Flotsam and Jetsam - Post Durham Day 2

It should come as no surprise to anyone that the Durham report is still dominating the conversation. At Breitbart, Durham Report: FBI Should Never Have Begun ‘Russia Collusion’ Investigation. Vicky Taft at PJM, 'Breathtakingly Corrupt' FBI EXPOSED in Durham Trump-Russia Report. Roger Kimball at Da Spec, John Durham exposes the whole anti-Trump caper, "Will those responsible be held accountable? Fat chance." At Racket, Susan Schmidt has Eight Takeaways From the Durham Report and Matt Taibbi adds Durham is Too Late to Stop the Madness. "A Special Counsel report chronicles how intelligence agencies engineered a national hysteria, but its publication comes too late to reverse the damage"  Matt Vespa at Town Hall reports Peter Strzok Isn't Taking the Durham Report Findings Very Well. Twitchy links the Daily Wire: Peter Strzok buried a CIA memo warning Clinton might be trying to ‘FRAME’ Trump. Da Wire, ‘There’s Nothing To This, But We Have To Run It To The Ground,’ Anti-Trump FBI Agent Strzok Said: Durham. "‘For F***’s Sake, Man’ — British Intel Laughed At Peter Strzok’s ‘Thin’ Justification For Targeting Trump." Tristan Justice at Da Fed sees that the Durham Report Reveals FBI Vendetta Against Carter Page Behind FISA Warrants. “Page had been approached by the intelligence officers in an apparently failed recruitment effort,” the Durham report reads. Page’s refusal to work as a covert agent for the FBI seemed to provoke animosity within the agency that would later frame the prominent consultant as a covert agent of the Russian government." From News Max, Rep. Issa to Newsmax: Wray's Reaction to Durham Report Lacking and Capt. Ed notes "The FBI’s official statement offered no repentance, and no sense of urgency. They claimed to have fixed these problems with reforms in 2018-19, but Wray and the DoJ are still stonewalling House Oversight and Judiciary committees on materials demanded for investigations. That doesn’t exactly breed confidence in reform." At the Wombat's In The Mailbox: 05.16.23, The Geller Reports The FBI is the Most Dangerous Domestic Terror Organization in America. From Da Wire, DeSantis Blasts Feds Over Durham Trump-Russia Report; Previously Pushed DOJ Prosecute Those Involved.

The great VDH at Am Great wants to Hang All the Members of the Liars’ Club?. I think he's just being hyperbolic, but . .  . it's not a bad idea. Chaz Cooke at NRO, How Can Anybody Take Them Seriously? Did we? Matt Margolis at PJM wonders What Happens to the Democrats Who Claimed They Had Evidence of Collusion? Nothing, of course. From the Free Bacon, Schiff Aide Threatened Researchers Who Refused to Investigate False Trump–Russia Links, "Special Counsel John Durham's report reveals Democratic efforts to push the Alfa Bank conspiracy." At Grabien, cited by Hat Hair, The Schiff Russiagate supercut: He's really seen the evidence, guys! Capt. Ed, "Other than the people within the FBI and the White House that aided and abetted Hillary Clinton’s dirty trick, there is no more corrupt figure in the Russiagate hoax than Adam Schiff. He has spent years lying about it, demagoguing it for personal and political gain, and yet the media never demanded that Schiff actually make good on any of these claims. In a properly functioning republic, Schiff would be trying to avoid prison rather than prepping a run for the Senate." From Twitchy, Jonah Goldberg beset by ‘tiresome pests’ reminding him he’d trust Comey over Trump any day and The Federalist calls out 61 hacks who should never be trusted again after Durham Report.

The New Neo contributes The Durham Report: in the eye of the beholder, "People on the right who have been following Russiagate since the start have long been aware of most of the allegations in the Durham Report. People on the left either don’t care about them, don’t believe them, or applaud them because they think it’s just fine to cut down every law in the land to get after the devil Republicans and especially the devil Trump," and More on Durham, the FBI, and Clinton vs. Trump; from Andrew C. McCarthy and Jonathan Turley. At the Wombat's In The Mailbox: 05.16.23, Behind the Black,  says Surprise! The mainstream press still refuses to admit there was never any evidence of collusion between Trump and the Russians and Steve Hayward at Power Line wonders Will There By Any Media Accountability? From Breitbart, MSNBC’s Weissmann: Durham Report ‘Big Fat Nothing,’ ‘Russia Interfered in the 2016 Election.’  At Da Caller, ‘It Does Exonerate Donald Trump’: Tapper Calls Durham Report ‘Devastating To The FBI’  "to a degree." Twitchy, Ben Shapiro lays out how BAD the Durham Report really is for Democrats and Luke Zaleski just can’t DEAL. 'Bonchie' at Red State sees Greg Gutfeld Hits It out of the Park on the Durham Report and What It Means

Greg Gutfeld on fire:

"You have people saying the country will not survive Trump so your moral duty is to cheat... They created a devil that was so big and so vast that it made all action permissible and it made every institution subject to suspicion."pic.twitter.com/SRLf0XQwhT

— Citizen Free Press (@CitizenFreePres) May 16, 2023

And finally, the Babylon Bee nails it, Media Admits They Lied About That Russia Collusion Thing But Are Totally Telling The Truth About Everything Else

Breitbart observes Top Signer of Hunter Biden Laptop Letter Makes D.C. Magazine’s ‘Most Influential People’ List. No accountability there. Althouse likes Jonathan Turley, "The brilliance of the Biden team was that it invested the media in this scandal at the outset by burying the laptop story as 'Russian disinformation' before the election." "That was, of course, false, but it took two years for most major media outlets to admit that the laptop was authentic. But the media then ignored what was on that 'authentic laptop.'" From the Wombat's In The Mailbox: 05.16.23, the Victory Girls report IRS Whistleblower And Team Axed From Hunter Biden Probe.   At NYPo, IRS removes investigative team from Hunter Biden probe in move whistleblower calls ‘clearly retaliatory.’ Mary Chastain at LI, Rep Comer: Nine of 10 Whistlebowers in Biden Family Business Investigation are ‘Missing,’ WH Intimidating Them. "Comer said he knows who is intimidating the whistleblowers." Ace, Joe Biden's Consigliere Merrick Garland Punishes IRS Whistleblower and Entire Team Investigating Hunter Biden's Taxes By Removing Them From Case "The whole purpose of appointing a special prosecutor for cases in which senior members of an administration are personally involved is to insulate the prosecutor from the kind of political interference we're seeing right now. That's why Merrick Garland refuses to appoint a special prosecutor in a case regarding the president's son -- he wants to interfere. He does not want to give this power to a prosecutor with his own budget who answers to no one but his own conscience." At NYPo, Secret Service’s shady protect-Biden dodges make ‘em ALL look guilty.

Bob Spencer at PJM explores The Ominous Reason Why Biden Keeps Repeating His False Claim About a White Supremacist Threat. Althouse, "A year ago, after Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia summoned her fellow Republicans to become 'the party of Christian nationalism'..." ""I began to read books about white Christian nationalists — and discovered that I am one of them." Writes Kenneth L. Woodward, in "How I became a white Christian Nationalist.""

At Am Think, Matt Kane is Debunking the ‘Trump can’t win the general’ Myth" and John Green sees Bill Barr Goes after Trump Again. At NewsMax, am Emerson Poll: Trump Getting Strong Backing From Women. From the Wombat's In The Mailbox: 05.16.23, Twitchy: Trump Accuser E. Jean Carroll’s Resurfaced Social Media Posts Shred Her Credibility. Dave Catron at Am Spec examines The Democrat Plan to Pump and Dump Trump. "They badly want Trump to be the GOP presidential nominee, but they should be careful what they wish for."  At Am Great, Dan Gelernter calls Trump-Kennedy: The Only Solution to Voter Fraud "Republicans and Democrats have run their course. Throw the bums out. All of them." Not. Gonna. Happen. At Hat Hair, Salena Zito claims The Great Underestimation of DeSantis Starts to Unravel. Sarah Hoyt at Insty, THE SECOND MOST UNLIKABLE WOMAN IN AMERICA: It sure looks like Michelle Obama is being pressured to run for president, forcing Biden out of the 2024 race.

At Slate, cited at Hat Hair, Does Feinstein know she's been away for almost three months? "When the fellow reporter asked her what the response from her colleagues had been like since her return, though, the conversation took an odd turn. “No, I haven’t been gone,” she said." Capt. Ed, generously, "I’m trying to think of some context in which this would make sense, but … it’s not coming to me." Ace.
Rolling Stone: Dianne Feinstein Is Mentally Unable to Serve as Senator; It Is Her Aides Who Actually Make All of "Her" Policy, Not Feinstein Herself; This Has Been Going On For a Long While, and "Journalists" Have Conspired to Cover It Up. "Usually I'd say "don't trust Rolling Stone" but in this case, they certainly have leftwing sources and they're acting against their typical partisan interest. (Of course, their current partisan interest is to drive Feinstein out of the pretense of holding office so that a real c0cksvcker can be appointed to fill her seat, like Adam Schiff.) This is grim stuff. Her handlers are basically playing Congressional Weekend at Bernie's just so they don't have to update their resumes."

At Da Wire, Yellen Says Nation Could Face Debt Default In Less Than Three Weeks. At Da Caller,  ‘They Want A Default’: McCarthy Says House GOP Making Little Progress With Biden On Debt Ceiling. I&I explains why Everything You’ve Heard About The Debt Limit Is Wrong and The Great Debt Ceiling Deceit. Madeleine Hubbard at JTN reports Most Americans don't support raising debt ceiling without spending cuts: polls.

Douglas Schwartz at Am Thinks sees QAnon 2.0? in the recent "Patriot Front" sighting. PJM's Stephen Kruiser sees an Idiot Congressman Learn This Isn't the Best Time to Be an FBI Fan Boy and Paula Bolyard notes Townhall Journalist SCORCHES Adam Schiff Stooge Who Questioned His Credibility During Antifa Hearing. 

At Da Wire, TN House Republicans Ask For Release Of Nashville Shooter’s Toxicology Report, Writings. MSN, Hulsey wants shooter’s ‘manifesto’ released before special session. But at WBIR, Covenant School files motions to intervene in the release of shooter’s writings. "The church’s attorneys filed the motions on Friday, May 12." Surely they can find a compromise that protects the church's privacy in matters that don't pertain to the shooting.

Jazz Shaw at Hat Hair notes Wyoming sorority sisters continue to "live in fear" of trans member. "Artemis Langford is a hulking, 6-foot-2, 260-pound presence who the young women say stares at them constantly and has been seen becoming sexually aroused while looking at them. This may be a temporary condition, but the sisters have gone to court and are suing the university for potentially placing them in danger." I guess I don't understand how sororities work, how did he get in there without the support of chapter members? 

Bob Spencer at Front Page on the Bud Light Nosedive "Wokeness kills." Hen3ry Rogers at Da Caller recalls Miller Lite’s Chief Of Marketing Has Spent Years Flopping From One Liberal Cause To Another.

Flotsam and Jetsam - Sinema Bails, Bari Weiss Bares Twitter Bias, Briner Gets Bailed Out

Two stories rose to the top of today's wrack line. First, Arizona Senator Kirsten Sinema renounced the Democrat party, announcing she would become an independent. The immediate effect is not clear, she may continue to causus with the Dems. Second, Bari Weiss dropped the second tranche of Twitter documents, and these demonstrate commitment from people formerly at the top of Twitter to censor and "shadow ban" conservatives and conservative issues in general beyond the Hunter Biden laptop story.

Althouse reports on Sinema, She waited until Warnock won, but Kyrsten Sinema just left the Democratic Party. "CNN reports.

The Democrats were already relying on 2 non-Democrats to flesh out their majority power: Bernie Sanders of Vermont and Angus King of Maine. Like Sinema, they are independents.

While Sanders and King formally caucus with Democrats, Sinema declined to explicitly say that she would do the same. She did note, however, that she expects to keep her committee assignments – a signal that she doesn’t plan to upend the Senate composition, since Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer controls committee rosters for Democrats....

Nothing to see here?

Leah Barkoukis at Town Hall, Kyrsten Sinema Has Left the Democratic Party. 'Bonchie' at Red State, Kyrsten Sinema Makes Shocking Move and Leaves Democratic Party, Hysterical Shrieking Commences. Well, they treated her (and Manchin, the other Democrat outlier) pretty badly. So what about Manchin? The first Democrat senator to make a clean break and join the GOP gets a lot of power, which both Manchin and Sinema lost when Warnock won his seat. Manchin, in particular, faces a    battle for his seat in 2024 in a state that voted heavily Republican in the last presidential election. I don't think going faux independent is going to cut it. Especially if the Democrats continue to lean harder left with his help.

Wombat: This really ought to be Twitchy’s logo

And Twitter? Last night Althouse Bari Weiss is tweeting the next set of “Twitter files.” Here. John Sexton at Haut Hair breaks down the release in Twitter Files part two: Blacklists and shadowbanning. Paula Bolyard at PJ Media, TWITTER EXPOSED: Blacklists, Secret Censorship Cabal, Treachery at the Highest Levels. Matt Vespa at Town Hall, How Twitter Blacklisted Conservative Accounts. At Twitchy, Conservatives (and liberals) react to The Twitter Files Part 2, Twitter’s claim that it didn’t ‘shadow ban’. Liberals basically say, "yeah, but you deserved it." Althouse again cites Bongino "All you media clowns and goons and nuts who told me I was the crazy conspiracy theorist, tell me we live in a free country...." and Did Jack Dorsey lie to Congress? Terri Green@TerriGreenUSA "Jack Dorsey denied what we knew was true, Twitter was rigged to censor conservatives." I think the unofficial DOJ rules are that it's legal to lie to Republicans in Congress. Althouse explores as Anxious anxiously tries to make excuses "Why it matters: Musk has framed the 'Twitter Files' as an effort to show that his predecessors at Twitter engaged in censorship. Others, including experts in online platforms..."

"... say the documents just depict Twitter executives imperfectly but conscientiously struggling to apply complex policies in difficult cases."

Says Axios, seemingly trying to present things in a fair and balanced way.

But who are these experts who are offered to counterbalance Weiss? And what did they say? Weiss presents evidence of her position, showing specific examples and methods.

No experts are named or quoted.

Commenter tim maguire said... "Does Axios really not understand that citing “experts,” especially unnamed experts, is a joke? Savvy readers see that as code for “I called around and found some people who agree with me.” The claim that they were honestly struggling with hard issues simply doesn’t comport with the fact of radically uneven application. And as any woke activist will tell you, discriminatory outcome is evidence of discriminatory intent."

At the Wombat's In The Mailbox: 12.08.22 (Morning Edition), Rumor Control: The Days Of Future Past, Free Speech, & Twitter and the Volokh Conspiracy: Free Speech Rules, Free Speech Culture, and Legal Education: More Responses to Objections. Jazz Shaw at Haut Hair sees More finger pointing in the laptop censorship story

FBI supervisory special agent Elvis Chan disputed former Twitter executive Yoel Roth’s claims that the FBI warned that Russia would likely release Hunter Biden’s emails before the 2020 election. Roth, who led Twitter’s Site Integrity team until he resigned last month, told the Federal Election Commission that the FBI warnings prompted Twitter to censor an Oct. 14, 2020, news article that detailed Biden’s business emails. But Chan said in a Dec. 3 deposition that FBI officials did not mention Hunter Biden in their weekly meetings with Twitter prior to the election.

Ben Bartee at PJ Media, explains The Twitter Files: How the Corporate State Uses Legal Jiujitsu to Blur Lines Between Private Industry and Government. Jordan Boyd at Da Fed maintains that  With FBI Supervisor’s Admission Of Feds’ Synergy With Big Tech, The ‘Private Company’ Defense Is Dead. Henry Rogers at Da Caller, Republicans Trying To Stop Federal Government From Working With Big Tech On Censorship. At Da Wire Carl Szabo tries to explain Why SCOTUS Ruling In Favor Of Google On Section 230 Is Good For Free Speech. IMHO, for Section 230 to exist, companies must allow any legal speech. John Hawkins exposes The Stochastic Terrorism Scam "Is that speech really dangerous or just speech you don't like?"

In a side show to the Twitter debacle, the San Francisco Mayor decided to go after Musk for allowing staff to sleep at the office. At Da Blaze, Elon Musk hits San Fran mayor with reality check over city investigation into his decision to put bedrooms in Twitter HQ "So city of SF attacks companies providing beds for tired employees instead of making sure kids are safe from fentanyl," Musk responded. "Where are your priorities @LondonBreed!?"

Election 2022 lives! As Matt Margolis reports Kari Lake Promises to Take Lawsuit 'All the Way to the Supreme Court'. At Breitbart poor winner Warnock Raises Alarm on ‘Voter Suppression’ After Record Turnout, Cites Long Lines, Weather, ‘Tricks’. Great, lets open an audit, especially of ballot harvesting. At the Wombat's In The Mailbox: 12.08.22 (Morning Edition), The Geller Report has Zero Faith In Our Elections: Warnock Declared Winner in Georgia. Ace cites Matt Gaetz: Kevin McCarthy Is Not the Man to Lead the Congress at this Dangerous Moment. "Despite the bloviations of Mark Levin and Sean "Mehmet Oz is my hero" Hannity that We Constitutional Conservatives must once again Do Our Patriotic Duty and Bend Over and Take Down Our Pants for the Cause of Liberty and Sodomy, it's time for conservatives to say, "Go Fuck Yourselves."" Erick Erickson calls for Cleaning Up the Right by dumping all the consultants who helped them lose. Jazz Shaw thinks The midterms didn't do anything for Democrats in one key area "There’s no way to paint any lipstick on this pig and the AP admirably doesn’t even try. A 43% approval rating is slightly better than Biden’s lowest numbers over the past year, but a solid majority including many Democrats still disapprove." Kurt Schlicter at Town Hall rhetorically asks Just How Stupid Are Sen. Thom Tillis and the Rest of the Republican Establishment? At Red State, watch Jim Jordan Single Handedly Wreck the Democrats' Attempt to Discredit the Supreme Court.

Yougov, cited at Haut Hair, Poll: DeSantis soars in race for GOP nomination. John Sexton at Haut Hair, New poll puts DeSantis in the lead for 2024 nomination. KT at Haut Hair is suspicious that Invitations have gone out for an “intimate dinner” with Ron DeSantis. He's running. He should.

Rabbi Fischer at Am Spec, And Now for a Painful 2024 Decision That Republicans Will Celebrate for a Generation "“You can’t always get what you want. But if you try sometime you find you get what you need.”

MAGA supporters want Trump, but we need to win. We have seen from Ron DeSantis and Greg Abbott and Ron Johnson and Ted Cruz and so many others that we can win. Even with cockamamie voting machines and a hundred years’ time to vote before election day and vote harvesting and unattended drop boxes and fixed-up postmarks. We still can win big.

We need a candidate enough Americans will accept. As William F. Buckley Jr. famously said, we need “the most right, viable candidate who could win.”

At the Wombat's In The Mailbox: 12.08.22 (Morning Edition), The Geller Report: Top FBI Official Steps Down as Republicans Prepare to Probe Into Bureau. At Am Spec, Dan Flynn, When Do Dems Give Media Gold Medals for Lying About Jan. 6? "The New York Times continues to insist that the protesters have blood on their hands. Fact check: false." At the Conservative Brief, Marjorie Taylor Greene Seeks to ‘Defund’ Special Counsel. Not. Gonna. Happen. Another "known" wolf, at ET, the FBI Confirms It Got Tip About Colorado ‘Nonbinary’ Mass Shooting Suspect. At Da Fed, Sophia Corso reports Abortion Radicals Threaten To ‘Shoot Up’ Pro-Lifers, But FBI Won’t Commit To Investigating. 

From Twitchy, Francis W. Parker School BOLTS after Project Veritas exposes actual groomer at their school (watch). At Fox, Loudoun County Superintendent Scott Ziegler fired after grand jury report on handling of sexual assaults "The grand jury said the district was looking out for its own interests instead of the best interests of its students". 8 News Now (Vega) Energy department official accused of stealing luggage from Las Vegas airport.

Sam Brinton

An energy department official is accused of stealing luggage from Harry Reid International Airport, the 8 News Now Investigators learned Thursday.

A felony warrant was issued for Sam Brinton, a deputy assistant secretary, sources said. The charge is for grand larceny with a value between $1,200 and $5,000, records showed.

Brinton is a deputy assistant secretary of the office of spent fuel and waste disposition, according to the Office of Nuclear Energy’s website.

Brinton faces charges for a similar incident at the Minneapolis airport. He was on leave after charges were filed in connection with that incident, an energy department spokesman said in November.

Which what happens when you choose your deputy assistant secretaries because they're "non-binary"

Frankly, a much bigger story I don't care too much about, Ace is incensed that Biden Trades a Terrorist Gun-Dealer Who Plotted to Kill Americans to Get Back Drug Smoking WNBA Flake; Gives Up Trying to Get Back the Marine Russia's Kept in Prison for Four Years

FIRST TIME ANYONE'S EVER NOTICED A WNBA TRADE Posted by: Elric Blade

Biden's bragging that he got back a woman who is important to his key constituencies of LGBT Activists and CRT Grievance Stokers and literally no one else:

Maryland, My Maryland

NYPo, Maryland school district with LGBTQ book list rejected books promoting ‘American values’

A Maryland school district that recently unveiled an LGBTQ-inclusive book list for elementary schools has declined to recommend several children’s books on the basis that they promote “American values,” Fox News Digital has learned.

Fox News Digital first reported Tuesday that books recommended by Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS), Maryland’s most affluent school district, teach words like “intersex” and “drag queen” to children as young as 4.

Records later provided to Fox News Digital by Bethany Mandel, editor of the Heroes of Liberty book series, showed that MCPS recently declined to recommend three non-fiction children’s books that were donated to the school district by Heroes of Liberty Inc., which seeks to counter progressive literature favored by public schools.

The New York-based company donated three children’s books about libertarian economist Thomas Sowell, Supreme Court Associate Justice Amy Coney Barrett and Founding Father Alexander Hamilton for use in MCPS libraries and recommended for grades 2-6.

According to records on the school district’s Database of Accountable Evaluations (DAE), MCPS declined to recommend the 2021 biography “Thomas Sowell: A Self-Made Man” on Sept. 30.

The MCPS evaluation said that a “weakness” of the Sowell book was that “the publisher has a stated mission of creating books with ‘the American values that made this country great.’”A Maryland school district recently unveiled an LGBTQ book list for elementary schools.FOX News Live

An MCPS evaluation also conducted on Sept. 30 similarly declined to recommend the 2021 biography “Amy Coney Barrett: A Justice and a Mother.”

The MCPS evaluation said that two “weaknesses” of the Coney Barrett book were that “the publisher seems to have an agenda – publishing books about people with ‘American values’” and that it “glosses over a lot of her life. The book is more about a message than an informative biography.”

A third evaluation conducted by MCPS on Sept. 30 declined to recommend the 2022 biography “Alexander Hamilton: From Immigrant Boy to Father.”

According to the evaluation, a “weakness” of the Hamilton book was that it “leaves out too much factual information about Hamilton’s life. The book is more about a message than an informative biography.”

Only leftist propaganda is allowed in Montgomery County schools. 

The Sunday Political Roundup

Teach at Pirate's Cove has Bad News For Brandon: Poll Shows Economy Is Most Important Issue. WaPoo opines (though they call it "analysis")  Democratic campaign chair Sean Patrick Maloney faces toughest job in politics, "He has a blunt message for his party: ‘The problem is not the voters. The problem is us.’" John Sexton at Haut Hair says that as the White House puts BBB on the backburner, progressives predict disaster. Of course they do, but when have they ever been right on the economy? Politico warns ‘You will see the wrath’ — Progressives warn Biden against cutting down agenda. NYT, cited at Haut Hair, urges House Dems to push Biden to build a better midterm message. We'll steal your stuff slower? As Breitbart sees it, Democrats Want Biden to use Executive Authority on Party’s Far-Left Agenda. WaPoo, Biden, Democrats infuse Ukraine crisis into a recast election-year pitch to voters. Trying to polish their own turd.

While Psaki Briefs TikTok Influencers: 'Russians Hacked 2016 Election' (Daily Political Newswire), ABC reports an Elections official in Michigan charged with ballot tampering in the 2020 primary. At the end of the fourth paragraph they admit she's a Democrat. Dan Balz at WaPoo, Democrats take aim at Iowa as they seek to change their nominating system, Des Moines Register, National Democratic leaders draft proposal to reshape presidential calendar, threatening Iowa caucuses.  I guess they're not happy with their choices. 

Well, she's right. At Da Wire, ‘It Would Be A Tragedy If This Woman Won The Presidency’: Zelensky’s Ex-Press Secretary Blasts Kamala In Since-Deleted Tweet. Benny@bennyjohnson, "Only Kamala Harris would find it appropriate to laugh when talking about the topic of Ukrainian Refugees." In poker, it would be a tell; Kamala laughs when she lies.  Anxious, "This one is on us, the people of Texas": Beto makes his case for governor.  Althouse, "I just had a chance to meet with the ambassador from the EU. We talked about the fact that you’re seeing the continued rise of authoritarians and thugs across the world. And we have our own, right here, in the state of Texas."

Said Beto O'Rourke, quoted in "O’Rourke calls Abbott a 'thug' and an 'authoritarian' who’s 'got his own oligarch here in the state of Texas'/The Democratic nominee for governor slammed the Republican incumbent in harsh terms, presaging a bitter lead-up to an election nearly eight months away" (The Texas Tribune).

Now, I think O'Rourke is utterly unqualified to hold serious power, because he seems to have had the delusion that he could aggressively assert that Abbott is part of the "rise of authoritarians and thugs across the world" without needing to back up his statement with any fact or argument. And this was not a casual, unguarded remark. He was sitting — "in a crowded hall at the South by Southwest festival" — doing an interview with Evan Smith, the CEO and co-founder of The Texas Tribune.

Morgan Ortigas

The Tennessee Star still has the long knife out for Morgan Ortagus, TN-5 Carpetbagger Candidate Morgan Ortagus to GOP-Controlled Tennessee General Assembly: Drop Dead!

Atop Da Hill, Bill Barr takes pains to tell us Trump's 'not my idea of a president' “I think a lot of people agree with his policies. They like his strength and his directness. But to the extent they support them, it's despite these — this kind of obnoxious behavior, it's not because of it,"

From Fox, Treasury Sec. Yellen contradicts Psaki: Likely to see another year of 'very uncomfortable' inflation. Andrew Mark Miller@AndyMarkMiller, "Two economies in one year. Not bad." in response to Psaki: 'We have basically crushed the Russian economy.' At WaPoo, Beyond the pump: Record gas prices are pushing up everyday costs, dampening economic recovery.  NYPo, Uber to roll out fuel surcharge in United States with surging gas prices. Drew Allen at Town Hall, Biden Voters Can Clap Like Seals Because They Voted for Unaffordable Gas Prices. NewsMax, Democrats Propose Tax on Oil Companies to 'Curb Profiteering'. And just who do they think will ultimately pay that tax? Jazz Shaw at Haut Hair, Manchin: Here's how Biden can help fix his energy crisis "Senate Energy Chairman Joe Manchin called on the Biden administration to use the Defense Production Act if necessary to rush completion of a stalled pipeline through his state to help Europe replace Russian natural gas supplies." That would be a start, but instead, WaPoo reports Biden is trying to squeeze oil out of Venezuela U.S. outreach to Venezuela strengthens Maduro, sidelines Guaidó. Even TNR asks Should Biden Really Be Begging Saudi Arabia and Venezuela for Oil? Kim Jarrett at JTN, Alaska governor says state is awash in energy but can't capitalize on it, "Dunleavy criticized the Biden administration for not defending a federal court ruling that stopped a project by ConocoPhillips Alaska." Humberto Fontova at Town Hall, Putin Isn’t the One Who Banned U.S. Offshore Oil Drilling. Bongino at Fox, Destruction of US fossil fuel has been Biden admin's 'energy suicide plan' since day 1. Ed Driscoll at Insty, WE HAVE POUNCING AND SEIZING!

● “If he doesn’t block Russian oil and gas imports, Biden opens himself to allegations that he’s giving Putin precious breathing room. And the GOP is itching to pounce.”

—Politico Playbook: How gas prices could crush Biden and the Democrats, March 3rd.

● Republicans seize on rising gas prices amid Ukraine conflict.

 Megan Fox at PJ Media, Watch: Biden Regret! Guess Who Misses Trump Now?. Bill Maher, Trevor Noah? Well worth breaking my no Tweet Guidelines for:

SUPERCUT!

Dems to suffering Americans: Just buy Teslas, you poors! pic.twitter.com/abYMfv6w7J

— Tom Elliott (@tomselliott) March 11, 2022

From JTN, California's mask mandate for schools ends Saturday. Good, but now Get rid of masks on planes, says Karol Markowicz, "There isn’t a single study with a control group that shows they work. Follow the science!" KM White at Town Hall, In Push for Mask Mandates, ACLU Betrays the Civil Liberties of Vulnerable Children "The ACLU of today cares little about bureaucratic overreach so long as the officials doing the overreaching are on its political team, and it gladly sacrifices the civil liberties of individuals if doing so advances its left-leaning agenda." At NYT, cited by Haut Hair, “I’m confused at how we go so sharply from one extreme to the other” on masking.

The WSJ, cited at Haut Hair, asks rhetorically, Does the "don't say gay" bill say that? No. At Da Mail, Bill Maher criticizes recent liberal outcry over Florida's 'Don't Say Gay' bill on-air on 'Real Time': Says 'maybe kids that young shouldn't be thinking about sex at all'.Christina Pushaw@ChristinaPushaw

Gov. DeSantis on Disney: "How do they possibly explain lining their pockets with their relationship from the Communist Party of China? Because that’s what they do, and they make a fortune, and they don’t say a word about the really brutal practices at the hands of the CCP."

Insty, OKAY, GROOMER: Disney Severely Miscalculated — and Republicans Shouldn’t Forgive and Forget.  

"The consternation over the Parental Rights in Education bill, passed by the legislature in Florida, continues apace. As RedState reported, the falsehoods being perpetrated about the bill are mind-numbing, including the idea that it bans saying the word “gay,” when that term is not even mentioned in the text."

Also, OKAY, GROOMER: Chasten Buttigieg Leads Kids in Pledge to the Gay Flag. Althouse wants you to "[C]onsider the case of [the] assistant principal... fired for reading a class a book called 'I Need a New Butt!'" Probably harmless, but in poor taste. At PM, Kansas teacher sues district after she was suspended for refusing to use student's preferred pronouns.

Ed Driscoll at Insty, ESCAPE FROM WOMANHOOD:

Helena Kerschner is a 23-year-old detransitioned woman who identified as transgender during her teenage years and was prescribed testosterone shortly after her 18th birthday. After being on testosterone for a year and a half, she realized that transitioning was a misguided way of dealing with her social and emotional struggles. Now, years later, she is interested in exploring the cultural and psychological factors that contribute to the sharp rise in the number of adolescent girls identifying as transgender and choosing to medically transition with hormones and surgeries.

More at Twitchy,  Young people tell their gender transition (and de-transition) stories to mark #DetransAwarenessDay. Regrets, they've had a few. 

At WaEx, White House proclaims 'Social Emotional Learning Day,' ignores ties to CRT, but KT at Town Hall, finds the First prominent Democrat to flip flop on support of CRT in schools is... Robert Francis "Beano" O'Rourke. When in Texas. I presume he's lying. So should you. Campus Reform reports that for the 2022 Midterms: 20-1, North Carolina university employees are donating to Democrats over Republicans. About what I'd expect. At PM, Florida middle schoolers face hate crime charges after racially motivated attack on white students, "The middle schoolers reportedly yelled things like "It’s opposite day" and "brown power" as they beat the other students." The media generated an expectation that they'd get away with it.

From Sophie Mann at JTN, Michael Flynn appears before Jan. 6 panel, invokes Fifth Amendment rights "Former Trump national security advisor attempted last December to quash subpoenas committee issued him." He should have flipped them off, too. ADN, California bill would revoke tax-exempt status of nonprofits that supported Jan. 6 attack, "The bill would allow a nonprofit organization’s tax-exempt status to be revoked if the state determines the organization has “actively engaged in, or incited the active engagement in, acts or conspiracies defined as criminal under specified federal law." Sounds like all kinds of constitutional problems to me, starting with an ex-post facto law.

The Wombat has Rule 5 Sunday: “Violent” 2D Girls up at The Other McCain on time and under budget.

They is Nuts

But if they wants to identify as just another white male, they can be my guest: Yahoo! Demi Lovato Revealed That There Could Be a Time When They "Identify as Trans"

Demi Lovato is further opening up about their gender identity ahead of their 29th birthday. While speaking at the 19th Represents Summit, the "Sorry Not Sorry" singer shared more about their journey of coming out as nonbinary and how their gender expression could change in the future.

"Being nonbinary, what that means ... is that I'm so much more than the binary of man and woman," they said during the summit, according to DailyMail. "And that we are all so much more if we allow ourselves the ability to look within ourselves and challenge that binary that we've grown up living in."

They also revealed the challenges they faced before coming out as nonbinary. "I was very nervous in the beginning to come out as nonbinary because I didn't want people to think it was inauthentic," they explained. "I just wanted people to see what coming out as nonbinary meant to my healing process."

Demi continued, expressing that their gender identity could change over time. 'There might be a time where I identify as trans...there might be a time where I identify as nonbinary and gender nonconforming my entire life. Or maybe there's a period of time when I get older that I identify as a woman. I have a feeling that it's not going to ever go back to one way or the other. But it's about keeping it open and free, and just I'm a very fluid person, and so that goes with how I express myself as well."

Linked at the Daley Gator in Sunday Links. The Wombat has Rule 5 Sunday: Rebecca de Mornay ready at The Other McCain.

Heather Has Two Mommies, Updated

 At Da Wire, Female Inmate Pregnant After Being Forced To Share Prison With Biological Men Claiming To Be Transgender

A female inmate in California is now pregnant after women’s prisons were forced to accept biological male prisoners claiming to be women without any questions asked.

The Blaze reported that a liberal women’s organization, Women’s Liberation Front (WoLF), has reported that at least one woman has become pregnant following California’s law that allows men to identify as women and get sent to a women’s prison – even if they were in prison for violence against women. As The Daily Wire reported last month, California began handing out condoms and Plan B to female inmates who were forced to accept sharing a prison with biological men claiming to be transgender. 

If you didn't see this coming, you don't deserve to vote. 

Linked at Pirate's Cove in the daily If All You See…

Land Use Blamed for Transsexual Smallmouth Bass

Happy Payne with a fine Smallmouth

 Land use tied to ‘intersex’ smallmouth bass in Bay rivers

Prompted initially by disturbing fish kills in the Potomac and Susquehanna rivers, researchers have been on a quest for nearly 20 years to understand what’s impacting the health of smallmouth bass, a popular freshwater recreational catch throughout the Bay watershed.

While studying die-offs, skin lesions and infections seen in both adult and juvenile bass, scientists began noting “intersex” conditions in Potomac and Susquehanna fish. They’ve found cells in the sex organs of males that are usually found only in females, as well as a protein that’s produced by females to form the yolk around an egg.


Extensive water sampling in Bay rivers has also documented the presence of hormone-disrupting chemicals, which have been linked to the development of intersex traits in bass.

 

There appears to be no one source of those chemicals in Bay tributaries, but a pair of new research papers suggest that efforts to reduce nutrient and sediment pollution also could help reduce chemical contaminants — and possibly the intersex abnormalities.

After conducting a statistical analysis of water and fish samples collected at multiple sites over several years, a team of U.S. Geological Survey scientists found that land use nearby or upstream was linked to the levels of hormone-disrupting contaminants measured in the water.

Higher levels generally were found in waters that drained farmland, the USGS team reported in the March issue of the journal Chemosphere. But the levels could also be affected by the extent of crop cultivation, and the type of crop being grown. Soybeans, for instance, generate natural estrogens. Levels were even higher near fields where hormone-disrupting herbicides such as atrazine and metolachlor had been applied, the study found.

And horse urine used to be the source for the hormones in birth control pills. Think that might have contributed? 

The USGS team also found elevated estrogenic or hormone-disrupting substances in waters draining some more urban settings, especially those with a lot of pavement or high numbers of septic systems treating wastewater.

“We did find … that scale matters,” said Vicki Blazer, the study’s lead author. In the immediate catchment basin being studied, they saw impacts associated with pesticide applications, percent of land cultivated, and the presence of septic tanks. But some impacts could also be connected to factors farther upstream such as runoff and the extent of pavement and buildings. They also sampled early and late in the year to see if the effects varied by season.

Previous studies have linked feminization of male bass with exposure to effluent from municipal wastewater treatment plants, but sampling in the Potomac River near sewage plants found no such pattern. Still, Blazer indicated she isn’t ready to rule out wastewater plants as sources, saying there hasn’t been enough sampling to do that.

Another clear message from the data: Levels of hormone-disrupting chemicals tend to be lower in stretches of river lined with trees, or even bushes.

 Less is better? Whoda guessed?

The Wombat has Rule 5 Sunday: Get In The Robot, Alegrachan ready to roll at The Other McCain.

Annals of the Biden Crime Family: Candy is Dandy, but Incest is Best

From across the pond at Da Mail, Hunter Biden was living with his brother Beau's widow Hallie while sending raunchy texts and FaceTiming in the shower with her married SISTER as they declared their love and she called him her 'prince'. Andrea Widberg at Am Think, Apparently, Hunter Biden's life was even more sordid than we knew. Ace, Daily Mail: Hunter Biden Wasn't Just Banging His Brother's Wife, He Was Also Banging His Brother's Wife's Married Sister

I'm not even mad. I'm impressed.

In addition, newly available emails and texts suggest the possibility that Hunter Biden was already banging his dead brother's wife on the day after he died.

White trash at its ugliest.

What's the fun of being born in the to nation's elite if you can't have a little light debauchery?

The politicization of everything continues apace. Rick Moran, PJ Media, Biden Fires Chicago U.S. Attorney Hot on the Trail of Democratic Corruption. Just business a usual, but ask yourself what would they have said if Trump did it. James Corum at Am Think, How the Biden Administration is Politicizing the Military, and Kelsy Bolar at Da Fed reports on how the Biden Administration Prepares Way For Banks To Refuse Service To Democrats’ Enemies, by reviving "Operation Choke Point". "Make your own banks." Karen Townsend at Hot Hair, Biden Kicks Texas To The Curb – Denies Statewide Major Disaster Declaration Request. Weasel Zippers, Biden Admin Cancels ICE Operation Removing Sex Offenders From US… "The US is now a sanctuary state for sexual predators."

Alex Nitzberg at JTN, More than two dozen House Democrats ask Biden to relinquish sole authority to launch nuclear weapons ""We respectfully request that you, as president, review ways in which you can end the sole authority you have to launch a nuclear attack, and to install additional checks and balances into the system," the letter states." Capt. Ed at Hot Hair wonders Say, Why Are House Dems Calling On Biden To Give Up Full Control Of Nuclear Weapons? Newsweak, Matt Gaetz Claims Democrats Elected Joe Biden Because He's 'Too Frail' to Make Decisions  "I'd be concerned about giving Joe Biden the code to my garage door opener." Ace, Democrats Demand That Biden Give Up His Power to Launch Nuclear Missiles "The Democrats claim they're just making this demand because no one man should have this power. But... they didn't mind when Obama and Clinton had it. What makes Biden different, I wonder?" At paywalled ET, Roger Simon writes Biden and the Nuclear Code–Yikes!. Fortunately Insty has a lengthy quote:

Do 36 Democrat House members calling for Joe Biden to relinquish sole authority over the nuclear code know something we don’t know?

Not in the slightest!

The idea of a man who couldn’t remember what state he is in (figuratively and literally), who refused to take a cognitive test so normative most sixth graders could pass it, who plagiarized in law school but still graduated at the bottom of his class (it wasn’t Harvard), who was the only person in the room that voted against assassinating Bin Laden, who makes so many gaffes nobody even notices anymore (certainly not the press), making such an epochal decision by himself is, well, mortifying (check the derivation of that word).

Maybe he could call a “lid” on nuclear war, give himself some time…

Newsmax, Gordon Chang: Chinese 'Don't Respect' President Biden. Nobody respects the hired help."This is going to be a continuing story, because there's a money trail," he continued. "There's going to be a lot that comes out in the next several months." Fox, Senate confirms Linda Thomas-Greenfield as UN ambassador, despite controversy over China remarks

The speech, excerpts of which were reported by The Washington Post, called Chinese intervention in Africa a "win-win-win situation" in which the communist regime and the U.S. could promote good governance, gender equity and the rule of law.

"I see no reason why China cannot share in those values," she said. "In fact, China is in a unique position to spread these ideals given its strong footprint on the continent."

On the subject of how personnel drives policy, I suppose you might be aware that Biden's nominee to lead the Office of Management and Budget, Neera Tanden, is taking some heat for mean tweets.  Fox, Collins opposes Tanden for Biden budget director, in another blow to confirmation, Capt. Ed, Bye, Partisan: Collins Shoots Down Tanden Nomination At OMB; UPDATE: Romney Too? and Nearer The Tandenpocalypse: Toomey, Portman Announce Opposition — As Counterattacks Get Desperate; UPDATE: Trouble In Committee? But from WaPoo, Hugh Hewitt opines   The GOP should forgive Neera Tanden. I disagree,  "Make the enemy live up to its own book of rules."

And the more he talks, the more I'm convinced we dodged a bullet when Merrick Garland was refused his seat on the Supreme Court. Merrick Garland treads carefully on Durham probe, Hunter Biden questions at confirmation hearing, Jazz Shaw at Hot Air, Merrick Garland Doesn’t Know If He’ll Prosecute Illegal Border Crossings, PM, Biden AG pick says he sees 'no distinction' between equality and equity, Breitbart, Merrick Garland Says He Is Unaware Drug Cartels Game U.S. Asylum System. And then from Da Wire, Biden Associate Attorney General Nominee Wants To Eliminate School Police Officers "Vanita Gupta openly advocates to “end the use of police in schools as a solution to student discipline.”" I wish they weren't necessary

And then there's Biden's transgender nominee to HHS; Tyler O'Neil at PJ Media, Biden HHS Nominee Defended Subjecting Kids to Chemical Castration, Megan Fox, also from PJ Media, Rand Paul TORCHES Biden's Trans HHS Nominee for Supporting the Chemical Castration of Kids, Capt. Ed, Paul To Deputy HHS Nominee: If We Condemn Genital Mutilation Of Minors, Why Do You Support Transgender Therapies For Children? Good question. Ace, Rand Paul Is the Only Republican Willing to Ask Biden's Transsexual Deputy Secretary of Health About His Views That Parents Should Be Cut Out of a Child's Decision to Amputate His or Her Genitals

And as for Rachel's proposed boss, Sara Carter reports Biden’s HHS pick refused to support free elections in Cuba in 1997 after meeting with Fidel Castro "President Joe Biden’s nominee for secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS), California Attorney General Xavier Becerra, refused in 1997 to call for free elections in Cuba. He made this decision following a meeting with then Cuban dictator Fidel Castro, Fox News reported Tuesday." Free elections bad.

PM, Biden State Department nominee claimed Israel controls American politics, says Jews have dual loyalty "Uzra Zeya, who formerly worked for the Washington Reporter on Middle East Affairs, compiled research for the book Stealth PACs: How Israel's American Lobby Took Control of U.S. Middle East Policy, which the book credits her for."

Tyler O'Neil again, 5 Times Biden's Interior Nominee Refused to Answer Basic Questions on Energy "Rep. Deb Haaland (D-N.M.), President Joe Biden’s nominee for secretary of the interior, refused to answer basic questions about energy and fossil fuels on public lands. Haaland had previously campaigned on eliminating oil and gas production in New Mexico and Biden has pledged to eliminate drilling on public lands, yet the nominee played dumb when faced with elementary questions on these issues."

Free Speech for Me But Not for Thee

Ace, Lindsey Sheppherd Permanently Banned From Twitter For Daring to Respond to a Nasty Transsexual's Extremely Nasty and Personal Insult

Lindsey Shepphered was the TA who was brutalized by a Canadian college for daring to ask the class to discuss a televised debate involving Jordan Peterson.

I guess she's still being harassed by transsexuals.

On Twitter, Transsexuals can insult you, but if you insult them back, you're permanently banned.

I can't tell you the insult this transsexual used. It's that bad.

But Twitter thinks it was A-OK and not anti-woman at all.

Note that Ace misspelled both her fist and last name in the post title.

Let's hear about it from Lindsay, as long a YouTube lets her continue to post:



We've seen Lindsay previously. She was originally a devout liberal, but made the mistake of introducing material contrary to the narrative in a college setting, in the interests of spurring debate.

While I cut and paste tweets into posts, I will not ever sign up with Twitter as it is currently administered.

She'd Play a Table or a Rifle Pretty Well, Too

She has great legs and a nice butt.  'I should be allowed to play any person, or any tree, or any animal': Scarlett Johansson opens up about politically correct casting

Scarlett Johansson spoke candidly about her storied acting career and the growing 'trend' of politically correct casting in a revealing new cover story for As If magazine.

The 34-year-old award winning actress stunned in a retro inspired shoot for the outlet for its spring/summer 2019 issue, on newsstands now.

I know how to pretend that I’m cold. I can pretend that I can’t feel my feet or toes,' the actress continued. 'If I wanted to decide to be wet and cold in order to feel wet and cold I’ll make that choice myself, you know? But, sometimes directors imagine that they can do something like that.

The Tony winner noted that the landscape in her industry has changed quite a bit since she began as a child actor.

Recently Scarlett not-so-gracefully bowed out of an upcoming project as a trans character following significant backlash that the role wasn't given to a trans actor.

At first the star dug in her heels and refused to give up the role but in time, the pressure got so intense that she relinquished the role.

She addressed was she called the 'political correctness' in casting without directly mentioning her controversial casting in Rub & Tug.

'You know, as an actor I should be allowed to play any person, or any tree, or any animal because that is my job and the requirements of my job,' she said point blank.

She continued: 'I feel like it’s a trend in my business and it needs to happen for various social reasons, yet there are times it does get uncomfortable when it affects the art because I feel art should be free of restrictions.'

'I think society would be more connected if we just allowed others to have their own feelings and not expect everyone to feel the way we do.'

The star, who has been in the industry for much of her life, went on to explain that as someone in front of the camera, she rarely ends up with the movie she thought she was making.

The end product that hits theaters is 'usually different from the movie I thought I was making. It’s very rare that it’s what I thought I was making. Sometimes it’s devastating, and sometimes it’s a pleasant surprise.'

All I can say, is if I have to watch a trans character in a movie, I want it to be played by ScarJo.

The Wombat has Rule 5 Sunday: Kathy Zhu up and running on time and within budget.