Flotsam and Jetsam - Trump Freezes Federal Grants, Starts Personnel Purge

Insty, at his NYPo gig writes that Trump is following through with unprecedented and swift action to begin his presidency – which has reset the national mood. Owen Gregorian@OwenGregorian, "Gutfeld: Trump Has Flooded The Zone, "The Party Has Never Been This Effective Or Successful In My Lifetime" | Ian Schwartz, RealClearPolitics GREG GUTFELD, FOX NEWS CHANNEL HOST: Just stepping back, I just feel like, are there any politicians or political parties left? Like I feel as though Trump has flooded the zone. He's disappeared Democrats from the game board, but also any kind of like, never Trumpy Republican, are they -- do they still exist? I don't think there's been any Republican president that's had a week like this. I don't remember it. The party has never been this effective or successful in my -- in my lifetime. . ." Reagan Reese at Da Caller, Trump Takes More Questions In First Few Hours Than Biden Did Entire First Week, maybe his entire term. WokeSpy informs us Anna Paulina Luna Files Legislation to Add President Trump to Mount Rushmore. Heh. Ace, Former CNN Thumb Chris Cillizza: I'm Totally Surprised That Trump Was Right About Covid Origins and Anthony Fauci Wrong; It Just Never Occurred to Me That the President of the United States Might Have Access to Secret Information I Didn't Have. "Actually, Fauci wasn't "wrong" about covid being created in a lab, dullard. He knew it was created at the Wuhan lab because he illegally funded the Wuhan lab to weaponize bat viruses. He lied. Baby steps, baby steps." Da Fetched sees a CNN Anchor Visibly Angered by Trump’s Skyrocketing Popularity: ‘I Have a really Hard Time Believing This.’ Bob Spencer at PJM finds Leftists Are so Upset About Trump That Even the Shrinks Need Shrinks. I think all shrinks have shrinks. It's a rule. Althouse, Jon Stewart mocks anti-Trumpers for overdoing their accusations of fascism. Sean Davis@seanmdav, "Trump has done more to save this country in the last week than every elected Republican before him combined did over the last 30 years. And at a far greater personal cost to himself and his family." TNP, DATA: Trump Commands GIGANTIC Swing in Voter Trust, Especially In This Area….

The Trump administration introduced a new press secretary yesterday, Karoline Leavitt. In addition to being young and cute, she's also smart as whip. A welcome change. Sundance at CTH, of course, posts the whole first press session, White House Press Briefing – Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, First Presser. Driscoll at Insty, ‘WE WILL CALL YOU OUT:’ Karoline Leavitt Issues Warning To Reporters At WH Press Briefing. Matt Vespa at TownHall has some highlights, Why Karoline Leavitt's First White House Press Briefing Was Pure Gold. Brad Slager at RedState, First White House Press Briefing for Karoline Leavitt Has the Press Off Balance Dealing With Competency. Ace, Karoline Leavitt's First Press Briefing Features a Roll Call of the Criminal Aliens The Democrats Protected for Decades and Who Trump Has Now Arrested, "Here was her opening. Karoline Leavitt's inaugural press briefing is rubbing the arrests of Undocumented Democrats in the corrupt communists' faces." Julia@Jules31415, "BREAKING: Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt has an update on the drones directly from President Trump, saying they were "authorized to be flown by the FAA for research and various other reasons. Many of these drones were also hobbyists, recreational, and private individuals that enjoy flying drones. In time, it got worse due to curiosity. This was not the enemy." About the way I saw it. ABC, Trump says NJ drones were 'authorized' after suggesting Biden kept public 'in suspense'. 

John Sexton, Fork In the Road: Trump Administration Offers Buyouts to Millions of Federal Workers. If you don't like Trump, you can quit with a generous 9 months of pay. But do it quick, offer expires soon. "In any case, the White House says they expect 5-10% of employees to resign." Da Mail, Trump to offer two million federal workers buyouts in accelerated government purge. Misty Severi at JTN, Trump administration freezes federal aid outside of Social Security and Medicare. "The two-page memo, which is set to take effect on Tuesday night, could impact lower-income households that rely on Medicaid, school breakfast and lunch programs; and the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children." Dave Strom at Hat Hair, YUGE! Trump Pauses All Federal Grant Programs. 'Streiff' at RedState, Trump Halts $3 Trillion in Federal Grants Pending Review of Compliance With His Executive Orders. This will be huge to the research community which is heavily dependent on a constant flow of grant money, trust me I know. OTP, Federal Judge Temporarily Blocks Trump’s Funding Freeze. "Ruling at the end of a hastily-arranged court hearing Tuesday, AliKhan said she was issuing a brief stay that would “preserve the status quo” until she can hold an oral argument, which is set for Monday morning." DataRepublican (small r)@DataRepublican, ok, there has been much stupidity revealed today but taxpayer dollars going to vegan soul food physically hurts in the chest" Quote ¿Theorhetorical? Squid@Theorhetorical "Had to try it out tonight… Found a grant to study Soul Food We are so screwed… or were… hey @DOGE do we really need to study Soul Food?"

Dave Strom, Trump Admin Suspends Top Brass at USAID. Josh Kraushaar@JoshKraushaar, "The Trump administration placed several dozen senior officials at the U.S. Agency for International Development on administrative leave in response to what an official characterized as resistance to President Trump’s policy." Matt Margolis at PJM MAGA Goes FAFO: Trump Purges USAID Leadership for Defying Executive Orders. 'Streiff', Trump Suspends As Many As 60 Senior Bureaucrats for Trying to Evade His Executive Orders. Sundance, 60 USAID Officials Removed From Duty. Anxious anxiously whines Trump fires chair of National Labor Relations Board. "Under the national labor law, board members can only be fired for neglect of duty or malfeasance." Veronique de Rugy at Reason begs Abolish the CFPB. "This rogue agency stifles innovation, drives up costs, and infantilizes consumers—all while operating without accountability."

Guy Benson at TownHall speculates on Why Did JD Vance Grant His First Vice Presidential Interview to Margaret Brennan and CBS News? "My suspicion is that Vance wants to do these types of interviews. He wants to demonstrate that the Trump administration will not shy away from tough questions, knowing that he is particularly well equipped to 'win' the exchanges." Am Mil News has the Video: SECDEF Hegseth refers to ‘Fort Liberty’ as ‘Fort Bragg.’ 'Streiff', WSJ Outs Senator Thom Tillis As the Guy Behind Hegseth's Ex-Sister-in-Law's Last Minute Hit on Him. Ace doubles down with Sean Duffy Confirmed as Secretary of Transportation, "I sure hope Pete Bootyjudge left him a letter explaining all that he knows about transportation and months long undisclosed vacations in Porto, Portugal," and Sean Duffy Confirmed as Secretary of Transportation; Karoline Leavitt's Inaugural Press Briefing Features a Slideshow of Now-Arrested Criminal Aliens and Their Crimes. OTP, Trump Cabinet Nominee Kelly Loeffler Pledges To Donate Salary To Charity If Confirmed. Eric Daugherty @EricLDaugh, "THIS IS A MASTERCLASS. WELKER: You support deporting millions of people? RUBIO: Yes. This is mass migration to the tune of 20, 30 unvetted people. Nobody allows this. 10 million in just the last 3 years. WELKER: Ok, but in the past, you said you disagreed with mass deportations. RUBIO: Because the issue has completely changed since 2013. It went from 11 million to that number in the last 3 year alone. Criminals, terrorists. An invasion." Sean Davis@seanmdav, "Didn’t Biden just pardon you for treason? Maybe sit this one out, Benedict." Quote Adam Schiff @SenAdamSchiff, "The last person you want as FBI Director is Kash Patel. It’s a position of immense, at times unreviewable, power. And in addition to being dishonest, untrustworthy, and utterly lacking in . . ." At Da Blaze, a FBI whistleblower warns Patel: DEI rot at FBI deeper than you can imagine. I suspect he can. NYPo, Caroline Kennedy attacks ‘predator’ RFK Jr. in scathing letter ahead of confirmation hearing. Althouse, "His basement, his garage, and his dorm room were the centers of the action where drugs were available..." ""... and he enjoyed showing off how he put baby chickens and mice in the blender to feed his hawks. . . Wrote Caroline Kennedy, about RFK Jr., quoted in "Caroline Kennedy Urges Senators to Reject Her Cousin’s Nomination/In a harsh letter to lawmakers considering Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s nomination for health secretary, Ms. Kennedy called her cousin unfit for the job and a 'predator' who led family members to addiction" (NYT)." Misty Severi at JTN, Dozens of former intelligence officials urge Senate to confirm Tulsi Gabbard as DNI, "Former Trump White House NSA Robert O’Brien, and former Acting DNI Ric Grenell, were among the four dozen former intelligence officials to urge the Senate to confirm Gabbard." 'Becca Downs at TownHall, AOC Just Couldn't Give Up Grift Over Elon Musk. Lincoln Brown at PJM sees Mike Lee Proposes Issuing Letters of Marque. A crazy idea that just might work. Might.

At the Freep, Christopher Caldwell: The Biggest Policy Change of the Century "So tumultuous was the first week of Donald Trump’s second term that people have barely noticed, a week on, that last Tuesday he repealed affirmative action by executive order. That is astonishing." John Sexton at Hat Hair VIP, notes a Retired Brigadier General Spills the Tea on DEI in the Military. Althouse, "Consistent with the military mission and longstanding DoD policy, expressing a false 'gender identity' divergent from an individual’s sex ..." ""... cannot satisfy the rigorous standards necessary for military service. Beyond the hormonal and surgical medical interventions involved, adoption of a gender identity inconsistent with an individual’s sex conflicts with a soldier’s commitment to an honorable, truthful, and disciplined lifestyle, even in one’s personal life. A man’s assertion that he is a woman, and his requirement that others honor this falsehood, is not consistent with the humility and selflessness required of a service member." Said Trump's executive order "Prioritizing Military Excellence and Readiness."" At the WJ, CIA Nukes 'Affinity Groups,' Bans Rainbow Lanyards, and Guess Which 'History Month' Just Got Axed. Mark S. Zaid@MarkSZaidEsq "1/It goes beyond what happened at DHS & NASA today. CIA employees were told all resource & affinity groups are canceled. No black history month or MLK celebration, or any other ethnic recognition months. DEI folks are to be fired rather than allowed to rotate to former offices." John Sexton, The CIA Embraces the Lab Leak Theory. WSJ, Trump Signs Executive Order to Restrict Medical Treatments for Transgender Children, Teens. "The executive order said the government has an obligation to protect young people from therapies that it says can have life-altering consequences. “Countless children soon regret that they have been mutilated and begin to grasp the horrifying tragedy that they will never be able to conceive children of their own or nurture their children through breastfeeding,” the executive order says." At Da Mail, Woke DEI teacher complains about Trump removing their pronouns in parody-like speech. "'My name is Dr. Tracy Castro-Gill, my pronouns are they/them. I am a disabled queer Chicanx educator and scholar in Washington state with my expertise on curriculum and instruction,' Castro-Gill said in her long-winded tirade." OTP, GOP Leaders Call On Trump To Release Epstein Files. 

End Wokeness@EndWokeness "This is the 1st @AP post with the words "egg prices" since February 2023. Two years." Quote The Associated Press@AP. "Egg prices are soaring. Don't expect that to change anytime soon."

TNP, NATO Allies Pledge 5% More Defense Spending Under Trump Pressure. Leah Barkoukis at TownHall, Google Maps Will Soon Be Changing 'Gulf of Mexico' to 'Gulf of America.'

At the TN Star, Colombia’s Immediate Caving to Accepting Deportation Flights Sets the Tone for Other Countries’ Compliance with Accepting Back Migrants. Pop Times, Trump Plans Shipping U.S.-Born Serial Criminals to “Foreign Lands” for a “Small Fee.” Da Hill whines about a Oklahoma state school board which approves a proposal requiring parents to report citizenship when enrolling students. Beege Welborn at Hat Hair, 'My People': Deportations, Cries, and Lies. 

At the WSJ, Democrats’ 2026 Problems Have Already Started. "Michigan Sen. Gary Peters says he won’t seek re-election in 2026." TTNews, Pete Buttigieg Weighs US Senate Run, "Michigan’s Gary Peters Won’t Seek Another Term." Lawrence Person's BattleSwarm Blog has Jeremiad To The Democrats The First: Abandon The Fucking Idiot Transsexual Woke Bullshit. Lincoln Brown at PJM, The Left Never Runs Out of Reasons to Complain. Da Signal reports Battleground Wisconsin Set for Referendum on Enshrining Voter ID in State Constitution. Twitchy cites the The Slantic: Elon Musk Making It IMPOSSIBLE to Conduct Free and Fair Elections ANYWHERE, by allowing the free flow of information. 

Leslie Eastman at LI, Winter Storm Essentially Extinguishes Greater Los Angeles Wildfires "“Mudslide Season” has officially started." John Sexton, New Evidence on the Cause of the Eaton Fire. Power lines. When are they going to get around to burying them? Duane Patterson at Hat Hair, And on the Eighth Day, Trump Said Let There Be Water. And Californians Saw That It Was Good. (UPDATE). Beege Welborn, Next CA Plan: Declare Independence. "This looks like it's going to be another in 'What California Elected Officials Will Do to Get Out of the Responsibility for Actually Governing.'" Good luck with that. Take your Senators with you.

Sundance rejoices that Acting Attorney General James McHenry Fires Dozen+ DOJ Prosecutors from Jack Smith Investigation. ET, US Prosecutor Opens Probe of DOJ’s Jan. 6 Cases, "The probe will look into why prosecutors brought a felony charge against hundreds of people." An X thread about a typical case, Sarah Fields@SarahisCensored, "After listening to Trump’s speech, where he had been an hour late to, Rasha & everyone around her began marching to the capitol. She describes it as “It was one of the beautiful days , sea of red, white, and blue; everyone singing, proud to be American.” There are thousands of people ahead of her. Rasha follows the crowd into the Capitol. Never once being stopped by any Officer. This is when Rasha makes her first Facebook post, a picture of her showing off her tutu. The second post will be after she leaves the Capitol, after the Capitol Police had pepper sprayed the crowds & Ashli Babbit had been sh0t. “I did not commit any act of violent as many many of us..” They broke into her house with flash bangs. At WokeSpy, Lindsey Graham Lets Mask Slip, Calls Trump’s Jan 6 Pardons a “Mistake”. OTP, Man Arrested At Capitol Targeted Speaker, Trump’s Cabinet.

Stacy McCain has a Vegan Transgender Death Cult Update and notes an Unarmed Suspect Shot to Death by Police in Tampa, and Nobody’s Protesting. "Well, they thought he might have a gun and, considering that he’d gone on a hit-and-run rampage that killed one man and injured three others, Tampa citizens seem to understand the situation:"

At Twitchy, WATCH What Happens After Scott Jennings Tells Lefty Journo Calling Elon Musk a Nazi to Lawyer Up (Video). Ace, Jm J. Acosta Flounces Off CNN, Suggesting That CNN Is "Bowing to a Tyrant" for Shitcanning Him. "Ridiculous puffed-up Cluster B narcissist. I mean "puffed up" literally. His face and jaw are so stuffed with fat it looks like he's pregnant." A Larry video at Hat Hair, CNN Hosts Humiliated: Mass Exodus Underway?! Logan Washburn at Da Fed notices CBS Claims Southern States Are Too Poor, Incompetent To Handle Disaster Recovery Without Feds. At Mediaite, New York Mag Accused of Cropping Black People Out of Trump Party It Said Was Nearly All White. At Althouse, "A picture of young successful happy people at a trendy cocktail party reads as right wing. A picture of a dad in flannel drinking a beer at Texas Roadhouse..." ""... also reads as right wing. Right wing is both cool, hip and metropolitan, and down to earth, older, mature, and working class. This is how you know that conservatism is culturally ascendant. We run the gamut. The only pictures that read as left wing are those of ugly, fat, mentally ill, dysfunctional, friend-less weirdos." So says Matt Walsh, on X, looking at the "Cruel Kids" New York Magazine cover."

Joy Pullman at Da Fed, Attorneys Challenge Bank Of America’s Claims It Doesn’t Discriminate Against Conservatives.

John Sexton wonders Will Microsoft Buy TikTok?. What's in it for them? They already have all our data.

John Sailer@JohnDSailer, "NEW: Louis Galarowicz (@nasorg) and I have acquired a trove of records from University of Colorado, Boulder, that show how the entire university coordinated to advance a system of brazen race-based hiring." At OTP, Catholic Leaders Blast Notre Dame For Promoting LGBT Agenda. John Ekdahl@JohnEkdahl, "The political timing on making a statement like this right now is just jaw-dropping." Quote End Wokeness@EndWokeness, "Captain America 2025: "To me, Captain America represents a lot of things.. and America isn't one of them." Grummz@Grummz, ""Kill your local MAGA" Blizzard technical artist and Associate Art Director of Gearbox both wish death to 50% of America in a post and likes to their public Facebook. This is the type of atmosphere that Activision President Rob Kostich is fostering as he doubles down on woke DEI and ESG today."

OTP, Trans Runner Boasts After Defeating Female Runners. Redux, CANADA: Trans-Identified Male Charged After Allegedly Sexually Assaulting Multiple Women While Staying At A Women’s Shelter.

The Wombat has FMJRA 2.0: Back In The Cellar up and garnering clicks at The Other McCain.bird-flu-poultry-inflation-9ea9934e20e3fe393abb1bb85aa31c30?taid=67983a45389c600001ca084f&utm_campaign=trueAnthem_manual&utm_medium=trueAnthem&utm_source=twitter

The Wednesday Wetness

ABC 8 News, When will Richmonders get answers from the city’s water crisis investigation?

The city of Richmond recently chose the firm that will look into its widespread water crisis. But when will residents hear about its findings? Citizens of Richmond and multiple surrounding counties had little to no water from Jan. 6 to 11, following a malfunction at the city’s water treatment facility.

In the weeks that followed this crisis, questions have been raised about how this could have happened, including what actions — if any — the city could have taken to prevent it.
. . .
“The City will definitely update the public as we move through the after-action process,” the spokesperson said. “What [details are] released to the public and when will depend on several factors — especially since there are important homeland security considerations when it comes to the water treatment plant.”

In the meantime, the Virginia Department of Health (VDH) is also launching its own investigation into the water crisis, also through a third-party firm. It made this decision after it found two alleged violations of state waterworks regulations at Richmond’s water treatment plant.

The Wombat has Rule 5 Sunday: You Can Be My Cowgirl up and garnering clicks at The Other McCain.

Bay Cold Snap Threatens Speckled Trout

 Annapolis Capital Gazette, Frigid temperatures threaten game fish such as speckled seatrout

The most recent polar vortex squatting on the Chesapeake Bay region may be a godsend to waterfowlers who can keep their impoundments open or hunters hardy (and hopefully safety conscience) enough with the proper gear to venture out on open water to duck hunt. However, the current state of the bay is no bueno for pickerel and panfish anglers.

Understandably, most of us aren’t thinking about warmer weather game fish species like puppy drum or speckled (spotted) seatrout. But these intense, prolonged cold snaps can have dire — and even deadly — effects on many Chesapeake Bay creatures, including popular game fish such as speckled trout.

This week, North Carolina’s Division of Marine Fisheries closed the harvest for both commercial and recreational spotted seatrout harvest until June 15. I reached out to David Sneed, a friend in North Carolina who also heads up the state chapter of the Coastal Conservation Association. He told me that for the past two weeks there have been widespread cold stun events, which are sudden. Severe drops in water temperature, often combined with prolonged periods of cold weather, not only can make fish sluggish but are sometimes lethal.

The Tarheel State, as well as South Carolina and Georgia, have long-term data that indicates that cold stun events can significantly impact spotted seatrout populations. North Carolina officials say they are still receiving and verifying more cold stun reports and collecting associated environmental data.

And they’ll continue to capture as much information as they can to capture the scale of the cold stun events. Why? To assist in their management efforts to protect the stock, basically give surviving fish a chance to spawn before harvest reopens. Peak spawning occurs from May through June.

I saw a picture on Facebook recently that purported to be cold stunned Specks washed up on a beach near Virginia Beach. I don't doubt it (much). It's a well known phenomenon. It often happens when a source of warm water shuts off in cold weather, like a power plant.  Fortunately, they never shut down the nuke.

Speckled Trout are sort of a mystery fish in Chesapeake Bay. The appear suddenly in the shallow waters starting about late April, and stay around until about Oct, and disappear again. Where they go in the meantime is a question. Do they just stop biting lures? Do they migrate to deeper, warmer waters (where they also must not bite, but they could be some of those non-catchable marks we see on fish finders in winter). Do they migrate out to sea? Certainly a number of them seek shelter in the warm-water outflow of Calvert Cliffs Nuclear plant, where we catch a few, but not a lot.

The Wombat has Rule 5 Sunday: You Can Be My Cowgirl up and garnering clicks at The Other McCain.

Flotsam and Jetsam - It Was A Very Trumpy Weekend

We still seem to be basking in the glow from Trump's first full week in office.At the Wombat's In The Mailbox: 01.27.25,  Don Surber had A very Trumpy weekend, "Colombia capitulates and why delaying Bondi as AG helps Trump. . . .Here's the GENIUS part: They found a LOOPHOLE to make this stick. Federal regulations generally protect career employees from being reassigned for at least 120 days after new leadership takes over. But Pam Bondi hasn’t been confirmed yet. The firings come from the ACTING AG." Tom Knighton at TAW, Trump proves Daddy's really home. At WaEx, Paul Bedard's White House Report Card: Trump delivers on promises in first week. TCW, My TCW week in review – no one says it better than Steyn. Kurt Schlichter at TownHall says Trump’s Shock and Awe Campaign Is Our Conservative Dream Come True. Stephen Kruiser at PJM, Trump 47, Week One — The Democrats Don't Know What Hit Them. Althouse finds "[Stephen Miller] had these big thoughts of execution... what I'll just call flood the zone." The Great Victor Davies at Da Signal tackles The Absurd Outrage Directed at Trump. According to Hoyt, Thank G-d Almighty, Free At Last. Atlantic Council has a Dispatch from Davos: Trump is both symptom and driver of our new geopolitical era. Buck Throckmorton at Ace's helpfully provides Additional Executive Orders to Put Before President Trump. Mark Mitchell, Rasmussen Reports@Mark_R_Mitchell, "Trump approval currently has NO racial demographic signal. Wild! White - 55% Black - 57% Hisp/oth - 58%." 

Capt. Ed at Hat Hair likes 37 Minutes: FAFO, Colombia Style. VodkaPundit at PJM says Trump's Golf-Cart Diplomacy Is a Revolution Against the Deep State. Cynical Publius@CynicalPublius, "To fully understand just how remarkable today’s exchange with Colombia was, you need to understand how Washington DC has traditionally worked through these sorts of issues, and the different way it works now under Trump. I’ll illustrate." Dave Strom at Hat Hair, That Colombian President the Left Sides With Against Trump? He Was a Marxist Terrorist. Ace, Socialist President of Colombia Gets Roar of Approval from Anti-American, Pro-Crime Media For Refusing to Take Back His Criminals And Then He Folds. Breitbart reports Colombia Sending Emergency Delegation to D.C. to Fix Leftist President’s Mess. Althouse, "But, if the new tariff regime has been hyper-publicized, it has also been somewhat undertheorized." "From "Why Is the Mastermind of Trump’s Tariff Plan Still Sitting at Home in Florida? Robert Lighthizer, the former U.S. Trade Representative, lost his bid to rejoin the White House, but he still believes the President’s protectionist instincts can jump-start American manufacturing," by Benjamin Wallace-Wells" (The New Yorker)." NewsMax cites the WSJ: Advisers Pushing Trump for Tariffs on Mexico, Canada. ""He’s as serious as a heart attack," Sen. Kevin Cramer, R-N.D."

At ET, Vance Gives First Media Interview as Vice President: 5 Takeaways. NewsMax, Vice President Vance Says US Intelligence Bureaucrats Are 'Out of Control' Cynical Publius @CynicalPublius, "Understand what happened with Pete Hegseth's nomination and confirmation. Pete was overwhelmingly supported by the veterans' community. We know he is a dirty boots warrior who has the gumption to straighten out the mess that is the DoD, and collectively we have been his greatest voice of support. Who vehemently opposed his nomination? -The senior generals, the senior admirals and the SESers in the Pentagon. -The entire defense lobbyist community. -The entire defense industry. -The entire Democrat Party. -Three "Republican" senators who receive massive campaign contributions from the defense industry. . . " 'Bonchie' at RedState, Margaret Brennan's Revealing Mask-Off Moment During Her Interview With JD Vance. Dave Strom, I'd Like to Report a Murder: JD Vance Just Killed Margaret Brennan on Live TV. Ace, "I Don't Really Care, Margaret." "Happy Monday! What a newsy weekend. Vance went on propaganda node CBS' propaganda show and talked to queen of propaganda Margaret Brennan. She attempted a Martha Raddatz-style objection. Raddatz, of course, objected to Vance saying that Tren de Aragua had taken over apartment buildings. "Only a few," she said, as if this were some crushing point." Ryan King at NYPo, JD Vance has blistering response for Catholic bishops who criticized ICE raids in churches: ‘Worried about their bottom line.’

Sundance at CTH hosts Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth Gives Remarks Upon Arrival for Work at Pentagon. From Twitchy, HEAP BIG OUCH! James Woods DROPS Elizabeth Warren for Screeching About Pete Hegseth As Only HE Can. From Ace, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth (Eat It, Bitch McConnell) Reverses Insubordinate Malicious Compliance from Woke Air Force Official and CIA Director Ratcliffe Releases Suppressed CIA Report: Yes, Covid Was Created in the Wuhan Lab, "They knew, and they lied. Biden knew, and he suppressed the report. The media knew, and they lied. They all knew. They all lied. Please believe the next lies they have upcoming!" NewsMax cites Hegseth: Trump to Order End to DEI in Military, Reinstate Vax-Refusers. Beege Welborn at Hat Hair wants to Break Out the Van Halen - Marco's Going to Panama! At NewsMax, Rubio Threatens Bounties on Taliban Leaders Over Detained Americans. At TownHall Matt Vespa thinks How Elon Musk Is Handling the Fake Nazi Salute Allegations Is Absolutely Hilarious "“Don’t say Hess to Nazi accusations! Some people will Goebbels anything down! Stop Gőring your enemies,” Musk wrote on his social platform X. “His pronouns would’ve been He/Himmler! Bet you did nazi that coming,” he added with a laughing emoji."  

Sundance is excited about Three Significant Senate Confirmation Hearings This Week – RFK Jr, Gabbard and Patel. I don't care much about RFK or HHS, it's a waste of money anyway. At Da Wire, Tom Cotton Defends Tulsi Gabbard: No One Should Question Her ‘Patriotism Or Integrity.’ Cotton said that Gabbard's background came back "clean as a whistle." At RedState Nick Arama thinks former? communist John Brennan's Latest Rant Provides Best Accidental Endorsement for Tulsi Gabbard for DNI. From Da Fetched, Rachel Maddow Suffers Full-Blown Meltdown over Tulsi Gabbard’s Appointment as Director of National Intelligence, another endorsement. At Da Fed Elle Purnell notices The New York Times Still Refuses To Admit Kash Patel Was Right About Russiagate "Few people understand the FBI’s Russia hoax abuses as well as Kash Patel, which is probably why The New York Times hates him." OTP notes that the Letter From Doctors Opposing RFK Jr. Reportedly Includes Fake Names.

Tyler O'Neal at NYPo explains How Trump’s team will break down the woke bureaucracy. From Fox, Trump's federal DEI purge puts hundreds on leave, nixes $420M in contracts, "President Trump's executive order on DEI was among dozens he signed on his first day in office." At Althouse,
"The use of Federal resources to advance Marxist equity, transgenderism, and green new deal social engineering policies is a waste of taxpayer dollars that does not improve the day-to-day lives of those we serve." "Writes Matthew J. Vaeth, Acting Director of the Office of Management and Budget, in a memo titled "Temporary Pause of Agency Grant, Loan, and Other Programs.""  VodkaPundit at PJM, says Death to DEI: This Is the Real Reason White Lefties Are Panicking. Pop Times sees a DOGE Win: Trump Orders all Federal Employees to Report to Work in Person, How it Affects DEI. Insty, WELL, IF “EDUCATED” PEOPLE THINK IT’S OKAY, CAN IT REALLY BE ILLEGAL? Megan McArdle @asymmetricinfo "Everyone understood that this was going on, in private business as well as universities. Acquaintances would just outright say "We're looking to hire a woman of color/queer person/etc for this position". I never figured out how to politely ask why they were confessing a crime to someone they barely knew." 'Strieff' at RedState is happy Trump's Education Department Fires Biden 'Book Ban' Czar and Dismantles His Office. Gary Anderson at Am Spec reports the Marine Corps Commandant Tells a Whopper, "General Eric Smith denied the existence of DEI programming in the Marine Corps, disgracing himself and the entire Corps in the process." From the Free Bacon, Read the Frantic Memo Eric Holder Sent Clients After Trump Declared War on DEI , "The companies who hired him for 'diversity audits' could face legal jeopardy." Astonishing if true: "Shred and burn all documents bearing the name of "Eric H. Holder Jr." and the "Covington & Burling" law firm." Insty says MAKE THEM PAY: Inez Stepman @InezFeltscher, "They had a choice between following the law and bowing to their most ridiculous cultural revolutionaries. They chose the latter, they broke the law, and now there’s a sheriff in town that’s going to make them pay the price for it." Ace, Oh, No! Trump Prepping Exec Order to Ban Transgenders from Military. "What will the military do without its most unreliable, most hospitalized, and most drug-dependent "warriors"?"

At Reason, Will Trump Make An Article II Override Argument To Justify Firing IGs Without Providing 30 Days Notice? "Does Trump think the 30 day notice requirement infringes his Article II powers? Will he cite President Obama's refusal to provide notice of the Bowe Bergdahl transfers?" From Twitchy, Former Federal Employee Spills ALL THE BEANS on What's REALLY Going on with Fed Employees and Wow (Watch). Paula Bolyard at PJM reports Deranged Women Use Coded 'Cute Winter Boots' Vids to Resist Trump on TikTok. Dave Strom at Hat Hair VIP say The #Resistance Is Real. Driscoll at Insty has GREAT MOMENTS IN SELF-OWNS . . . Thompsonblog is amused when Our Betters Issue Threats. Cam at Bearing Arms hears Schumer Claim Trump Illegally Disbanded DHS School Safety Board.

From NewsMax, Trump Order Gives FEMA, Other Agencies Authority Over Calif. Water and Trump to Sign Order to Create 'Iron Dome' US Missile Shield. From Althouse, "The United States Military just entered the Great State of California and, under Emergency Powers, TURNED ON THE WATER flowing abundantly from the Pacific Northwest, and beyond." ""The days of putting a Fake Environmental argument, over the PEOPLE, are OVER. Enjoy the water, California!!!" Writes Trump, at Truth Social."

At WUWT, How To Rescind the Endangerment Finding in a Way That Will Stick, Free Our Energy Sector From Crippling Regulations and Inflationary Spending on So-Called “Green Energy” and Mine, Baby, Mine! 

At LifeZette, MSNBC Meltdown: Elie Mystal Comes Unglued, Blames ‘White Folks’ for Price of Eggs.
The FOO@PolitiBunny, "I get what you’re doing here but technically data for egg prices won’t be based on Trump’s actions for at least a month because they just released December’s data on Jan 15. So if eggs are at an all-time high you can still thank Biden. :)" Quote Democratic Wins Media@DemocraticWins, "BREAKING: Under Donald Trump’s leadership, egg prices in the United States have hit an all time high." Nevada News and Views, Nevada’s Egg Crackdown: How Democrats Scrambled Your Wallet. Jeff Carlson @themarketswork "Eight years ago Chuck Schumer was openly threatening President Trump: “The Intelligence Community has six ways from Sunday…” Now he’s whining about eggs. What a difference a few years can make." Quote Chuck Schumer@SenSchumer, "President Trump owes American families some answers about what he is going to do about the high price of eggs that’s being exacerbated by Bird Flu."

Capt. Ed, Ch-ch-ch-Changes: Iran Tells Proxies to Cool It in Trump Era. Benny Johnson @bennyjohnson "And just like that airlines are already catching on “Ladies and Gentlemen if you look out the right side of the aircraft, you will see the GULF OF AMERICA” Incredible." Leslie Eastman at LI, It’s Beginning to Dawn on Denmark that Trump is Serious about Greenland. "Danish leaders grandstand while Greenland’s Prime Minister indicates a meeting with Trump is being set up and Sec. of State Rubio begins discussing Arctic Security Plans with Danish officials."

ABC whines Melania Trump's official portrait released by White House.

At the Wombat's In The Mailbox: 01.27.25, EBL: Tulsi Time, Colombia accepting its illegal immigrants back and Vice President JD Vance’s first interview on Deface the Nation, Twitchy, Honest Question – What is The Benefit Of Banning Treansgender Troops? Intel Officer Forgets To Remove Her Name From “Secret” Post About Sabotaging Trump Administration, and SecDef Hegseth “Deadnames” Bases Whose Names Were Changed, Louder With Crowder, Of course! Woke, Soros-funded district attorney looking for state-level charges against pardoned J6ers, Donald Trump has NOT forgotten North Carolina (unlike Democrats) and he let hurricane victims take the mic, Beware MAGA! Leftists are totally threatening you for eating Mexican food over Trump’s deportation orders, JD Vance gives his first interview as VP, “Face the Nation’s” Margaret Brennan’s face tells you how bad he CRUSHED it, STUMP: 2025 Update On Senate Demographics.

Beege Welborn, The ICE Homan Cometh. Bill Melugin at Fox, has First images of ICE mass deportation efforts show arrests of MS-13 gang members, murder suspects. "Trump administration moving rapidly to fulfill mass deportation promise." From OTP, Dr. Phil Joins Homan For Chicago ICE Raid in Chicago. Ben Whedon at JTN, ICE arrests 956 illegals on Sunday alone, ""We took a lot of bad guys off the streets today!" he said while in Chicago." Dave Strom notices ICE Knew Where the Criminal Aliens Were--and Mayorkas/Biden Kept Them Free. Hat Hair, I Don't Have a Problem With These People Being Arrested. Libs of TikTok@libsoftiktok, "Some of the criminal illegal aliens who were arrested under the Trump admin. Democrats want to protect these criminals." Sarah Anderson at PJM, says About Those Tren de Aragua Gang Members in Colorado... gone! Fox, DEA busts drug traffickers in makeshift nightclub, takes 50 illegal aliens into custody, "Feds take nearly 50 illegals into custody at Tren de Aragua makeshift nightclub." Ben Smith at LI, Polis and Biden’s Inaction Exposed as Feds Rescue Aurora from Violent Gang Takeover.  Christian Collins @CollinsforTX ""If you're a criminal, you'll be deported." — Barack Obama, November 20, 2014 This is exactly what President Trump is doing right now, but Democrats still pretend to be outraged." MAZE@mazemoore, "2007. Presidential candidate Joe Biden says that he would not allow sanctuary cities to exist, that illegal immigration turns places into dumps, and that the federal government must enforce our immigration laws. Who does he sound like?" (((Harry Enten))) @ForecasterEnten "The GOP has turned a 11 pt deficit on who Americans trust on immigration in Trump's first term at roughly this point into a 22 point lead right now. Moreover, the percentage who say we're on the right track on immigration is up 23 points under Trump than it was under Biden."

At Da Mail, Selena Gomez breaks down crying in emotional video while speaking about Trump's deportation policy. "Her" people. Collin Rugg@CollinRugg, "JUST IN: Border Czar Tom Homan reacts to Selena Gomez’s viral breakdown, says he has “no apologies” and he is going to keep moving forward. The reaction we’ve all been waiting for. “If they don't like it, then go to Congress and change the law.” “We're going to do this operation without apology. We're gonna make our community safer.” “It is all for the good of this nation. And we're gonna keep going. No apologies. We're moving forward.” Liz Stauffer at LI reports Trump Administration Located Over 75,000 Missing Migrant Children, "If the Trump administration was able to locate 25% of these children in 100 hours, how did the Biden administration fail to find them in four years?" Duane Patterson at Hat Hair asks How Many Kids Were Saved During Biden's Administration? WokeSpy reports More Native Born Americans Are Unemployed At The End Of Biden’s Term.

Breitbart, Trump ‘Building the Wall’ to Fill Gaps on New Mexico Border. Benny Johnson @bennyjohnson, "BREAKING: America’s Border Wall is Being Built Again! New photos just released show construction crews building miles of NEW border wall across New Mexico. These rural areas were some of the worst for human trafficking and drug smuggling. White House Officials just confirmed to me that new walls are going up “at lightning speed” and Border Patrol is “reenergized” and “morale has not been this high in 4 years” Trump has only been in the White House for 4 days" Twitchy, Bill Melugin Reports There’s Something Happening at the Southern Border He’s Never Seen Before "Per sources, Border Patrol recorded just 582 illegal crossings at the southern border yesterday, with not a single one of the nine sectors hitting 200. I’ve never seen anything this low in all of my border coverage." Beege Welborn at Hat Hair VIP, Getting Hit by a Hardball Hurts: Investigating Officials 'Obstructing' Lawful Immigration Enforcement. OTP reports Gov. Abbott Deploys Texas Military To Join U.S. Border Patrol. 

Althouse finds "Birthright citizenship obviously doesn’t apply in case of war or invasion. No one to my knowledge has ever argued that the children of invading aliens..." ""... are entitled to birthright citizenship. And I can’t imagine what the legal argument for that would be.” Said 5th Circuit Judge James C. Ho, quoted in "Is Trump’s Plan to End Birthright Citizenship ‘Dred Scott II’?/The 14th Amendment overturned the 1857 decision that denied citizenship to Black people. Scholars say President Trump’s proposal betrays that history" by Adam Liptak (NYT)." At Da Caller, Jonathan Turley Flags Constitutional Issue That May Help Trump End Birthright Citizenship. “Well, I think the initial argument of the Trump administration might be a little bit different in the sense that you have an amendment that has clarity on both ends, that if you’re born in this country, you are a citizen. But in the middle are these six maddening words that people have been debating over since it was first enacted or ratified,” Turley said. “I think that members of the Supreme Court may want to look at that,” Turley added. “When the 14th Amendment was drafted, some of the individuals involved in that process, some of the members of Congress said that they believed it did not extend birthright citizenship and that has really fueled a lot of this debate.” Jeremy Frankel at TownHall sees the Question of Illegal Aliens Having Second Amendment Rights Go to Appeals Court "Margaret Steindorf, who represents the federal government in the case, said Flores’ immigration status is important, stating that “[T]here is the common thread here of felons not abiding by the law and those unlawfully in the country also not authorized to be in the country” when arguing court precedent for certain people to not be allowed to possess a firearm."

'Bonchie' sees Joe Biden's Scandal Deepens Post-Term After 'Accidental' Commutation Is Revealed, Dem Hypocrisy Exposed. Max Meyer@mualphaxi, "So, Biden's staff didn't double check the ACLU's list of "nonviolent drug offenders" and gave clemency to a drug lord in Connecticut who murdered an 8 year old boy and his mother to stop them from testifying. CT Sen. Blumenthal : "someone dropped the ball... This was a really vicious murder that changed our laws"" John Sexton at Hat Hair, One of the 'Non-Violent Criminals' Biden Released Murdered an 8-Year-Old and His Mom. Ace, Braindead Husk Joe Biden -- Or Really, the Staffers Illegally Running the Government -- Pardoned a Drug Kingpin Who Murdered a Mother and Her 8-Year-Old Child to Keep Her From Testifying Against Him as a "Nonviolent" Drug Violator. "James Comer has posed a question: Unless Biden can prove he is mentally fit, and that he actually took part in the decision-making here, are these pardons legally binding?" At Fox, ABC, CBS, NBC spent over 46 minutes covering Trump Jan. 6 pardons, 3 minutes on Biden pardoning his family "Networks covered Trump's controversial pardons 15x more than Biden's." From the Free Bacon, Biden Admin Quietly Spent $15 Mil To Distribute 'Contraceptives and Condoms' in Afghanistan—and Said Doing So Would Take 'Some Coordination' With Taliban. 

Bob Spencer at PJM, finds ESPN Leftist Stephen A. Smith Sorry He Voted for Kamala, Explains Why Trump Won. "Here’s the deal: the man was impeached twice, he was convicted on 34 felony counts, and the American people still said, ‘He’s closer to normal than what we see on the left.’" Capt. Ed at Hat Hair, sees The Grift Continues: Second Gentleman to Lobbyist in Chief. 

At UnHerd, Joel Kotkin says LA fires extinguish Gavin Newsom’s presidential dream. Beege Welborn, Wiener Brainer: Hey! The Oil Companies Can Pay for the LA Fires! Insty, WELL, FOR ONE THING BIDEN’S FEMA OPENLY DISCRIMINATED AGAINST REPUBLICANS: Matt Van Swol @matt_vanswol, "ABSOLUTELY MASSIVE CLEANUP EFFORT IS UNDERWAY IN WESTERN NORTH CAROLINA TODAY!!! THE ARMY CORPS OF ENGINEERS ARE EVERYWHERE!!!!! WHY DIDN’T JOE BIDEN DO THIS 4 MONTHS AGO?!!!!!!!"

Cathy Salgado at PJM has an Exclusive with a J6er who Speaks Out on Pardoned Prisoners Still in Jail. Find out who's doing it an charge them with kidnapping and violation of civil rights. Misty Severi at JTN reports Judge reverses order banning Oath Keeper leader Rhodes from Washington D.C. “It is not for this court to divine why President Trump commuted Defendants’ sentences, or to assess whether it was sensible to do so,” Mehta wrote. “The court’s sole task is to determine the act’s effect."" Atop Da Hill, Jan. 6 rioter pardoned by Trump shot, killed by sheriff’s deputy. Matt Margolis, Questions Raised After Pardoned J6 Protester Fatally Shot During Traffic Stop. It appears to be unrelated to J6. Appears. 

Reuters whines Trump administration fires team of lawyers who prosecuted him, official says. Fox reports Justice Department fires more than a dozen key officials on former Special Counsel Jack Smith's team. Acting Attorney General James McHenry 'does not trust these officials to assist in faithfully implementing the President’s agenda'" Ya think? Ace, Trump Fires "More Than a Dozen" DOJ Officials Involved In Investigating Him; New DC US Attorney Opens Investigation Into DOJ's Overcharging of J6ers. "A statement was issued stating that Trump cannot trust the DOJ prosecutors who used lawfare against him to implement his agenda "faithfully." Indeed, we're seeing malicious compliance in the military. You can bet that Merrick Garland's/Norm Eisen's Special Lawfare Operators will likewise subvert Trump's orders." Victoria Toensing and John Yoo at Da Fed say Prosecute The Architects Of Trump Lawfare For Election Interference. At Am Think Stephen I. Siller thinks about Jury Nullification in New York. RVN, ‘Democrats Have Proved Every Conspiracy Theorist Right’: Chalamagne tha God. Bob Hoge at RedState sees John Fetterman Delivers Some Hard Reality to the Never-Trumpers on 'The View,' and It's Glorious "While discussing Trump and former President Joe Biden's controversial pardons, Fetterman said, "I also agree that the trial in this city, in New York, was politically motivated, that wouldn’t otherwise have been prosecuted if it was someone else."

Joe Cunningham at RedState, Supreme Court Fast-Tracks Case of FBI Botched Raid That Traumatized a Georgia Family. "The FBI had the wrong house. In fact, they weren't even on the right street. The house they were looking for was 3741 Landau Lane, while Martin's home address was 3756 Denville Trace. According to Google Maps, the addresses were over 450 feet apart. The FBI says they used a GPS device that allegedly misled them." That's a pretty poor GPS. You won't catch any fish that way. Cernovich @Cernovich, "This should be a huge story. Not only did the DOJ official harass a subordinate, he lied about it. But DOJ declined to prosecution the official for obstruction of justice." Quote Oversight.gov@OversightGov, "New OIG report about DOJ: Investigative Summary: Findings of Misconduct by a Senior DOJ Official for Ethical Misconduct, Sexual Harassment, Sexual Assault, and Lack of Candor to the OIG https://oversight.gov/node/17506." Allowed to retire with full benefits. 

Stacy McCain, Radical Vegan Transgender Cult Implicated in Border Agent’s Death, "UPDATE: Landlord ‘Impaled With a Sword’ by ‘Vegan Sith’ Cult Members." Being vegan would make me cranky too. John Sexton, Shooter in Inauguration Day Killing of Border Agent Connected to Another Murder Suspect.

At Da Fetched, James Comer: ‘We Have Evidence Banks Are De-Banking Conservatives’ We’ve heard numerous instances of conservatives being debanked and what we want to know is this a process of the bank’s ESG policy, or is this our government stepping in like what we found with Twitter and Facebook, where the government stepped in and said they wanted certain conservatives deplatformed and censored,” Comer said. “We want to know again, is this is the government involvement another dirty trick by the Joe Biden administration, or is this just bad liberal policy that discriminates against conservatives by the bank.” John Sexton, At University of Colorado, DEI and Illegal Hiring Practices Went Hand in Hand. 

OTP, Colorado School Board Could Allow Teachers To Fly BLM, Transgender Flags In Classroom. "“By designating it government speech and adopting [them] as symbols of our school district, it avoids a First Amendment problem,” board member Rick Petersen said." John Sexton observes Palo Alto Schools Drop Honors Biology, Adopt Ethnic Studies Requirement. Breitbart outraged when Pennsylvania Democrats Propose Erasing Sex from Birth Certificates, Call Practice ‘Antiquated.’ How else will they know who to draft?

The Wombat has Rule 5 Sunday: You Can Be My Cowgirl and FMJRA 2.0: Back In The Cellar up and garnering clicks at The Other McCain.

Tuesday Tanlines

Australian Broadcasting Company asks Are we done with tanning? If they really think that, they should interview the Coffey sisters, one featured below:

The Wombat has Rule 5 Sunday: You Can Be My Cowgirl up and garnering clicks at The Other McCain.

Maryland, My Maryland

YaHoo! Judge dismisses climate change lawsuit against oil companies by Annapolis, Anne Arundel County

Anne Arundel County and the city of Annapolis cannot sue oil companies for their role in driving the climate change that has had “devastating adverse impacts” on the jurisdictions and their residents, a judge ruled this week.

Anne Arundel County Circuit Judge Steven Platt on Thursday dismissed the suits by the city and county against a raft of fossil fuel companies, including BP, Shell, Citgo and more, saying federal law preempted the state law claims against the oil companies.

Anne Arundel County Attorney Gregory Swain said Friday that while the county “respects the court’s decision,” it plans to appeal Platt’s ruling. A call seeking comment from the Annapolis City Attorney’s Office was not returned Friday.

But an attorney for the Chevron Corp. welcomed Platt’s ruling.

“The Court’s decision joins the growing and nearly unanimous consensus, among both federal and states courts across the country, that these types of claims are precluded and preempted by federal law and must be dismissed under clear U.S. Supreme Court precedent,” said the attorney, Theodore J. Boutrous Jr., in a prepared statement.

Platt’s order was the latest development in a case that began in 2021, two of a number of lawsuits across the country filed by state and local governments seeking to recover damages from the fossil fuel industry for climate change.

The Anne Arundel and Annapolis suits claimed that the oil companies had known for decades about the harmful impact of greenhouse gases created by their products, but that they hid that information from consumers or attempted to counter it so that they could keep profiting from the sale of fossil fuels.

Meanwhile, climate change driven by the use of fossil fuels was resultin in “devastating economic and public health impacts” affecting residents throughout the county, but particularly hurting “people of color, people living in poverty, and other vulnerable communities,” according to the original suit. It claimed the companies were guilty of creating a public nuisance, failure to warn, conspiracy and of violating the Consumer Protection Act, among other claims.

Platt’s decision to dismiss is a reversal from last year, when he rejected an attempt by the oil companies to dismiss the lawsuits. His decision to dismiss the cases Thursday followed rulings in other courts around the country, including a nearly identical case in Baltimore, in which judges threw out the suits. In those rulings, in local, state and federal courts, courts said that federal law preempted the state law claims being made in the cases.

Can I sue Anne Arundel County for their attempt to prevent colonization of the Bay by Tarpon and Bonefish.

Feds, State Set Eye on James Island

An old picture of James Island

 Bay Journal, Feds, state close in on building new island in Bay

James Island is gone. Long live James Island.

I beg to differ, it is not gone yet, at least as of late fall when we visited the island in search of fish. Admittedly, only three or four small nubs of the original three mile long island are still above water. As you may know, James Island is located directly across the Chesapeake Bay from our beach, and we have been witnesses to its diminishment. 

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and Maryland Port Administration are finalizing their proposal to resurrect an island that has vanished beneath the waves of the Chesapeake Bay. If all goes according to plan, James Island will convert more than 2,000 acres of open water into prime habitat for migratory birds while helping to protect communities on the vulnerable Eastern Shore from further erosion.

At the same time, it will solve an unending problem for the Port of Baltimore: finding a placement site for the built-up sediment dredged annually from the Bay’s shipping channels.

One of the remaining fragments of James Island
July 2024

 

With the November release of the project’s final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS), the two agencies took a critical step toward beginning construction on what is poised to become the largest human-made island in the Bay. The island is set to rise north of Dorchester County’s Taylors Island just outside the mouth of the Little Choptank River. It will be built using the mucky sediment cleared from shipping channels.

The report presents the most detailed look yet at how the massive undertaking will take place.

Several state and federal agencies, along with members of the public, submitted written comments to which the Army Corps was required to reply. Here’s a summary of key topics.

Where is the dredged sediment coming from?

That would be the approach channels in the Upper Bay that lead to the Port of Baltimore and the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal, which bisects the northern Delmarva Peninsula. For nearly 30 years, that material has been used to rebuild Poplar Island just offshore from Tilghman Island on Maryland’s Eastern Shore.

Will that muck be contaminated?

That’s a big concern shared by many in the fishing community. “You don’t know how toxic it is even though they’re supposed to test it,” said Bob Whaples, a longtime waterman, in an interview.

The Army Corps said in the EIS that “existing data do not support [such] claims.” The sediment is routinely sampled, and the results are sent to the Maryland Department of the Environment. If the material isn’t safe enough, it won’t be placed on the island, the Corps said.

A legacy of shore-hardening and industrial pollution has led to widespread contamination of Baltimore Harbor. But James Island, like Poplar, would source its material from the Upper Bay, which derives cleaner silt from the Susquehanna River flows and shoreline erosion, the Army Corps wrote.

Why is this happening now?

Poplar is set to reach its 1,715-acre capacity around 2030. Each year, dredges scoop up around 3 million cubic yards of silt from the bottom of the channels to keep them open for huge container ships. The state of Maryland bans the placement of dredge material into open water. So, officials are on the clock to prep Poplar’s replacement. Construction on James is targeted to begin by the end of 2025.

How will the new James Island be protected from erosion and sea level rise?

Like Poplar, much of James will be ringed by a formidable stone dike, measuring 20 feet high above the low-water line and about 9 miles in circumference. Holding cells must be finished before the dredge material is brought in. That’s because the fine-grained silt is mixed with water before being transported by pipe and would wash away into the surrounding Bay without containment.

Bay islands are typically bounded by sand or marshes. Isn’t all that stone unnatural?

Yes, which is why the Army Corps is mulling a slight alteration to the approach it used for Poplar.

The stone barrier there has helped attract fish around the outside of the island, delighting local anglers. But few larger specimens are brave enough to make their way inside the island’s perimeter using the long culverts that serve as outfalls for the internal creeks, said Jonathan Watson, a fish biologist for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). “It’s kind of a scary place for fish to venture into,” he said.

Watson and his colleagues recommended constructing wider, deeper inlets and connecting them with habitats that fish love, such as wetlands and offshore rock reefs. The Army Corps indicated it will adopt these practices years down the road after the material settles into place.

“We want to build off what we did on Poplar, but make it Poplar 2.0,” said Angie Sowers, an Army Corps planner.

The James marshes are being designed to support living things. Which ones?

The EIS comments show agencies at odds over which species should benefit most from the effort. The answer to that dilemma has big implications for how the island is built.

Slightly over half of the island’s acreage is set to become wetlands. Transforming most of that acreage into “high marsh” habitat, as advocated by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, would give the island more protection from sea level rise and make it more hospitable to rare bird species. Favoring a lower footing, as promoted by NOAA scientists, would be more conducive to aquatic species.

In the final EIS document, the Army Corps proposes a 50–50 split between high and low marshes. At Poplar, the low marsh acreage prevails by a 4-to-1 ratio over high marsh.

“This entire project is a balancing act of providing benefits to all the species that use this habitat,” Sowers said.

Couldn’t some of the silt help shore up low places elsewhere?

Much of coastal Dorchester County is in danger of being swallowed up by sea level rise. Officials with NOAA and the Maryland Department of Natural Resources pushed the Army Corps to divert some of the material bound for James toward restoring wetlands on the county’s mainland.

They are also currently restoring Barren Island, a similarly declining island a few miles south of James Island. I imagine they will conclude their work there before moving onto James. Or perhaps they'll finish outlining the perimeter of Barren Island with rock and move onto James while the interior of Barren is being built up with dredge spoils. That's how I would do it, if I had the resources. 

Bear in mind, island restoration is just a happy secondary goal in this work, the real point is to provide a place to dump dredge spoils from the shipping lanes in Baltimore Harbor and upper Bay.