[VIP] KURT SCHLICHTER: Attack of the political first wives.

TRUMP CASUALLY EXPLODES one of the Left’s favorite anti-Trump talking points.

His son, Donald J. Trump, Jr. will take over the 'reigns'....

Heh.

[VIP] WHERE'S ALL THAT FEMINISM AND GIRL POWER they told me about?

As it turns out, all of that comes with a little caveat: The Future is Female, but only if that female is a progressive who hates men and promotes a leftist agenda.

I assume the word 'female' now includes trans-women.

Read the whole post.

BUZZ’S BEDTIME STORIES: 'Ascension Island'

An interesting article. From my personal 'wayback machine', I made several trips to Ascension by C-124 way back in the early1960's, including one where the aircraft had to turn back just short of midway between Recife, Brazil, and Ascension island due an engine failure. It took 3 days to have a new engine brought from the U.S. and installed so we could continue our mission.

[VIP] ADULTING 101 has been canceled for this semester.

CITY OF RATS: The downfall of America's cities.

They used to be biological; now they're Democrats....

RANDOM THOUGHT: Artificial intelligence makes humans stupid.

INSTAPUNDIT: When tantrums get even more ridiculous.

LET THE COMMUNIST MAMDANI take New York city.

Let 'em go to (wherever really stupid people go) without any -- repeat any -- federal support. They deserve get what they voted for. Good and hard.

And let them pick up the pieces afterward -- on their own dime.

RANDOM THOUGHT: The diversity-obsessed Democrats are busily looking to fill their slave plantation.

FROM POWERLINE'S Week in Pictures this reminder of the Democrat hive mind:

Now go see the rest.

ACCORDING TO HOYT: The times they are a'changing.

NO EXCUSES: Destroy the NGO-industrial complex.

FAILING FASTER? Pete Buttigieg leads Democratic pack in early 2028 New Hampshire poll.

EXPLAINING WHY I don't trust artificial intelligence.

Talk about AI sentience? My response would be a paraphrase of William F. Buckley's famous “I would rather be governed by the first 2,000 people in the telephone directory than by the Harvard University faculty.”

And the Harvard University faculty before artificial intelligence....

The original Robby Starbuck link is from this Instapundit post.

THAT WAS THE WEEK THAT WAS: Saturday's final word.

NAACP: White Democrat voters 'will not vote for Black candidates'.

First response -- Barack Obama. Second response -- never again.

KAMALA HARRIS: I am not done.

No, she's not done; she's overdone.

MINNESOTA COURT gives win to transgender powerlifter who was barred from competing as a woman. (The cartoon is via Townhall's political cartoons page.)

Either the law is an ass or politicians are crazy. I lean toward 'politicians are crazy' but I do have sympathy for an 'all of the above' option....

THERE'S NO CONSPIRACY: Democrats do want to tear down our current society and replace it with a multicultural technocratically-run socialist totalitarian society.

Read it first, then scroll down see this week's memes. My favorites:

But there are others; go see them.

SERIOUSLY? No bigots allowed (in the Democrat party)!

Obviously the author has an unusual definition of bigotry.

NOBODY ASKED FOR THIS: The IRS’s plan to take over tax filing.

It's already hard enough as is. I can still download tax forms from the IRS website (at least I could last year), but in Georgia unless you're clever it's damned near impossible to download forms cleanly. And if you use a tax preparer, you have to tell them (emphaticly) to give you a paper copy that you will then double check, sign, and submit.

SAY WHAT? California Gov. Gavin Newsom faces pushback over DOJ federal election monitors criticism.

From his tirade, I's say it's obviously pretty clear that his administration has something to hide. Others agree.

KEEP THE (NONCRIMINAL) ILLEGALS; deport (all) Democrats.

They are the 'invasive species'.

YES, OBVIOUSLY. Is it time for the insurrection act?

THE FURY THAT LED TO NOTHING: George Floyd Square.

The scars remain. Five years later.

WHO ARE THE REAL KINGS? Democrat grandees, obviously.

ISSUES & INSIGHTS: Why we don’t like the Democratic party.

We have common sense....

FROM LIFELINE TO HAMMOCK: How food stamps became a way of life.

Read the comments.

I GUESS OUR CAT WILL HAVE TO GIVE HIS FEATHER BACK: You’re actually not allowed to keep bird feathers you find on hikes.

FERAL, CUNNING, AND STUPID: Antifa just showed how stupid its members actually are. [VIP post]

They're the poster children for 'useful idiots'. And give real idiots a bad name....

BELMONT CLUB: Clothes make the militant.

UMM, QUITE POSSIBLY: Is American urban culture beyond repair?

Read the comments; they are NOT supportive of the 'food stamper' demands.

A MARKETING BOON for GLP-1 (anti-obesity) drugs.

Which leads to a RANDOM THOUGHT: Obesity drugs might solve world hunger if enough obese people stop eating so much. Probably lessen the strain on sewage facilities, too....

SENATOR AND MINORITY LEADER CHUCK SCHUMER [D-NY] accuses President Trump of skipping town during government shutdown.

So conducting diplomacy and ignoring ankle biters is skipping town?

THIS IS SURPRISING? Antifa uses Portland homeless people as expendable cannon fodder.

WHY DO YOU NEED PEOPLE WHEN YOU HAVE AI? Meta slashes jobs in its AI operations.

I think they're about to enter the second stage of grief as they finally discover that artificial intelligence cannot live up to their expectations.

FORGET THE NONSENSE -- Republicans are not facing electoral death in 2026.

As Kurt Schlichter argues, "We just need more cowbell."

JUST DON'T PAY THEM FOR LOSING IT: Just accept that New York city is lost.

Despite the Democrats' fondest hopes, the world won't end.

WAR AGAINST DRUGS: The U.S. military destroys another drug-smuggling boat, but this one is in the Pacific Ocean.

It's time to add land-based operations to the menu.

BACK TO THE FUTURE NORMALCY: To lower health costs, legalize catastrophic health insurance plans for all.

CIRCLE BACK JEN PSAKI really, really hates JD Vance and his wife.

She's unhinged, unlikeable and, hopefully soon, unemployed.

MELTDOWN UNDERWAY: Democrats lose their minds over Trump 'demolishing' the White House. [Minor quibble: current Democrats don't have minds to lose.]

Isn't it Trump's White House? After all he won it, fair and square.

[Update]: Rep. Eric Swalwell [D(umb)-CA] demands 2028 Democrat presidential candidates vow to destroy Trump's White House ballroom project. Is he going to demand they tear down the Trump-bought flagpoles as well?

FALLING LEAVES 2025, Week 5: We begin this week with two of my usuals; the views from our deck of the pond and the barn/fire pit. Compared to last week the ground is a bit browner as the leaf cover deepens and the grass, such as it is, dies off hopefully to return in the spring. We are seeing a bit more color now in the trees as the remaining leaves are turning in the colder weather.

The flowers along the barn -- and along the road -- are surprisingly resilient although they, too, are beginning to die out.

The dogwood trees have died for the season. Two weeks ago they were a brilliant yellow; last week they were turning brown, and this week they are mostly gone to ground. The small tree/bush in the foreground, though, has turned a brilliant red.

Looking south down our driveway the deciduous trees have all mostly lost their leaves, but a few have turned a brilliant red.

Our back yard along the property line is mostly clear now. The trees have few leaves left, and the dead ones on the ground have overcome whatever ground cover (read as weeds) that remain. In some places leaf cover is much as an inch deep, which makes walking through there a bit iffy when you're as unstable as I am.

Finally this week a view of the forest instead of the trees. It still looks pretty good as much of our property is covered with southern pines and other non-deciduous trees.

Until next week, then.

KURT SCHLICHTER: Fat loser Generals can get bent.

I'D RATHER HE WENT TO RUSSIA: Will John Brennan go to jail?

Siberia, to be more precise....

I SUSPECTED AS MUCH: Rebel Alliance warns Obama's Presidential Library almost fully operational.

BECAUSE THEY'RE NOT VIRTUOUS ANY MORE? America’s ‘non binary’ and ‘trans’ community falling apart at seams.

Virtue signaling doesn't work when there's no 'virtue' to signal....

DAVID HOGG: The grifter that keeps on grifting.

IT'S NO LONGER 'WOKE': Number of young adults identifying as transgender plunges by nearly half in two years.

How do you signal your virtuousness when no one cares?

THE MORNING BRIEFING: Shutdowns are great reminders of how little government we need.

AT THE TOP OF THE FOOD CHAIN? Black and Hispanic turnout worries grow for Sherrill in New Jersey gubernatorial race.

A pox on both their houses: my impression is that governors should represent all their constituents. Their lack of awareness is stunning.

WHAT IDIOTS: Our bonkers political opponents.

GET BACK ON THE PLANTATION WHERE YOU BELONG: White 'No Kings' protester erupts in profanity-laden racist rant against Black MAGA supporter.

To quote one of the comments: "Make asylums great again."

TOLDJA SO: Chief investor urges people to quit chasing AI, says it’s not a matter of if but when it ‘breaks’.

HOUSE SPEAKER MIKE JOHNSON [R-LA] "wasted no time dismantling the theatrics behind Saturday's so-called "No Kings" protests, calling out the glaring contradictions in the left's latest political stunt."

THE 'NO KINGS' PROTESTORS are even dumber than you thought. Not possible, at least for me.

And the Babylon Bee is on it.

ANNALS OF LEFTIST LUNACY: Wait, that's when the DC 'No Kings' weirdo fest ended?

"[T]hey had to return to their retirement or assisted living facilities."

HOGE'S HEROES: 9-year-old boy trades his favorite thing to save life of kitten being tortured by sadists.

Pity they haven't found the bullies and punished them....

RANDOM THOUGHT [FROM THE LEFT]: Don't trigger me or I'll have a tantrum.

THE YOUNG REPUBLICAN CHAT SCANDAL: Dumb, disgusting, and definitely not the apocalypse.

If I recall correctly, they were punished by being kicked out of the Republican party for at least the forseeable future.

DATA REPUBLICAN [small r] deserves the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

For all this woman's done -- and been through -- she deserves it. Scroll down the thread.

HELEN ANDREWS: The great feminization.

Wokeness is not a new ideology, an outgrowth of Marxism, or a result of post-Obama disillusionment. It is simply feminine patterns of behavior applied to institutions where women were few in number until recently.

Click on the link(s) and read it all. It's worthy.

THE OBAMA PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY and his incredible shrinking Presidency.

It hasn't shrunk enough...

COULDN'T HAPPEN TO A MORE WORTHY PARTY: This could be the worst news for Democrats about the shutdown.

For Democrats, these aren’t just numbers on a poll—they’re alarm bells screaming red. The latest government shutdown, designed to hobble President Trump, has backfired spectacularly. Instead of weakening him, it seems to have reinforced his base and showcased his ability to govern without relying on Congress. Any illusions the left had about holding leverage over Trump have been shattered, and they should rethink their strategy.

Democrats? Rethink? LOL.

THINGS I THINK I THINK: I want to go back to 1985 and change our wedding vows.

As someone who has been married 56 years, I can live with the change.

TILTING AT WINDMILLS: Behold my shocked face.

BRILLIANT TIPS from our nanny government. And pay attention when you put the key in the ignition (oops, press the start button) of your new car (lest it choose not to start)....

DR. OZ BLOWS [ANOTHER] HOLE in the Schumer shutdown narrative.

GO WOKE, GO BROKE Massive layoffs at another news giant. Among others, MSNBC to become MSWAS.

That's what happens to Progressive cheerleaders....

KURT SCHLICHTER: All aboard with Kamala Harris as the Democrat nominee in 2028!

VIRGINIA DEMOCRATS called on Winsome Earle-Sears to condemn GOP group chat. They weren't expecting her response.

Read the comments. They're hilarious -- and effective.

RANDOM THOUGHT [from former President Ronald Reagan]: “It isn't so much that liberals are ignorant. It's just that they know so many things that aren't so.”

THAT'S WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU KEEP SHOOTING YOURSELF IN THE FOOT. The Democrats are running out of feet.

PINK-HAIRED PROTESTOR said the quiet part out loud about the ‘No Kings’ protests.

The interviewer should have asked how much she (it?) was paid....

200 CAPITOL POLICE OFFICERS secured the 'No Kings' rally for no pay.

The protesters were paid; the protectors were not.

This is your Democrat party at work.

A BIT LATE but the beauty of capitalism.

SHUT DOWN! Do you care?

For me personally, nope. Not a whit. President Trump seems to be working hard to protect useful government employees (military, etc.).

LOVING’S NOTABLE OIL WEALTH probably inspired a carpetbagger gadfly from Indiana to try to take over Loving County.

THE NEW POLITICS OF PEACE: Welcome to the revolution!

Now that the 'revolution' is over,

What's a young Socialist to do?
Stay home, sulk, and play video games.

Well, that's where they live.

CIVIL WAR TALK: The U.S. may be entering a new kind of “civil war” amid rising inequality and debt.

America appears to be divided between two roughly equal in size camps: those who think government should exist to “redistribute” wealth and make everyone “equal” and those who think government should exist to create the conditions for the creation of wealth.

On a personal level with respect to the song lyrics, I'd let 'em crash....

CALIFORNIA SCHOOLS ARE ABOUT TO SEE WAVES OF CHILDREN FLEE after Gavin Newsom's 'demonic' 'kidnap' bill.

California is already seeing waves of families fleeing....

THEY SUCCEEDED: "Unable to stall President Trump through legal shenanigans, a cabal of leftist judges seems intent on destroying the credibility of the judiciary."

TO BE POLITE the Left is deranged.

FALLING LEAVES 2025, Week 4: It looks like fall has finally! arrived. Over the last week it's been consistently cooler and the daily changes have become more consistent. Here's this week's pond view:

It's the usual photo, just a bit expanded to see the red colors on the other side. It's still pretty green down in the valley, but I expect to see more change next week if the cold snap continues.

Here's the barn/front yard. The grass has mostly gone dormant, and all the trees along our road are mostly bare.

Here's a closer view of the road north (the black spot at the left is our cat Juniper, who likes moniter traffic -- mostly squirrels -- along the road) The flowers at the edge of the barn are still there, but they're clearly showing they don't plan to last much longer. The taller trees are bare, and we're seeing much more reds along the edges of the road.

Here's the view looking south Trees are bare, more red is showing, and the flower basket is now empty of flowers.

Here are the dogwoods on the south side of the house. Friday they were still green, Saturday morning they were bright yellow, Saturday afternoon (yesterday) they were turning brown, and today they're mostly brown. By next week I expect the leaves to be mostly gone.

Finally, here's the house. The cat is Juniper again, checking out my photography skills. This was taken an hour or so ago after some high winds took out almost all the needles from the pine trees in the yard. The area around the barn looks like a pine needle rug.

Until next week then....

VICE PRESIDENT JD Vance: 'Artificial intelligence is still very dumb'.

I would only add getting dumber every day.

NONE: What events will you be attending during 'No Kings' weekend?

I'll be too busy watching the grass grow....

MEDIA TO PENTAGON: We demand right to leak classified intel!

Pentagon to media: Pound sand.

DEMOCRATS storm closed abandoned building.

Performance art; it's what they do. It's all they can do....

WHY WON'T BARACK OBAMA just go away?

He doesn't need to go away; he needs to be put away. Preferably in an institution for the criminally insane....

RANDOM THOUGHT: Its beginning to look like the progressive Left's tantrums have finally gotten them what they deserve -- being sent to the children's table in the basement.

COLOR ME UNSURPRISED: Study links excessive social media use with lowered academic aptitude.

I would only quibble with the word 'excessive'.

BLUE CITY AT 'BREAKING POINT'? San Francisco wants Trump's help on crime.

I'll believe it when Nancy Pelosi lets Tom Homan's ICE stage at her home in San Francisco's Pacific Heights.

SO GIVE YOUR PIECE BACK. Democrat talking points about 'stolen lands' on Columbus Day.

And leave.

OF COURSE NOT: Can Artificial Intelligence ever give us utopia? Given that 'real' intelligence can't, what would lead anyone with at least a modicum of intelligence reason so believe artifical intelligence can?

WE DON'T DESERVE CATS: I didn't know they loved corn on the cob....

THE PROGRESSIVE LEFT explains their education philosophy.

We can’t live in a country in which the party that dominates the rural areas has a proven educational agenda while the party that dominates the urban areas doesn’t.

Which explains why they're losing....

WE SHOULD BE SO LUCKY: Is Gaza on the brink of an internal civil war?

IT'S NOT EASY being trapped in a bubble.

TOWNHALL: Trump is demolishing Democrats.

FROM INSTAPUNDIT: Happy Columbus Day.

And when you think about 'Indigenous Peoples Day', think about Israel.

KURT SCHLICHTER: The well-deserved, utter humiliation of Palestinian terrorists and their friends.

'EXPERTISE' HAS DIED, AND THE EXPERTS KILLED IT. The foreign policy establishment and its 'experts' are in utter shambles.

They may have read widely but never personally done a damn thing themselves.

BELMONT CLUB: The irreplacibility of politicians (and educators).

If AI can replace doctors, coders and, now, actors, it can’t ever replace politicians or educators. The recent scandals involving school superintendent Ian Roberts and the catatonic performance of candidate Abigail Spanberger suggest it cannot be on account of their superlative talent. Some have fake degrees and mediocre intellects. The probable reason for their job security is that politicians and educators represent a class of occupations where competence is not a qualification. Therefore they are not in competition with AI.

Unfortunately, probably true.

BOSTON COMMON RIOTERS crying in their keffiyehs. Click on the link to meet them....

A FOOL’S HOUSE: Powerline's Scott Johnson explains why I no longer pay to go to any theater/concert venue.

The last concert I ever attended was one by John Denver in Austin, TX in the mid-80's. I loved his music, but in the concert he got on his environmentalism high horse and I've never attended any concert since. I pay to be entertained, not preached to.

SARAH HOYT has some memes.

I always wondered where Tuxedo came from....

That should be obvious....

ABIGAIL SPANBERGER [D] is running for Virginia governor as a psychopath.

She served 3 terms representing the 7th congressional district in northern Virginia. I don't think its any great surprise that the Washington D.C. metro area is chock full of psychopathic lunatics...

ANTIFA has awakened the sleeping giant.

I always liked the French philosopher Michel de Montaigne’s quote, which given the attachment of Antifa to our supposed institutions of "higher learning" seems very appropriate here:

I prefer the company of peasants as they have not been educated sufficiently to reason incorrectly.

[T]here seems to be an inverse relationship between educational credentials and what we used to refer to as common sense.

Which should be obvious to any thinking American....

HOLD ON THAR PARDNER: Chicago police department chief has a message for the [Teddy] Bear of Little Brains.

HEH: Internecine warfare.

THE INSURRECTION ACT: A short guide to President Trump's options.

THE UPSIDE OF LOSING: Why not winning the Nobel peace prize is one of Donald Trump's greatest victories.

HOW OPEN CARRY is changing police responses to certain 911 calls.

Probably not in my very rural neck of the woods. It wasn't that very long ago that I was in a checkout line at a grocery store with the man ahead of me openly carrying a holstered handgun with his preschool daughter at his side. No one noticed.

HUDNA IN GAZA?

The real question, I think, is whether Hamas still speaks for Gaza. By rights, given the disasters they have spawned, the leaders of Hamas should be strung up like Mussolini at the end of World War II. But if there is a movement among the people of Gaza to leave fanaticism behind and become a normal polity, I am not aware of it.

I think it's safe to assume that Hamas has no intention of giving up power and further that the Gazans as a whole are comfortable with that.

THIS COULD GET INTERESTING: Republicans could draw 19 more House seats aafter an upcoming Supreme Court ruling.

STACY McCAIN explains the Great Mystery of Our Time.

CHICAGO RESISTANCE: "[Illinois Gov. JB} Pritzker and Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson ... perform in a 'two-man play' of local resistance to federal authority. If this were a buddy-cop movie, Johnson would be the crazy one and Pritzker would be the heavy (pun probably intended)."

PROBABLY NOT A GOOD IDEA: banning pet sales.

We've had cats since, well, forever, every one of which was either feral, dumped at the side of the road, or adopted from a local animal shelter.

A WRITER'S TAKE on the state of the American left.

The author is not pro-MAGA either. I disagree with some of his observations, but for my money, he is remarkably fair.

FALLING LEAVES 2025, Week 3: The weather has been 'interesting' this last week, being dryer and less humid, and a bit nippier at night, so the forest seems to be getting the message. Flowers are still late-stage blooming, but the grass is finally browning and the trees (those that haven't already lost their leaves) have begun to show colors. I'll start with my usual pond picture, followed by two more taken from the stair going down to the pond:

And now, without any further comment, a series of photos that have been taken from around the house:

And finally a view from outside my 'office' window.

Until next week then....

THE LEFT TODAY:

Heh. And for Democrats voting to keep the government shut down:

You're welcome.

FINALLY: Mass Federal layoffs begin.

[Update]

If only....

BEYOND THE NOISE, we are winning fundamental victories.

INSURRECTIONIST CHICAGO MAYOR BRANDON JOHNSON claims Trump supporters want a rematch of the Civil War.’

I think that's more or less exactly what I have said in the past about Democrats. You can count on them accusing you of doing what they have already done or want to do themselves given the opportunity.

WHITE HOUSE: Oregon judge’s order barring National Guard deployment to Portland ‘untethered in reality and in the law’.

Reality won't stop the Left; they don't live there. Maybe the law will.

OUCH!

Well deserved....

SCHLICHTER: Time to get radical.

CHICAGO MAYOR BRANDON JOHNSON SIGNS EXECUTIVE ORDER establishing ‘ICE-Free Zones’ to be enforced by Chicago police department.

Good luck with that. Hasn't he heard of the supremacy clause?

He and Gov. JB Pritzker should be arrested and perp-walked to the nearest federal jail.

TRUMP SAYS JB Pritzker and Brandon Johnson belong in jail.

He's absolutely right. Bread and water for meals, without bread.

THEY WON'T INDICT, IT'S VIRGINIA: Federal grand jury weighs fraud case against Letitia James.

[Update] I don't believe it; N.Y. AG Letitia James, who targeted Trump, is indicted on bank fraud charge in Virginia.

IT'S TIME: Rep. Andy Biggs [R-AZ] calls for repeal of Obamacare, calls it ‘a complete failure’.

It was -- and remains -- a failure. Thank then-Sen. John McCain [R-AZ].

THE IDIOT STATE RETURNS: Mask mandates return in wealthy blue state county.

POWERLINE: Never let a crisis go to waste.

Make no mistake: the restraints on our freedom that various governments imposed, using covid as an excuse, were not a mistake. They were not inadvertent. They were not due to an excess of caution. They were malicious, the expression of a conscious desire to expand government power at the expense of the rest of us.

Read the whole thing.

HEH: "Zohran Mamdani gets BOOED out of a restaurant in Staten Island."

DON'T LET HIM RESIGN; FIRE HIM: This ought to be considered his resignation.

HOW LONG until Canadians petition to join the United States?

"WHEN DONKEYS FLY BACKWARDS": Sen. John Kennedy [R-LA] answers the question "When will the Republicans cave on the Shumer Shutdown?"

Watch the video -- Sen. Kennedy is hilarious, as usual.

DONALD TRUMP JR. TO NEWSMAX: I don't watch 'RINO' Fox News.

He's not alone. I'm sick of constantly being told that I can't see some Fox news stories unless I give them my email address so they can push their unread and unwanted garbage into my inbox (and yes, I actually read their 'privacy' statement).

YOU'RE FIRED!: Strongly worded letter to follow.

PROFILE of a dumb reporter. (These days, is there any other kind?)

GO FOR IT, MR. PRESIDENT: $2 trillion in shutdown savings.

And thank you, Sen. Joni Ernst.

MORE ON WHY AFTER ELEVEN YEARS I'm happy to no longer be a Virginian.

The police, at least, are showing some semblance of common sense.

THE RESISTANCE JUDICIARY signs off on the lamest virtue signal ever seen.

IT'S THEIR ONLY STRATEGY. Is being insanely stupid actually a cunning Democrat strategy?

SUNDAY SMILES: You'll have to scroll down a bit to get to the cartoons, but they're good. Here's my favorite:

It's not wise to be out and about during deer season. This Comey cartoon is good, too.

Go see the rest.

HEH: Massive fire at Chevron's El Segundo, CA, refinery. Couldn't happen to a more worthy state.

It should be hitting Californians good and hard soon, as their 'air quality' rules preclude them from importing gasoline from other states (even if pipelines were available)....

THE SHIT HAS HIT THE FAN. Portland police finally arrest someone: It's going to backfire on them.

THESIS? Based on current culture, I'd call it reality.

“THE MORIBUND LEFT knows who is boss and is selling the only thing they have remaining: access to media and cultural institutions ...."

And that, thankfully, is rapidly disappearing.

NOW INDICT HER, CONVICT HER, AND JAIL HER: Far-left University of Chicago professor charged with violent felonies during anti-ICE riots in Broadview.

And don't let her out on bail in the meantime.

LOUISANA'S SEN KENNEDY reminds us who's running the Democrats via its 'Socialist Wing.'

As I noted in another post, AOC's tenure as a barkeep has made her pretty good at herding drunks....

THE REAL COSTS of illegal aliens in America.

Note: it has numbers -- real numbers.

EDUCATE: El Salvador does for its public schools what the United States won't.

PIQUE: llinois city bars DHS Secretary Kristi Noem from a city hall bathroom trip.

JUST START KILLING THEM: It's past time for President Trump to take General Curtis LeMay's dictum (If you kill enough of them, they stop fighting) with the understanding that actual killing isn't necessary -- serious consequences (arrest, conviction, incarceration) are sufficient.

FROM PJMEDIA'S Morning Briefing:

When I'm out in public and I see an ICE agent, he or she won't spend any money. I'm buying everything for them. That's how it goes here for everyone else, too. We know who's watching over us. The Democrats and their ignorant base can hate on ICE all they want, but real Americans are grateful for some of the greatest law enforcement people in the history of this country.

Read the whole thing.

RANDOM THOUGHT: Apparently the Schumer Senators have voted again to keep the Government shut down. To call them idiots is an insult to real idiots....

RANDOM THOUGHT: If Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez wins Chuck Schumer's seat in the Senate in the 2026 midterms, at least there'll be someone experienced in herding drunks.

EXCELLENT! Democrats are about to trigger mass layoffs of Federal workers.

HARVARD 'UNIVERSITY': We're diverse enough, thank you very much.

PJ MEDIA [VIP COLUMN]: I have no sympathy for Leftists losing their jobs after spewing vile hate.

POWERLINE'S Week in Pictures has two favorites this week:

And this one cogently describes the current cultural divide.

Now go see the rest.

THEY HAVE NO ANCHORING PHILOSOPHY: The Washington Post, attacking Trump, sounds like George Wallace.

FALLING LEAVES 2025, Week 2: Herewith are the first on schedule pictures of this season. It's been an odd season. We had a cold snap prior the the beginning of the photo season and the deciduous trees had a pretty significant leaf fall as you will see in the photos below. Then it got warmer, and the grasses and garden plants continued to bloom. Now it's finally turning cooler again.

We start with the usual pond view:

It's not much changed from last week; you can see a bit of brown, but the trees are downslope some, get more sun, and a bit of wind protection.

Looking west across our road, you can see that the taller trees are almost devoid of leaves. Winds and the cold snap must have added a half-inch of leaves of depth to the ground cover.

Looking north (above) and south (below) along the road you can see mostly trees devoid of leaves among the evergreens. There are occasional touches of color, but I think this season it's going to be mostly brown and bare.

Our barn/firepit view shows that the garden plants are mostly still there. The picture above, looking north, shows the flowers along the fence line are still there -- and flowering.

The house picture is a bit dark since it's almost completely surrounded by trees, most of whom have just begun dropping leaves since they're well-protected from the northwesterly winds we see here this time of year.

The lawn is our only cleared area, and the grass is rapidly succumbing to winter. It's gone to seed, been mowed, and is clearly preparing for winter.

Until next week....

ONLY ONE? ICE Agents come under large scale coordinated assault in Illinois; one attacker wounded by ICE.

Should have been more....

GRETA THUNBERG is now Hamas' useful idiot.

WHY I AM HAPPY to no longer be a Virginian.

VICTOR DAVIS HANSON: Mamdani's ultimate goal.

MEME WORTHY: Dear Professor Vagistan.

ANOTHER RANDOM THOUGHT: When the Illinois national guard arrives in Chicago, they should bring tanks with them.

I THINK IT'S SAFE TO SAY THE SHUMER SHUTDOWN is the opening salvo of the Second American Civil War.

RANDOM THOUGHT: Can Illinois Gov. Pritzker be arrested for insurrection?

MINNESOTA'S TIM WALZ: America’s most dishonest politician.

But there's lots of competition....

EXPLAINED: Why President Trump is sending the National Guard into Portland.

THE DEMOCRATS' organization chart.

AMMO GRRRLL ASKS 'What if?'

TRUMP: Making Democrats regret shutting down the government.

I'd love to make the Schumer Shutdown last much, much longer to get rid of all the garbage the Democrats have accumulated, but at the same time I'm loathe to see the legitimate functions of the federal governmnet harmed.

TRIP PLANNING USING ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE: “Imagine paying good money to see a gorgeous geographic marvel in the mountains of Peru, only to get there and find it was an AI hallucination, leaving you stuck in the middle of nowhere at 13,000 feet with no beautiful vista, no oxygen, and no cellphone signal.”

Not recommended....

FOX NEWS OPINION: Trump repeats DC magic as Portland's Antifa thugs retreat.

Trump is taking Gen. Curtis LeMay's dictum (If you kill enough of them, they stop fighting) to heart. Only he showed that it's not necessary to kill them, 'serious consequences' is sufficient.

Thank you, Mr. President.

YES, LEFTISTS CAN BE 'DEPROGRAMMED' — just ask me.

But it isn't easy....

RANDOM THOUGHT: Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson's pointy haircut is well-suited for his tinfoil hat....

A HEARTWARMING MOMENT IN TIME: Kids fighting cancer steal show from Trump during major Oval Office announcement.

THEY'RE ALL DEMOCRATIC: What the 15 wealthiest congressional districts have in common.

THE THREE ‘S’ THREATS to American conservatism.

LAWFARE: a battle for two?

Swords, after all, are double edged....

SECRETARY OF WAR PETE HEGSETH IS ON IT: Terrorist attack by military veteran highlights need to address #RevolutionariesintheRanks.

VIA INSTAPUNDIT: Standards aren't discrimination.

FED-UP WHITE HOUSE explains the facts of life to progressive America.

LET’S FACE IT: Many professors are pro-violence. Especially in the Ivy League.

IF LYING WERE IMPOSSIBLE, could the left exist at all?

WHAT KIMMEL’S RETURN really says about free speech.

INSTAPUNDIT: Notes from the gender war.

The progressive Left is taking their talking points from Orwell's1984: anything could be true; the so-called laws of Nature [are] nonsense.

WHAT CHICAGO'S BEAR OF LITTLE BRAINS CAN'T DO, a [his] civilian panel will try to do.

COMING DOWN FROM THE MOUNTAINTOP: "Enjoy the afterglow and savor the view. Then get down here. There is work to do."

WELL PAST TIME: The Department of Justice announces charges against activists who allegedly doxxed an ICE agent after following him home.

HARVARD FACULTY: These people are exemplars for the need for involuntary committment to mental hospitals.

Then again, the Ivy League is an exemplar for mental institutions. Maybe we should just close the gates....

AFTER THE WAY HE CAME AFTER TRUMP? Andrew McCabe says he’s afraid DOJ might come after him.

Coward.

INSTAPUNDIT: I don't like screens anywhere

Neither do I. Bring back knobs. And read the comments.

TRUMP AND THE DEMOCRATS in cartoon form.

THE BLIND LEADING THE DUMB — and the hateful.

'FREEDOM ISN'T FREE': The most profound response to Jimmy Kimmel yet.

ABOUT THOSE 'LUXURY EVS': Nobody wants them.

We don't want the 'must haves' you demand we accept. And we have the money.

I'm finding more and more that products I've bought in the past and like are simply unavailable because they don't meet some arbitrary 'woke' criteria.

AMMO GRRRLL asks a question that is tricker than it first appears: WHO ARE THESE PEOPLE? Are they even HUMAN?

VIRGINIA GUBERNATORIAL CANDIDATE ABIGAIL SPANBERGER: 'Let Your Rage Fuel You'.

She's from northern Virginia and a substantial part of the reasons we moved from Virginia nine years ago. Pity, because outside the D.C. metro area, it's a beautiful state.

ZOHRAN OF MAMDANI has big plans when he receives his Kingdom.

NO BIG DEAL, SAYS THE PORTLAND POLICE CHIEF: It's only one city block that Antifa controls.

THE DESCENT of the Democrat species.

Today, the Donkey party is the party of the aggrieved, the resentful, the angry, the neurotic, the desperate, the illogical, the delusional, the irrational, the unchurched, the metaphysically uncentered, the unattached and childless, the anti-social, the resentful, the failures and the congenitally rebellious – all those not nailed down or secured to anything, beginning with themselves. They are the product, or rather the detritus, of an anti-traditional, aggressively secular, excessively technological, overly connected, trivialized and wholly commercialized and urbanized society divorced from nature....

Read the whole thing.

FORMER FBI DIRECTOR JAMES COMEY FACES INDICTMENT, but his real crimes remain untouched.

BLAST FROM THE PAST: The five branches of government [fraud]. I originally posted this piece in 2012 -- nothing's changed.

THE CORRECT QUESTION IS WHAT COULD POSSIBLY GO RIGHT? The United Nations wants global oversight of artificial intelligence technologies. What could possibly go wrong?