Flotsam and Jetsam - Meet the New Iranian Boss, Same as the Old Boss

It's official, whoever is left in charge of Iran has promoted Mojtaba Khamenei, son of previous Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, into the spot as questions arise as to his health, or even survival. Northern Barbarian @xnoesbueno, "New ayatollah, new target! BBC re Mojtaba Khamenei "the power behind the robes ... capable but forceful." "Yet his selection could still prove controversial." Uh, sure. If he lasts more than a day or two. Does anyone else want that bullseye on them?" The Mossad: Satirical and Awesome, "@TheMossadIL "To avoid confusion I am now calling Mojtaba "Khamini-me". Hope it catches on." Ace, Iran Names New "Supreme Leader," Who Is Immediately "Injured" In An Airstrike. Hat Hair's Dave Strom wonders Is Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei Actually Alive? Nioh Berg @NiohBerg, "Important possible scenario: There is a chance that Mojtaba is in fact dead, and that the regime deliberately selected a dead man as SL. Why would they do that? In the hopes that israel goes looking for a ghost while ignoring the real decision makers. A distraction. His "injury" also excuses the regime from bringing him out in public. Of course he may well be alive, but never underestimate these insane mullahs and their desperation." JP reports Israel not yet done: Israel will target 'every successor' appointed by Iran's Islamic regime, IDF warns. "We want to tell you that the hand of the State of Israel will continue to pursue every successor and every person who seeks to appoint a successor." Mediaite hears Trump ‘Would Back’ the Killing of Iran’s New Leader if He Doesn’t Agree to US Demands: WSJ. David Keyes @DavidMKeyes, "Breaking: Eli Minated, one of Iran's most brutal generals, has been eliminated." Jim Ferguson @JimFergusonUK, "BREAKING: IRANIAN AIR FORCE GENERAL KILLED Mohsen Darrebaghi, an Iranian Air Force Brigadier General, has reportedly been killed. According to initial reports, Darrebaghi played a role in coordinating operations targeting U.S. and Israeli forces..." At Lawrence Person's BattleSwarm Blog Iran Strikes: Day 9. Gary Anderson at Am Spec wonders What Next After the Bombing Stops? "Will the people of Iran be willing and able to overthrow the regime?"

Tom Knighton at TAW, When Hegseth was proven right. "Hegseth focused on the things that mattered, and it’s paying dividends in Iran." Kurt Schlichter @KurtSchlichter, "@PeteHegseth has just overseeing his military as it annihilated the entire leadership, navy, and air defense system of a significant regional power with minimal losses. I understand why Democrats are so angry about him." Quote Senator Reverend Raphael Warnock @SenatorWarnock, "Pete Hegseth is unhinged and has no idea what he is doing. He’s putting our servicemembers at risk. He should be fired immediately." Althouse hosts Pete Hegseth on "60 Minutes." "I was struck by how intelligent and articulate Hegseth is and also by the twinkle in his eye. He seems to love what he is doing and to be charming us into loving it too." Ace reminds us the BBC Altered Pete Hegseth's Speech About Iran, Claiming That the US Seeks to "Bring Death" to the Iranian "People", "This was through their BBC Persia channel. The Telegraph, itself a simp dhimmi outlet, claims this was just a "mistake" rather than what it actually was, deliberate pro-terrorism propaganda."

At Althouse, "Australia is making a terrible humanitarian mistake by allowing the Iran National Woman’s Soccer team to be forced back to Iran..." ""... where they will most likely be killed. Don’t do it, Mr. Prime Minister, give ASYLUM. The U.S. will take them if you won’t. Thank you for your attention to this matter. President DONALD J. TRUMP"" 2 hours ago, at Truth Social. Ace, Iran's Women's Soccer Team Protested the Regime By Refusing to Sing Its Islamofascist Anthem; Iran Declares Them "Wartime Traitors;" Australia Is Determined to Send Them Back to Iran to be Arrested (and Maybe Hanged). "They were playing in Australia. They know if they go back to Iran, they'll be tried as war criminals. What kind of country sends women back to be murdered?" The Mossad: Satirical and Awesome @TheMossadIL, "INSANE. The Iranian regime is mass texting its own citizens like an unhinged group chat. One message warns people that if they photograph strike sites they will be treated as “American-Zionist mercenaries” and spies for Israel. Another message threatens Iranians living abroad that if they “sympathize with the enemy,” their property will be confiscated..."

From the Free Bacon, Trump’s Approval Rating With GOP Hits 86 Percent Amid Operation Epic Fury "It's the highest own-party approval rating of any 21st-century president at this point in a second term." Sarah Hoyt, Apparently, We Can Just Do Things? Sundance at CTH happy President Trump States He Will Not Sign Other Bills Until ‘Save America Act’ is Passed. That's pretty bold. David Freddoso @freddoso "Fun fact: In 1996, Barack Obama won his first elected office (Illinois state Senate) by throwing all of his opponents off the ballot. One of his tactics for disqualifying them was to challenge signatures on his opponents' petitions by married women who signed using the wrong name. Happy International Women's Day. The Victory Girls report Rand Paul May Give Markwayne Mullin A DHS Hearing Next Week. Congressman Brendan Boyle @RepBrendanBoyle, "Fetterman is Trump’s favorite Democrat for a good reason." Quote U.S. Senator John Fetterman @SenFettermanPA "As a member of the Homeland Security Committee + Ranking Member of Subcommittee on Border Security: I’m not sure how many fellow Democrats will vote to support our colleague @SenMullin as the next DHS Secretary, but I am AYE." ZitoSalena @ZitoSalena, "SenFettermanPA is also a very well respected senator in our state congressman and very popular; you should come out and talk to people about him outside of Philadelphia where elections aren't won or lost state wide and in the 60+ counties outside of there where they are." At PJM VodkaPundit asks Does This Mahrouq Money Explain Thomas Massie? At WaEx, Noem’s deputy director of ICE bought thousands of vehicles that officers can’t use ICE in big letters on the side! 

Hat Hair's Dave Strom sees Cuba Is Crumbling. Joel Berry @JoelWBerry, "It’s like Trump is tearing down another Berlin Wall every week" Quote Tommy Robinson @TRobinsonNewEra, "The people of Cuba shouting: “Down with communism! Freedom! Freedom!” The dominoes are falling. The people of the world want freedom." Leslie Eastman at LI looks from From Sonic Strike to Mining Deals: Washington’s Moves to Make Venezuela a Resource Partner "U.S. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum “pushed for greater U.S. access to Venezuela’s reserves of critical minerals and gold during a visit” to Caracas."

Ace is on the Cultural Enrichment Watch: Teenage Terrorists Throw Shrapnel Bombs at NYC Mayoral Mansion, Flash ISIS Signs for the Cameras. "Apparently the Junior Jihadis were attempting to murder protesters who believe that Muslims are dangerous. Thereby proving the protesters' point. The terrorists are the sons of naturalized citizen Muslim parents. Denaturalize and deport. We don't have to put up with this." Geiger Capital @Geiger_Capital, "It’s absolutely perfect… A liberal man in NYC yelling about how everyone is welcome, as a Muslim man yells "Allahu Akbar!" and uses him as a literal springboard to throw a homemade bomb. The West’s suicidal empathy on video." Quote Walter Masterson @waltermasterson "I was in the middle of saying “as a born and raised New Yorker, we welcome everyone into this city” when he threw that over my head." memetic_sisyphus @memeticsisyphus, "This really is an all time photo. A protestor shouting about the pros of immigration is interrupted by an Islamic terrorist throwing a bomb jumping over him." Althouse, A perfectly framed real-life moment: KanekoaTheGreat @KanekoaTheGreat, "A liberal man in NYC yelling that “everyone is welcome” — as an ISIS supporter throws a bomb over him. Hang this clip in the Louvre." At NYPo, Suspected terrorist defiantly flashes ISIS salute after he’s busted for tossing explosive device near Gracie Mansion. Ace, Pam Bondi Announces Federal Charges Against Latest Muslim Terrorist Bombers. "They've been charged with Aggravated Cultural Enrichment." Jon Levine @LevineJonathan, "Mom and dad need to be found and held accountable — same as we have started doing for parents of school shooters." Quote New York Post @nypost, "Shackled terrorist defiantly flashes ISIS salute after he's busted for tossing explosive device near Gracie Mansion https://trib.al/PMtWJnT." self-radicalized Reince Niebuhr @ReinceNiebuhr, "Look at that house Look at it again (when home ownership is out of reach to too many native born Americans) Don’t ever let them tell you it’s poverty and desperation that drives people to terrorismAbsolute and complete lie." Chloe at Hat Hair, The NYC Bombing Story the Media BURIED Before You Could See It. LoLNothingMatters @DastDn, "Vast majority of the electorate was unaware at the time, and is even less aware today, of the attempt to gun down a bunch of GOP Congressmen in 2017, that sent Scalise to the hospital." Quote nine @atlanticesque. "It's actually insane that an attempt to murder a bunch of right-wing protestors with a bomb has been so downplayed by the media, and New York Democrats have been outright deceptive as to who was responsible and who was targeted."

Stephen L. Miller @redsteeze, "He's coming out harder over peaceful protest than he is at guys throwing incendiary devices outside his house," Quote Chief Nerd @TheChiefNerd, "MAMDANI: “This was a vile protest rooted in white supremacy entitled ‘Stop the Islamic Takeover of New York City.’ I'm the first Muslim mayor of our city. Anti-Muslim bigotry is nothing new to me.” Beege Welborn at Hat Hair, Jihadis Literally at the Door and All Progs Can Worry About Is the White Guy on the Sidewalk. At Althouse, "Mamdani himself put out a statement Sunday condemning 'white supremacist Jack Lang' for organizing a protest outside Gracie Mansion 'rooted in bigotry and racism'..." ""... that has 'no place in New York City.' 'What followed was even more disturbing,' he said. 'Violence at a protest is never acceptable. The attempt to use an explosive device and hurt others is not only criminal, it is reprehensible and the antithesis of who we are.' Critics slammed the mayor for failing to identify who was responsible for bringing bombs to a protest. 'This is insane… Mamdani calls out first, and by name, a "white supremacist" for protesting,' said Geiger Capital on X. 'He then leaves out the 2 Muslim men, Emir Balat and Ibrahim Kayumi, who were arrested by NYPD after they yelled 'Allahu Akbar!' and threw a homemade bomb into the crowd." The Babylon Bee @TheBabylonBee, "Mamdani Condemns New Yorkers For Making Muslims Throw Bombs At Them https://buff.ly/8htQY5g" Larry at Hat Hair celebrates Mamdani Panics As Live NYC Press Conference Goes Horribly Wrong.

Chris Bray at Da Fed, David French Suffers An Apparent Brain Injury Over James Talarico. John Sexton at Hat Hair notices It's Defend Talarico Day at the NY Times. At Althouse, "Dad, are you running for President?... You can't... I'm too young. You need to spend more time with us." "Gavin Newsom quotes his son." "That video is from last month, but I'm looking at it now because it came up in this new NY Post article, "Huge wake-up call for Gavin Newsom and Kamala Harris as dire poll released."" Leslie Eastman at LI, Refinery Shutdowns, EV Dreams, and $8 Gas: The Price of California’s Climate Delusion, "Chevron has warned that California could face an economic collapse under Governor Gavin Newsom’s policies, according to a doomsday letter sent by the company." John Sexton hears The California Wealth Tax Could Wind Up Costing the State Money. At NRO, John Fund, California Progressives Insist on Quota Politics.

Terry Jeffrey at TownHall looks at The Demographic the Democrats Don't Need, "Families and Children." Jesse Kelly @JesseKellyDC, "Democrats handed their party over to single, mentally ill women who hate men. That’s why all their efforts to appeal to heterosexual men fall flat. You can’t filter a heterosexual message through a mentally ill woman without making it gay." Quote cobra @cobracommandr15 "Replying to @JesseKellyDC, "Democrats are struggling to understand heterosexuality." Joanne Jacobs, Bye-bye bisexual women: Young adults move away from LGBT identities, just a fad. Da Signal notices an Epstein-Linked Billionaire Bankrolled Democratic Party, Records Show, Bill Gates.

PJMs Matt Margolis reports Trump Denies Biden’s Executive Privilege Request. Here's Why it’s Biden’s Own Fault. Nick Arama at RedState, Grab the Popcorn: Trump Executive Privilege Decision Means All That Info on Biden Is Coming Out. Matt Taibbi at Racket is pretty happy The FBI's Secret Stash Finally Uncovered. "For a generation, the FBI has kept a second set of books called 'prohibited access' files. After a long fight, they're finally being examined." "Off-books surveillance and “disruption” of political figures in the Arctic Frost and Trump-Russia investigations comprise part of the find, but the files extend at least as far back as 1999, across Democratic and Republican Party presidencies, involving as many as a thousand distinct case numbers. There are no rules for passing access to the system from one administration to the next. Instead, operation of prohibited access files is described as an oral tradition passed down among senior FBI officials, independent of agents below and political appointees above in Congress and even the White House." Dean Cain @RealDeanCain, "Everyone already knew this..." Quote Save America @SaveAmericaNew "SHOCKING REVELATION: In a bombshell admission on CNN, Lis Smith, a senior Democratic advisor, revealed that the 34 felony convictions against President Trump were not the result of legitimate legal proceedings, but part of the Democratic Party's 'resistance' strategy." Shipwreckedcrew @shipwreckedcrew, "Never forget this guy was an avowed Trump supporter until he learned that Trump was not going to name him to be Solicitor General in the first Administration." Quote George Conway @gtconway3d "We can't last 35 more months with what we've seen over the last 13. We cannot do it. We will not survive it as a nation."

Betsy Stauffer at LI reports ‘A Grateful Congress’ Installs Highly Controversial Plaque Honoring Jan. 6 Capitol Defenders “On behalf of a grateful Congress, this plaque honors the extraordinary individuals who bravely protected and defended this symbol of democracy on January 6, 2021.” Dave Manney at PJM hears Virginia Dems Force ‘Insurrection’ Label on Jan. 6 in Classrooms.

I sense AI at work, from Gene Volokh at the Volokh Conspiracy, Federal Government Lawyer's Filings Appear to Include "Fabricated Quotations and Misstatements of Case Holdings". 

Project for Immigration Reform @PFIRorg, "Before “MAGA whackos”, there was liberal American journalist Joel Stein, who wrote about why he soured on Indian immigration to the United States, based on his experience growing up in a town that changed demographically almost overnight." George Borjas at CJ notes The H-1B Wage Gap Really Is That Large "A challenge to my H-1B research doesn’t stand." up to scrutiny.

Tim Graham @TimJGraham, "Some CBS News Staffers aspire to intimidate their bosses through anonymous leaking." Quote Natalie Korach @NatalieKorach, "Some CBS News staffers worry Bari Weiss is steering coverage toward The Free Press’ priorities, particularly on Mamdani “It feels pretty clear that Bari Weiss views her role…as being a political adversary to the mayor,” a source close to Mamdani said." John Hinderacker at Power Line on Lies, Damned Lies, and Journalism. "An elementary school in Iran was hit by an unknown missile during the first day of our bombardment of that country. The press in the U.S., as well as in Iran and other countries, is desperate to blame the explosion on the United States. Leading the way, as usual, is the New York Times." MAZE @mazemoore, "The Adversarial Press. During the very first question of the VP debate in 2024, Margaret Brennan stated as fact that Iran was one or two weeks away from developing a nuclear weapon. Since the day after we struck Iran's nuclear facilities last year, Brennan has been arguing with Trump's team about if Iran was actually close to developing a nuclear weapon. Every interview she does with Trump people is like this, especially on the subject of Iran."

Chris Arnade @Chris_arnade, "We don't have public restrooms because they'd be trashed in days. We don't build bus stops because they'd become homeless shelters. We don't have dense walkable cities because nobody wants to be accosted by strangers. This is because we have chosen to accept public disorder, and as the rest of the world shows, it doesn't have to be that way." John Sexton hears Trump Administration Plans New Approach to Ending DEI "The traditionally independent General Services Administration, which oversees how the federal government operates, is working to change the requirements for any entity that receives federal grants — not just schools. The agency’s proposal would require any entity that receives “grants, cooperative agreements, and financial assistance such as loans, insurance, and direct appropriations” to sign a certification agreement that aligns with the administration’s anti-diversity, equity and inclusion policies..."

And more at the Wombat's In The Mailbox: 03.09.26. The Wombat has FMJRA 2.0: Holding Our Own up on time and under budget at The Other McCain.

Oregon, My Oregon

From Fox, Riley Gaines-Simone Biles feud inspired Oregon girls to sue their state over trans athlete laws

A group of teen girls are suing the state of Oregon over its laws that allow trans athletes to compete in girls' sports.


Two of the girls said they made the decision to file the lawsuit after witnessing the viral feud between Riley Gaines and Simone Biles in June.

Maddie Eischen and Sophia Carpenter first entered the national battle when they refused to compete against a trans athlete at the Chehalem Classic back on April 18. They told Fox News Digital that Gaines reached out to them shortly after their forfeit and encouraged them to consider filing a lawsuit against the state.

Then, after seeing the fallout of Gaines' online clash with Biles, Eischen and Carpenter were convinced to file suit.

"I think especially when Riley Gaines and Simone Biles, and that whole thing happened and kind of seeing how that played out and how the public responded, I think that was encouraging to see how many people are on the side of protecting women's sports," Carpenter said.

Eischen recalls the public reaction she saw to both Biles and Gaines when the war of words started between the two women. Eischen especially recalls seeing the comments on Biles' recent Instagram posts that night.

"All of the comments on Simone's post were very negative to her, I saw people that commented on it, and I liked it. But there was a lot of shock that she had even said that, and disappointment," Eischen said.

Good for them. 

The Wombat has Rule 5 Sunday: Add More Ginger As Required up and garnering clicks at The Other McCain.

They're Coming for You and Yours Next - College Volleyball Player Booted for Criticizing Critical Race Nonsense

From Beyond the Black, Today’s blacklisted American: College volley ball player blackballed for her opinions

A college volley ball player at the University of Oklahoma, Kylee McLaughlin, was blackballed from her team because she refused to endorse the agenda of Black Lives Matter and voiced her own conservatives opinions during a team discussion after viewing a left-wing political film about American prisons.

When she also expressed some of her conservative opinions on social media, her coach demanded she delete the post immediately and call all the team’s coaches and players to apologize.

 

The legal document says: ‘Although (McLaughlin) supports equality, social justice, and finds racism despicable, she disagreed with the WOKE culture and critical race theory advocated and practiced by two of her coaches who are the Defendants in this action.’

She said coaches and administrators later told her she did not fit in with the culture and gave her three options to continue at the university without playing time. She was given the choice of transferring, continuing on scholarship as a non athletic student or taking a redshirt year, keeping her scholarship and practice separately from the rest of the team. During the redshirt year, she was made to carry out more than 10 hours of online diversity and inclusion training, she said.

 

She didn’t say anything racist, she merely disagreed with the leftist agenda of the movie they saw. But since “one black teammate” was offended and determined without challenge that she was racist, the coaches decided they had to blackball her.

The good news? She quickly transferred to another school, while instituting a $375,000 lawsuit against the University of Oklahoma and its volley-ball coaches.

The former Sooners All-Big 12 player, who has since transferred to the University of Mississippi for her final year, is suing OU, coach Lindsey Gray-Walton and assistant coach Kyle Walton for $75,000 each over five complaints.

I hope she wins big, and bankrupts these intolerant Stalinist coaches.

Meanwhile, Oklahoma state legislators and private donors should be taking a close look at this publicly funded school. Maybe that public funding and any private donations should disappear for a few years, if not forever. This school apparently does not believe in the first amendment and due process.

Oklahoma citizens should in turn have second thoughts about attending such a school. Why go there if you know you will not be allowed to speak freely, as all Americans have the right to do?

She should be suing for more. 

The Wombat has Rule 5 Sunday: Quiet, Please ready and waiting.

Well, I Hear the Thai Team is Looking for a Few Good Women

I'd call her a dick, but that would be inaccurate inappropriate. Women’s Anti-American Soccer Team

Purple-haired lesbian SJW:

U.S. Women’s National Soccer team co-captain Megan Rapinoe refused to sing the national anthem during Tuesday’s World Cup game in France, only six days after the 75th anniversary of D-Day.
Rapinioe stood silent with her arms behind her back as the rest of the U.S. team placed their hands over their hearts and sang the Star-Spangled Banner ahead of Tuesday’s game in Reims, France.
The 33-year-old U.S. star kept a stony demeanor as the rest of her team sang the Star-Spangled Banner in the Auguste-Delaune Stadium.

Not long ago, she was happy to wrap
herself in the American Flag

Rapinoe had already warned that she would “never sing the anthem again.”
“I’ll probably never put my hand over my heart. I’ll probably never sing the national anthem again,” Rapinoe said in May adding she views herself as “a walking protest when it comes to the Trump administration,” because of “everything I stand for.”

Not even if your preferred candidate wins the next election? Give me a break.

“I feel like it’s kind of defiance in and of itself to just be who I am and wear the jersey, and represent it,” Rapinoe said. “Because I’m as talented as I am, I get to be here, you don’t get to tell me if I can be here or not. So, it’s kind of a good ‘F you’ to any sort of inequality or bad sentiments that the [Trump] administration might have towards people who don’t look exactly like him. Which, God help us if we all looked like him. Scary. Really scary. Ahh, disturbing.”

Women’s soccer is not for heterosexuals or patriots.

Well, that's not entirely true. And it's unfair to judge the whole team based on the actions of one. One can be a soccer lover, gay and a patriot, and I'm sure there are more than a few out there. Her animus against Trump is entirely specious. He was pro-homosexual marriage before either the Clintons or the Obamas, at least publicly. The perception that he is anti-gay is something that has been whipped up by a media fervor from stands on gays and transsexuals in the military, that until Obama was in office were the mainstream view of the Democratic party. But athletes aren't really paid or trained to think.

I'm not a great fan of ostentatious patriotism, but I do consider it good form to go through the motions at public events. It's part of our public team building effort that liberals rountinely scorn.

I, myself, am not a great soccer fan, but then, I've never been much of a devoted follower of any sports. Both of my sons played soccer, one of them well, but it seems like a lot of movement for little actual scoring, and far too many games either end in ties or shoot outs. But your mileage may vary.

I don't much care that the US Women's team clobbered the poor Thai's 13-0.  The Thais chose to play in the Big leagues  before they were ready, and they happened to get a tough opponent on their first game. Time to go back, lick their wounds and see what they can do better with what they have.  And I don't care that they celebrated each and every goal as if it might be their last. It could be; any player could be injured and permanently out at any time. And isn't celebration one of the central purposes of sports?

The Wombat was only a day late with Rule 5 Tuesday: Halle Berry.

Steelers Sit Out National Anthem

Except for one: Former Army Ranger Is Only Steelers Player To Stand For National Anthem 

The entire Pittsburgh Steelers team remained in the locker room during the national anthem, with the exception of one player: Army veteran Alejandro Villanueva, who plays offensive tackle for the Steelers.

While the rest of his teammates remained in the locker room, Villanueva stood in the tunnel holding his helmet in his left hand and holding his right hand over his heart as the anthem played.

Alejandro Villanueva was the only Steeler to come out for the National Anthem, standing in the tunnel. pic.twitter.com/L4EtxRQSvA

— CBS Sports (@CBSSports) September 24, 2017

Villaneuva played in college at West Point Military Academy before going on to become an Army Ranger. He served three tours in Afghanistan and was awarded the Bronze Star Medal for Valor. He was signed by the Philadelphia Eagles in 2014 before eventually joining the Steelers.

FWIW, Villanueva is a friend and client of Walleye Pete's and fishes with him frequently. Here's a picture from a couple of years age showing Alejandro with a pretty big fish from the CCNPP rips in winter. Note the familiar Power Poles.

Yes, he's cheating like mad to make that fish look that big, but it takes a strong guy to hold that fish out that far.

But as far as the Steelers "protest"? This is how you kill your sport, and get more Trump.