ALINA HABBA: I've never seen anything like this in my life.

Skip the Hannity intro; concentrate on what she has to say.

RANDOM THOUGHT: The Merchan court has given kangaroos a bad name.

VICTOR DAVIS HANSON: Will Biden take us down with him?

THEY LEFT ME: Hillary Clinton blames women for 2016 election loss.

Could it be that she left them?

EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THE FAR LEFT: Reps. Ilhan Omar, Cori Bush mix up Memorial Day with Veterans Day.

MEMORIAL DAY seems more important with each passing year. For me as well.

Scroll to the bottom of the post for a compilation of Ronald Reagan's Memorial Day speeches, or click here to view it on YouTube.

MEMORIAL DAY: Putting a face with a name in the Netherlands.

MEMORIAL DAY: Remember, and I hope you spent the day appropriately.

THE BALLAD OF ERVIN O. JONES: Georgia WWII hero's grave inspires songwriter ballad.



Now go read the post.

IT'S MEMORIAL DAY. On Serving Your Country: Honor and Remembrance.

Read it all.

RANDOM THOUGHT from economist Peter Morici on Newsmax: Democrats ought to change their party's name to Autocrats.

NO SHIT, SHERLOCK: Our bureaucracy is out of control.

WHO'D'VE THUNK IT? NGOs are getting rich off the crisis at the border.

And who's in bed with liberal government?

ONLY IN THE MINDS OF PROGRESSIVES: Is diversity really our strength?

PUNCHING BACK WORKS: California teacher awarded $360,000 after refusing to use 'preferred pronouns'.

And it pays, too....

TELL THEM TO POUND SAND. International Court of Justice orders Israel to immediately cease Rafah offensive.

AMMO GRRRLL offers more proof that the medical community has gone batshit crazy.

A READY-TO-FAIL MEDICAL SCHOOL: How racial preferences, supposedly outlawed in California, have persisted at UCLA.

MORE: Never trust a doctor under 30; DEI is going to kill you.

My doctor isn't; she's a CNP (certified nurse practitioner). And over 30.

BACK WHEN THERE WERE Republican protests.

Note the difference....

SO ... I AM A THREAT TO DEMOCRACY? Pelosi rebuked during Oxford debate after condemning Americans clouded by 'guns, gays, God'.

HMM: Why did the FBI seize the phones of the Dali's crew?

A BIT LATE, but what the hell. My favorite:

There are many more, including Kristi Noem, $5.99 bananas, college riots, and (of course) Trump. Go see them.

OIL COMPANIES: Please support Trump!

POWERLINE'S WEEK IN PICTURES predicts the DNC nominating convertion.

Now go see the rest.

FOR NOT NEARLY ENOUGH MONEY: Police officer sues Washington state for defamation.

Sue them collectively and indivdually into bankruptcy as a lesson for progressives.

FIVE COMPETITORS IN THE PROGRESSIVES' MORON OLYMPICS: NY 'liberals' react to Trump's Bronx rally.

SEEN ON THE WASHINGTON FREE BEACON: their 'Enemies of Freedom' list.

Nancy Pelosi
Pete Buttigieg
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez
Barack Obama
Beto O'Rourke
Bill Clinton
Elizabeth Warren
Hillary Clinton
Joe Biden
Kamala Harris

Strange. Not a single Republican on it....

YOU HAVE THE RIGHT OBLIGATION TO VOTE: Top Democrat's past push for noncitizen voting rights revealed ahead of House vote.

For the Democrat of your choice....

UNDER COLOR OF LAW: The colorful way Trump could persecute prosecute his tormenters.

Orange Man bad good.

ALAN DERSHOWITZ coins new motto for Trump's New York defense: "If it's not legit, you must acquit."

I THINK NOT: Are you better off than you were four years ago?

RANDOM THOUGHT: Joe Biden's 2020 election mantra was 'Build Back Better'; his 2024 election mantra appears to be 'Build Back Bankrupt'.

GOOD RIDDANCE: Iran President Ebrahim Raisi dies in helicopter crash.

"PROTESTERS, COLLEGES ARE ABOUT TO FIND OUT that, yes, the law DOES apply to them, too."

Gooder, harder, and yes, expensiver.

THE MORNING BRIEFING: Contemplating the wussification of Americans.

KURT SCHLICHTER: How to neutralize the campus communists.

ANTI-ISRAEL PROTESTERS block Disney World access road.

I don't know why they'd do that since they live in Fantasy Land.

ONLY SEMI? Completely avoiding boredom has given us two generations of semi-literates.

MORE REASON for the U.S. to leave the UN and conversely.

To misuse a legal term, with prejudice.

AI (ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE) is a tool for spreading Leftist misinformation. As is DEI (diversity, equity, inclusion).

AMMO GRRRLL has a solution to 'peaceful' campus protests.

Arrest all the miscreants and sort them out later: Deport all the foreigners; expel all the legitimate campus residents – I can’t bring myself to call them “students” because they truly know nothing – and arrest the professional hired disrupters along with Soros and a myriad of other Biden donors on a RICO charge for funding terrorism.

I like it.

FAFO [FUCK AROUND, FIND OUT] These students from the Rhode Island School of Design 'found out'. Clean up your messes, apologize to those you've affected, and return to class. Or pack your bags and be expelled. There's no other choice.

Here's another university whose 'students' are finally in the find out phase of their school experience.

SEND IN THE SNIPERS: Shots fired at Border Patrol agents.

SOMETHING TO KEEP IN MIND: "The modern Left espouses ideas that are not irrational if you start from completely nutso premises."

FINALLY SPRING, WEEK 10 FINALE: We start with the usuals; the pond and the fire pit/barn, both pictures taken from our back deck.

In both pictures the foliage is in near full green; in the background beyond the barn a couple of the taller trees don't seem to have achieved full growth.

The flowers have gone full bloom; these pictures were taken along the road on both sides of our driveway.

Next is our house, now in full forest. I've been a bit worried that our Starlink internet access would be affected but do far that hasn't happened.

And finally for the year, our neighborhood pond and its fountain. It's lovely down there, but 120 steps down (and another 120 back) can be a bit trying -- especially when you've forgotten something....

Until next year then.

RANDOM THOUGHT: FUD (fear, uncertainty, doubt) is a 3-letter acronym for the Biden years (2021-2024).

PROGRESSIVE STUPIDITY IS BOUNDLESS: Liberal city's new scheme is to serve free booze to homeless alcoholics.

San Francisco belongs in a galaxy far, far away....

VICTOR DAVIS HANSON: The campus cry-bullies.

STUDY CLAIMS Americans uncomfortable living near AR-15 owners.

Then they're probably not the kind of pesple I want living near me.

SO GIVE IT TO IRAN AND MOVE ALL THE FACULTY/STUDENTS THERE. The first faculty-led pro-Hamas protest is New York City’s New School.

Or Gaza....

I'll contribute to the move.

BRITAIN: Mass migration not delivering economic benefits.

Should I be surprised? I don't think so.

STOP THE CULTURAL APPROPRIATION! Caucasian students are wearing Palestinian Keffiyehs.

TRY THIS CRAP IN A RED STATE: RICO statutes will (hopefully) be used to end this crap.

And make oodles of money in fines and penalties for the state to give back to their taxpayers.

JUST ONE MORE THING, STORMY: Do you know anything about Trump’s business records?

I think we already know the answer....

PUNCHING BACK (GENTLY): Harvard’s pro-Palestinian camp tried to sleep last night, but one patriot wouldn’t let them.

Also, my cats prefer Slide to Tidy Cat....

THE REAL QUESTION is where we go if Biden remains the President. I've been thinking about that quite a lot lately since Biden's America is not one I recognize.

COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY cancels commencement due to 'safety concerns'.

I'll bet that it never occurred to them to consider PREVENTING violence at the onset of the protests.

BUT, BUT HE'S A DEMOCRAT! Legislator who backed N.Y. bill used against Trump now opposes it after the tables turned on him.

The rules don't apply to him....

POWERLINE: Seen on campuses nationwide.

FINISHING SCHOOL: "[F]ormerly-respected academic establishments will just become an expensive finishing school for privileged foreigners, and the offspring of our own elite class who can’t hack more demanding school programs."

PROFESSIONAL PROTESTORS UNMASKED IN TEXAS: an elementary school teacher, a costumer designer and a Palestinian store-owner.

Among other things, these are the reasons why I put Austin permanently in the rear-view mirror.

STUPID DOESN'T COVER THE REASONS WHY; EVIL DOES: Who is paying for the anti-Israel protests?

And why?

VICTOR DAVIS HANSON (AGAIN): Try a little honesty about Israel.

Unless you're a progressive, for which honesty is a foreign concept....

WHAT ENERGY TRANSITION? Read the charts.

"The transition concept is wholly imaginary, except in America’s news rooms."

FROM POWERLINE'S WEEK IN PICTURES, these two seem to cover the last few weeks perfectly:

Now go see the rest.

“AMERICAN FECKLESSNESS”: The Biden trademark.

It's time to review my ammunition stocks....

THE END OF OLD LEFT-WING MYTHOLOGIES: The one-eyed Jack American Left has been flipped over, and what turned up proved frightening.

It's a bit of a longer read, but it's Victor Davis Hanson, so obviously read it all.

KURT SCHLICHTER: Let them destroy each other.

I am a bit concerned about the cost of rebuilding after the destruction is complete, but also bouyed by the knowledge that it will still be less than the cost of letting this insanity continue.

SEEN ON THE INTERNET: 'Dogs may help prepare you for babies, but cats help prepare you for teenagers'.

More 'shower thoughts' can be found here.

DEAD WORM FOUND IN RFK JR.’S BRAIN already polling higher than Biden in 11 states.

Yes, it is the Babylon Bee.

IT COULD: Will Argentina save the West?

If the West -- and particularly the U.S. -- can find the courage to follow President Milei's lead.

TRUMP VOTERS NOT SURPRISED: Fulton county reprimanded by Georgia elections board for 2020 error.

Not to worry -- Fani Willis is on it.

DOUBLING DOWN ON STUPID: President Biden is ready to use the strategic petroleum reserve again if needed.

You have admit that Biden is very good with both 'doubling down' and 'stupid'.

AND THEY'RE RIGHT TO DO SO: The public doesn't trust the 'democracy-saving' media.

WE'VE NOTICED: The Inflation Reduction Act has created the largest ever premium increase in Medicare drug benefits.

In 2023 my wife and I paid $676.80 in Part D premiums. We paid $868.01 for prescription drugs; Medicare Part D paid $0.10. That's right, 10 cents. This year, 2024, we will pay $802.80 (a 19% increase) for coverage. To date we have paid $89.70 for prescriptions; Part D has paid none.

A 19% increase for nothing.

JACK DUNPHY: On the violent left, eternal recurrence.

Have we learned nothing from the past? It’s not as though we need to explore antiquity for lessons in how to confront today’s issues. While such an exploration would no doubt be helpful, any effort in that direction is beyond – far, far beyond – the stunted intellectual capacities of our current crop of ruling elites, certainly to include our degreed betters running our so-called institutions of higher learning.

A certificate does not make an educated person.

IN ARKANSAS, MAKING PRIVATE SCHOOLS GOVERNMENT SCHOOLS: The Left's new school 'choice' playbook in Arkansas is a national warning.

Don't let this happen in your state.

WARNING: The public-health establishment is hazardous to your health.

COVID proved that already.

LIAR, LIAR, pants afire.

MR. MAGOO? Which classic comedy character is Biden most like?

SO MAYBE BIDEN SHOULD HAVE HIS HEAD EXAMINED. RFK Jr says parasite ate part of his brain.

Make that all Democrats....

NO WONDER DEMOCRATS LOVE THEM: Double standards are the best standards because you get twice as many of them.

PAINTER TEACHES PRO-HAMAS 'PROTESTERS' a hilarious and valuable lesson after they try to block him.

YES! YES, YES: College anti-Israel agitators could be sent to Gaza under new House GOP bill.

Wishful thinking, I know, but on the bright side Hamas would no longer need innocent Palestinians for cannon fodder....

YOU'LL NEVER GUESS what Victorinox is removing from its iconic Swiss Army knife.

I'll take a stab at it -- the knife.

[And yes, sarcasm is intended.]

THIS NEEDS TO STOP: but will it?

CONFIRMED: Nearly half of the [anti-semite/Hamas] protesters are not students or faculty.

NEARLY? Only nearly?

GET WOKE, GO BROKE: CEO says he would hire protesters.

And ... what goes around comes around (and bites back). Hims & Hers CEO walks back praise for anti-Israel protesters after stock drops.

TRUMP RELEASES SOARING CAMPAIGN AD honoring UNC fraternity brothers who protected the U.S. flag.

IT APPEARS THAT TDS IS EXPLODING IN THE 'DERANGEES' FACES ... Trump classified documents trial has been postponed indefinitely.

Couldn't happen to a better class of people.

Stormy Weather — [NY judge Juan] Merchan no longer biggest sleazebag in his courtroom.

I disagree; he's still Sleazebag #1 since we've known about Stormy Daniels for years....

BUT HE'S A DEMOCRAT SO IT DOESN'T MATTER: Special Counsel Jack Smith confirms it tampered with key evidence [from Mar-a-Lago] and admits to misleading the Court.

FOUR RADICAL REFORMS to shrink the federal budget.

I like the last one, which I'll call 'Food Stamps for Politicians'.

MIKE HUCKABEE: Donald Trump should pay his gag order fines in $1 bills.

No, in pennies. Unrolled if dumped; rolled if thrown.

AS LONG AS THEY CAN'T OUTRUN ME: There's a surprising reason why robots can't outrun the fastest animals.

JEFF CHARLES AT RED STATE: Taylor Lorenz can't possibly be this stupid.

You're projecting, Jeff. Just because you're not that stupid doesn't mean she can't be.

I WAS HOPING HE'D FINALLY RETIRE: Progressive champion and two-time presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders announces re-election bid.

No such luck....

FINALLY SPRING, WEEK 9: Oops, and a day late. I had actually created this post yesterday (Sunday) and completely forgot to publish it. So here goes. Our usual pond view:

There's been a surprising amount of 'filling in' over this last week as evidenced by the additional tree cover of the across-pond background.

The same is true around the barn/fire pit area. Note that the grass is filling in, as are the trees. Notably the one in the forground that never dropped its dead leaves over the winter is now full of new green leaves.

All the trees across the road have almost fully fleshed out - except one. It's still unclear as to whether it's just late - or dead. I'm hoping for the former because it's going to be hard to cut down.

Finally the dogwoods (except the lazy one just barely visible in the center) are back and the hillside across the creek is no longer visible.

Next week (week 10) will probably be the last of this series even though this year has taken longer than usual to return to summer.

THERE IS SOME ORGANIZATION BEHIND THIS MOVEMENT: NYPD gives chilling update after 56 arrested at NYU and the New School.

No shit, Sherlock.

WHY? THE MONEY IS WHERE THE MIDDLE IS. The IRS plans to more than double its audit rate of wealthy taxpayers.

You can bet your sweet bippy the IRS doesn't need $80B and 3,700 new employees to audit a few billionaires....

FINALLY, ONE WHO BELIEVES IN LAW: Judge ignores faculty pleas and refuses to lift suspensions of arrested anti-Israel rioters.

The comments are not kind (to the 'students'). Read them.

AND THE BASIC PROGRAMMER [ME] TURNS 80: The BASIC programming language turns 60.

NOT THE IVIES. NUKE THEM AS A LESSON. Can the current universities be saved?

It's Victor Davis Hanson, so read it all.

PROGRESSIVE MESSAGING: What happened when scientists taught parrots to video chat?

AMMO GRRRLL HAS THOUGHTS ABOUT DEI: Quotas instead of merit are not working out. Enough, already.

SHAM SCIENCE: “Inclusive scholarship” is the latest justification for failed diversity efforts.

The morons will never stop trying to justify their ignorance. Ignore them.

POOR DEARS. BLESS THEIR TINY LITTLE SHRIVELED HEARTS. ‘Irrevocably Shaken’: Editors of Columbia Law Review demand cancellation of exams, citing trauma caused by police presence on campus.

THE EVOLUTION OF DEMOCRAT THOUGHT:

Truman (1945): "The buck stops here."

Biden (2024): "The buck hides here."

Arrived at through the following thought chain: We need higher taxes. To hire more bureaucrats. To pass the buck. More expeditiously. So we can maintain control.

COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY'S PROBLEM ... and its [obvious] solution.

BUT, BUT ... corruption is illegal for thee, not for me.

REMEMBER HOW THE TEA PARTY PROTESTERS left places cleaner than they found them?

RANDOM THOUGHT: Is Biden a useful idiot or a useless idiot?

My vote is for useless.

NY VS. TRUMP: A trial is search of an imaginary crime.

Read it all.

HOT AIR: What a dumb idea.

A bipartisan group of congressmen has decided they have had enough with campus antisemitism--good!--and have decided to demand speech monitors to combat it.

Very bad. Stupid. Anti-American.

Free speech should never be censored.

JUST SEND AIRFARE: Iran offers scholarships to students expelled from US and European universities over anti-Israel protests.

We'll send as many as they want....

WHY AM I NOT SURPRISED? NYU: Over half arrested for anti-Israel protests not tied to school.

Another example here.

RANDOM THOUGHTS SEEN ON THE INTERNET:

Israel uses its weapons to protect its people ... Hamas uses its people to protect its weapons … that’s what terrorists like Hamas do.

The banana of consequences rarely arrives peeled.

These are responses from articles today about the various university 'insurrections'.

AGREED: According to Rasmussen Polling, many voters say a second Civil War is likely.

I'm leaning toward believing it could occur no matter which party wins the 2024 election in November.

Time to think about increasing my ammunition supply....

A COMEDY OF TERRORS: How one campus protester typifies the problems universities have invited upon themselves.

Consequences. Consequences are needed. Badly.

WHAT DID PROGRESSIVES USE BEFORE OUTHOUSES? Toilets.

Working toilets.

MARGINALLY SO, APPARENTLY: Does freezing bread make it any healthier?

IMPRIMIS: Rogue prosecutors and the rise of crime.

JUST MAKE SURE THEY ATTEND IN PERSON: Iran university offers scholarships to expelled U.S. students.

'ACTION' CIVICS: When feelings take precedence over facts.

FUCK AROUND AND FIND OUT: Now for the 'find out' part....

BIDENOMICS IS WORKING: More than half (60%) of businesses are making less than they did a year ago.

NEW HOPE FOR NON-SELECTIVE COLLEGES: Vocational training. Engineering is a vocation, right? I started as a BSEE, eventually earned a PhD, paid off all my student loans, did pretty well in industry, and am now comfortably retired.

All without going to an Ivy League school....

WORKING ON THE VOYAGER PROGRAM was my first job post-Masters degree.

It was fun but that was over 50 years ago. I've retired; Voyager hasn't.

How time flies....

THANK YOU, KURT SCHLICHTER: Conservatives need to man up and play by the new rules.

There are several important reasons why we must turn the new rules back upon our enemies. First, they deserve it. They are schmucks. They are bad people, and we should do everything we legally and morally can to cause them misery and to ensure that they are disconnected from any opportunity to govern, rule, or exercise any kind of authority whatsoever. I want them disenfranchised. I want them broken. I want them crushed and begging for mercy. Why am I so vindictive? I mean, besides that it’s fun?

Self-preservation.

And because they really, really deserve it. Read it all.

TRUTH IS NO DEFENSE in La-La land.