Flotsam and Jetsam - Bloodbath in Tech Stocks in Wake of Midterms

Driscoll at Insty notices REALITY SETS IN: Chip stocks slaughtered as Wall Street suffers worst post-midterm day since 1896. "Related:" <- Dave Strom says Thanks, Democrats: Tech Stocks Getting Creamed. From Ace, Unexpectedly, Stock Markets Crash After Communist Victory. The Drunk Republican @DrunkRepub, "Looks like we got a red wave after all."

Bill Mitchell @mitchellvii, "Trump seems very chill about the midterm losses because he realizes there won't be much difference between Republicans or Democrats being in control of the Senate." Mike Lee @BasedMikeLee, "House and Senate Republicans should take full advantage of our majorities while we still have them." Quote Gunther Eagleman™ @GuntherEagleman, "Mike Lee is right. Stay in session. Cancel the vacation. Confirm all 135 of President Trump's nominees before Schumer gets the gavel." Of course Thune won't. Gunther Eagleman™ @GuntherEagleman, "THIS: President Trump just shared Joel Pollak's take on last night, and it is the only one worth reading. "Securing the border is ugly. Fighting Iran is costly. Taking on special interests upsets donors. Backing AI scares people." "Tonight, Republicans paid the costs. The benefits will be with us for many generations." Weak Republicans campaign on what is easy. Trump governs on what is NECESSARY. One bad night does not undo a secure border." At PJM Chris Queen warns Don't Shrink Back: Our Fight Is Just Beginning, Jen Rust says Let's Win Our Country Back One Neighbor at a Time. Duane Patterson at Hat Hair asks Where to Now, St. Peter? Can You Show Me Which Road I'm On? and Dave Strom says Don't Underestimate the Importance of Tariffs As an Election Issue. Brianna Lyman at Da Fed warns Republicans Learned Nothing From 2006 About Midterms And Foreign Wars. At PollVault, Sean Trende asks Did Re-Redistricting Actually Hurt Republicans?, "Hear me out on this one." I think so, for instance, I think they cut many Texas districts too thin, betting that Hispanics Trump won in 2024 would stay in the fold. 

At PJM Eric Florack reacts, Vance Wants an ‘Honest Conversation'? Fine, Here’s One and Stephen Kruiser sees that After the Blue Wave, Ron DeSantis Has Entered the 2028 GOP Chat. Beege Welborn at Hat Hair hears DeSantis Brought the Fire Over Senate GOP, and I'm Here for It. Sundance at CTH, says ICYMI DeSantis Continues Scorching Earth Midterm Review Preparing for 2028 Race. Nick Arama at RedState hears Rubio Weigh in on Whether He's Leaving Admin With the Perfect Answer “I don’t know where these things come from, to be honest with you,” he said of the reports.“I love the work I’m doing,” Rubio added. “And plus I always laugh when they say he’s going to leave his job. I go, ‘Which one?’” Hat Hair's John Sexton reports Justice Alito Says He's Not Retiring.

Capt. Ed at Hat Hair cites Axios: Trump Teeing Up Hegseth As Scapegoat; Trump Denies. Eric Daugherty @EricLDaugh, "BREAKING: Rep. Thomas Massie announces he will BRING A VOTE to IMPEACH SecWar Pete Hegseth next week unless he resigns "There is one contingency in which I won’t reintroduce the articles of impeachment: Hegseth resigns." This ACTUALLY going anywhere requires 67 US Senators after the House vote. The new Democrat landslide majority is not seated until January 2027 More USELESS BS." DataRepublican (small r) @DataRepublican, " THREAD: The true reason Pete Hegseth is being targeted is because he's standing between President Trump and a coup
@PeteHegseth named the institutions... CFR, Brookings, the general class... in 37 seconds in a video by @Liz_Wheeler . Within 72 hours of his nomination, a color revolution planning document cited him as an insider threat. They didn't go after him because of drinking. They didn't go after him because of women. They went after him because every color revolution manual ever written says the same thing: you cannot topple a government unless the security forces defect. And a loyal Secretary of Defense is the one person who makes sure they don't. I have the receipts. Their own documents. Their own training sessions. Their own words on camera. As always, patience as I pull together the thread." In an X article Cynical Publius @CynicalPublius argues Pete Hegseth for President. "my choice for President in 2028? Pete Hegseth. That’s right. You heard me. Pete Freaking Hegseth for President! I know he says he is not running. I don’t care, let’s draft him. He has my support for two reasons: (1) I believe he is the only major GOP figure who can hold the MAGA coalition together and actually make it grow and (2) as Secretary of War he has shown himself to be a bold executive capable of making tough decisions that lead to genuine, positive organizational change in our government." I had doubts about Hegseth when he was nominated, but so far I can't argue with anything that I can see he's done.

¡No Pasaran! says FIRST ELON, THEN YOU: “If the Democrats are willing to pick this type of fight with someone like Musk, why would they show mercy to any of the rest of us?” John Sexton, He Opposed Them. Now He Must Pay. Like Muslims, Liberal want to kill people who have abandoned their religion. Don Surber, wonders about The attack on SpaceX, "Do they want to nationalize it to end Twitter or to end the space program again?" Embrace the healing power of 'and.' Jonathan Turley is disgusted, “Lawyer Up”: Democrats Prepare to Unleash Political Rage in Congress. Dave Strom warns You Ain't Seen Nothing Yet When It Comes to Democrat Revenge Tour and First Lawfare Target: James O'Keefe for the dastardly crime of showing how easy it is to commit voter fraud in Minnesota. Dan McCarthy at RCP sees Lawfare Runs Amok From Brazil to Poland. Shooting News Week wonders After the GOP Wipeout, are We About to See a New 2020-Style Gun-Buying Surge? From Twitchy, 'Good Luck Keeping Your Guns': Jamie Raskin Makes Universal Gun Registration a Top Dem Priority. Spencer Pratt @spencerpratt, "The melting wax statue of Bill Nye with a blonde wig laughs uncontrollably over the thought of digging up Charlie Kirk and killing him twice. These are not democrats. These are communists. And they are evil. We have a communist violence problem."

From Space.com, Trump declares 'American space superiority for all eternity' in election night proclamation. Ward Clark at RedState sees a US Manufacturing Renaissance: Factories Are Coming Home. At the Breitbart Bus Dig, Tariffs Are Bringing Down the Trade Deficit While Allowing the AI Boom to Continue. NYPo Voters reject data centers in nearly 50 ballot initiatives during midterms in major setback to AI bigwigs. Elon Musk @elonmusk, "Interesting." Quote Gavin Baker @GavinSBaker, "The governor-elect of Texas, Gina Hinojosa, has explicitly said that all currently permitted datacenters in Texas will be allowed to finish construction. This essentially covers all of the 2027 and likely well into 2028. She is going to pass laws that ensure that all *newly* permitted datacenters going forward for delivery in 2028/2029 will pay taxes, commit to no increase in power prices for consumers, don’t impact water availability for people, be constructed with union labor and give “Texans a seat at the table.” Sounds reasonable. She doesn’t want to lose a lot of good blue collar jobs and property taxes for small towns in rural Texas..." Cynically, sundance notices Mission Accomplished – As Expected, Gas and Diesel Prices Begin Dropping. Susie Crabtree at RCP, sees California’s Billionaires Exhale as Prop 40 Goes Down.

CNBC reluctantly reports Russia confirms new Ukraine peace talks as Melania Trump prepares to host ceasefire meeting. Sundance hosts First Lady Melania Trump Delivers Remarks with Representatives from Russia and Ukraine and Zelensky Awards First Lady Melania Trump one of Ukraine’s Highest Honors. Flattery won't get you the Donbas or Crimea. 

Beege Welborn has A Haitian Update, Visegrád 24 @visegrad24, "BREAKING: Bukele announces that El Salvador has launched a military operation in Haiti. The goal is to free 4 Salvadoran citizens kidnapped by the Haitian gangs. Bukele threatens that El Salvador will eradicate the Haitian gangs if they hurt the kidnapped men: “I want you, the gang leaders, to understand one thing very clearly… Today's attack is nothing compared to what is coming if we do not get all 4 hostages back alive. Do not take our word for empty threats. We have already finished with the gangs in El Salvador and we can finish you too” 

Northern Barbarian @xnoesbueno, "Given that the pending Democratic majorities in the House and Senate will be largely impotent, I’m also looking forward to them demonstrating how destructive, dangerous and idiotic they would be with actual power. The downside is, a vast swath of the American electorate is also dangerously destructive and idiotic, and will see the flailing as epic, heroic, righteous. Then, there’s the electorate’s vast swath of illegal aliens, dead people and homeless stumblebums filing multiple mail-in ballots who can be relied upon to vote Democratic no matter what." Quote Coddled Affluent Professional @feelsdesperate, "I encourage Democrats in this endeavor. It’s important for them to make as many enemies as possible leading up to 2028." At Da Mail, The rise of America's far left: Warnings rage over new wave of radical socialists... now insiders say: Prepare for a Democrat civil war. PJM's Rick Moran thinks The Democratic 'Civil War' Is Over. The Crazies Won. NYPO's Isaac Schorr has hopes Democrats’ blue wave may crash into a dead end. At Hat Hair, a Larry vid argues Schumer, Jeffries Realize They Might Be in Over Their Heads. VodkaPundit at PJM, This Is How Pelosi Ends: Not With a Bang But With a Weirdo. 

Althouse is desperately trying to sell the "moderate" Democrat idea, "Victories by moderates in competitive or Republican-leaning states and districts paved the way for large new Democratic majorities likely to be shaped by their priorities.", "That's the subheadline for a NYT article titled "Moderate Democrats Increase Their Numbers, and Their Clout."", Did moderates do so well in the elections because people were getting their information from talking to A.I.? and "He is my age. He sounded like I could have talked to him myself. He’s somebody normal, like me." "Said Tristan Waumsley, 35, of Richmond, Texas, "who voted straight Democratic at the state level for the first time in his life," quoted in "Fed Up With Politics and Struggle, Young Voters Rose Up/Young people powered Democratic candidates, joining global demands for generational change from a cohort weary of older people sitting on jobs and devouring resources" (NYT)." Cruadin@cruadin, "James Talarico got more 'votes' than any Democrat candidate has EVER gotten in Texas history. He got 500,000 more 'votes' than Kamala Harris got two years ago in a Presidential election year. The demographics of Texas have not changed significantly in two years. You can talk about gas prices, or Iran, or Trump's personality until the cows come home, this still seems ... odd, to say the least." Jonathan Turley notes a Poll: More Democrats Now Support Socialism Over Capitalism. So much for moderation. RNCResearch @RNCResearch, "DSA Co-Chair Megan Romer won’t say how much Democrats' far-Left agenda would cost taxpayers: ROMER: “There’s no like one solid number…” FOX: If you can just give me a basic number… ROMER: “I’m not going to give you a solid number!”" NPR admits Does the blue wave mean lower gasoline and diesel prices soon? Don't hold your breath. Larry O'Connor at TownHall sees Democrats Are About to Throw Out the Electoral College Without Touching the Constitution with the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact.

Ashley Rindsberg @AshleyRindsberg, "Everyone wants to weigh in with their Most Astute Take™ on the midterms. But no one wants to even factor in the glaringly obvious: the US has been under the most sustained information attack by foreign states in decades, if not generations..." Dave Strom, It Begins: Newly Elected Muslim Legislators Give Their Victory Speeches in Foreign Languages. HonestReporting @HonestReporting, "1/6 Abdul El-Sayed's confrontation with @SkyNews was shocking. But watch what happened when other journalists questioned Michigan's newly elected senator. Muslim Brotherhood ties. Accusations of bias. Aggressive exchanges. Here's what the cameras captured." Quote Sky News @SkyNews "Michigan's Democratic candidate for Senate Abdul El-Sayed confronted @jamesmatthewsky, telling him he wouldn't answer his questions as he wants "zero" votes in the UK. Watch the heated exchange between the two." From Ace, Muslim Brotherhood Congratulates Abdulrhaman Mohamed El-Sayed for Working on Behalf of "the Islamic World" by Working Within "the [Infidel] Political System" "Huh! And I was told it was racist to say that Abdulrhaman Mohamed El-Sayed was working on behalf of the Muslim Brotherhood for international Islam." At Da Caller, First Palestinian Elected To State Celebrates With Palestinian Flag, Forgets American Flag. Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei @MKhamenei_ir, "The process of the US's collapse has accelerated." Beege Welborn observes Philly Jew Haters Have a Little Kristallnacht 'Boycott' Bike Hike Planned for Jewish Restaurants. Mediaite asks Where’s the Press? Explicitly Antisemitic Protest in Philadelphia Has Zero Media Interest. Mazelit Airaksinen, FIRED: Violin Teacher Who Called Jews “Gremlins,” Threatened Jewish Journalist, "“Do not mention me in your article by name or you will pay dearly” said Drew Martin Youmas, a Kingston, NY, violin teacher."

From the Free Bacon, Express Service: California AG Mysteriously Reinstates Deadbeat Charity Controlled by Code Pink Activist Medea Benjamin, Despite Missing $54 Million. "The lightning-quick reinstatement came after Benjamin’s charitable foundation didn’t file a tax return for at least four years." Constituent services. Ace sees Greasy Governor Gavin Newsom Makes It Official: All 500+ Loathsome Murderers on California's Death Row Will be Spared the Death Penalty. "He commuted their sentences. California hasn't executed a prisoner since 2006." And Incompetent, Uneducated Boob and Socialist Nithiya Raman Has been Elected the Final Mayor of the City Formerly Known as Los Angeles, "Say Goodbye to Hollywood."

Tim O'Brien at PJM reports DOJ’s Harmeet Dhillon Decides to Leave Washington and Return to Private Practice ""I resigned three weeks ago, and Susie (Wiles) asked me to please wait until after the midterms," Dhillon said, confirming that she formally submitted her resignation on November 5, Fox News reported. According to reports, Dhillon said she thought she had achieved everything she had wanted to achieve since deciding to come to Washington after President Donald Trump won a second term and invited her to join his administration." Susie Moore at RedState, Harmeet Dhillon Resigns From DOJ. Capt. Ed, Dhillon Resigns From DOJ After Midterm Rebuke. "This will put the White House in a tough position, as it now faces a (very) hostile Senate for any new appointments. It may be possible to push through a replacement in this session of Congress, but Thune will have to work fast, and he may have a couple of more rush jobs coming down Pennsylvania Avenue as well." Shipwreckedcrew @shipwreckedcrew, "My guess is — Harmeet Dhillon found out yesterday she was not going to be nominated to the open Deputy AG position. She has been in a months-long battle to move up inside DOJ." Sundance, "Following a very predictable political outcome," Harmeet Dhillon Resigns as Head of DOJ Civil Rights Division "Dhillon was previously Team DeSantis. She will resurface thusly."

At Quotulatiousness High-trust societies "On the social media site formerly known as Twitter, Eva Chipiuk points out that high-trust societies can only absorb a small proportion of immigrants from low-trust cultures before the society begins losing some of the advantages of being a high-trust culture." From the Chronic, When the Gate Came Off Its Hinges "Illegal immigration activists are more motivated than ever to return to their plan of turning the United States into the world’s migrant shelter."

Some schadenfreude for John Sexton, Salon Is No More, Pass the Champagne. Ace, After 31 Years of Failure, Amateur Clickbait Hate-Site Salon Announces That They Are Shutting Down and Will Miss Their Six Readers, "Oh no! Anyway." A very Driscolly post at Insty, with lots of fine examples of their jounolism: SALON SINGS SWAN SONG: Goodbye from Salon.

 And yet another thing from T Beckett Adams ... The Fake News We Don’t Talk About (Enough). Drew Holden @DrewHolden360, "Thread: Of all the dumb things the media does, one of the worst is claiming that something the Left finds hard to believe is a “conspiracy theory.” Eventually such suggestions fall apart, as has been the case with the idea that it was a racist conspiracy to say Ilhan Omar might’ve married her brother. Remember?" Joe Concha @JoeConchaTV, "“it took *us*…" Quote Jorge Bonilla @BonillaJL, "CNN's Kasie Hunt laments "it took us years to get" to a blue wave midterm against Trump."Reddit Lies @reddit_lies, "I love how Redditors can't even find an image of Conservatives melting down so they just photoshopped a Maga hat on the crying liberal from Trump's first inauguration. Total cultural victory." VodkaPundit at Insty, SELLING OUT FOR FUN AND PROFIT: Frank McCormick @CBHeresy, "The real winners last night were the podcasters who spent the last two years sowing discord among conservatives and now get to spend the next two cashing in on the division they helped create." From the Daily Econ, The West’s Free Speech Consensus Is Fracturing.

Sundance reports Russell Brand Found Guilty of Rape and Sexual Assault in London Case. Ace, Russell Brand Found Guilty of One Count of Rape and Three Counts of Sexual Assault, "Obnoxious, compulsive man plays with matches all of his life and gets singed." AshleyRindsberg @AshleyRindsberg, "NIH gave grants to Chinese labs to make super-viruses but won't give a grant to a leading scientist because he was falsely accused of sexual misconduct." Quote Kat Rosenfield @katrosenfield, "I thought I knew every horrible thing about this story, but it was not until I read @neerajadeshp's interview with Sabatini that I realized how total his unpersoning was x.com/PirateWires/st…" Mark Hemingway @Heminator, "Every critic of gay marriage said this was the logical outcome; virtually every mainstream proponent of gay marriage assured us it would never happen. And here we are." Quote New York Post @nypost, "California city makes history allowing throuples, foursomes to legally register as partners." John Sexton notes Colorado's New Governor Wants to Slow-Walk Ballot Initiatives on Trans Issues.

From the College Fix, ‘Republicans should be shot’: Trans student tackles College Republican at University of Utah and Justice Department to review Duke medical school for allegedly discriminating against white, Asian students. Campus Reform reports AAUP backs only Democrats in historic midterm endorsements and 98.5% of political donations from Northeastern University faculty members went to left-wing candidates.

VodkaPundit at Insty with one of his DISPATCHES FROM THE EDUCATION APOCALYPSE: Why is my A student failing algebra? "Adriana Aviles’ son was an A student in math in New York City K-8 schools, she tells David Spector of the New York Post. He got into a top high school. But her honor-roll student is failing algebra. She tried to help him study. “He stared blankly at the page, completely puzzled by the material. He was completely thrown off by equations that contained fractions.” He scored a 10 out of 100 on the test...."

And more at the Wombat's In The Mailbox: 11.05.26.

Flotsam and Jetsam - A Week to Go

Before the midterms. At PJM, Stephen Kruiser thinks El-Sayed Gives Obama a Chance to Work Out His Trump Daddy Issues, Modern Democrats Really Should Swap Out the Donkey for a Swastika and Scott Pinsker claims Republicans Have a Secret Weapon to Win Michigan — and His Name Is…: The El-Sayed Slayer |"His name is Mehmet Cengiz Oz, and he’s the Muslim son of Turkish immigrants. Better known as “Dr. Oz,” he’s the most famous Muslim doctor in America. And unlike “Doctor” El-Sayed, Dr. Oz is a real, actual doctor: He’s been legally licensed, fully credentialed, completed his residency, popularized life-saving treatments, and was the professor of surgery at Columbia University." Capt. Ed at Hat Hair hears GOP Will 'Steal' Election, El-Sayed Tells Hamas-Backing Dearborn Editor. Plus: Goo Goo Ga Jewb? TownHall's Matt Vespa asks Is This the Most Antisemitic Ad to Ever Air for a Senate Race? and wants you to Watch Van Jones and Scott Jennings Tear Apart This Pro-El-Sayed Ad on CNN. Jorge Bonilla @BonillaJL, "WATCH: Kristen Welker bravely intervenes on behalf of the moderate Muslim who might feel alienated by Mike Rogers' denunciation of the media's refusal to cover Abdul El-Sayed's personal and familial ties to the Muslim Brotherhood." VodkaPundit at Insty has a CIVIL RIGHTS REMINDER: Here’s a Quick Second Amendment History Lesson For Michigan’s Islamo-Socialist Senate Candidate, Abdulrahman Mohamed El-Sayed. John Sexton at Hat Hair hears from NYC: Woman Charged for Attacking Jews With Syringe. Amy Curtis at TownHall sees the NYC Comptroller Sounds Alarm After 30,000 Private-Sector Jobs Left the City in Just Two Months. Gee, I wonder why? Hat Hair's Beege Welborn says Color Me Constantly Amazed at How Big Cities Squeeze Money Out of Rocks. Kyle Olson at TownHall hears Gavin Newsom Calls DSA 'Mainstream Democratic Movement' Heading Into 2028 Presidential Election. At Hat Hair a Larry vid shows a Hidden Camera Footage Capture Gavin Newsom Predicting Democratic Socialists Will Dominate His Party. RedState's Bob Hoge has the Feel Good Story of the Day: Think Tank Ranks the Nation's Worst Governors, and the List Is Spot On. The Drunk Republican @DrunkRepub, "Crazy we thought this shit was over when the Wall fell. Turns out Communism is a lot like herpes; you can’t cure it, you can only treat the flare ups."

Nick Sortor @nicksortor, "LMAO! Scott Bessent is TROLLING Obama by having lunch at the Cheesecake Factory today, after Obama threw shade at the restaurant yesterday “This is the man who built the museum that looks like DARTH VADER’S TOMB! I would tell the Martha's Vineyard set to give it a try.” What a legend." Steve Soucup at Am Great says Thanks Again, Obama, "Without Obama, Trump would never have become president, and that’s true both literally and figuratively." Richard “Beebo” Russell @proverbs_14_23, "For anyone curious about what it actually looked like to kill a generation of functioning cars, here’s an actual video from 2009 and brief explanation: ... So just like that, in order to increase prosperity and save the environment, 677,000 entire running cars and trucks were turned directly into rebar worth a few cents per pound. The entire Obama administration was like a chapter out of atlas shrugged."

Anxious anxiously informs us Anthropic model accessed voter information, in Georgia. Buck Throckmorton at Ace's MORNING RANT has A Reminder that the Purpose of Election Prediction Markets Isn’t to Gauge Voter Sentiment but to Influence It. At Hat Hair, Dave Strom sees Suddenly Protecting the Ballot Is Good Policy in Washington state, and cites Gallup: Republicans Rank Patriotism As Important, Democrats Disagree. Sundance calls this Interesting – President Trump Notes Reward for Identifying Voter Fraud. Fox goes Inside House GOP's far-reaching push to monitor midterm elections and prepare for legal fights. "Committee on House Administration's program could pave the way for recounts and lawsuits if improprieties found." Politico claims a Poll shows Trump is mobilizing more Democrats against him than Republicans for him. "A new POLITICO Poll shows that even some of the president’s most loyal supporters are willing to put winning first." It could be true, but I don't trust polls and I don't trust Politico.

You may have heard, Brazil held an election, and the process and results were, uh, interesting. At Variety, Lula’s Election Win: How Fan Accounts for Taylor Swift, Billie Eilish and More Helped Him to a Historic Victory and Defeat for Trump, "Lula’s 51.79%/48.21% defeat of far right candidate Flávio Bolsonaro is a massive win for Brazil’s cinema and, more importantly, the environment, health service and democracy." At the Rio Times, Brazil Stocks Halted After Lula Win, "São Paulo’s exchange, B3, halted share trading for 30 minutes at 8:57 a.m. ET after a plunge of more than 10%...Futures. Contracts on the Ibovespa, Brazil’s main stock index, fell nearly 20% at the worst point." Ace, Leftwing Brazilian Strongman Lula Puts His Personal Lawyer on the Supreme Court, Who Then Orders the Polls to Remain Open in Lula Strongholds. Eugene Kontorovich @EVKontorovich, "This is modern liberalism. After winning an election by having his own lawyer, now a judge, keep polls in favorable districts open, Lula immediately seeks to crack down on free speech to keep the Right from having a chance again. We saw such crackdowns in Hungary, and will see them in the U.S." Visegrád 24 @visegrad24, "BREAKING: Flávio Bolsonaro has been summoned by the Federal Police to hand over his passport within 24 hours by order of Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes. The Supreme Court Justice argues that there is a risk that Bolsonaro could flee abroad to avoid prosecution." Bill Mitchell @mitchellvii, "WHAT IS THE LESSON OF BRAZIL? If you ever give the Marxists power, they'll never give it back." The Babylon Bee @TheBabylonBee, "After Late-Night Ballot Drop, Joe Biden Wins Brazilian Presidency With 81 Million Votes."

Elsewhere abroad, Hat Hair's John Sexton reports Cuba's Government Has Collapsed and Cubans Know Who to Blame and Beege Welborn sees More Syrupean Economic Bleeding From the Tariff Fight. Sundance at CTH, ConocoPhillips Plans Job Cuts in Canada, Effective Tomorrow. VodkaPundit at Insty says IF YOU WANT PEACE…: "The Nordics are preparing for war. “The border region’s economic decline and rapid militarization are emblematic of the entire Nordic region’s radically changed approach to relations with Russia and the United States. During the Cold War and to a lesser extent after it, Finland and Sweden managed relations with Moscow through a combination of pragmatic diplomacy, deterrence, and trade. Today, after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, both diplomacy and trade have been severely downgraded. These two Nordic nations, which touted an enlightened neutrality during the Cold War and maintained good relations with both the Soviet Union and the West, have recently joined Nato."

Chris Queen at PJM looks at The Cost of an Ordinary Life: A Stronger Energy Supply Means More Than Cheaper Fill-Ups. At the Am. C on Safety and Health, Why is diesel so expensive? It's all in the chemistry "Diesel used to be cheaper than gasoline. Not anymore. Both fuels come from the same crude oil, so why the big price difference? Economics plays a role, but chemistry deserves much of the blame. Especially the surprisingly difficult and expensive business of getting rid of stinky sulfur."

Collin Rugg @CollinRugg, "NEW: Robert Reich calls for the "defunding" of Elon Musk, calls for Democrats to go after Musk's companies. "Democrats ought to [start] laying the groundwork for nationalizing Starlink & SpaceX... It should be a public corporation." Does he want Musk to drop another $50M on the midterms? Swan @AndySwan, "5 years ago: Starlink is such a stupid idea. Anyone wasting money investing in this Musk scam deserves to lose everything. Today: Starlink is essential to the defense of an invaded nation. Access to Starlink is a human right! Nationalize it!" Outer Space Today @outerspacetoday, "BREAKING: SpaceX $SPCX has secured access to some of the Pentagon’s most precise satellite-tracking data, giving its Starlink network new capabilities for monitoring spacecraft and collision risks in orbit. First reported by Breaking Defense and examined in new reporting by The Guardian, the agreement allows SpaceX to access portions of the U.S. military’s High Accuracy Catalog. In exchange, SpaceX provides tracking observations from Stargaze, a network of sensors aboard its approximately 11,000 Starlink satellites. The military data includes detailed estimates of orbital trajectories and potential collision risks, improving the ability to monitor objects that could threaten spacecraft...."

At WaEx, The Fed thinks it’s fighting inflation. It’s starving the cure. Sundance reports Audi Announces Intent to Build $4 Billion SUV Plant in Macon Georgia – 4,500 Jobs. Wall Street Mav @WallStreetMav, "She is absolutely nuking the reputation of The Economist with these interviews. First she gets decapitated by Elon Musk, now Jamie Dimon mocks how ridiculous she is." Quote Garrett Wright @garrxttt, "JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon mocks The Economist during a tense exchange after being told he’s sounding like Trump: “I’m not Trumpian. I’m factual.”" Interviewer: “You’re sounding Trumpy.”

From Ace, In a Since-Deleted Tweet, Ilhan "Omar" Wished a Happy Fathers' Day to Her Real Father, "Nur Said," and Not "Omar". "I've mentioned this before but none of you guys ever believe me (and I can't say I fault you for that). So believe Just the News." Dave Strom wonders Did Ilhan Omar Send a Veiled Threat to Her Somali Constituents?

Capt. Ed reports Comey Indicted for Nat-Sec Leaks to Media. Keep after him. Nothing will stick with a DC or NoVa jury, though. The Divine Ms. Devine has a podcast episode with AG Blanche, I Risked My Career for President Trump. Cam Edwards at BA sees a Man Who Failed to Rewrite Second Amendment Asks SCOTUS to Finish the Job. "Robinson's argument goes something like this: I tried to start a grassroots campaign to amend the Constitution and update the language of the Second Amendment that went nowhere, so now the Court should step in and declare that the Second Amendment's prefatory clause is "extinct," and the right to keep and bear arms extends solely to self-defense and hunting for food, not any other lawful purpose. Also, a purely hypothetical conversation between an imaginary 9-year-old girl and her equally imaginary teacher proves that the Second Amendment does not protect semiautomatic firearms."

At Da Signal, Trump’s Deportations Are Making America Safer. Ace, It's Hard to Believe, But When You Deport Tens of Thousands of Career Criminals, Crime in America Falls. "How can this be? If we're deporting so many criminals, how can crime still be dropping?" From Da Wire, An Illegal Immigrant Killed My Daughter. Steve Descano Could Have Stopped It. "Descano campaigned on the idea that deporting a criminal is "a perversion of justice," and my daughter paid for it." At the Gateway Pundit, Judge Ignores ICE Detainer, Grants Bond for Illegal Alien Suspected of Decapitating Iwo Jima Memorial.

AP whines the Trump administration asks Washington to set aside ballots from 400 voters it says may be noncitizens. Insider Wire @InsiderWire, "#BREAKING: The DOJ just charged 48 foreigners with illegally voting in U.S. elections." Rusty Weiss at RedState points out Well, That '60 Minutes’ Deportation Sob Story Sure Blew Up in a Hurry.

PJM's Vicky Raft sees The Real Target of the Paris Riots Comes Into Focus — and It's Not 'School Funding' and Aaron Hanscomb notes Barcelona Burns, and Spain’s Left Blames Israel. Capt. Ed thinks Macron Channels LePen, Proposed Consequences. Now the 'Yellow Vests' Are Joining Protests. From Quotulatiousness “This alliance between Islamist and left-wing forces is known in France as islamo-gauchisme.“ Ace argues Islamocommunism Is Choking On Its Own Internal Contradictions, "Leftwing white women have a problem..." Defiant L’s @DefiantLs, "Rioters in France set fire close to a building. A woman from the side yells "There are kids in that building!" The rioter replies "We don't give a f*ck, we want our rights" I don't see how nearly setting a building on fire gives you any rights..."

John Sexton likes how a Conservative Lawyer Points to a Double Standard at the NYTimes. There are "right-wing" law professors, but no "left-wing" law professors. Stephen L. Miller @redsteeze, "CNN calls Karen Finney a "political commentator." Karen Finney was Hillary Clinton's press secretary. She was also the communications director for the DNC." Quote David J. Urban @DavidJUrban, "Karen Finney went on CNN and chalked up Trump’s rise after Obama to “whitelash” and “hate groups,” as if opposing the far left is about bigotry. Then riddle me this. Why is @AbdulElSayed's Democrat primary oppenent, Haley Stevens, refusing to campaign with her own party’s nominee? It isn’t race. It isn’t hate. It’s that his policies are too crazy radical even for fellow Democrats. The left calls it bigotry because they can’t admit the truth. Voters are rejecting bad ideas."

Karlyn Borysenko, anti-communist cult leader @DrKarlynB, "Exclusive. "The United States Government must fall." Earlier today, members of the Chicago Teachers Union collaborated with activist students and teachers in France. On that call, they explicitly called for violence, destruction, killing, and the fall of the United States Government. The full, unedited recording is in the post below." Legal Phil @Legal_Fil, "Please tell me more about the need to vote for the party that nominated a Nazi-insignia tattooed individual to combat Nazis."The Patriarch Tree @PatriarchTree, "The mislabeling is not accidental, of course. The Left calls any opposition “fascist,” “Nazi,” etc., as a way of justifying extralegal measures to suppress dissent, including terrorist violence." Quote Joel Pollak @joelpollak, "It's not a victory over "authoritarianism" if a nationalist loses an election. Putin is an authoritarian. Trump is not, nor is Bolsonaro. The left enjoys this "resistance" cosplay, ignoring authoritarian behavior in its own ranks. Anything to distract from French riots, I guess.."

Heather McDonald at CJ asserts Cornell’s Real Crisis Is Irrationalism, Not Rape, "In claiming a campus rape crisis, the university’s students are egged on by radical professors who betray the cause of reason for an ideology of victimhood."

The Wombat has Rule 5 Sunday: Last of the Autumn Light and FMJRA 2.0: The Continuing Crisis up on time and under budget.

Flotsam and Jetsam - Is France Done For?

Sundance at CTH says Macron Orders Curfew in Primary Tourist Regions of Paris to Stop Discussion of Riots, Arson and Looting, note the "stop discussion." PJM's Rick Moran sees Government Buildings Torched As French Riots Reach the 'Point of No Return'. Hank Berrien at Da Wire, watches as France Burns: Palestinian Flags Fly Over France’s Republic Statue As Riots Rock The Country, "Historic Limoges town hall gutted, 1,200 arrested, 150 cops hurt." At Hombre de Oliver, RIP Limoges Hôtel de Ville. "A few thoughts on city halls inspired by the news of its destruction." At PJM, VodkaPundit wonders Where Are the Gendarmes? Probably rioting for better police stations. Ace hears French Police Flee from Violent "Students" "Protesting Class Sizes" as "Class Size Riots" Spread Throughout Europe. "Boy, foreign immigrants and 35-year-old communist fifth columnists sure are bears for education resources." Larry Alex Taunton @LarryTaunton, "There is no 2a in France. Imagine: Francois hears someone breaking into his home one night. He has no gun. Gun possession, but for rare cases, is illegal. So, he grabs a golf club. He confronts the intruder hellbent on harming his family. Francois puts a 3-wood to the side of Muhammad’s head. Muhammad is hospitalized with a fractured skull and Francois is jailed for excessive use of force. What was he supposed to do? Nothing, really. This is precisely what Democrats want here. All of your rights hang on the Second Amendment." Quote Breaking911 @Breaking911, "Looters in Marseille, France, have reportedly begun targeting private homes, breaking into large villas in the affluent 7th arrondissement." Francois is screwed. 

Althouse sees Tourists salvaging what they can of their Paris trip? Or are these locals? I'm guessing locals. They're smoking! Fox News @FoxNews, "A striking contrast on the streets of Paris: A couple sits sipping drinks at an outdoor café as flames burn just steps away. The moment was captured Saturday near the Arc de Triomphe, on the outskirts of rioting that erupted during demonstrations over rising prices, inequality and public spending. Video shows the pair continuing their conversation as a burning trash bin lights up the background." PJM's Stephen Kruiser thinks The Burqafication of France Is Nearly Complete. Abe Greenwald at Commentary takes on The Riot Coalition. Krzysztof Szczawinski @Kristof_Poland, "The Useful Idiot: A Natural History Specimen: Western, educated, well-meaning. Habitat: universities, NGOs, quality newspapers, dinner parties where the wine is good and the opinions are better. Status: abundant...." Krzysztof Szczawinski @Kristof_Poland, "The look of someone discovering reality. This young woman stood in front of a smashed shop window in Paris last night and said the smashing and looting are not what the cause is about. She still believes the people who broke the glass share her cause. They don’t. They have their own...." Jeffrey Carter at Points And Figures notes France Burns, But So Does the US. Matt Goodwin predicts Yes. Marine Le Pen will be the next President of France. Here’s why.

TownHall's Matt Vespa reports The Feds Have That DNA Evidence on Ilhan Omar...and It Could Totally Wreck Her. Ace, We Got Your DNA: Federal Agents Dug Through Ilhan Omar's and Her "Sister's" Garbage to Find DNA to Establish Whether Or Not They're Actually Related, "Remember, when you toss out your garbage, you are abandoning it and disowning it, so no warrant is needed to search and seize it. So we have Ilhan "Omar's" DNA." PJM's Cathy Salgado hears there is No Record of Ilhan Omar’s Father’s U.S. Naturalization? This would be a big deal, since her claim to citizenship comes through him, with her receiving citizenship as a minor (a factoid also in dispute) from his naturalization. Bill Glahn at Power Line on Missing Ilhan’s missing defense. Dave Harsanyi at Da Signal observes Ilhan Omar Isn’t Above the Law Either.

Northern Barbarian @xnoesbueno, "The memo went out. “Pearl clutching” is the new Dem dismissal when anyone hits them for advocating violence, calling for punitive lawfare, pretty much whenever they open their mouths. “Spare me the pearl clutching.” All the violent, seditious, gun and money grabbing pearl clutchers are gonna be saying it." Quote Elissa Slotkin @ElissaSlotkin, "Spare me the pearl-clutching — especially from Republican Members of Congress and online MAGA grifters who have cheered President Trump's weaponization of the government against those he doesn’t like, as recently as last week. This is a subject I know something about: Less than a a year ago, Trump directed the DOJ and FBI to investigate me, and then tried to criminally indict me for a 90 second video, exercising basic free speech. The same free speech you’re exercising now, lying about what I said in this clip...." Quote Mike Lee @SenMikeLee, "It is absolutely disgraceful to threaten young Americans for participating in politics and serving their country." Ian Miller @ianmSC, "Amazingly and predictably Elissa Slotkin has managed to make herself the victim after calling for fascist government prosecutions of everyone who disagrees with her political ideology so that they're too scared to ever work in government." Quote Greg Price @greg_price11, "Elissa Slotkin claims that the only reason that she's being attacked for threatening lawfare against young conservatives for serving in the Trump administration is because she's a woman." Is she? It's so hard to tell with Democrats these days. Hans Mahncke @HansMahncke, "Slotkin has, in many ways, done us a favor. She has revealed the ultimate purpose of lawfare, which is to override the will of voters. This is no longer about Trump, if it ever was. The simple truth is that the left has built a long-term system to subvert election results and ultimately entrench de facto one-party rule. We cannot keep fighting the abuses one at a time while leaving the system that produces them untouched. This is why we founded http://Counterlawfare.org. We need to confront this machinery head-on, expose how it operates, and awaken Americans to the full scale of the threat." At his NYPo gig, Insty writes Elissa Slotkin’s threats to prosecute conservatives moves America closer to civil war. Power Line's John Hinderacker worries Is Another Civil War In Our Future? "Once the powers of the federal government are openly deployed to keep one political party in power, there is no basis for shared citizenship and the union is doomed."

From Twitchy, Perpetually Furious Judge Ana Reyes Triggered by Trump’s Post Calling Her a Crazed Lunatic. Beege Welborn at Hat Hair, The Judge in the Back Said 'Everyone Attack' and It Turned Into a Golf Course Blitz. I think the Federal government should file a writ with Judge Reyes everytime the government plans to cut down a tree...

TheFOO @PolitiBunny, "Just answer the question, lil guy." Quote DSA Watch @DSA_Watch, "Reporter: “Your sister in law was on a Terrorist Watch list” Abdul El-Sayed: “Mike Rogers and his Flock camera and his Patriot Act and his surveillance state” x.com/dsa_watch/stat…" Rabbi Barclay warns War Has Many Faces. Sister Toldja at RedState reports a Reporter Reveals What He's Been Told About Michigan Polling in Latest Concerning Sign for El-Sayed. “One of the factors that is really worth paying closer attention to are the number of Democrats, lifelong Jewish Democrats, especially in the Detroit suburbs, who are saying for the first time in their lives they’re voting Republican,” Peters said. “That’s a big deal.” Hat Hair's Dave Strom hears the New Hotness: Mamdani Is Really a Moderate, You Know. Deroy Murdock at Da Signal says Soft on Terrorism, Hard on Guns: Talarico’s Legislative Record Is Scarier Than Halloween. Buck Throckmorton at Ace's THE MORNING RANT: Wealth Extraction – It’s What Socialists and the “Financialize Everything” Capitalists Have in Common. 'Dave Freer @davefreersf, "Based on past records: I think we can safely say that my 2 year old grand-daughter would be more to be trusted than any government, to manage her money. And she'd crumple it, lose it or eat it, & pooh it into her nappy. Come back when you can demonstrate that Govt. can do better." Quote Gabriel Zucman @gabriel_zucman "Hi @elonmusk , we’ve conducted the most comprehensive study to date on tax unfairness in the United States. We found that you, like your fellow billionaires, pay a lower effective tax rate than the average American. So if you really want to help the American people, I have a ..." Quote Elon Musk @elonmusk, "Next year, I will give one of my SpaceX shares to every kid in America." Nick Gillespie at Reason warns us Be Prepared for Elizabeth Warren's Reign of Economic Error, "The progressive Democrat, whose party may take control of the Senate, is sounding alarms over consolidation in the hot sauce business." Stephen L. Miller @redsteeze, "It's not that hard. The left lets institutions and communities break down to a point of total degradation to prove why more government and non profits are the answer. The goal is to purposely not solve problems and make life and safety worse. See the entire defund the police movement and homelessness nonprofits in California. Gavin Newson promised to end homelessness and instead it ballooned on purpose...." 

DataRepublican (small r) @DataRepublican, "THE DEMOCRACY FILES, PART 1: THE PLAN. I am working on gathering all the documents. Now, here's something to understand about the "democracy" and protest ecosystem: almost nobody knows the 'grand plan' so to speak. They simply agree to play a role. For example, 99% of people breaking stuff on the streets believe they're doing it out of an organic uprising. They don't see that the police have been ordered to stand down. They don't see that legal services have already been arranged for them. They don't see that foundations are paying for their bonds. Similarly here, governors aren't participating in a pact to destroy the Constitution. Governors simply have agreed to push back on the Insurrection Act. The effect is the same: the governors end up playing a role in a grander plan...." Scott McKay at Da Fed, says Hey Democrats, That Rage Engine of Yours Is Going to Throw a Rod, You Know "The Left keeps revving up the outrage, but voters may be running out of gas."

PJM's Stephen Kruiser thinks Trump Vs. the Pollsters Is a Fight That's Always Fun to Watch. From Twitchy hears James Woods Sums Up Gavin Newsom and His Call for a 'Blue Tsunami' With One Glorious (NSFW) Word. James Woods @RealJamesWoods, "Well, you could start with water in the fire department reservoirs, dick head." Quote Gavin Newsom @GavinNewsom, "A blue wave isn’t enough. We need a BLUE TSUNAMI. From New Hampshire to California, we have an opportunity to send a message across this country that we’re BETTER than this." Shipwreckedcrew @shipwreckedcrew, "So, is it a coincidence that DOJ is out arresting people in California today for being non-citizens who have registered to vote? What does that prove? It proves that there are registered voters in California who are ineligible to vote in federal elections and California has sent them mail-in ballots. That is "knowledge" under the "aiding and abetting" theory of criminal culpability. Coming up shortly on Substack." Sarah Hoy proposes A Pause Before The Fire "The one thing I can tell you for frigging sure is that the October surprise they’re warming up is a stock market crash. Yes, yes, I know. AI is overmonetized and will come down hard. I get that. And it will inevitably take some companies — like the chip makers — down hard as well."

Pro Life reports All 47 Senate Democrats Begged Lee Zeldin Not to Test Your Tap Water for "mifepristone and misoprostol – the two drugs used in a chemical abortion – along with their metabolites." Don't turn on the lights 'cause we don't want to see! Leslie Eastman at LI reports Monarch Butterfly Populations Rebound as U.S. Honeybee Colony Counts Rise. “Two new reports from WWF-Mexico and its partners found that colonies covered 7.24 acres of forest in the 2025-2026 season. That’s an increase of 4.42 acres compared to last season.” I blame Trump.

Luke Greenberg at PJM sees U.S. Targets A7 Network Over Alleged Role in Iran Sanctions Evasion. @instapundit @instapundit, "Once we liberate Iran we can produce an expeditionary force made up of Iranians who hate Muslims." Quote Nioh Berg @NiohBerg, "After Iran is free, America should seriously consider liberating Europe." At Reason, Trump's War With Iran Pushed Him To Waive a Century-Old Shipping Law. Commerce Boomed. "The Jones Act requires all goods moved between American ports to be carried on American-built, American-crewed ships." The problem is that our deindustrialization has all but killed American shipping. RCP observes the obvious, Ethanol Mandates Are Driving Up Fuel Prices. Ethanol mandates are a bipartisan folly.

At the Algemeiner, Trump Gives Netanyahu ‘Complete and Total Endorsement’ Nine Days Before Israeli Election. Sundance hosts Secretary Rubio Delivers Remarks and Answers Media Questions from Uzbekistan and Outgoing Senator John Cornyn Sends Alarming Public Statement Via His X Account: Senator John Cornyn @JohnCornyn, "Recent reports on Starshield satellite communication disruptions in Ukraine raise serious concerns and must be investigated. I joined @SenatorShaheen, @SenThomTillis, and six of our Senate colleagues in calling for the @DeptofWar Inspector General to determine what happened with this critical capability and protect American personnel. It remains in our national interest to help Ukraine defend itself from Putin’s aggression." "Option #1 – Senator John Cornyn genuinely doesn’t know that Ukraine has never had access to “Starshield.” The implications within this possibility are alarming, especially when you consider his senate office staff wouldn’t stop him from making a public fool of himself. Option #2 – Assuming he’s not made a mistake. Senator John Cornyn has just publicly exposed a deep state, highly classified secret, outlining to Russian Federation President Vladimir Putin that the United States has indeed been operating the Ukraine targeting system against Russia all along. This has major implications. Option #3 – Again, assuming he’s not made a mistake. Senator John Cornyn has just exposed that elements within the United States government are controlling military operations and operating without the knowledge of President Donald Trump and Secretary of state Marco Rubio. You choose."

At Lawrence Person's BattleSwarm Blog, “Why Is Everyone Investing in Texas?” Good barbeque? Kurt Schlichter @KurtSchlichter, "That’s not enough. We should cut more. People should pay for their own healthcare. And the government should get out of the healthcare business so we don’t have the Obamacare system that is absolutely screwed up – just as we warned it would be." Quote Rep. James Walkinshaw @Rep_Walkinshaw, "$1 trillion. That's the Medicaid cut Trump signed into law, and it's coming for Americans' health care. Families already struggle to afford groceries, rent, and gas under his economy." At Twitchy, Get a Look at the 'Researchers' Leaving the US Because of Trump’s Politicization of Science. May I suggest Afghanistan?

RCP looks at The Rise and Fall of Katie Zacharia. I really don't think she got a fair deal, but who would want to take that on, especially after Karoline Leavitt knocked it out of the park? Teri Christoph at RedState says About That Rumor That Susie Wiles Is on Her Way Out..., take them with a salt lick. From Da Caller, ‘It Was Epic’: Kid Rock Discusses Trump Dinner With Stephen A. Smith, Bill Maher. Hat Hair VIP's Capt. Ed wonders Did Vance Just Throw 2028 Into Chaos? "Did J.D. Vance just signal that he will walk away from politics at the end of this term? Or is he really just the kind of procrastinator he claims?"

Da Fed's Brianna Lyman maintains Serial Liar And Russia Hoaxer Ken Dilanian Should Not Be Allowed Within 500 Feet Of A Newsroom.

JT Young at Am Spec thinks What Happened to John Cleese Isn’t Funny, "Britain’s free-speech crackdown makes the Ministry of Silly Walks look positively sensible."

TownHall's Kurt Schlichter sees Woke 2 Is Here, and It’s Failing Hilariously. Nocturnal Nick @foxluvsbunny, "I was flying to New York and while boarding the woman in front of me was struggling to get her bag into the overhead bin. I asked if she needed some help and she said no. About an hour into the flight a flight attendant pulled me aside and asked what I had said to her. Turns out she reported me to the crew for sexual harassment and said I made her uncomfortable. Fortunately several witnesses took my side and so I didn’t get into any trouble, but you’ve still got to be careful. There’s some crazy people out there who will try to ruin your life over nothing." Quote Jay@countrypilled, Replying to @RichardArion1, "what is the worst thing that happened to you for approaching a girl? you got imprisoned? pepper sprayed for introducing yourself to her? you shouldn't live in fear of women. they're just women, and a lot of them are nice." From Althouse, "The onslaught against [Jane] Doe and her supporters is taken directly from the playbook that established them: Gamergate." "Writes Nathan Taylor Pemberton, in "I Have Never Seen the Online Right So Happy" (NYT)." Pretty much completely rewriting history.

From the College Fix, a Rutgers student sues school over arrest for hanging ‘anti-Hamas fliers’. According to the Cleveland Jewish News, "Yiorgos Maravelias had been arrested at a May 2024 pro-Israel counter-protest for, he claims, hanging “anti-Hamas fliers” near an “anti-Israel encampment.” Maravelias, a disabled veteran, said he got involved in “campus activism” shortly after Hamas’ October 2023 assault against Israel, Fox News reported. He said he had set up a table next to a “vocal minority” of anti-Israel Rutgers law students to share his views about Hamas — that they’re “rapists, monsters, [and] savages.” Maravelias’ complaint alleges Rutgers Law administrators “disfavored” his political views and “perceiv[ed] him as Jewish” (he’s not), and notes Rutgers is “home to the controversial Center for Security, Race and Rights,” headed by Law Professor Sahar Aziz, whom Maravelias accuses of “ripping [down] his fliers from a bulletin board.”"

And still more at the Wombat's In The Mailbox: 10.19.26. The Wombat has Rule 5 Sunday: Casual Friday Redux and FMJRA 2.0: Better Than Nothing up and garnering clicks at The Other McCain.