NEW YORK’S ASSAULT ON THE NRA — and free speech — gets a court bailout.

The Supreme Court now has the the responsibility to ensure that government officials cannot evade accountability when they use their power to punish protected speech.

AMERICA IS COMING AROUND TO MY POINT OF VIEW: Stage four is a million armed Trump supporters show up in Washington, DC and shoot everyone who gets in their way.

SOCIALISM IS FOR MORONS: Sen. John Kennedy [R-LA] explains the socialist resurgence as only he can.

SO KILL THEM. Crime is extremely concentrated in a small number of individuals who repeatedly harm others.

The other option is to incarcerate them, but our progressive 'betters' won't permit that.

WINTER HAS COME FOR SURE: Our forsythia finally surrendered on Thanksgiving day.

It looks like I ended my Falling Leaves 2025 series a bit too early.

TRUMP TAKE NOTE: The Jackson plan for dealing with nullifiers and insurrectionists.

HOUSE DEMOCRAT'S UNWISE RESPONSE on whether he'll do FBI interview over 'illegal orders' video.

He should cooperate -- or else.

NATIONAL TEACHERS UNION training educators to prioritize ideology rather than academics.

These are your teachers if your district is unionized.

WHAT COULD POSSIBLY GO WRONG? University of Minnesota labels whiteness a 'pandemic', demands 're-education'.

Another reason to save money and not send your children to college.

AMERICAN GREATNESS: Can the lost generation be found?

Do we really want to find them?

SEDITIONIST BLUE FALCON DEMOCRATS stunned to be held accountable for their behavior.

To paraphrase a favorite 60's protest song, 'The times they are a'changing'.

THE ERASURE OF WOMEN'S DIGNITY: The boundary violation at the heart of transgender demands.

MAKING NYC MORE AFFORDABLE (FOR HIMSELF AND HIS CRONIES): Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani could get 16% pay hike under new proposal.

BAD NEWS for those six Democrats who made the 'illegal orders' video.

Good news for the rest of us.

TWO FINAL THANKSGIVING POSTS:

Being grateful is key to understanding Thanksgiving.

A Thanksgiving Day guide for Americans of class and taste.

YOU DON'T WANT AI TO GOVERN SOCIETY. Here's why.

GIVE THEM SMARTPHONES: The Devil’s plan to ruin the next generation.

[VIP} FINALLY, SOMETHING INCREASINGLY HARD TO FIND IN TODAY'S POLITICIZED ENVIRONMENT: Thoughts on Thanksgiving.

It is, unfortunately, a VIP post. A pity that current culture has come to this....

THE RIDICULOUS WAY leftist 'educators' celebrate Thanksgiving.

FIVE THINGS to be thankful for in 2025.

THANKSGIVING IN ACADEMIA: A day of mourning.

ALARMING POSTS FROM ARMY JAG OFFICER show just how dangerous the Seditious Six's video really is.

'SHE' WASN'T FEMALE? One guess why world's strongest female winner was stripped of (her?) title.

CRAZY TENNESSEE DEMOCRAT HAS MELTDOWN, runs for Congress, won't win, and will blame the 'patriarchy'.

In today's crazy environment I'm not so sure she won't win....

THE JOBS AMERICANS WON’T DO? The lost workforce generation.

All the Democrats can manufacture are slogans.

WHO'S RUNNING THIS COUNTRY? President Trump or the judiciary?

VICTOR DAVIS HANSON: Insurrection Chic.

I LOVE IT: Major foreign propagandists utterly exposed after X glitch reveals account locations.

Since the data is available, I think it should be mandatory that all Twitter posts be tagged with at least the country/state of origin.

OREGON PRINCIPAL RANTS ABOUT ICE: She forgets history, "thinks America is the world's flophouse -- not a country worth saving."

If you're sending your children to 'public' school in this Blue state, it's likely a case of child abuse.

KEEP DOGE GOING: sanity brings savings.

DOGE should be a separate organization, solely under the President's control, embedded in every government organization.

NEWSOM'S WAR ON SUBURBIA enters the tactical-nuke phase.

Except his suburbia, of course....

LIBERALISM: "I don’t judge someone by the color of their skin, but by the content of their Bloody Mary."

THE LEFT isn't 'nobody'.

And apparently the judiciary agrees....

RACE ISN'T A COLOR; it's an ideology.

Long, but eminently worthy.

[VIP] BUZZ'S BEDTIME STORIES: A story about our men and women in uniform.

It's consistent with my experience at Camp Victory in 2006.

[VIP] THE EASY FUTURE ELON MUSK IS PREDICTING actually sounds like a nightmare.

Read the comments; that's where the action is.

DEMOCRATS: You don't pull the pin on a grenade and then hold it.

[VIP] SCOTT PINSKER: Marriage, politics, MTG, and how to kill the economy.

You'll have to scroll down a bit to get through the promotional material, but it's worth it.

[VIP] SUNDAY SMILES comments on our political class.

If you're a VIP member, go see the rest. You'll have to scroll down a bit.

BLOTTING OUT THE SUN? What could possibly go wrong?

The possibilities are endless.

PRESIDENT TRUMP dubs Democrat Sheldon Whitehouse [D-RI] a scam victim after being denied funding for chimate change junket.

He doesn't support narcissistic nincompoops feathering their own nests.

IT'S NOT YOUR (WOKE) BUBBLE ANY MORE. Uniiversity of Texas professors ponder exit due to academic freedom worries.

It belongs to MAGA now....

THE SOUTH WILL RISE AGAIN: College students stream southward.

IF THEY CAN'T LEARN, sue the bastards into bankruptcy. It'll also support another Trump charity, saving me some money....

FROM THIS WEEK'S PowerLine Week in Pictures edition,my favorite:

Now go see the rest.

TRUMP RIPS AWAY PROTECTED STATUS FOR SOMALIS IN MINNESOTA and vows to ‘send them back’, Ilhan Omar should be the first to go.

IF YOU CAN'T TAKE THE HEAT, GET OUT OF THE KITCHEN: Marjorie Taylor Greene announces resignation from Congress after President Trump withdraws endorsement.

IT'S CALLED THE TRAGEDY OF THE COMMONS. Why government toilets stink.

The answer is to privatize everything except that which only a government can do.

NO. NEVER. NEXT QUESTION. Will you bow to an AI overlord?

A COLLEGE STUDENT speaks truth to power.

NOT IF, WHEN. If an AI bubble bursts, which party will pay the political price?

HE'S UP FOR REELECTION THIS YEAR: Unearthed FEC records expose vulnerable Democrat senator's hypocrisy on taking cash from billionaires.

God willing, he'll lose. I'll help.

VICTOR DAVIS HANSON: Reality caught up to ‘climate change’.

Hopefully sooner than later, it'll catch up to the near-religious 'artificial intelligence' cult as well.

SAD, YET HILARIOUS: "[A] teacher earning a graduate degree has a NEGATIVE effect on student achievement."

My wife taught successfully in elementary schools for close to 30 years with merely a BA degree and teaching certificate. Never once did she succumb to entreaties to get a bachelors, masters, or doctoral degree in education.

Here's why she was successful.

TRUMP'S NEW HOMELESS POLICIES boost work, sobriety, and real recovery. Democrat homeless policies did nothing except increase sloth, addiction, and dependency.

PEOPLE HAVE NO IDEA just how much money government pours into 'nonprofits'.

Politicians and NGO leaders use fancy words and promise results. They list the good causes they are supporting. They primp and preen about how much they care and what they are doing. sement

And the results? A massive wealth transfer from taxpayers to an NGO complex that exists to support itself and keep its allies in power.

Linked from Instapundit where he supports abolishing nonprofit status entirely. So do I-- especially those that feed of government funding.

YOU MUST REMEMBER THIS: "[I]t is precisely democracy untethered to constitutionalism or fundamental rights that is most vulnerable to demagoguery and authoritarianism."

MORE EVIDENCE that Democrats should be kept in locked cages bubbles (they do that pretty well themselves) and only let out on short leashes.

It's leashing them that's hard.

THE PARTY OF INTOLERANCE is on full display of late.

[VIP] MAMDANI NOT EVEN IN OFFICE YET and already begging for money. For himself, not New York city....

FROM TWITTER:

Without mass deportation, the communist cannot lose.
With it, he cannot win.
It is everything to him.
It’s his entire foundation.
Remember that.
On this issue, we must win.

What he said.

JOY REID ADMITS she'd freak out if she saw male genitalia in the women's locker room. (Think about how men would feel if they saw her in a men's locker room....)

Just another 'rules for thee, just not for me' (former) mainstream news anchor.

ZOHRAN MAMDANI just declared NYC a city of ... international law?

DON'T TELL DEMOCRATS: How to hijack the MAGA movement.

Oh, never mind. They won't can't listen.

CNN ANCHOR finally notices what conservatives have known for years.

ANOTHER 'HIT' ON ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE: Trump warns DEI mandates are creating 'Woke AI'.

As I've said before, artifical intelligence is only as good as the people who program it. Faster, yes. Smarter, no. Unbiased? Don't be silly.

[VIP] FINALLY, THE LIGHT (AN ONCOMING TRAIN) AT THE END OF THE TUNNEL: Is AI's promise just a House of Cards?

I think maybe I've posted on artificial intelligence recently. Why, yes. Yes, I have.

BEEN THERE, DONE THAT. A light-hearted look at getting older.

HE WAS PREPARED. What was so different this time about Trump’s election?

FOUR LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS shot in rural Kansas.

Too bad it didn't occur in New York City where Mamdami's social worker police team would have handled it without any violence....

BTW, the shooter was killed; the officers survived.

EDUCATION OFFICIAL: Parents do NOT know best.

Notice that the author used 'official' instead of 'expert' in the post above. That's probably because he knows its definition comes from the two words; 'ex', meaning has-been, and 'spurt', which is a drip under pressure....

[VIP] BUZZ'S BEDTIME STORIES: God and Midway island.

Back in the mid-60's, enroute to our tracking station in the Marshall Islands, our aircraft landed at Midway to refuel. As we descended, the pilot announced that passengers could see Midway out the window. My reaction? "We're going to land on that postage stamp?" A few minutes later, flying (very) low over the ocean, I saw land and almost simultaneously heard the 'thump' of the landing gear on the runway.

Having to island hop a few times during that tour, that 'see land, hear thump' became somewhat easier to bear.

RANDOM THOUGHT: There's no such animal as a Democratic Socialist.

SEN. JOHN KENNEDY [D-LA] has more words for Sen. Chuck Schumer [D-NY] and his fellow Democrats.

Trump 'tarriffied' China so high that the Democrats can no longer afford testicles and backbones....

WE COULD USE A REAL BATTLESHIP AGAIN. In 1952 North Korea shot at an American battleship. Guess what happened next.

THE SECOND AMERICAN CIVIL WAR: They're gonna get it, and they're gonna regret it.

BEST NEWS EVER FOR CALIFORNIA STUDENTS: University of California faces a strike by more than 60,000 employees.

FIX HEALTHCARE: The simplest way to make American life affordable again.

RANDOM THOUGHT: The Democrat party is an insane asylum run by its (most insane) inmates.

WHERE CATS COME FROM:

They are magical....

TIME TO PURGE the GOP of backstabbers, sissies, and narcissists.

SURPRISE! Here's where your taxes to help 'homeless people' actually go.

Not surprised. Not the least bit surprised. The middle man always gets the most grift.

FREE SEX COSTS EVERYTHING: How the sexual revolution broke marriage, men, and women.

FALLING LEAVES, Week 8: Our forsythia has admitted that winter is indeed here.

Now is time for the usual pond and fire pit views

The difference from last week is that mostly the remaining leaves have come down. From the fire pit photo, it's clear that the elephant ears and flowers along the walk have gone until spring.

Along the street, the flowers along the fence have gone for the year, and the trees are bare.

Winter is here, so until Spring, then.

WAY TOO MANY IDIOTS:

Brought to you by the internet.

POWERLINE'S Week in Pictures is up. My favorite:

Taking advantage of today's zeitgeist for personal self-improvement.

Now go see the rest.

NY GOV. KATHY HOCHUL is thinking of drinking the socialist hemlock.

Destroying New York one tax at a time.

SEN. JOHN KENNEDY [R-LA] accurately describes Democrat politics.

On Schumer: "I think his testicles are on back order from China,"
On AOC: "My experience with her is if you scratch the surface, you just get more surface."
On the filibuster: "{A] senator’s job, I have learned, is not just to advance good ideas,
it’s to kill bad ideas."

The Senator is a Republican treasure.

GLENN REYNOLDS: The Washington Post’s admission about Zohran Mamdani’s dark side comes a bit too late.

SEATTLE'S SURRENDER IS COMPLETE: Voters choose a communist for Mayor.

What will she do when Trump turns the money spigot off? Will Soros pick up the tab? Or her parents?

IT WON'T BE LONG before Jack Smith gets a whiff of the stink bomb his spying victims snuck into a bill.

Frankly, I'm somewhat surprised that Speaker of the House Mike Johnson [R-LA] is upset.

[VIP] DEEP IN THE HEART OF TEXAS: Islam?

PAMPERED FIRST LADY, perpetual victim.

It's easier to be a victim than to have to work for a living.

RED STATE'S MORNING MINUTE: Republicans need to flip the script on Lucy.

THERE IS A SECOND RATIONAL DEMOCRAT: House Democrat accuses fellow Democrat of violating a 'free and fair election' in stunning public move.

CHUCK SCHUMER WAS WORKING BEHIND THE SCENES to prolong the Schumer Shutdown.

To belabor the obvious: "The Schumer Shutdown was never about principle—just inflicting pain for political points."

I find it amusing to note that it's Trump's fault for not acceeding to Democrat demands to extend their own COVID subsidies....

YES, A REAL ONE: CNN anchor says conservatives 'live in completely different information world'.

GRADE INFLATION PRODUCED MAMDANI’S PROLETARIAT: Unemployable college graduates blame capitalism, but the real culprit is higher-ed subsidies.

I think the average Ivy League grad voting for this mayor is highly annoyed that their education is not that valuable, and the person down the street who knows how to drill for oil and gas, who’s moved to Texas, has a more valuable profession.

Emploment generally goes to those capable of producing tangible results; feeling good about yourself is not a tangible result.

CLICK ON THE VIDEO: Sen. John Kennedy [D-LA] demolishes both Katie Porter and Chuck Schumer. The video is here (voice quality is good, the image is iffy).

WHAT HAPPENED BEFORE A UN GLOBAL CONFERENCE: This latest environmental hypocrisy is the most audacious yet.

The UN's hypocrisy knows no bounds.

GARY SINISE DONATES BIG BUCKS to turn vacant church into 'place to go when the PTSD hits'.

We donate to his foundation about this time every year. This year it will be larger than usual. You should donate too.

AFTER 20 YEARS SPENT GRACING OUR LIVES, Daisy Mae has left to reunite with her brother Shadow in the kitten's heaven.

Thank you for being part of our lives, Daisy Mae. Now rest. Rest in peace.

SUPREME COURT ANSWERS THE QUESTION. What you call 300,000 Venezuelans without legal residence in the United States?

Deportees.

AMUSING, EVEN THOUGH IT'S PATHETIC: Democrats want to starve their own voters. While they demand to keep them healthy....

SEN. JOHN FETTERMAN [D-PA]: GOP not to blame for ACA subsidies expiring.

One of the very few remaining normal Democrats....

HOTAIR'S Sunday smiles. Post-election last week, this one's an obvious choice:

But there are many, many good ones this week. You'll have to scroll down a bit, but be sure to go see them.

IT'S EVIL! DON'T TOUCH IT! Just when you thought you hated the media enough....

Read it all the way to the end.

THE BABYLON BEE VENTURES INTO NEWS REPORTING AGAIN: Mamdani assures New Yorkers there’s no problem too large for government to make worse.

DEMOCRATS ARE EVIL, not stupid.

I might quibble over that last part ... thinking in terms of a Venn diagram, I suspect there's a considerable overlap.

THE LAW IS AN ASS: Which is bad enough, but artificial intelligence enables it to lie.

EXCEPT DEMOCRATS: No one is above the law.

GOOD FOR THE DEMOCRATS: The circular firing squad might only be getting started.

IS BIOLOGY --and common sense -- finally coming back?

MAYBE TOTALLY LEGALIZING VICE was not such a great idea after all.

BRAVO BLUE: Veterans you should remember today. See also Sappers in the Wire for more Vietnam era heros. Honor them.

ON THE 11th HOUR OF THE 11th DAY OF THE 11th MONTH: A Veterans Day call to
restore the warrior corps.

DEAR YOUNG AMERICANS: I'm begging you not to take Trump's 50-year mortgage.

It's called rent -- without any amenities.

BORN PERFECT: The girlboss and the death of growth.

There are good women bosses out there (I had one when I worked at Lockheed Martin) but they're rare -- and decidedly unwoke.

THE FLOOD OF STUNNING NEW EVIDENCE that J6 was a Fedsurrection can’t be ignored.

SO IS GEORGIA: Dear New York City refugees, Tennessee is full.

So stay home and deal with your 'success'....

FIVE ARRESTED after protesters allegedly force way into Toronto student group event with Israeli soldiers. Here's the video.

[VIP] ZOHRAN MAMDANI: Stupid or evil?

Is both an option? If not, I'll go with 'evil'.

THE BENEFIT OF INSIDER TRADING: Nancy Pelosi [D-Grift] earned more than $130 million in stock profits, return of 16,930%, during time in Congress.

That's roughly 15 times what an initial investment 40 years ago would have earned.

OH, THIS IS RICH:

You're welcome, Democrats.

[VIP] THE DOWNFALL OF AMERICA'S CITIES: over-(mis)educated, under-informed voters.

SOCIALISTS REPORTEDLY PUSHING MAMDANI to make NYC a BDS (boycott, divest, sanction Israel) battleground.

[Demands include] an end all city contracts with companies doing business with Israel, and withdrawing all funds from banks lending money to the Jewish state...

I think that's a great idea. Let all the people, companies, and institutions with Israel-related investments take their money and leave. Then see what's left of NYC.

DEMOCRATS ARE HOPPING MAD after the Supreme Court allows Trump administration to pause SNAP benefit payments. Here's what they didn't tell you:

I think you can safely thank President Biden for that.

YES! Trump calls for ending Obamacare.

FALLING LEAVES 2026, Week 7: Fall is finally! here. Our forsythia, which has reliably predicted the onset of Fall for the last several years, has just begun to turn and lose its leaves.

So now that Fall is firmly established, let's turn to the two usuals - the pond and fire pit views:

In both cases, what was green or yellow last week is now either brown or gone. Those at the top of the ridge where we live have been bare for at least a couple of weeks; now those lower down in the valley have turned. Maybe next week I'll walk (drive?) down to document the change there.

The back yard, such as it is, and house area are almost completely devoid of leaves now. I did notice this morning that there are now 4 squirrels over by the barn arguing about acorns (don't know why, there are plenty). Percival J. Cat was fascinated, though he's smart enough (now) not to interfere.

Turning to the other side of the house, the trees across the road from our driveway look pretty dismal; the only green on that side of the road is from the evergreens -- pines, mostly, and they're down 30-40 feet from the road on the ridge line.

HERE WE GO AGAIN: Oregon judge says President Trump can't use National Guard at ICE
because Trump.

I hope President Trump plays some form of the Jackson doctrine: fight back aggressively on the legal front and ignore the lower courts' diktats until the casea wend their way through the Federal court system to the Supreme Court. Then obey if (and only if) the final decision goes against the administration. Trump has his own legal team, and I suspect his exeutive orders have been fully vetted and declared both legal and constitutional by them before they were signed by the President.

After all, Blue states have already ignored the Supreme Court. Without penalty, I should add.

FAFO: Tough shit. But you earned it.

MR. PRESIDENT, first, take away NYC's subsidies, then let them burn it down.

RANDOM THOUGHT: The Democratic party isn't.

POWERLINE'S WEEK IN PICTURES (Socialism Edition) is up. The obvious favorite:

There are many good ones this week; go see them all.

I THINK IT MEANS SOMETHING that they’re asking this question in the New York Times: Did liberal feminism ruin the workplace?

It most certainly did. Luckily I had the wherewithal to retire when I was forced out.

YES. YES, IT IS: Time to close the public schools?

NEW HAMPSHIRE'S FIRST TRANSGENDER LEGISLATOR just pled guilty to child exploitation.

Why am I not surprised?

SO HE LIED: Obama’s shocking admission changes everything about the Democrat party.

This shouldn't be a surprise to anyone who's been paying attention over the last 10 years.

OUTSIDE MY WINDOW the squirrel is busily running along the fence rail bringing acorns home for storage.

It must have seen this morning's weather report....

‘STUPID SHOULD HURT MORE’: Sen. John Kennedy [R-LA] responds to Sen. Chuck Schumer [D-Ocasio-Cortez] over latest shutdown proposal.

TOUCHÉ, LEFTIES. Just remember the 2026 midterm election season began Wednesday.

THE SHAPE OF JOY: How beauty once defined us and can define us again.

[Today] we design for safety, not splendor; for approval, not expression. The boldness that once marked prosperity has been replaced by a kind of managerial caution. Our world looks ... joyless.

Read it all.

THE JUDICIAL BRANCH has been overtaken by ethical morons.

Giving actual morons a bad name....

WHAT'S GOOD FOR THE GOOSE ... Sen. John Kennedy [R-LA] aims to block lawmakers' pay amid Schumer shutdown.

I'd block their back pay as well.

GRIFTER EMERITUS TO RETIRE: Nancy Pelosi, first woman to serve as U.S. House Speaker, to retire from Congress.

RANDOM THOUGHT: The Democrats are playing hardball with the Schumer shutdown because they don't give a damn about the American people and they know the Republicans do care.

[VIP] YES. NEXT QUESTION. Was the shutdown just an election power play for the Democrats?

TUESDAY NIGHT SUCKED. Now, get over it.

TARIFFS. HIGH TARIFFS. DeSantis asks Floridians how to handle fleeing New Yorkers.

Otherwise let them eat cake.

SHE SHOULD MOVE BACK TO D.C.: President Trump has some sway there, and the Congress can revoke the District's home rule.

THE BABYLON BEE REPORTS THE NEWS AGAIN: Zohran Mamdani horrified to discover he now has a job.

Read the whole thing.

ME TOO. I am soo tempted.

Just for grins, has anyone else noticed Lady Liberty has six toes?

THE [ALMOST] LAST SENSIBLE DEMOCRAT surrenders.

JUDICIAL TEMPERAMENT: Justice Jackson is the Supreme Court’s mean girl.

The Left is full of mean girls -- I call them 'Karens'.

[VIP] ELECTION DAY FALLOUT: Democrats are animals. Rabid animals.

VERY FUNNY, COMRADE. No food for you.

Linked from Instapundit -- with another meme.

IT'S PENNSYLVANIA: We can't have you vote for the wrong candidate.

Linked from Instapundit here.

I HAVE LONG ARGUED that AI is only as intelligent/unbiased as those who program it.
Here's proof: Grok recommends voting Democrat when given sample ballots.

LEAVING WALL STREET FOR Y'ALL STREET -- Big finance is moving to Texas. Sorry, Alaska is full.

ID'S FOR THEE, but not for me.

ON CLIMATE: Follow the money. That's why the U.S. has a $38 trillion deficit.

Common sense is toxic to the Left.

PRESIDENT TRUMP does 60 Minutes.

WHY WE WALK AWAY FROM OMELAS: The masculine principle returns.

If you are a science fiction aficionado -- as I am -- you'll find that it is remarkably prescient in predicting current events.

THE MAMDANI EXPERIENCE: One hundred million broken eggs, and not a single omelette.

OBAMA, the real deal of double standards.

SORRY TO BUST YOUR BUBBLE, but how many illegals get food stamps?

LAUGHING, LAUGHING, LAUGHING: The White House just pulled off an epic trolling masterpiece on the Democrats.

NEW AXIOS-GENERATION LAB POLL proves that college makes you dumber.

As if proof is needed -- just look around.

THEY DON'T HAVE ANY: The Democrats' man problem.

“NO, I HAVEN’T.” “PERFECT!” Have you seen the latest advances in camouflage?

I was at the air show Instapundit describes -- even have a picture of me with the 'stealth' bomber.

NANCY PELOSI: Talk about 'vile creatures'.

Poor Nancy -- being the 'power behind the throne' must be really tough when you don't have a King.

FOR THE FIRST TIME IN YEARS, justice is finally being applied where it belongs — to the people who thought they were above it.

RANDOM THOUGHT: Democrat voters don't approve of socialism; they approve of 'free stuff'. [They're going to be surprised when they find that 'free stuff' is accompanied by a very short leash.]

IN MY CASE, IT'S 3 OR 4: Humans used to sleep twice every night.

NO, IT'S A LUNACY. Physicists have mathematically proven the universe is not a simulation.

NOT JUST IN OHIO: Republicans nationwide need to start kicking ass and taking names.

DOGE AXES Iraqi television, ‘Power of Habit’ courses, and more nonsense.

WEDNESDAY OR THURSDAY: Sen. Ted Cruz {R-TX] has a good guess as to when the Shumer shutdown is likely to end.

DEMOCRATIC VIRGINIA GUBERNATORIAL CANDIDATE ABIGAIL SPANBERGER iis still leading the Republican candidate, Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears, in the polls, but if they're pulling out Obama, you know that they must think they need to. The hypocrisy is Democrat Attorney General candidate Jay Jackson.

BUT OTHER THAN THAT.... A message to Kevin D. Roberts, Ph.D.

I'm reminded of something I saw long, long ago, lost in the mists of time: "Telegram: 'Go to Hell. Strong letter follows.'"

[VIP] THE TRUTH ABOUT MODERN DEMOCRATS: They throw principle—and Americans—under the bus whenever it's convenient.

WARD CLARK: Who might our appliances be talking to right now?

No one. Because I value my privacy -- and independence -- I have no appliances (or cars) that talk to the internet.

[VIP] WHAT HAPPENS if using AI to cheat becomes the norm?

What happens in a few years from now when all of the "smartest people in the room" turn out to be middling sociopaths who have no compunction about cheating?

We call them Democrats.

DAN GAINOR: England doesn’t have free speech and wants to take ours away, too.

CAN SUPREME COURT JUSTICES be impeached for idiocy?

PJ MEDIA: JD Vance's Halloween costume truly won the internet.

That's one thing I've noticed for years-- the complete lack of humor on the part of liberals.

MORE NO KINGS: GOP lawmakers renew calls for Judge Boasberg's impeachment.

We have entirely too many King-wannabes in the Federal judiciary.

FROM THE PAGES OF VOGUE, where upscale ladies probe the issues.

More accurately, where liberal harridans congregate.

“OUR DEMOCRACY.” Data Republican (small r) strikes again. The X (Twitter) post is here.

This woman is a national treasure. Follow her.

VIRGINIA DEMOCRATS just hijacked redistricting in the Commonwealth, but there's a silver lining.

Watch the video of Winsome.

LUCKILY I GREW UP BEFORE 'EXPERTS' TOOK OVER SCIENCE: Early peanut introduction cuts allergies by 43% in kids under three.

I have a granddaughter who's a victim of their 'expertise'.

NO NEED TO WORRY ABOUT OVERPOPULATION. Social media culture makes Gen Z men scared to date.

THE UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA computer system attacked and the message, while hilarious, couldn't be clearer.

I'm somewhat amused by the whole thing because the University of Pennsylvania is in fact the birthplace of the first computer. As of the mid-70's when I lived in Pennsylvania, it was still stored there....

[VIP] JUDGES ORDER TRUMP ADMINISTRATION TO FUND SNAP — there's just one problem. From the comments:

It seems to me that would have just about as much merit and standing as what they just did to the administration. In other words, if you can order the administration to spend money, illegally or otherwise, you should be able to order Congress to appropriate it.

Maybe the “no kings” protest was aimed at the wrong branch of government?.

Weren't the three branches of government supposedly 'co-equal'?

HOW LONG UNTIL 1+1 IS NOT EQUAL TO 2? The corruption of the sciences is devastating our disciplines.

BUT WILL THEY PAY FOR IT? Two judges rule the Trump administration must keep SNAP benefits in place.

IMPEACH JUDGE BOASBERG: The 'Arctic Frost' spying scandal gets so much worse, and it leads back to infamous Judge Boasberg.

CONSERVING CONSERVATISM MOST CONSERVATIVELY: Bill Kristol says he would vote for Zohran Mamdani for NYC mayor.

But does he really live in NYC? And if so, for how long after Mamdani wins?

Linked from Instapundit.

FALLING LEAVES 2026, Week 6: We start this week with a view from our 'reading room' -- the loft's (mostly cat) lounge area. Because the wind here is generally westerly, the trees don't lose their leaves early, and this year they're spectacularly yellow and holding on for dear life.

Here are the usual pond/fire pit views:

The pictures have rather dramatically changed over the week. The trees, which were mostly green with tinges of brown, have now turned mostly brown and leaves are dropping faster.

The back yard, looking back toward the fire pit and house, is completely covered with leaves -- no bare ground whatever. I'm hoping it will remain deep enough to discourage the underbrush when spring returns. (There's a squirrel running back and forth along the retaining wall fence outside my window -- very distracting. I think it's moving acorns to winter storage in its nest in the trees.)

Here's a closer view of the yard, taken roughly from the fire pit. The grass is mostly gone, except for a few freshly seeded areas. The elephant ears and other bushes/flowers that line the walkway are finally giving up with the more consistent colder temperatures.

Finally this week I leave you with this view of a bright red tree I took during one of my regular walks at the county park. It, unfortunately, has dropped many of the leaves from its crown since I was last there.

Until next week, then....

RANDOM THOUGHT: Seen on a local church message board: "We're not Dairy Queen but we still have great Sundays."

IMPRIMIS: Lawlessness is a choice.

It is common sense that law and order is an 80-20 issue. You don’t need a pollster to say so, although according to a recent AP-NORC poll, 81 percent of Americans across political persuasions say crime is a “major problem.” The other 19 percent must be either criminals, progressive politicians, or both.

I agree.

IT'S OKAY WHEN WE DO IT: Massachusetts Governor cracked down on gun owners while an aide illegally carried a pistol and dealt coke right under her nose.

THE BABYLON BEE is doing news again.

DON'T BE LIKE DUMBOCRATS DEMOCRATS. Don’t go talking smack about our girl Susan Collins.