Maryland, My Maryland

Scott McLallen at TownHall, Maryland Woman Indicted in Alleged $7.5M Pandemic Loan Fraud Scheme

A Maryland woman faces indictment for submitting fraudulent applications for millions of dollars in federal loans. Kara DiPietro, 49, of Towson, faces bank fraud charges for allegedly filing fraudulent applications to obtain Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans in the names of multiple businesses.

The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act — a federal law enacted in March 2020 — provided emergency financial assistance to Americans suffering from the economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. It authorized up to $659 billion in forgivable loans to small businesses for employee retention and certain business expenses through the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), which was administered by the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA). The business needed to use PPP loan proceeds on payroll costs, mortgage interest, rent, and utilities.

According to the six-count indictment, between April 2020 and May 2021, DiPietro, who served as president and CEO of multiple Maryland companies — including H.M.C., Inc., Holdings Management Company Inc., and Kinetic Capital LLC — submitted more than 20 fraudulent PPP applications in the name of HMC, Holdings, Kinetic, and similarly named and/or spelled entities. These applications listed false and fraudulent Employer Identification Numbers (EINs) not assigned by the IRS to the entities listed on the applications. The applications also failed to disclose prior PPP loan applications associated with DiPietro; the applying entity; and/or other entities owned, controlled, created, and/or used by DiPietro as required under PPP rules. DiPietro further caused the submission of PPP applications that falsely certified that the applicant business did not already receive a First Draw PPP loan and other PPP applications that falsely certified that the applicant business did not already receive a Second Draw PPP loan.

The indictment alleges that, during 2020 and 2021, DiPietro caused the submission of PPP loan applications seeking more than $7.5 million. Eight of these applications were funded. Bank accounts under DiPietro’s control subsequently received more than $2.5 million in PPP funds. DiPietro then caused the transfer of PPP loan proceeds that were used for expenses that are not permissible under the PPP, including renovations to DiPietro’s personal residence.
...
Kelly O. Hayes, U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland, announced the indictment with Special Agent in Charge Jimmy Paul, FBI Baltimore Field Office, and Inspector General William W. Kirk, U.S. Small Business Administration – Office of Inspector General (SBA-OIG). This prosecution is part of the Trump administration’s Task Force to Eliminate Fraud.

If convicted, DiPietro faces a maximum sentence of 30 years in federal prison for each of the six counts of bank fraud.

We'll never be completely over Covid.

Flotsam and Jetsam - Are Democrats Planning A 'Color Revolution' for the US?

Serious people are starting to seriously worry that Democrats, with the aid of disgruntled ex-military officers, ex-spies, and ex-USAID officials (but I redund) are planning to stage a bloodless coup or "color revolution" in the United States if they don't get all they hope out of the midterms, and maybe even then. Cynical Publius @CynicalPublius, "The Color Revolution in Our Midst." If you are not already aware of the treasure trove* of seditionist materials that @DataRepublican has uncovered, please stop now and review them, or at least listen to this audio describing the seditionist plot in the seditionists’ own words. Please come back to this article after you listen." Cynical Publius @CynicalPublius, "America currently has a cabal of ~1,600 former military officers/NCOs and ex-State/USAID/CIA employees who are members of the National Security Leaders for America, an organization currently involved in an active plot to overthrow our Constitutional order via an American Color Revolution. Meanwhile, "National Security Reporter" Dan Lamothe and his employer, the Goebbelsesque Washington Post, are entirely focused on the fact that the friends who are helping you move let your convertible sofa pop open in the stairwell. Their willful blindness feels intentional, doesn't it? I mean, after all every good Color Revolution requires a co-opted media, right?" Quote Dan Lamothe @DanLamothe, "EXCLUSIVE: Pete Hegseth wanted Gen. Dwight Eisenhower’s globe for his office. His staff broke it. We have photos." Eric S. Raymond @esrtweet, "It's all fun and games until they screw with the Second Amendment. Here's an underappreciated fact about the philosophical and legal theory behind the Constitution: the 10 Articles of the Bill of Rights are special. They do not grant rights that can be revoked, even by later amendments. Rather, they are considered to describe "natural" rights which are prior to the Constitution itself, and which no government may revoke without forfeiting its legitimacy. (Supporting rant about the Federalist papers, English classical liberalism, Blackstone, and the revolution of 1688 is here omitted.) Why does this matter in 2026? Because there's a rumor abroad that a shadowy constellation of left-wing groups has a plan to engineer a color Revolution after the 2026 midterms." Kurt Schlichter at TownHall sees Dem Hack Drops the Mask and Lets Her Fascism Freak Flag Fly. Could you be more specific? Which Dem hack? The Raw Egg Nationalist at Am Great says Bank on It: Elissa Slotkin Was Speaking for the Entire Democrat Party, "The unfinished work of ensuring there will never be another Donald Trump will be a total effort." Kyle Becker at RedState hears Hillary Clinton Issues Chilling Statement About Dems' Intentions After the Next Election. "I think instead, we should seriously look at expanding the court while the Democrats are in power," Clinton said. "You know, it used to be that you'd have one justice for each circuit. We now have 13 circuits. We should have 13 justices. So I would be in, you know, favor of looking at that and see if we could, you know, make it work." She probably really thinks the cabal will appoint her; after all, it was her turn first! 

At Althouse the question is "Did Elon Musk decide by personal fiat to cut off Ukraine's access to vital communications?" "Memeorandum organizes the links about Starlink:" I see the Democrat plan to "nationalize" and therefore destroy Starlink, X, Space X and Tesla is underway. We've seen NASA under government control fail to achieve much of anything for many years now. I don't pretend to know what the truth is in the Starlink vs. Ukraine story actually is, and I suspect it's much more complicated than it's being portrayed. PJM's Matt Margolis believes Elon Musk Will Have His Revenge on Democrats, and I Can’t Wait. Owen Lewis @is_OwenLewis, "I believe Elon Musk is planning on using the Retaliator strategy to deal with aggression from the Democrats. The Retaliator strategy is a behavior in evolutionary game theory that begins peacefully but fiercely defends itself if attacked. A Retaliator always starts an encounter acting like a cooperative 'Dove,' but if its opponent escalates the conflict, it immediately switches to an aggressive 'Hawk' tactic to fight back. If the opponent backs down and becomes peaceful again, the Retaliator matches that shift and reverts to a Dove. This conditional flexibility allows Retaliators to cooperate efficiently with peaceful neighbors while successfully punishing bullies and predators without being exploited. It combines a preference for peace with a credible willingness to retaliate, and in competitive terms outperforms both indiscriminate aggression and unconditional submission..." The Everyman Commentary notes Elon Hasn’t Given Up Yet. You Shouldn’t Either. "Tesla’s new flying Roadster may currently be an overpriced piece of novelty tech, but its spectacular demonstration proved something- Elon has not given up on life, America nor the future."

At Da Signal, the Great Victor Davis Hanson forsees Ukraine Is Becoming Another Verdun and Declassified Documents Show Ukrainian Diplomat Was Set to Testify About Hunter Biden Before US Revoked His Visa.

WSJ reports Iran’s Fleet of Shadow Tankers Has Run Out of Oil After Monthslong U.S. Blockade. No more oil to sell to China. Their oil may not be getting out, but as Capt. Ed at Hat Hair notes a Crisis Point: IRGC Officially Hits Zero As Hormuz Shipments Peak. More oil is being exported from the area than before the 'war.' So why are gas and diesel prices still high? Da Caller, EPA Extends Emergency Diesel Waiver For Texas As Fuel Supply Crisis Drags On. We have limited refining capacity, thanks to Democrats.

Althouse has the vapours, "That was great. Man. Wow. Man. I love that. I watched that. I saw that. That was incredible." The Mirror @DailyMirror, "Trump said “Man, I loved that,” after a man allegedly punched a protester during a midterm rally in South Carolina." We don't know what happened before the punch. Note that police and security took out the "protester" and not the puncher.

Eyal Yakoby @EYakoby, "BREAKING: A polling site has just admitted that they falsely inflated numbers for Abdul El-Sayed. These polls were then used by the New York Times and other polling aggregators." Ben Shapiro @benshapiro, "A pollster faked all his data and just got caught months later. So, here’s the lesson: people don’t know how to read polls, poll aggregators are garbage-in-garbage-out, and every major Senate race right now is a statistical dead heat. So go vote." What Ben said. At PJM, Scott Pinsker has a Midterm Shocker: The Polls Are Full of Crap — and Black Voters Just Might Save America. Rasmussen Reports @Rasmussen_Poll, ""Armando" here - with the BLOCKED replies - should know that ABC, CBS, ABC & Fox broadcasting networks have blacklisted our polls for well over a decade. On cable, which isn't FCC regulated, Fox News, CNN and MSNOW also blacklist our polls. @BrendanCarrFCC knows this already."

From AMAC, “Minnewisowa” Is Upset, "Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Iowa are once again poised to play a major role in the future political direction of the country." Capt. Ed interpretes ABC: Other Than the Letter and the Money, What Evidence Does Rogers Have on El-Sayed? Democrats For Mike Rogers @DemsForMike, "WOW: Asked about his message to undecided Jewish Democrats, Abdul looks at the report, rolls his eyes, and walks away. Absolutely shameful." At Hannity, 'A BIG DEAL': NYT Reporter Says Lifelong Democrats Are Crossing Over for Mike Rogers. A Larry vid at Hat Hair finds Three Democrats Face Political Turmoil As Midterm Elections Approach. From Da Signal, Socialism Isn’t Just Deadly—It’s Soul-Crushing. MD Kittle at Da Fed warns The Unholy Marriage Between Marxists And Islamists Is ‘The Most Dangerous Partnership’ In U.S. Politics. From the Free Bacon, EXCLUSIVE: Socialist Angie Nixon Has Received $70K in Unexplained Wages This Year From Obscure Company Run by Anti-ICE Activist, "Building Blocks Strategies, which appears to be housed at a shared workspace in Miami, has ties to the Nixon campaign, which does not pay her a salary". BBC News (World) @BBCWorld, "Bush clan members back Democrat James Talarico in Texas Senate race." At WSJ, That’s Not Funny, "Larry David shows the DSA can’t take a joke."

PJM's Stephen Kruiser notes Golly — Fraud Sure Is Easy to Find When It's Being Looked For. Hat Hair's Dave Strom says Close the Barn Door! The Horse Escaped! The Epoch Times @EpochTimes, "JUST IN: New York Gov. Kathy Hochul has directed the state Department of Health to consider ending the state’s Medicaid social adult day care benefit. The directive came on the same day that state and federal investigators carried out a crackdown on providers suspected of fraud, and on the same day that Hochul announced 16 arrests in a separate auto insurance fraud investigation. Hochul, a Democrat, stated at an Oct. 20 press conference that she had told the department to look at “all options to eliminate continued fraud, waste and abuse.” Those options include phasing out the benefit and moving participants to other services for older New Yorkers. The department’s recommendations are due by Dec. 31." Steve Ferguson @lsferguson, "Why isn't this the lead story on every news outlet, both broadcast and cable? The citizens need to know why they need to work two or three jobs to survive." Quote HHS Rapid Response @HHSResponse, "15 of 15 New York Social Adult Daycares audited yesterday showed no record of a single meal, activity, or hour of supervision — just attendance sheets. These daycares are receiving millions from our Medicaid system and providing NOTHING in return —this is FRAUD! x.com/HHSResponse/st…"

Capt. Ed calls it NEW: DOJ Indicts VA Dem Leader in Drug Trafficking RICO Case. "Louise 'Ten F****n One" Lucas? The Democrat president pro tempore of the Virginia state senate..." From Da Caller, ‘I’ve Gotten Too Old To Not Be Greedy’: Feds Hit Louise Lucas With Pot-Fueled Racketeering Charges. At Twitchy, What PANIC Looks Like: Abigail Spanberger's Statement on Louise Lucas Arrest Only Makes Things WORSE. Governor Abigail Spanberger @GovernorVA, "I have read the charging document alleging a series of criminal acts by a member of the Virginia Senate. In our American system of justice, people are presumed innocent until proven guilty, and that is true for Senator L. Louise Lucas. She and her family deserve the opportunity to present their defense and speak to the allegations presented. The timing of this indictment undermines the U.S. Department of Justice’s previously longstanding policy of not taking legal actions — to include indictments or significant investigative steps — close to an election and sadly, this timing further erodes the trust the American people deserve to have in the Department of Justice." Benjamin Domenech @bdomenech, "Any comment on this from CNN?" Quote Curtis Houck @CurtisHouck, "CNN’s Jake Tapper opens his show Wednesday by blasting the FBI raid on sites in Portsmouth, Virginia connected to state Senate Democrat leader Louise Lucas, insinuating there might not be evidence to prove she did anything wrong and therefore it’s probably just another Trump."

From Lawrence Person's BattleSwarm Blog, Forget LA to SF: California Democrats Can’t Even Build A 2.25 Mile Rail System, but a lot of people got paid along the way. John Sexton explains This Is Why LA Can't Have Nice Things. Homelessness jumped 8%. You get more of what you subsidize. Reason reasons France Is a Warning to California's Tax-the-Rich Crowd, "The French economist pushing California's billionaire tax should instead see his country as a cautionary tale."

Matt Margolis thinks Ilhan Omar’s Answer on Marrying Her Brother Was Just Painfully Bad. Capt. Ed, Oh, Brother: 'Not to My Knowledge'? RedState's Nick Arama predicts New Reports on DOJ Filing Indicate More Trouble May Be Headed Ilhan Omar's Way.

Wall Street Apes @WallStreetApes, "WOAH Organized marriage fraud businesses are being discovered all over America Foreigners are paying $30,000-$100,000 each to have a fraud marriage arranged with a US Citizen to gain citizenship in America ..." At CIS, BIA: Asylum Seekers Who Go Home Abandon Their Applications, "More common sense on protection claims, but let’s see what the federal courts have to say," If it was bad enough you had to leave, why are you going back?

Will Chamberlain @willchamberlain, "Judge Henry Wingate just received the most vicious benchslap I've ever seen in an appellate opinion: "The district court—or perhaps, being charitable, its AI agent—ignored and manipulated governing law, apparently to satisfy a policy agenda." He was removed from the case."

Shanaka Anslem Perera @shanaka86, "JUST IN: A crime group used Claude, Grok and Kimi AI agents running in parallel to attack more than 400 banks and financial firms across Latin America, per security firm Straiker. They got past the guardrails by posing as an authorised red team. When models refused, it switched to pre-written attack code. The Ai agents appear to have stolen passwords and customer data and accessed bank accounts with minimal human input. Anthropic has cut off its access, and xAI is investigating." Robby Starbuck @robbystarbuck, "If the AI bot swarms are in the banks, they’re likely already nested into voting machines, or will be very soon and will then work within the network to change votes. It’s a matter of when, not if this will happen. Elections should immediately be moved to ONLY paper ballots. Our $ and elections are at risk," Quote Madison Mills @MadisonMills22, "SCOOP: Major U.S. banks are detecting unauthorized third-party AI agents inside customer accounts, including some attempting to take actions that appear to be independent of user instructions, sources told Axios. The findings have alarmed banking executives, ..." Spencer Pratt @spencerpratt, "Starting to make sense why they wanted government to clamp down on AI..." Quote Polymarket @Polymarket, "JUST IN: Anthropic recorded a staggering $80,000,000,000.00 net loss in the first half of 2026."

Navarro to Newsmax: Fox Is RINO, Not Trump Republican, I see a lot of Fox, and various commenters range from RINO to MAGA, with Jessica Tarlov thrown in for amusement.

Driscoll at Insty thinks THE LEFT OUTED ITSELF BY TRYING TO SMEAR THE LATE LINDSEY GRAHAM: "Jesse James Rose, a writer for The Advocate, argued that those he considers “hostile” to LGBTQ rights do not deserve privacy and defended exposing Graham. That’s a fun new standard by which to invade privacy. I don’t particularly like politicians who undermine my First and Second Amendment rights. Can I violate their privacy? Somehow, I’m guessing Rose would say that’s (D)ifferent. The other thing is this: Swamp Watch says this project was a year in the making; Graham died July 11. Who did it serve to out a dead man, save their own egos? Absolutely no one." First, the left was already out as despicable hacks. Second, most of us assumed Lynsey was gay. We just didn't give a shit. Jennifer Van Laar @jenvanlaar, "Meanwhile, we have a sitting US Senator from CA, Adam Schiff, whose buddy Ed Buck is in jail for drugging and murdering his young male prostitutes. Did Adam ever participate in sex parties at Ed Buck's house? Did he get drugs from Ed? Be useful, Harry." Quote Harry Sisson @harryjsisson, "I have been given exclusive information about a closeted Republican Senator who used male escorts and covered it up. I will be dropping a video about it this morning. Stay tuned. This is certainly an October surprise."

Dave Strom reports Macron Using Curfew and Helicopters to Fight the 'AI Insurrection'. Scott McKay at Am Spec sees Paris Is Burning, Wonders Is Washington Next? "The riots in France may be a preview of the Left’s plans for America." See the section on 'color revolution' at the top. Visegrád 24 @visegrad24, "BREAKING: The first rioters and looters have been sentenced in France. The judges practically refuse to hand out prison sentences: Toulouse – Ylan, 18 years old. Throwing a Molotov cocktail at police officer - Sentence: 12 months suspended + 140 hours of community service + deprivation of voting rights for 3 years. - Max. sentence: 10 years in prison..." Jonathan Turley notes French Police Identify Antifa as the “Ideologically Distinct Group” Behind the Riots Despite Democratic Denials, while Democrats continue to insist there's no such thing as Antifa. Mike Lee @BasedMikeLee, "Antifa, like noncitizen voting, “does not exist” Oddly, both keep … seeming to exist." Dave Strom looks at That Which Must Not Be Named...

Rick Moran at PJM, Cornell Accuser Drops Case Against Man She Misidentified as Fraternity President. From the College Fix, Cornell faculty members indifferent to actual evidence in Jane Doe ‘rape’ case and Zero Republican political science professors found at 4 major Pennsylvania universities, research shows. It's not a science, and calling it one doesn't make it one. At Campus Reform, 98.3% of political donations from Emory faculty went to left-leaning candidates and causes.

Murray Hill Guy @MurrayHillGuy1, "Walking home today and a homeless guy is going absolutely nuts. He spits on some white girl walking by. She starting to freak out “did you just spit on me?” This chad was also in the commotion and said: “This is what you voted for.” I started cracking up. She gave Chad a dirtier look than the guy who literally spit on her. Everyone just walked away. NYC is a sitcom."

Althouse doesn't understand, Isn't the WNBA trying to build its audience? "That's my question as I'm reading "Atlanta Dream and Golden State Valkyries skip national anthem for third straight WNBA Finals game/The Atlanta Dream and Golden State Valkyries jogged off the court before the anthem in all three games of the series" (Fox News)." Clay Travis @ClayTravis, "The WNBA would rather alienate millions of new Caitlin Clark fans than grow its audience. Now players are reportedly skipping the National Anthem during the Finals, despite league rules. Identity politics are destroying the WNBA." The WNBA doesn't want new fans; they're subsidized by the NBA.

Fish Pic Friday - Life Adrift

With some of those weird Ozzie fish.

Life Adrift, https://patreon.com/LifeAdriftAUS

Bay Hypoxia Ticked Up in Aug-Sept

MDDNR, Chesapeake Bay Monitoring Found High Volume of Hypoxia in Maryland Prior to September Nor’easter

Data collected by the Maryland Department of Natural Resources and Old Dominion University in September 2026 showed that the volume of hypoxia —waters with less than 2 mg/l of oxygen— was larger than average that month. Out of 42 sampling years, only two yielded higher hypoxic volume in September.

Observed hypoxia was confined to Maryland, but the timing of sampling notably impacted the results. Maryland waters were sampled before a passing Nor’easter. Virginia waters were sampled afterwards when waters were mixed and temperatures decreased.

September had 0.30 cubic miles of anoxia—waters with less than 0.2 mg/l of oxygen, which was slightly more than was observed in August, and three and a half times the September historical average.

I can't really think of anything unusual in late August and September that could have increased the hypoxia, but the answer is almost certainly weather related, by then, most of the nutrients to the bay had already been delivered. 

But, if you squinch your eyes and look at curves in the graph above, they're not nice sinusoidal humps, but look like there are "side humps" on the spring and fall sides on all three of the long term lines. 

Since this data was taken, we've had another near miss from a nor'easter, with extremely strong winds, and high tides. I assume that whatever remaining hypoxia has been mixed away. 

Flotsam and Jetsam - IS Ukraine Ready to Give Ground?

Don Surber asks Is Zelensky finally surrendering? "Sure looks like Trump finally got the Ukrainian clown to end Putin’s War." "KILMEADE: “Would you accept a peace deal that freezes everything the way it is right now?” PRESIDENT ZELENSKY: “Yes. I think this is a real way to end this war.” I totally support his call for an armistice and I will refrain myself from pointing out that he should have done this 3 years ago. Oops, I did." Hat Hair's Dave Strom thinks European leaders are Getting It Completely Backwards, Which Explains So Much. News Wax cites Trump: Hubbard's Release Not Part of Russia Swap. "President Donald Trump said Wednesday that Russia had released American Stephen Hubbard after four years in custody following a personal appeal to Russian President Vladimir Putin. "The United States, out of respect for President Trump, was not required to give anything in return – an unprecedented situation for Russia," Trump wrote on Truth Social early Wednesday. "There was no 'swap' necessary for this release," he added." But I'm sure he's hoping for something in return. RedWave Press @RedWavePress, "Reporter: “Have you spoken to Zelensky recently, and is there any way for the U.S. and Ukraine to repair ties after this meeting?” Secretary of State Marco Rubio: “I spoke to him today. We had a 45-minute conversation. Look, I'm seeing a lot of things in the media that are not accurate, so let me clear those up. And as I did in my conversation with him, number one is the Department of War. Everything they've been doing with Ukraine remains the same. That has not changed.” “The second is intelligence sharing. The president made it very clear. He's ordered no such changes. So none of that has changed, none of it. And I see reporting that it has, but it's just not accurate. It's not true. And so that was important to clarify.” “Now, you asked about sales. I know one of the things that President Zelensky has been talking about is that he's been trying to buy interceptors. And I understand. So does every other country in the world. I also talked to Saudi Arabia today. They'd like interceptors. Israel would like interceptors. We would like interceptors. Every country in the world would like interceptors. And many parts of the world are asking for that....”

At NYPo, Iran is purposely tanking peace talks to hurt Trump at the polls, regime officials admit. So are the Iranians on the Democrat's side or are the Democrats on the Iranian side, or both? Hat Hair's Beege Welborn reports that Upon Further Reflection, UK Terror Police Decide to Rearrest Two of the Fairford Suspects, Iranian catspaws, knowing or not. 

Mediaite reports Trump Promises to Pay ‘Reporters’ a Commission For Finding Fraud: ‘Trillions’ Have Been ‘Stolen’. From News Wax, Dr. Oz Confronts NYC Centers Over Medicaid Fraud. VodkaPundit at PJM finds the Hegseth Audit Shocker Seems Almost Impossible. Audit the Pentagon? I'll believe it when I see it. At Mil.com, an Exclusive: Veteran Homelessness Fell 8.2% in 2026, the Biggest Drop in 10 Years New Analysis Finds "Community Solutions’ Adam Ruege spoke to Military.com about the biggest veteran homelessness drop in a decade and a major shift overall since 2009." From Quotulatiousness, Elon Musk’s evil plan to turn American youth into filthy capitalists, give them a stake in the country.

The midterms are coming. Don Surber explains Trump’s midterm plan, "Why The Donald campaigns against the Michigan candidate in Ohio." At the Blade of Perseus, The Great Victor Davis Hanson delves deep into The Deep Midterms. "Rarely in American history have the two parties been so far apart or the choice between them so stark. In brief, Islamist-sympathizing socialism is on the ballot against free-market capitalism and American exceptionalism."

Polls suck, and midterm polls suck worse for any number of explicable easons, but fake polling is just sabotage, and should be criminal. PJM's Matt Margolis hears A Pollster Just Admitted Faking Its Numbers, and the Fallout Is Huge! After boosting El-Sayed in the primary, Wedgewood Polls admitted their results were invented, saying it was a "social experiment." Eric Daugherty @EricLDaugh, "Wedgewood Polls" just announced it was a FAKE POLLSTER and was listed in outlets like the NYT and MSNOW Their "polls": Texas: Talarico+2, Ohio: Brown+4, Michigan: El Sayed+6, Kansas: Hamilton+2, Maine: Jackson+4, This is INSANE." Matt Vespa at TownHall, Remember When Some Were Saying the Polls Were Fake? Well, This Is Quite the Bombshell. Capt. Ed at Hat Hair, Too Lefty Not to Check: Yet Another Fake Socialist-Promoting Pollster? Clandestine @WarClandestine, "Step 1: Dems rig polls to convince the public that the Dems are going to win the midterms Step 2: Dems lose the midterms Step 3: Dems/MSM tell public that election must have been rigged because polls said they were supposed to win Step 4: Dems/MSM begin new psychological operation to convince the public Trump is a dictator that stole the election Step 5: Dems/MSM attempt to convince public to protest/rise up against Trump." Guy Benson @guypbenson, "Republican pollsters have complained that some of their best ads and attack lines don’t poll well because voters simply don’t believe true things that Democrats are actually doing could possibly be real." Quote Megan McArdle @asymmetricinfo, "This is what I dubbed "stealth extremism": mainstream liberal institutions, including the Democratic Party, routinely doing stuff their own supporters dismiss as an urban legend, because no one would *do* that." Mark Davis @MarkDavis, "Huge." Quote John Solomon @jsolomonReports, "Cook Political Report shifts Minnesota Senate race toward GOP ." Capt. Ed calls it Huge If True: Dems Throwing in the Towel in ... Minnesota? Ace, Minnesota Senate Election Trending Red?

From Da Caller claims an EXCLUSIVE: California Voters Turn Against Core DSA Policy, Poll Finds, the billionaire tax. At CJ Chris Rufo et al are still obsessed with California’s Bullet Train Boondoggle, "The state’s high-speed rail project sunk more than $677 million on environmental paperwork, benefiting well-connected contractors." Californians for Voter ID, Yes on 39 @ca4voterid, "Prop 39 released a new ad today highlighting what politicians don’t want you to know: California is one of a handful of states that don’t require a photo ID to vote. Prop 39 is a battle of politicians versus people. Politicians want you to vote no. The People are voting yes. This ad is a parody, but the problem is not. The politicians want to protect their power and money. We want to give it back to you. Vote Yes on Prop 39." Wall Street Apes @WallStreetApes, "EXTREMELY IMPORTANT Federal Lawsuit against California shows that 28.8% of noncitizens in California HAVE A VOTING HISTORY California elections are not legitimate, noncitizens are voting at an extremely large scale - Los Angeles County elections officials took a sample batch of 200 ballots - The 200 ballots were taken from a sample of 20,000 that the Trump Admin says are noncitizens - Of the 200 ballots that were taken, 71.2% of the 200 have no voting history This means 28.8% of the noncitizens ballots DID have a voting history Nearly 30% of noncitizens are voting in California elections based on this sample. I’ll bet it’s much higher." Fox Bus reports DOJ cracks down on California voter rolls amid fraud allegations. Ace, The Federal Government Identified 20,000 Mail-In Votes In California Likely Cast by Illegal Aliens. California Refuses to Segregate These Ballots to Verify the "Voters'" Eligibility to Vote Before Counting Them. "In addition, California admitted to a federal court they have no mechanism whatsoever to verify that voters are legally eligible and rely exclusively on the voters' say-so that he can cast a legal vote. The federal government just arrested 28 people living in California for illegally voting while being Maryland Fathers." Spencer Pratt @spencerpratt, "Remember, the communists always process their "myths" in 3 phases: 1) X is not happening, fascist. 2) OK, but X so small, it's insignificant, fascist. 3) X is happening a lot & actually it's a GOOD thing! Fascist. Every time. We now have Sparkle Beach Ken at phase 2." Quote Governor Newsom Press Office @GovPressOffice, "Any credible allegation of voter fraud should be taken seriously and investigated. That being said, the action by Trump’s DOJ — charging just 28 individuals — suggests they have no evidence to back up their claims just last week of TENS..." Shipwreckedcrew, DOJ Has Filed A Civil Case In California To Block The Counting Of Mail-In Ballots by 20,000 Individuals Identified As Non-Citizens, "Now several Democrat politicians and activist groups have sued the Administration in D.C. over claims it is interfering in state election -- represented by Mark Elias."

PJM's Scott Pinsker maintains Asking Abdul El-Sayed About the Muslim Brotherhood Isn’t Islamophobic — It’s Patriotic. Lawrence Person's BattleSwarm Blog makes The Case Against Talafreako: A Link Roundup. Capt. Ed finds Fraud Again: Flanagan 'Inflated' College Record to Claim Honors and Champion DEI. Brit Hume @brithume, "She said she was Phi Beta Kappa. She wasn't, as her campaign has now acknowledged." From the Free Bacon finds Peggy Flanagan and Tim Walz Steered Millions To Pay for Disgusting ‘Booty Bumping’ Kits that Help Junkies Take Drugs Through ‘the Rectum’. "Minnesota requires the provider of the booty bumping kits to also give junkies voter registration materials." From Da Caller, Dem Gov Nominee Personally Greenlit Millions To Wife’s Employer Before Ethics Board Letter, and it's not even Baltimore. At Althouse, "I won’t normalize somebody who has said that my childhood is something I’m just complaining about.", "Said Amy Acton, explaining why she won't debate Vivek Ramaswamy, quoted in "Attack Ad Featuring Candidate’s Mother Turns Ohio Governor’s Race Even Uglier/A Republican ad features Amy Acton’s estranged mother calling her daughter a liar. The two have not spoken since Dr. Acton’s mother backed her husband after his arrest on rape charges" (NYT). You've probably seen the ad with Acton's mother, the worst ad I've seen in a long time. It's an ad in a unique category of badness."

Matt Vespa hears Democratic Socialists Are Not Amused by Larry David's Latest Op-Ed. It's Not Hard to See Why. "Jews, he writes, will no longer be allowed to call themselves “the Chosen people” — a part of Jewish identity dating back millenniums — and will be known instead as “the Bagel People.”" Mike LaChance at LI hears Investor Bill Ackman Says Democratic Party Has Become Crazy, Radicalized, Anti-American, “I think the Democratic Party is in the worst place it’s ever been, in the 250-year history of the country.” PJM's Stephen Kruiser thinks Dems Don't Get Buyer's Remorse Because They're Too Stupid to Know What They're Buying.

Dave Strom sees a possible Democrat Destination: Color Revolution. DataRepublican (small r) @DataRepublican, "This is how you know my recordings are real and they're scared. Washington Post already doing counter-messaging. "A small group of U.S. national security officials has been discreetly advising state governments and congressional lawmakers on how to prepare for the possibility that the Trump administration will attempt to interfere in November’s midterm elections, according to people involved in the effort. The group includes about 10 current and former officials with experience in the Defense Department, some of whom have previously focused on countering authoritarianism abroad."" So, the spies who lie? Viva Frei @thevivafrei, "CIA Deep State Asset Elissa Slotkin one year ago vs last week: Every accusation hides their confession. They are the weaponization of which they warn." Western Lensman @WesternLensman, "On the Bulwak podcast, Kara Swisher says Elon might already be in jail under Kamala Harris, and "he knows what's coming for him." Another one to put in the "what Democrats plan to do if they take power" file: "If Donald Trump loses the House and the Senate, I would worry. I'd be worried if I were him." "So they're going to start investigating again. You think he's not on the list? He's at the top of that list." "He has a very big sense of fate. And I think it's coming for him. And real hard." They're all just saying this stuff out loud now. There are no secrets about what they want to do." But Teri Christoph at RedState hears Elon Musk Promise Sweet, Sweet Revenge on Democrats Who Plan to 'Come After' Him. Elon Musk @elonmusk, "Live by the sword, die by the sword. Those who pick fights with me should understand that I will find out who is really pulling the strings and come for them, not just their puppets …"

Well, there's no official government statement that a DNA match Ilhan Omar was found to be married to her brother for immigration fraud, (I wouldn't expect it until they're ready to indict), but Matt Vespa says The Ilhan Omar Search Warrant Reveals Something Interesting About Her Name: Will Chamberlain @willchamberlain, "BREAKING: the federal search warrant against Ilhan Omar names her as "Ilhan Nur Said Elmi, a/k/a Ilhan Abdullahi Omar," indicating that DOJ believes she is present in the United States under a false identity! Revealed in a scheduling order today from DDC." In a Larry video at Hat Hair, Ilhan Omar Breaks Silence After Federal Search as Trump Blasts Her. From Ace, America's Sweetheart Ilhan "Omar" Releases Fundraising Video as the Walls Close All Around Her, "Someone on Twitter pointed out that the trees in the background of this typical left-wing woman car video were all full and green, whereas the trees in Minnesota are of course going bare. So she recorded this video over the summer. But she did release it Tuesday."

From Da Caller, Trump Zeroes In On Immigration As Midterms Near. Amber Lapp at Commonplace looks at An American City, "What Springfield, Ohio, reveals about immigration and the American Dream." indy reporter @Indy_reporter_, "Let me get this straight: Purdue is bringing in someone on an H-1B visa to teach........ ENGLISH literature and writing to AMERICAN students? There are American English PhDs looking for work, but this position is being filled through a foreign-worker visa." From CIS, Congress Is Fully Aware of Problems in the H-1B program, but Doesn’t Want To Offend Big Tech.

Beege Welborn is outraged, again, as An Australian MP Has Had Both Legs Amputated After Being Intentionally Rammed Outside Her Office. Drew Pavlou @DrewPavlou, "Bystander says that pro-Palestine far-left terrorist Brendan Nugent reversed and then crushed Australian MP Helen Haines three times against her car. He backed up then drove forward to pin and crush her, three times."

Da Caller reports The Daily Caller Was Discreetly Censored, Now Companies Are Playing The Blame Game. Coddled Affluent Professional @feelsdesperate, "Translation: ‘Our propaganda apparatus is crumbling, only the most credulous are receptive to our dissembling, we have lost our powers of persuasion.’" And Another Thing T Becket Anderson says is No, you don’t deserve credit for doing the bare minimum "Congratulations for doing your job, I guess," to Ken Dilanian for admitting he got the Kash Patel story wrong. John Sexton says Nikole Hannah-Jones Still Doesn't Get It.

Canada want it's own Starlink, and Don Surber says Actually, it is rocket science, Canada, "And you suck at it." "Musk is a danger to the Macrons and Carneys of the world because he gives their people freedom, which is toxic to totalitarians. By golly, he’s a madman who bought Twitter and made it safe for anti-globalists! If this freedom of speech gets out of hand, why the next thing you know, there will be unauthorized protests by actual citizens instead of career students and smelly old hippies."

AP reports Macron slams as ‘stupid’ claims by Trump and others blaming Muslim migrants for French riots. Dave Strom, Macron Now Saying the Images of the Riots Are Misinformation, Muslims Not Involved and John Sexton claims French Looters Aren't Revolutionaires, They're Just Revolting. Dr. Maalouf @realMaalouf, "Myriam was a 7-year-old French Jewish girl. She witnessed a terrorist break into her school and kill two of her classmates. She tried to run but tripped while grabbing her schoolbag, causing her ballet slippers to fall out. She stopped to pick them up. He chased her and grabbed her by the hair, shooting her in the head at point-blank range. The man was Mohamed Merah, and a rap song honoring him and other Muslim terrorists has become the unofficial anthem of the ‘student protests’ in France." Tom Knighton at TAW wonders How can we sleep while...everything is burning. "For example, the riots in France don’t feel at all like any kind of spontaneous protests that got out of hand about the state of education. Not when all of the rioters happen to Muslim “immigrants” who have already made parts of France into no-go zones before it." Matt Vespa is amused when Scott Jennings' Remarks About the French Riots Caused This Lib Guest to Blow Up on CNN. " “Absolutely false. These things that happen in France are because a bunch of students started it because they didn’t like the way that the country was being run. They weren’t getting enough. It’s the same problem that we have all over the world right now. There is not enough for the people that aren’t at the top. There is not enough education. There is not enough money. We are not being paid enough for our jobs. They were French students that started this protest. Has it gotten out of hand? Absolutely. Are terrible things happening there? Absolutely." Lawrence Person's Battlestorm Blog looks at The Communist Network Burning Down France.

From the Free Bacon, UC Berkeley Law Review Poised To Delete All Application Records After Editors Pledged To Select Applicants Based on Race. "A draft policy is raising concerns about the destruction of evidence." The College Fix reports Cornell's ‘Future of the American University’ report rejects hiring conservative scholars. Kurt Schlichter @KurtSchlichter, "It seems like a really bad idea to utterly alienate one of the two parties when you rely on government largesse. But then again, there’s no one dumber than an academic." Quote David Mastio @DavidMastio, "University faculty and staff are giving at record levels to Democrats in an effort to fight off the Trump administration attacks. Harvard leads the way, but they are way overmatched." Jessie Singal at Singal-Minded is Fascinated By The Sex Gurus Of Cornell University. "Someone’s gotta teach those kids what goes where." From Campus Reform, University of Illinois health institute promotes ‘fat liberation’ through DEI resources. Greg Lukianoff at the Eternally Radical Idea say I Was Cheering for Yale. Then I Lost My Summer Vacation.

Ace gleeful as Netflix Fires Its Head of Film Development, Apparently Due to Its Looming "Narnia" Disaster: LOL, "Wokeslop Video Game Company Bioware Transitions to "Out of Business" (Pronouns Was/Were). I mentioned on Friday that Netflix had slashed 1,000 jobs, which is a 6% reduction in its total workforce. It wasn't just the drones who got the sack." PJM's Stephen Kruiser thinks Lying, Stupid, and Viewer-less Is No Way to Go Through Life, CNN.

Ace is suspicious as FBI Busts Two Teenagers Who Were Plotting a School Shooting. The Would-Be Mass Killers Were... Girls? "Were they actually girls or what the insane establishment now calls "girls"? Tyler O'Neil at Da Signal is disappointed in how the Supreme Court Rules on Trump Admin Policy Blocking Sex-Rejecting Procedures for Prisoners "The Supreme Court Wednesday denied the Trump administration’s request to block a lower court order preventing the Bureau of Prisons from denying previously prescribed transgender procedures to prison inmates. The court denied the stay in an unsigned order, noting that Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito would have granted the stay."

Tattoo Thursday

At Golf Digest, Charley Hull shares wild, 'drunk' story of how she wound up with her first tattoo

Like Las Vegas, what happens in Ibiza stays in Ibiza. Unless you wind up getting a tattoo there. Such is the case for Charley Hull, who shared a wild story about her first foray into getting inked. She was in Ibiza. She was 17. And, yes, she was "drunk."

Hull told the story during an interview with Golfweek's Adam Schupak that spanned many topics, but the tat tales were certainly a highlight. Take it away, Charley!

"I’ve got three tattoos. I've got one on my foot. I got drunk when I was in Ibiza when I was 17 years old. Me and my friend James went out partying. I was coming back from the club, and I thought it would be a great idea to get a tattoo across my head, because me and my best mate, James, our favorite thing we always said to each other was "Hold tight, hold tight." He wouldn't let me get it on my forehead. Instead, I got it on my foot and it says, hold tight. He got a matching one on his arm. We went back to the hotel, woke in the morning hung over, and I went to James, "Bloody hell, was I that drunk last night? I walked back with a plastic bag on my foot." He said, 'No, Charley. That's the wrapping after you've had your tattoo.' I was like, 'What? I got a tattoo?' He said, 'Yeah, you were trying to get it on your forehead and we had to stop you there.'"

And that's why you shouldn't drink alcohol, kids! Thank goodness for James keeping Charley from getting it on her forehead at least. Disaster averted!

"So yeah, I've got one tattoo there," Hull continued. "I've got one of my ex-husband's name on my wrist, which I've tried to get removed. And then me and Georgia [Hall] have matching lightning bolts. Mine is on my right pinky. We always do pinky promises with each other like that. And she's got the same one."

Virginia Striped Bass YOY Index Comes in "Average"

Juvenile striped bass maintain average abundance in Virginia waters in 2026

Preliminary results from an ongoing long-term survey conducted by William & Mary’s Virginia Institute of Marine Science (VIMS) suggest that an average year class of young-of-year striped bass was produced in the Virginia tributaries of the Chesapeake Bay in 2026. Striped bass are an important top predator in the Chesapeake Bay ecosystem and a valuable resource for commercial and recreational anglers. The 2026 year class, representing fish hatched this spring, will reach fishable sizes in three to four years.

 

The VIMS Juvenile Striped Bass Seine Survey recorded a mean value of 9.52 fish per seine
haul in the Virginia portion of the Chesapeake Bay. The 2026 value is an increase from the 5.12 fish per seine haul recorded in 2025, though both years are similar to the historical average (7.77 fish per seine haul) observed in Virginia tributaries. The improvement in recruitment observed in 2025 and 2026 is consistent with historically observed patterns: years with below-average recruitment (i.e., 1999, 2002, 2012, 2024) were followed by years with average to above-average recruitment (i.e., 2000, 2003, 2013, 2025).

“While this year’s class is considered average in terms of abundance, it represents a significant increase from 2024,” said Jack Buchanan, marine scientist at VIMS and the chief scientist of the Juvenile Striped Bass Seine Survey, who noted that striped bass recruitment can vary considerably from year to year. “A single year of poor recruitment can be partially offset by the previous or following year’s production, which helps stabilize the overall population and the fisheries it supports.”

We need better than average to get the Striped Bass population back up to historical abundances, but I guess average is better than below average, like Marylands. VIMS tries to make it sound good. 

Maybe El Nino winter will be a help next year.

Flotsam and Jetsam - Did Ilhan Omar Flunk Her DNA Test?

Well now, if this is true... At Twitchy, WHOA ... So THAT'S What the DNA Is for: Ilhan Omar Is Officially in DEEP and We Are ALL Here for It. Miranda Devine @mirandadevine, "Ahem. Five years ago I wrote a column about DNA test results that showed there was a 99.999998 percent chance that Ilhan Omar and her second husband Ahmed Elmi were siblings. A few hours before we went to press my informant was arrested by Biden's FBI. Funny that." Insider Wire @InsiderWire, "#BREAKING: DNA report says Ilhan Omar and her ex-husband are siblings; Biden DOJ refused to act." But did he preemptively pardon her? Ace sees the Report: DNA Proves Ilhan Omar Married Her Gay Brother, "Is that so." Will Chamberlain @willchamberlain, "WaPo, while attempting to exonerate Ilhan Omar, actually reported some incredibly new, damning information. Ilhan Omar's second husband - the one alleged to be her brother - applied for a green card, was asked about the marriage, and then withdrew his application." Quote Benjamin Weingarten @bhweingarten, "Lo and behold, it appears Ilhan Omar's alleged Brother-Husband had filed one of the same documents that her lawyers were seeking out back in 2019 regarding a petition to convert one's immigration status from conditional to permanent residency." PJM's Cathy Salgado wonders Did Ilhan Omar’s Husband Sell Empty Barrels of Wine? Libs of TikTok @libsoftiktok, "HOLY CRAP Ilhan Omar and her husband's winery was SHUT DOWN for FRAUD after they reportedly sold EMPTY WINE BARRELS." To be fair, if you were shutting down a winery, you'd probably be able to see the empty barrels. Not the Bee @Not_the_Bee, "So if all the reports are true, Ilhan Omar lied about her age to make it seem like she naturalized through her father, who apparently she lied about being a citizen in the first place, then used her illegitimate citizenship to marry her brother so that he could inherit her fake naturalization before remarrying and starting a fraudulent winery that sold empty bottles of wine?" The Babylon Bee @TheBabylonBee, "Ilhan Omar Furiously Denies Immigration Fraud Charges, Says She Only Married Brother For Love."

Joe Chalfant at TownHall, Zelensky's Temper Tantrum May Have Just Cost Ukraine American Military Support. Hat Hair's John Sexton cites WSJ: Musk Ordered the Starshield Slowdown in Ukraine, but the evidence seems muddled. Sundance at CTH is all over Ukraine's woes, with Zelenskyy Calls Rubio as Witkoff Travels to Meet Him in Norway, Following 45 Minute Call with Zelenskyy, Secretary Marco Rubio Notes Ukraine Officials are Lying and Manipulative Which He Told Zelenskyy Openly "As noted, Rubio emphasized nothing substantive has changed in the U.S. support profile with Ukraine and President Trump has not modified any security arrangement at all. Zelenskyy is just making stuff up. Rubio noted that Ukraine is targeting U.S. commercial shipping in the Black Sea and that has to stop. That was part of the phone call. Additionally, Rubio emphasized how Ukraine officials are just “making stuff up” for some reason, that can best be considered a Ukraine political operation against the Trump White House. " And Interesting – Following the “Cut the BS” Confrontation by Rubio, Suddenly Zelenskyy Thanks USA and Says All Early Warning Systems “Working Great”.

AP claims China defends DeepSeek after US ban of its AI from government systems. Trent Telenko @TrentTelenko, "The ability to lay mines by drone-subs will be the biggest use case for them in a war with China. The problem is China can and will do the same to Western ports." Quote TWZ @thewarzonewire, "Ghost Shark Extra-Large Uncrewed Underwater Vehicles’ Payload Bay Seen For First Time Ghost Shark will deploy aerial drones, lay mines, and execute seabed resupply missions as part of Australia’s new undersea arsenal."

Sundance hosts President Trump Holding an Oval Office Press Conference Following Announcement from Fraud Taskforce. Ace, Trump Creates $25 Million Fund to Pay Bounties to Whistleblowers Who Alert the Government of Fraud, "If you want to stop foreign pirates, issue letters of marque and reprisal. This isn't quite that but it's good to incentivize people to report fraud. ... A 1% commission. That could be huge." From WaEx, Trump administration withholds $1.2 billion in federal Medicaid funding from California, over fraud concerns.

Roger Simon wonders Are the French Riots the Republicans’ October Surprise. "Don't be a “chi-en-lit” and vote Democrat." From State of the Day, the STATE OF MONDAY: The GOP Has Billionaires. But Where Are The Voters? "The people are souring, and the oligarchs are spending." A Larry video at Hat Hair highlights a Trump’s Pollster Explaining the Voter Turnout Gap That Could Decide the Midterms. Liz Mair at Not Quite Miss Congeniality says Matt Lewis is right: Ted Cruz could totally be a presidential contender in 2028. Yeah, but I'm still leaning Vance/Rubio or Rubio Vance. Put Cruz on the Supreme Court instead. At PJM, Sarah Anderson hears María Corina Machado Has a Message for Midterm Voters and VodkaPundit points out This TDS Sufferer Actually Left the Country, and the Schadenfreude Is Almost Unbearable. ""Annie," to name just one, complained about the "huge misconceptions about access to quality health care" in Britain, and she even admitted that "the quality of life is significantly lower than in the U.S.""

Amy Curtis at TownHall, Abdul El-Sayed's Events Are Astroturfed, and Here's the Proof. Capt. Ed at Hat Hair snickers at El-Sayed's New Pitch to Black Voters: I'm No 'Gas Station Abdul'! "Actually, it's tough to determine who's being racist in Michigan. Is it black voters who worry that El-Sayed has much more invested in 'Palestine' than Detroit? Or is it the candidate who thinks that "gas station Abduls" have poisoned voters' minds against him?" Kevin Downey at PJM calls him El-So Long: The Detroit News Throws Michigan's Jihaddy Daddy Under the Bus. Abe Greenwald at Commentary on The Disavowal Game. Dan Greenfield at Jihadwatch hears 1 in 3 Minnesota Gang Members are Somali Muslims.

At PJM, Ohio Dem Gubernatorial Candidate Has Mommy Issues That You Won't Believe. Beege Welborn at Hat Hair hears One of the Most Brutal Political Campaign Ads Ever Is Unleashed - 'My Daughter Is a Liar' . Kentucky Girl @Kentuckygirl1, "This is Dr. Amy Acton, the Democrat candidate for Governor. In 2019, there was a police visit to her home after she and her husband apparently got into a drunken domestic dispute. According to the police record, after drinking and taking an unknown amount of medication, she allegedly pulled a mirror off the wall, and was about to start driving until her husband talked her out of it. A medic was dispatched to the scene and advised that Acton be taken to the hospital to get checked out, but she declined. At the time, she was the director of the Ohio Department of Health. This is not a person who should be leading anything, except maybe an AA meeting." Ace, Ohio Democrat Gubernatorial Candidate Is a "Liar" Who "Needs Help" Says... Her Mom in Campaign Attack Ad, "Amy Acton is, reportedly, Kamalaesque in her passion for self-medication." Teri Christoph at RedState reports Hakeem Jeffries Walks Into a Cuban Bakery in Miami and All Hell Breaks Loose. "House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (NY-08) walked into a Cuban bakery in Miami last week hoping to help a Democrat win a congressional seat, but instead set off a political firestorm that has ended with two Cuban bakeries publicly denouncing socialism."

At the NYT a Midterm Update: Bloomberg Gives $80 Million to Democrats as Election Day Nears. Money in politics is bad, except when it ours. Beege Welborn sees Gloom, Despair and Agony - when the Bulwark Discovers Some Dem Turncoats Financed by Republican Money. From Commonplace, Calling Elections Rigged Is Bad Politics and Worse Civics. "The habit that’s killing confidence in elections—and the party that keeps picking it up."

Eric Florack at PJM asserts Elissa Slotkin’s ‘Deterrence Message’ Has a Name, and It Isn’t ‘Defending Democracy’. Shipwreckedcrew @shipwreckedcrew, "You are an elected official. You made a public statement encouraging members of the Armed Forces to defy lawful orders. You chose to run for office and subject yourself to that scrutiny. What you are proposing, on the other hand, is a legal/political vendetta against persons for no reason other than they have political positions different than yours. Your goal is to drive them away from public service. That's a Stanlist/Maoist approach to political opposition -- your clearly stated desire is to create a one-party state where political opposition is not just to be rebutted, but to be imprisoned. You're a disgrace -- and I suspect your comments will haunt the rest of your political career. You've likely put a ceiling on any ability you might have had to climb higher." Quote Elissa Slotkin @ElissaSlotkin, "This isn't my first rodeo with President Trump. After calling for me to be arrested, tried, and hanged for a 90 second video he didn't like, he is now attacking me for saying that there will be accountability for people who commit crimes on his behalf." InfantryDort @infantrydort, "THE LAST GATE You may be wondering why there has been a full on attack against the War Department the past couple of years. Coupled with disturbing reports of communists planning some form of uprising, and the picture becomes clearer. Let's break it down so you can remain vigilant: If you want to break a republic without rolling tanks down Pennsylvania Avenue, you don't start with the center of power. You start with the men who guard it. That's the part people still don't seem to understand. The street is noise. The NGOs are scaffolding. The lawyers give the thing language. None of it matters if the military still answers to lawful civilian authority. So you work the force. You teach officers to distrust the chain. Telling them obedience is weakness and resistance is conscience. You turn every single hard order into a moral emergency. Making hesitation sound noble. You make defiance sound constitutional. You scare them, saying they'll be investigated. Sound familiar? You don't need a coup in the old sense..." Quote DataRepublican (small r) @DataRepublican, "THREAD: The true reason Pete Hegseth is being targeted is because he's standing between President Trump and a coup @PeteHegseth named the institutions... CFR, Brookings, the general class... in 37 seconds in a video by @Liz_Wheeler . Within 72 hours of his nomination, a color revolution planning document cited him as an insider threat. They didn't go after him because of drinking. They didn't go after him because of women. They went after him because every color revolution manual ever written says the same thing: you cannot topple a government unless the security forces defect. And a loyal Secretary of Defense is the one person who makes sure they don't. I have the receipts. Their own documents. Their own training sessions. Their own words on camera. As always, patience as I pull together the thread."

Ace has a Report: Debanking of Conservatives Was Driven by the KKK-Funding Race Grift Organization the SPLC, "Ben Whedon of Just the News... Hat Hair's John Sexton safely predicts More Lawfare on the Way if Democrats prevail in the midterms. Riley Rogerson @riley_rogerson, "NEW — Elon Musk is facing a gauntlet of Democratic oversight next term. Multiple committees — including Foreign Affairs, Oversight and Science — are looking at investigating Musk if they have the gavels. From DOGE to Ukraine, the uberwealthy GOP donor could be an irresistible target. “The sheer number of conflicts of interest are astounding,” Rep. Zoe Lofgren said. w/ @ChrisMarquette_ @adamwren" Althouse finds "Congress must demand a full accounting of the damage Mr. Musk and DOGE caused, and we will not let anyone obstruct our oversight." "Said House Foreign Affairs ranking member Rep. Greg Meeks, quoted in "Capitol agenda: Dem gavels are coming for Elon Musk/Democrats have long eyed investigating the world’s richest man and the GOP’s top donor. They may get their chance if they win back congressional power in November." That's in Politico this morning, along with this: "Democrats have a message for Elon Musk: Watch out/From DOGE to Ukraine, the uberwealthy GOP donor could be an irresistible target if House gavels change hands."" Hans Mahncke at Da Fed explains How Democrat Activists Conned The Country By Pretending To Be ‘Journalists.’

From Expression, Campus deplatformings hit record high. "For the first time, FIRE has recorded more than 200 attempts to block campus speakers in a single year." At Campus Reform, a Survey finds 45% of students say violence is justified if it stops 'hate speech'. "The Buckley Institute's 2026 undergraduate survey also found students prefer socialism to capitalism and that 22 percent say America deserved the Sept. 11 attacks." Steve McGuire @sfmcguire79, "“Such opinions simply should not be permitted, argued the Columbia Political Review.” Are these some of the kids who are supposedly always on the right side of history?" Quote Adam Lehodey @adamlehodey, "Last week, two Columbia students dared to offer a dissenting opinion on the Cornell case—they got death threats and were told they should not be allowed to speak. @Nikos_Mohammadi and Christina Ma argued no more than that students should think before arriving at sweeping conclusions about a complex case, and that it was infantilizing to suggest women could not make decisions they might later regret. None of their detractors have so-far been able to offer a coherent response to their arguments—except making personal attacks and saying they should not be allowed to speak. In that regard, they've already won the argument."

Sundance reports France Plans to Use Military to Control Riots and Support Police. CBS still going with "mostly peaceful riots": CBS News @CBSNews, "CCTV footage from Nice, France shows the moment a mob of looters broke into a phone case store over the weekend, destroying displays and stealing merchandise. The incident comes after largely peaceful anti-government protests in many cities across France descended into riots, with damage to historic properties and thousands of arrests." At Twitchy, Rob Schneider Lists All the Social Benefits France Has (and Is Burning Anyway). Rob Schneider @RobSchneider, "France has FREE health care, paid parental leave, paid family leave, FREE child care, FREE preschool, 5 weeks paid vacation, a 35 hour work week, generous unemployment and housing benefits, and heavily subsidized higher education. Everything the left says they want AND THEY'RE STILL PROTESTING AND BURNING SHIT DOWN." Matt Vespa at TownHall, Here's What Caused a Liberal Journalist to Suffer a Total Meltdown on Katie Pavlich's Show. Overton @overton_news, "Social justice journalist Lisa Durden MELTS DOWN on air after getting absolutely wrecked about the riots in France by conservative commentator Ben Ferguson. Durden claimed the riots were just “student protests,” but Ferguson wasn’t about to let that slide, and he had the receipts to back it up. Then he delivered a brutal reality check that sent Durden into a fit of RAGE. FERGUSON: “You either have to be incredibly incompetent or totally blind to look at the images and think that this is students that are doing this.” Durden immediately snapped. DURDEN: “What you’re not going to do is call me a pathological liar!” “I’m talking now! You’re not going to call me a pathological liar because you don’t know me, so stop that right now!”"“EXCUSE YOU!”" From Ace, Fox News Identifies 54 Marxist /Communist Organizations Funding and Directing the Riots in France, "Many of these are funded by CCP-connected Marxist tech billionaire, Neville Roy Singham and his awful communist wife," and Feminists: Rape Is a Weapon of White Supremacy. Also Feminists: If Our Revolutionary Islamic Brothers Threaten to Rape Women, That's Just "Collateral Damage" In the Cause of Socialist Justice. VodkaPundit at Insty, THAT’S GONNA LEAVE A MARK: "Sorry, but X’s autotranslate feature is so smooth that I don’t always notice — but which X doesn’t do for embeds. So here’s the English translation from the original Portuguese: “Europe will be destroyed by women who project onto those animals the motherhood that belonged to the children they aborted.”"

Florence Pugh

Sidney Sweeney is back in the news, kinda, at The Telegraph, Feminist snobs who attack Sydney Sweeney’s naked body are hypocrites "Except… Boy oh boy, does Sweeney reap a different critical reception – especially from women – whenever she disrobes, or dresses daringly. Pugh's stance is widely commended as empowering. But when Sweeney chooses to pose naked for an ad, she is single handedly reversing women's rights by decades. The actress's recent participation in the prediction market platform Novig's "Just Sports" campaign, saw Marie Claire denounce her for a retrogressive step that "sexualised female bodies". Good thing Marie Claire has never, ever put a naked woman on its cover. Except, hang on, didn't Cara Delevingne "Bare All" on the front cover of their September 2019 "Obsession Issue" (to pluck one of many examples)? Meanwhile the Olympic gold medal-winning swimmer Ariarne Titmus called Sweeney's decision not just, "a kick in the face to every woman who has dedicated her life to perfecting her craft, but every woman who enjoys sport for what it really is". Beege Welborn is outraged (not unusual for her), Oh, Say, Can You See...WNBA Teams Scooting Off the Court Before the National Anthem? I Do. John Sexton wonders Could This Teen Wrestler's Case Be the Last Straw for Trans Athletes? Do trans girls have the constitutional right to feel up cis girls? Now it's Vicky Taft's turn to be outraged at PJM, Girls Are Forced to Compete With Boys in Washington. Now They Sleep and Bathe With Them. "Now the girls need to bunk in with the boys on the team, and the one dude on the team is hazing your daughter. He'd love to be in a "lesbian relationship" (heterosexual, if you're keeping book) with her. Wink, wink. Oh, yes, that happened too. And it's perfectly fine with the state superintendent of schools, who is a complete dyed-in-the-wool leftist whackadoodle, because he reckons there is such a thing as "chest feeding." Reminder, Chris Reykdal is in charge of school science departments too."