiner: “CONSERVATIVES, STOP ATTACKING JUSTICE BARRETT!” Listen to Mark’s recapitulation of her record. Also remember, no Justice is perfect. https://youtu.be/CgqfK3JxR6A?si"

Jeff Charles at TownHall hears Democrats Are Big Mad That Pardoned J6ers Are Free to Roam the Capitol Building.

At the Tampa Freep, DHS Secretary Kristi Noem Identifies Leakers Within Department, Signals Prosecutions, so it wasn't at the FBI? Reagan Reese at Da Caller goes Inside JD Vance’s Tone-Setting Trip To The Southern Border. ABC pretends to care Mass exodus of immigration officials could delay millions of deportations. Drew Berquist, Tulsi Gabbard Drops Bombshell: Biden Admin Freed Many ISIS-Linked Migrants Into U.S. Althouse notices "There's only so much he can do." "To be fair, it's possible that the things Trump is doing to shut the border are things a court will one day tell him he actually can't do. For now, he's doing it anyway. Those who want to preserve their dignity after leaning hard into "There's only so much he can do" have a big stake in the litigation. We're still in the middle of things. And here's the key line from Trump's March 4, 2025 address to Congress: "The media and our friends in the Democrat party kept saying we needed new legislation, we must have legislation to secure the border. But it turned out that all we really needed was a new President." If the President wants to do something, he'll push the boundaries of power. If he doesn't, he'll see those boundaries where they justify his inaction."

Ilya Shapiro at CJ, Trump Is Right to Deport Hamas Supporters. "Federal law authorizes denying or revoking the visa of anyone who supports terrorist activity." NewsMax, US to Use AI to Revoke Visas of Students It Deems Hamas Backers "President Donald Trump signed an executive order in January to combat antisemitism and has pledged to deport noncitizen college students and others who took part in pro-Palestinian protests that have been ongoing for months amid Israel's military assault on Gaza after Hamas' October 2023 attack. The AI-fueled "Catch and Revoke" effort will include AI-assisted reviews of tens of thousands of student visa holders' social media accounts, Axios reported." Dave Strom, Rubio Yanks Visas for Foreign Students Who Support Terrorists; UPDATE: Columbia Loses $400 Million Too. From Ace, As Terror-Supporting Foreign Savages Riot on College Campuses, Marco Rubio Announces "Catch and Deport" Program to Eject Lawless Islamists from Country, "Finally. From John Sexton at Hot Air, terror sympathizer radicals are taking over libraries and making threats while wearing masks." Insty, LOSERS ON PARADE: Meet the Columbia Radicals Arrested for Storming a Barnard Building: Students were charged with disorderly conduct, trespassing, and obstructing governmental administration. Althouse, "The Trump administration is discussing pulling hundreds of millions of dollars in federal contracts and grant commitments to Columbia University..."  Twitchy thinks Jerry Nadler Makes Great Case for Jewish Students to Become MAGA.

From the College Fix, Top D.C. federal prosecutor says he doesn’t want law students from Georgetown because of DEI. Campus Reform reports Iowa regents vote to end Social Justice, American Studies programs. John Sexton wonders After Dismantling DEI, What Comes Next? 

At RVN, Injured Female Athlete Fires Back After Democrat Disrespect at Trump’s Speech "“The Democrat Party failed women. They don’t care.” Rick Moran at PJM hears DJ's Dad Call Out MSNBC Hosts for Disgusting Comments. Da Caller, CNN Steps On A Rake After ‘Fact-Checking’ Trump’s ‘Transgender Mice’ Funding Claim. "During his joint address to Congress on Tuesday, Trump cited several examples of “appalling waste” he had cut, including $8.2 million in NIH-funded studies on “gender-affirming” hormone treatments mice. CNN’s Deidre McPhillips initially tried to dispute the claim, arguing only about $500,000 had been allocated for similar research in monkeys — she was later forced to issue a correction after the White House proved CNN’s “fact check” inaccurate in a statement."

Stacy McCain asks, rhetorically, Why Has the ‘Valuable Resource’ Known as 538 Been Summarily Discarded? "Perhaps a better metric of FiveThirtyEight’s value would be the fact that ABC News didn’t sell the site — for which their parent company paid a pretty penny, years ago — but rather shut it down. Had there been any market value to the site, why weren’t there any other media operations offering cash to acquire it from ABC News? The obvious answer is that FiveThirtyEight was always a money-losing operation, first for the New York Times, and then under Disney ownership, first at ESPN and then at ABC News. The salaries of the staff always exceeded whatever revenue was generated by FiveThirtyEight. Nate Silver goes on to say that there is a “bright future” for the kind of “data journalism” that FiveThirtyEight did, by which I suppose he means that there’s always a market for predicting elections wrong, so long as your error favors Democrats." Logan Washburn at Da Fed notices that After Disavowing NewsGuard, Microsoft Still Promotes The Censorship Group. At Fox, Wikipedia co-founder calls on Elon Musk to investigate government influence over online encyclopedia, "'May I ask you to determine what branches of the U.S. government—if any!—have employees paid to edit, monitor, update, lobby, etc., WIkipedia?' Sanger asked Musk." At Da Wire, Publisher Pulls Romance Book For Having Pro-Elon Musk Line, Being ‘MAGA Coded.’ "Author Sophie Lark issued a public apology and promised to use "sensitivity readers" in the future."

Linked at Pirate's Cove in the weekly Sorta Blogless Sunday Pinup and links. The Wombat has FMJRA 2.0: Breakthrough! posted and garnering clicks at The Other McCain.

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Unintended Consequences

 At WUWT, New York State Cracks Down on Bitcoin Miners Buying Old Coal Plants

As ordinary people suffer electricity blackouts and price hikes, Bitcoin miners have been restarting unwanted old coal plants, to produce the vast quantities of cheap, reliable energy needed to mint new bitcoins.

New York cracks down on carbon fuel-based crypto-mining operations

Two-year ban comes as state attempts to reduce emissions by 85%

Richard Currie
Wed 23 Nov 2022 // 17:01 UTC

New York State has banned a practice becoming more common in the crypto-mining industry – the rescuing and repurposing of mothballed fossil fuel plants to exclusively provide energy for mining digital currency.

Governor Kathy Hochul yesterday enacted a bill in the works since May 2021 that establishes a two-year moratorium on applications or permits for “an electricity generating facility that utilizes a carbon-based fuel and that provides, in whole or in part, behind-the-meter electric energy consumed or utilized by cryptocurrency mining operations that use proof-of-work authentication methods to validate blockchain transactions.” This includes applications to renew such permits.

The bill cites the contribution to climate change of dirty fuel plants at a time when the state has committed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 85 percent by 2050, with “net zero emissions in all sectors of the economy by that time.”

Though it notes that the industry is growing in New York, the bill says: “The continued and expanded operation of cryptocurrency mining operations running proof-of-work authentication methods to validate blockchain transactions will greatly increase the amount of energy usage in the state of New York, and impact compliance with the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act.”

…Read more: https://www.theregister.com/2022/11/23/new_york_crypto_mining_ban/

I love this story, because it makes a complete mockery of claims coal is too expensive or unreliable.

Bitcoin mining, despite the glamour, is a marginal business. Making a profit requires a gargantuan supply of reliable but very cheap energy.

To “mine” bitcoin, mining computers must provide “Proof of work”, the solution to a difficult cryptographic math puzzle. The puzzle is not mathematically complex, the difficulty is the trillions of attempts which are required to find the missing key, to create a valid solution – kindof like brute force code breaking with a computer, trying different keys until you find one which works. Each solution cryptographically secures not only the latest transactions, but all previous transactions, so solving these difficult equations helps secure the bitcoin ledger against tampering and theft. The difficulty of solving the puzzle, and lots of independent copies of the ledger, creates a near insurmountable impediment to tampering with past transactions. People who contribute to the Bitcoin community by helping to secure the ledger of transactions against tampering, by solving these immensely difficult “proof of work” cryptographic puzzles, are rewarded with newly minted bitcoins.

The specialised computers required to solve this cryptographic puzzle and find the missing key in a reasonable time are expensive, but the real killer cost is the cost of the electricity required to run those expensive computers.

It's my understanding (which may be wrong) that in the early days of Bitcoin, the computations required to mine it and keep the ledgers was much lower, and people with ordinary desktop computers could do it and a make a coin or so. The fact that it now requires whole powerplants to supply the electricity just to keep the books seems unsustainable. Does this apply to other forms of cryptocurrency too? Did the Bitcoin founders foresee this?

Another unintended consequence is people finding a use for coal-fired power plant idled, not because they are economically worthwhile, but for political purposes. A usable asset will alway find people willing to use it.

Pelosi Steps Down, Trump STILL In, GOP STILL has House

After the GOP finally crawled across the lines with enough seats to claim the House, Nancy exectured her exit strategy, announcing that she will not seek a leadership role this term, although she will still occupy a seat (at least until appointed ambassador to Italy). Chris Queen at PJ Media, Nancy Pelosi Announces Her Future in Politics. Capt. Ed at Haut Hair Reports Pelosi to retire from House leadership -- but remain in Congress? Update: Confirmed: Backbencher in name only; Update: Hoyer too. Ace, Nancy Pelosi Will Finally Relinquish the Speaker's Gavel From Her Twisted Claws, "Our long national nightmare has almost ended." Althouse notices Nancy Pelosi uses sexist analogy to describe her withdrawal from power: "I have no intention of being the mother-in-law in the kitchen saying, 'My son doesn’t like this thing this way.'" "That was completely gratuitous — dragging in the stock character, the mother-in-law. We're supposed to know the stereotype and to loathe that sort of woman."

Still mulling over Trump's announced 2024 run. FWIW, I'm open to other candidates. At City Journal, Trump’s Uphill Sequel, "The former president’s 2024 candidacy faces challenges not only from within his own party but also from an altered political environment." Tristan Justice at Da Fed, Donald Trump Is Running For President Again. Washington Would Be Wise To Remember 2016. At Insty, #JOURNALISM: "It’s always been that way. Trump is treated as a criminal just for existing. Weirdly everyone was fine with him until he was a political threat to Democrats." David Strom at Haut Hair questions Trump's Achilles' heel? WuFlu? I disagree. Da Wire announces Two GOP Megadonors, Both Trump Allies, Announce They Will Not Support His 2024 Presidential Campaign. At Am Think, Laura J. Wellington thinks Trump defies the odds. At Am Spec Dan Flynn is Neither Trump Nor Never Trumpers. "With his ill-timed presidential bid announcement, the Donald again puts his ego over conservatives’ ideas and interests." Insty, SADLY, THIS IS A GOOD POINT: Eric July@EricDJuly "A negative thing about Trump running again is the leftist publications and studios that were on life support just got their bogeyman (and source of income) back." At TNP, Raheem Kassam just says Yes.

From the Wombat's In The Mailbox: 11.17.22, The Federalist: Here’s How Democrats Broke Congress And How Republicans Can Fix It, Kevin McCarthy Should Follow Through On His Promise To Kick Dems Off Congressional Committees, Senate Republicans Keep Showing Us Why They Never Deserved A Majority,

From the Wombat's In The Mailbox: 11.17.22,  Sebastian Gorka (Mr. Pain Relief factor)  on The Fake Trump-DeSantis War and the 2022 Non-Election. Ace, Liberal RINO Corporate Gimp Asa Hutchinson Threatens Delusionary Vanity Run for President; Reached for Comment, "Beto" O'Rourke Says, "That Limpdick? LOL Get F***ed" Plus: Shut the Fuck Up, National Review. "What, was there no Walmart board seat available?"

Jazz Shaw at Haut Hair is upbeat, Yes, the GOP took the House and it's still kind of a big effing deal. Matt Margolis at PJ Media hears the Liberal Media FINALLY Make a Painful Admission About the Midterms. We won. The great VDH at Am Great, Let The Blame Games Begin? "For Republicans either different leaders or different strategies—or both—are needed to ensure different results." Micah Meadowcroft at Am Con reminds us Our Task Hasn't Changed, "This time gives us the opportunity to step back. 'Anony Mee' at Am Think advises Patience, Grasshopper; Tsunamis Take Time. Vince at Flopping Aces worries that Democrats Brought a Gun to the Election Knife Fight While the GOP was Busy Deciding Which Loafers to Wear… At RCP, Peder Zane comments Democrats Never Admit Defeat. Yuval Levin at NYT (cited at Haut Hair), Democrats lost the 2020-rerun midterms too. Nick Arama, at Red State reports that already the GOP Comes Through on Important Promise, Opens Investigation Into Joe Biden. Matt Margolis, House GOP Drops Bombshell Allegations About Biden Crime Family. The Free Bacon want you to Meet the Democratic Grifters Who Profited From the 2022 Midterms. 

Nicole Silvero at Da Caller finds Warnock Dodges Question About ‘Mold And Corpses’ At Church-Owned Columbia Tower Apartment Complex At Front Page, You Think Fetterman Is Bad? Wait Until You See Who ELSE Pennsylvania Elected. "When John Fetterman looks like a picture of eloquence and energy by comparison" to the dead guy. Breitbart finds a John Fetterman Adviser who Admits Senator Will Not Be Able to Answer Questions in Usual Way, brain-damaged. Sarah Weaver at Da Caller, ‘Still In The Fight’: Kari Lake Refuses To Concede After Projectors Call Gov Race For Dem Katie Hobbs. I hope she prevails, but she probably won't. There was definitely Republican voter suppression in Maricopa County. Under the Hobbs administration of the election there weren't enough paper ballots in areas expected to vote Republican. It could be a coincidence. KT at Haut Hair, Warnock: Walker "crossed a line" when he spoke about Warnock's kids. It's not like Walkers reproductive output has not been an issue. Matt Margolis again with Four Developments That Waited Until After the Midterms:  Newsom’s budget deficit, Rudy Giuliani cleared, New York City crime and Biden’s student loan forgiveness killed. 

Which brings us to Sam Bankman-Fried and the FTX collapse. Fortune wants to know Could Sam Bankman-Fried go to prison for the FTX disaster? Insty, GREAT MOMENTS IN PARENTING:

Shot: “Nine years ago, when crypto-fraudster [Sam Bankman-Fried] was 19, his mother, a Stanford professor, wrote a very long article making the case that free will is a myth and that we should not blame people for committing crimes.” — Michael Shellenberger, yesterday.

Chaser: Sam Bankman-Fried’s father drafted tax legislation for Elizabeth Warren, donated thousands to Dems. — Fox News, yesterday.

UPDATE: FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried’s family boasts deep ties to Democrat power players.

and FTX HAD ‘COMPLETE FAILURE OF CORPORATE CONTROLS,’ NEW CEO SAYS. "Related: Singapore writes down $275 million in FTX, calls belief in Sam Bankman-Fried ‘misplaced.’ “In a statement on Thursday, state-owned investment company Temasek said it had decided to write down the value of its full investment in the exchange to zero, ‘irrespective of the outcome of FTX’s bankruptcy protection filing.’”" and QUESTION ASKED AND ANSWERED: Could Sam Bankman-Fried go to prison for the FTX disaster? Althouse is curious  yellow, "When I first started my foray into poly, I thought of it as a radical break from my trad past... But tbh I’ve come to decide the only acceptable style of poly is best characterized as..." 

"... something like 'imperial Chinese harem'... None of this non-hierarchical bulls–t; everyone should have a ranking of their partners, people should know where they fall on the ranking, and there should be vicious power struggles for the higher ranks.... I’m less hedonistic and more masochistic. I get a lot of pleasure from doing things that are hard, unpleasant, physically taxing, or emotionally painful..."

From the Free Bacon,  Pennsylvania AG Josh Shapiro Charges His Own Former Campaign Consultant with ‘Wide Scale’ Voter Fraud. "Pennsylvania's governor-elect rose to prominence by downplaying Republican fears of voter fraud." Ace, After An Election In Which He Claimed That Anyone Who Discussed Voter Fraud Was an "Election Denier" and Threat to Democracy, Incoming Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro Brings Charges Against Democrat "Campaign Consultant" for Massive Voter Fraud "So many post-election news dumps! Gee, I wonder why he didn't bring these charges sooner." At JTN, Natalia Mittelstadt reports Virginia county acknowledges, explains mismatches in vote totals at precincts ""The only explanation is that generally hand counts are not very reliable," said Eric Olsen, Director of Elections/General Registrar at Prince William County." KT at Haut Hair, Governor Kemp testifies before the Georgia grand jury, Flynn ordered to appear. Lawfare. 

'Streiff' at Red State takes notice that The Verdict Is in on the ‘Top Secret’ Documents Seized by the FBI From President Trump’s Home "Federal agents and prosecutors have come to believe former president Donald Trump’s motive for allegedly taking and keeping classified documents was largely his ego and a desire to hold on to the materials as trophies or mementos, according to people familiar with the matter."

Let’s be serious. The odds of anyone in the FBI, the Department of Justice, or the Office of the Archivist of the United States thinking that President Trump had actual classified documents, much less the identities of covert agents or nuclear weapons codes in his possession, are zero. Sane people don’t believe crap like that. That is jerk-off material for progressive Twitter. The entire purpose of the FBI raid was to attempt to intimidate President Trump as he hinted at a 2024 presidential run in the same way Department of Justice investigations are being used to harass and, in the case of Steve Bannon (Steve Bannon’s Conviction Shows the Biden Justice Department Has Politically Weaponized the Law and Law Enforcement), imprison Trump allies. They also wanted to create a narrative of Trump-is-a-traitor that could be weaponized to offset any campaigning done by Trump in the midterms. Finally, if possible, they wanted to damage him should he opt to run for president. There was never any crime. All that ever existed was a desire for petty vengeance. And that is not going to work out for them the way they thought it would (The Political Persecution of President Trump Is Not Going to Make Trump or His Supporters Go Away or Accept the Outcome).

Straight Arrow News  Never mind. No Trump business documents found in Mar-a-Lago.  From the Wombat's In The Mailbox: 11.17.22,  EBL , Confirmed – The Mar-A-Lago Raid Was A Politically Motivated Witch Hunt.  Also The Geller Reports  Pennsylvania Democrat Political Consultant Arrested For Massive Ballot Fraud, and House GOP Launches Far-Reaching Investigation Into Biden Including Human Trafficking and Fraud   At Twitchy, a KICK-A*S thread points out ‘yesterday’s conspiracy theories’ that were TRUE all along (and boom). Leah Barkoukis at Town Hall sees It Sure Looks Like Schumer Just Confirmed a 'Far Right Conspiracy Theory', "Great Replacement Theory."

At Haut Hair, KT finds Pence blasts J6 committee, refuses to testify and Liz Cheney has thoughts. Who cares what she thinks? NewsBusters ABSURD: CNN's Michael Fanone Labels Mike Pence 'A Coward'. Betsy McCaughey at NYPo thinks The Jan. 6 Committee should do its whole job and look at the govt plans. That ship has sailed. Jazz Shaw reports on a Texas J6 man convicted of "wearing military gear"

As with so many of the other rioters we’ve seen being rushed through the courts, both prosecutors and the media seemed hard-pressed to come up with any specifics as to what Brock did on that day to warrant a conviction in federal court that will very likely result in a lengthy prison sentence. The one thing everyone seemed to agree on was that Brock was “guilty” of wearing “military gear” (a tactical vest and a helmet) which is now apparently either a crime or indicative of criminal activity somehow.

The Free Bacon reports that, shockingly, New York Disbars Left-Wing Lawyers Who Firebombed Police Cruiser. 

At Front Page, NBC News Must Reveal Their Source in the Paul Pelosi Debacle "If there are no repercussions for lying, we'll continue to be fed lies." Horse, barn door. 

Trump STILL In, Ivanka Bails, Warnock Demands More Time

We're still rehashing Donald Trump utterly unsurprising announcement that  Trump Throws His Hair Into the Ring for 2024 (Stephen Kruiser at PJ Media). Sundance at CTH is ecstatic, He’s Back, President Donald J Trump Officially Declares His Candidacy to Run for President in 2024. Vicky Taft at PJ Media, 'We Have to Save Our Country': Trump Puts Democrats on Notice. Insty, THE MAN JUST DON’T KNOW HOW TO LIE DOWN AND QUIT: Trump Won’t Be Defeated By Media, Conservative Or Otherwise swears Emily Jashinsky at Da Fed.

Trump animates a sizable chunk of the Republican electorate. He still packs people into Rust Belt rallies like no Republican or politician can. But the political math seems increasingly dubious. Being loved by part of the base doesn’t work when many independents and moderate Republicans are so turned off they either stay home or vote for Democrats.

Beege Wellborn at Haut Hair says Insurrectiony Orange Man much badder: Trump talking points memo went out. "That didn’t take long." Well, they had lots of notice. Insty, HOW CAN WE MISS YOU, IF YOU WON’T GO AWAY? "Donald Trump announces his 2024 presidential campaign in a bid to seize early momentum." Bob Hoge at Red State, Trump Shocks the World—by Nearly Putting Us to Sleep. "Even the actual major announcement was delivered with a surprising lack of excitement, at least by Trump’s standards." Capt. Ed at Haut Hair reports Ivanka deserts, I'm out -- for good. Well, I'll miss her. Eddie Scarry at Da Fed, Corrupt Media Have Created A Hilarious Problem For Themselves In Time For Trump’s 2024 Campaign. "They’re going to talk about him. There’s no way they can’t. But how do they explain to their audiences that they’ve set up different rules and created separate editorial decisions specifically for one candidate?" Sen. elect J.D. Vance at Am Con, Don't Blame Trump. "Any midterm autopsy ought to focus on how to close the national money gap, and how to turn out less engaged voters." Vis the Wombat's In The Mailbox: 11.16.22, Auguste Meyrat at Da Fede asks Why Did Gen Z Turn Out To Vote For Democrats And Against Their Own Interests?. Too soon oldt, too late schmardt. Kurt Schlichter at Town Hall wants to know OK, Who Is Getting Fired? "The leadership had one job – win. It failed to win. Now it must pay." Matt Vespa at Town Hall on What Michelle Obama's 2016 Election Remarks Say About the Democrats. "Two things remain constant now regarding American elections post-2016. One, Democrats can never let Trump beating Hillary in a presidential contest go. And two, Maricopa County, Arizona, is just incompetent when it comes to counting the votes promptly." Steve McCann at Am Think thinks The 2022 Mid-Terms Exposed the Existence of Two Americas and the Overwhelming Importance of the 2024 Election. The next election is always the most important ever. Jazz Shaw at Haut Hair finds New York Democrats blame the NY Dem party for midterm losses.

Matt Margolis at PJ Media on how Joe Biden Just Proved He Fears Donald Trump's 2024 Candidacy "Before Trump’s announcement was even over, Joe Biden tweeted an attack ad against him, rehashing his usual anti-Trump talking points."

At the Wombat's In The Mailbox: 11.16.22, Eric Lendrum at Am Great reports Democrats Sue to Demand Extra Day of Voting in Georgia Runoff Election. At Da Caller, Warnock, DSCC Sue To Allow For Extra Day Of Early Voting In Georgia Senate Runoff. KT at Haut Hair, Warnock, Democrats sue Georgia Republican secretary of state over early voting dates. They need every possible second to harvest and manufacture enough ballots. Also at Weasel Zippers, Raphael Warnock: “America Has A Pre-Existing Condition — It’s Called Racism, It’s Called Classism, It’s Called Bigotry, It’s Called Xenophobia”. At the Free Bacon, ‘Vicious and Venomous’: Raphael Warnock Says Critics of His Church’s Evictions Are Attacking Jesus, "Democrat lashes out as church's eviction scandal takes center stage in runoff battle." At least with Fauci we were only attacking "science." Sabato's Crystall Ball, Georgia’s Runoff is the Opening Battle of the 2024 Senate Cycle, "Democrats need a buffer as they face a daunting map." Changes rating from leaning Warnock to tossup. 

According to Eric Lendrum (again), Election Machines Report More Votes than Ballots in Two Virginia Swing Districts. Why is counting so hard for these people? From the Wombat's In The Mailbox: 11.16.22, The Geller Reports a Maricopa County Election Judge Says Voting Machines Were Programmed to Reject Ballots on Election Day. They worked fine the day before. Insty, TO ASK THE QUESTION IS TO ANSWER IT: Why Does ‘Election Denier’ Apply Only to 2020? Athena Thorne at PJ Media explains  The Rise of the Democrat Vote Machine (and How to Beat It). At CNN,  Georgia DA floats immunity deals for fake electors as investigation into Trump hits roadblock. Mia Cathel at Town Hall, Biden's DOJ Now Silent on Actual Voter Disenfranchisement, like what Katie Hobbs did to Republicans in Arizona. 

Althouse,  "Trump Faces Five Major Investigations. He Has Dozens of Ways Out." "This is a brilliantly displayed series of flow charts, showing so many ways for Trump to win, as figured out by Ankush Khardori. (NYT link). It doesn't matter. The process is the punishment. Kevin Downey at PJ Media on a SHOCKER! WaPo Sheepishly Admits the FBI Found No Nuclear Secrets, or Anything Else, in Mar-a-Lago Raid. Just souvenirs. 

CBS News@CBSNews "BREAKING: Former Vice President Mike Pence tells CBS News that he's "closing the door" on testifying before the Jan. 6 committee. “Congress has no right to my testimony,” he tells @margbrennan." I guess he really is running. Besides, the J6 Star Chamber is about to be disbanded. According to Bob Spencer at Front Page he still whines Trump’s Words on Jan. 6 ‘Endangered Me and My Family’ "When did Mike Pence morph into Mitt Romney?"

At CNSNews, FBI Director Won't Say If He Had 'Confidential Human Sources' 'Dressed as Trump Supporters' at Jan. 6 Insurrection. Of course he did. The FBI is evil, not stupid. At Da Wire, ‘It Should Be A No!’: Congressman Explodes After Wray Refuses Question On FBI, January 6. Charles Sullivan at Am Thinks lists Key Takeaways from the FBI Whistleblowers Report. Jazz Shaw, Judge won't allow Biden FBI obstruction on political basis

Officials in Louisiana and Missouri recently launched a lawsuit against the Biden administration seeking information about alleged collusion between the FBI, the DoJ, and other agencies with social media companies to censor information unflattering to the White House. Lawyers for the White House attempted to prevent some of the depositions from taking place, including that of FBI special agent Elvis Chan. Agent Chan had been identified as having worked directly with Meta to remove certain news stories on Facebook. But U.S. District Judge Terry Doughty of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Louisiana shot down the request, allowing the depositions to go forward. Needless to say, there are probably some very nervous people biting their fingernails in the White House this week. (National Review)

At Summit News, a Report that Body Cam Footage Shows Paul Pelosi Opened Door For Police, Contradicting DOJ’s Claims. Breitbart, Exclusive – Sen. James Lankford Demands Answers on DHS’ Expanding ‘Disinformation Authority’

Caroline Ellison dressed as a wood nymph for a larp

Stacy McCain highlights the girlfriends role in the grown FTX scandal, The CEO Was a Tumblrina? How Did Somebody Overlook This Gigantic Red Flag in the FTX Catastrophe? "This operation had more red flags than a May Day parade in Beijing, but nobody seemed to notice any problems with FTX/Alameda when Bankman-Fried’s empire was the hottest firm in the hottest “emerging” sector of the economy." The right politicians were bought off. At Da Blaze, Here are some of the biggest FTX losers — along with its biggest Democrat beneficiaries.

So, apparently, my claim that the GOP had secured the house yesterday was premature by some lights. Later yesterday, another district fell for the GOP, the major networks got onboard, and Joe Biden admitted defeat. Althouse cites WaPoo, "Republicans narrowly win House, ending full Democratic control of Congress."

The Wombat has Rule 5 Sunday: USS McCall up and running at The Other McCain.