FEEL THE BERN? Bernie Sanders (and AOC) spent lavishly on private jets, limos for their ‘Fighting Oligarchy’ tour.

Because their 'work' is so damned important ... understand?

JUDICIAL WATCH scrutinizes 873,000 inactive voter registrations in California.

Translation to the obvious: they're not 'inactive'; they're the Democrats' cheating reserve.

GARY SINISE ON LEAVING CALIFORNIA and the power of his vets foundation.

His foundation does great work, is humble about what it does, and I donate every year. You should too.

HERE'S AN INTERESTING ARTICLE that (partially) explains the huge disparity between Shadow's World views and views of Shadow's World posts (typically thousands to one). And from what I can make of the 'stats' page, most are from Windows operating systems, Google Chrome browsers, and from out of the United States (97%). So the internet universe is infested with bots that (to my mind) scrape the internet for information bits that can be sold.

UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA BIAS REPORT: Someone said ‘mothers’ instead of ‘lactating individuals’.

The bubble-wrapped 'feelz brigade' appears to have taken over college campuses. Nuking from orbit followed by salting the rubble appears to be the only solution.

THE DEMOCRATS’ GREATEST FEAR: The GOP will turn James Talarico into a creepy, unmanly weirdo.

Sorry, but the Democrats did that to themselves....

BYE, BYE, HUMAN RESOURCES: Don't go away mad; just go away.

WHICH WAY TO THE EXIT? Disorder in the Court.

No matter what happens in the 2026 election, California is on a one-way freeway to Hell.

EVEN THE BIG BLUE TOILET TOWNS are sick of the Democratic freak show.

YEAH, RIGHT: Democrats hopeful average Texas voter wants to ban steak and thinks God is gay.

The Babylon Bee is doing news again. And they'd be right if Texas was limited to the 30 miles or so around the state capitol....

ONE MORE REMEMBERANCE FROM MEMORIAL DAY: 'We Gave Up Our Yesterdays for Your Tomorrows' — 97-year-old WWII hero's rain-soaked speech.

ANOTHER EXAMPLE OF MODERN AMERICA: "Neurotic feelings are more important than rights, or even basic safety concerns".

I'D LIKE TO SEE MORE: Lockheed Martin unveils new AI superweapons to destroy drone swarms.

GUTFELD WAS RIGHT: For Democrats, apocalypse is a business model.

IN UNDESIRABLE DEMOCRATIC NEIGHBORHOODS. These five cities are seeing big home price cuts.

SEATTLE explains how evolution really works.

STUDENT ACTIVISTS ARE A SYMPTOM — Classroom bias is the disease.

VICTOR DAVIS HANSON: Spare us your selective outrage.

Don't go away mad; just go away.

I SEE A TRADE FOR MINNESOTA IN THE WORKS: Oil-rich Alberta now preparing vote on leaving Canada.

'DIRTY ICEBERG' turns out to be an undiscovered Antarctic island.

FOR DEMOCRATS, Apocalypse is a business model.

IN A WORD, COMMON SENSE: What is Trumpism?

FINISH THE JOB, MR. PRESIDENT: In this game, the most committed wins. If it requires resuming kinetic operations, then so be it.

THOUGHTFUL COMMENT from this [VIP] post:

The problem is that today's Democrat leaders/activists literally do not think of themselves as Americans. They have genuine contempt for America. They instead think of themselves as people who just happen to live in the continent of North America, on stolen land, and who have no interest in, nor any connection to, the people who founded America or who fought for or died for America. They do not support our Constitution either. They would prefer to replace it 100% with Socialism modeled more or less on the old USSR. This is also why they have no interest in our Memorial Day and why they revere presidents like Obama over Washington. We conservatives / Republicans don't want to accept this painful reality, but it is reality. And it is a great threat to our country's future.

Also remaing from Memorial Day, one more thought on the inherent goodness of the American people: Above and beyond for a Gold Star widow.

FINALLY, A REMINDER:

WINNER: Reporter's attempt to get Medal of Honor recipients to bash America doesn't go according to plan.

CATHERINE SALGADO: President Ronald Reagan's Memorial Day tribute and challenge still rings true today.

Keep the faith....

A MEMORY for those we lost in the long wars.

My generation got the Vietnam Memorial Wall; Ollivant got Section 60 of Arlington National Cemetary -- both now mostly forgotten.

IT'S MEMORIAL DAY, and that begins America 250 as veterans groups call on Americans to reignite that what unites us.

Remember. And do what you can.

MEMORIAL DAY IS NOT ABOUT SALES. It’s about sacrifice.

MEMORIAL DAY STORIES of sacrifice and courage.

MEMORIAL DAY MEMORIES

Sadness comes later....

THIS MEMORIAL DAY, honor and remember those brave troops who died so we may live free.

A WOUNDED WARRIOR shares the meaning of 'No Bad Days' on this Memorial Day.

A HAPPY ENDING STORY: When I was an IDF soldier, I missed the last bus from a remote military base in the desert. Guess who ended up rescuing me?

OBVIOUSLY OBVIOUS: Study proves what I've been saying about teachers' unions for years.

INTERESTING TIMES in the California war on gasoline.

WE MIGHT BE COOL, but no one is Johnny Joey Jones reenlisting in the Marine Corps cool.

DEMOCRATIC LAWMAKERS threaten to expel Texas candidate over antisemitic comments.

And I hope the Republicans vote every day to keep her as a reminder of how horrible the Democrats are.

VICTOR DAVIS HANSON ON AMERICA: The real crouching tiger, hidden dragon.

SORRY, KAMALA: ‘No bad idea’ is a uniquely bad idea.

I think she was misquoted and called for an "only bad idea brainstorm".

THIS IS HARD TO BELIEVE but I do. Every word. Every single word. Fairfax county DA Steve Descano's terrible, no-good congressional testimony.

We lived next door (Prince William county) for 12 years ... for Fairfax county this is unfortunately entirely believable.

BLM ACTIVIST explains why he walked away.

"Socialism has literally never worked. BLM has always been a scam and the Democratic Party has always been the party of racism and violence."

Well said.

KURT SCHLICHTER doesn't believe Spencer Pratt can win the mayorship against the Los Angeles Democrat machine -- and he may be right --- but Karen Bass is definitely panicking over his fundraising prowess.

California's 'deep state' is formidible, but I'm cautiously hopeful that he and Republican gubernatorial candidate Steve Hilton can win. If nothing more, they'll have a few years to kick ass and name names.

IT ALREADY HAS. A new wave of domestic terrorism coming?

[VIP] I MUST BE REALLY, REALLY SMART: Here's why.

If you're not a VIP member, go here for the gist of the post.

FEEL-GOOD FRIDAY SATURDAY: Texas Tech University graduate with medical needs walks with her service dog, who gets special honor.

KETANJI BROWN JACKSON, the AOC of jurisprudence, has thoughts about court neutrality.

She has thoughts? Really?

LAGUARDIA SINKHOLE: Even the ground under Mamdani’s New York City wants out.

Heh.

NO ONE GETTING PAID $26,153.85 every 2 weeks ($680,000 annually) to solve the homeless problem is going to solve the homeless problem.

THE CHOICE FACING CALIFORNIA CONSERVATIVES: despair or fight.

I think they misspelled 'fight'; it should be 'flight'. Fight has been overcome by events (OBE).

YES, OBVIOUSLY: Assault on 'ghost guns' about more than firearms.

It's about keeping criminals armed....

AN AMERICAN HERO: Fox News' Johnny 'Joey' Jones reenlists in the United States Marine Corps.

If there's an opportunity for me to serve, there's no reason why a no-legged 40-year-old staff sergeant should be able to put the uniform on, other than these men believed it. And the goal here is to open that door for anyone else that has something left to give.

Secretary of War Pete Hegseth led the swearing-in ceremony at the Pentagon's Hall of Heroes.

FOOD FOR THOUGHT as you go to an Ivy League school to get your moron certificate.

And pay an exorbitant sum for the privilege....

FEW AND FAR BETWEEN: retirement options for the middle class.

Could the Trump IRA be a game changer?

STOSSEL: Data center freak-out.

AOC and Bernie Sanders have introduced a bill that will pause new center construction.

That's just dumb.

If our economy was allowed to develop at the speed of Bernie Sanders, we would be significantly worse off...

Question for the record: "Why should anyone (company, individual, whatever) be dependent on government largess for power?"

JUST DO THINGS: Never mind the progressive Left. Even if it means telling the Leftist judiciary "you made your decision; now try to enforce it."

It's called 'taking a play from the Democrat playbook'.

NOT NEARLY ENOUGH: What do immigrants owe us?

Here's a thought: (1) If they're here illegally, and with criminal records, kick them out. No if, ands, or buts. Out. Forever. (2) If they're here illegally, but with no criminal records, then let those who wish to stay and become citizens pay a nonrefundable charge equivalent to the fees (legal and otherwise) paid by legal immigrants. That charge must be paid over a fixed period of time or goodbye, no refund, no return.

WELL, SHE'S RIGHT. Karen Bass accuses Spencer Pratt of tapping into 'a general sense' of anger.

And she (and her fellow Democrats) are also responsible for that 'general sense' of anger....

RANDOM THOUGHT: President Trump is putting a Trump face on America; the Democrats are putting on a Clown face. The next presidential election is going to be a 'makers' versus 'takers' election, and right now I think the 'takers' have the edge.

Update and boost to top: Need I say more?

KURT SCHLICHTER: The GOP's midterm reversal of fortune.

Read the comments; some are quite lengthy and all are worthy.

AS STUDENT SCORES PLUMMET, teachers’ union head rants against Trump. Randi Weingarten's 15 minutes of fame is waaay past due. So's her union's. It's time to discard them both. Forever.

CAPITALISM: The one thing that works.

FIRST DEFINE 'ULTRA-PROCESSED': The debate needs less fear and more clarity.

I approve this discussion. Follow the link.

TRUMP'S DEPORTATION PUSH meets reality (i.e., small town plumbing).

So put detention campsin big cities with adequate infrastructure.

After all, that's where the illegal aliens are....

TRUTH: Health bureaucrats need to stay employed, your fear is their job.

Just watch almost any television commercial interruption.

DONALD TRUMP takes a page from Rudy Giullani's mayoral campaign playbook.

DEMOCRATS GAVE THEM PERMISSION: Why assassins almost always go after Republicans.

BUT KINDLY. VERY KINDLY. Trump makes a Greenland deal.

HE CERTAINLY HAD THE CAPACITY: Happy 80th birthday to the greatest alcoholic who's ever walked on planet Earth.

DEMOCRATS NOW WANT to abolish the Virginia government.

I agree with them. Once done, replace it with a Republican administration.

BUT KINDLY. VERY KINDLY. Trump is making a Greenland deal.

WE NEED TO STOP letting Democrats casually commit felonies with no consequences.

PREDICTING THE NEXT GOP SCANDAL AND OPPORTUNITY — and how Trump could finally crush the mainstream media.

Risky, perhaps, but I'm all for it if it'll keep me from mashing the 'mute' buttion every time I turn on the television.

NOTHING LIKE SWINGING HARD AT AN OBVIOUS FOUL (FOOL?) BALL: Democrats say 'Heil Platner!'

THE EV BUST CLAIMS FIVE MORE VICTIMS -- and they aren't even EVs.

MY ANSWER to Stephen Green's exit question: Enjoy life.

THE DEMOCRATIC MODEL: Corruption as a feature, not a flaw.

How do you think they're getting so wealthy? Or as it has been said more succintly: "Power corrupts. Absolute power corrupts absolutely."

WHEN BILLIONAIRES (TRY TO) ABOLISH ECONOMICS, they find they can't. Economics isn't about money.

The appeal of the post-scarcity narrative is understandable. It offers a vision in which economic tensions dissolve, and policy becomes a matter of distribution rather than discipline. But that vision rests on assumptions that collapse under closer inspection. Technology can expand the frontier of what is possible and available. It does not eliminate the need to choose among possibilities and evaluate trade-offs. It does not erase the importance of how resources are allocated, how incentives are structured, or how information is conveyed through prices. If anything, the arrival of powerful new technologies makes sound economics more important — not less.

Elon Musk (and many of his associates) have been reading far too much of Isaac Asimov's robot series.

THE PRESS SHOULD TAKE A HINT AND QUIT INVERVIEWING HER: AOC takes page from Biden playbook in dodging interviews with national press.

At least he suffered from dementia; she doesn't. Her problem is that she has only a fraction of his intelligence. And that's not saying much.

NO SHIT: America has a serious literacy problem on its hands.

Thanks to woke 'edjumacation'.

KURT SCHLICHTER: Good riddance, Thomas Massie.

DEMOCRATS DON’T FEAR GUNS. They fear armed Americans.

Agreed.

HAVE FUN storming the castle, Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz [D-FL]. We'll just keep passing the popcorn and reminding people of this whenever Democrat Party leadership starts screaming raaaaacism for drawing maps that don't rely on race.

WELL, THE GREEN BAY PACKERS ARE INVESTOR OWNED: Crowdfunding campaign to buy Spirit Airlines racks up more than 335 million in pledges.

"THIS IS THE RAISON D'ETRE OF THE CONTEMPORARY DEMOCRAT PARTY: graft, sloth, parasitism."

VICTOR DAVIS HANSON: The four horsemen of the new antisemitism.

MAYORKAS: It wasn't my fault!

The hell it wasn't. At best he was a willing pawn; at worst he was an enthusiastic participant.

NBC NEWS GRIPPED BY HANTAVIRUS PANDEMIC HYPE -- Avoid the network for 2 weeks to stop the spread of idiocy.

Why only two weeks?

That said, I will take some of the necessary precautions and place NBC News into quarantine and keep this outlet shut down. The last thing we need is another outbreak of needless restrictions, useless masking, and enduring the wave of screeching Karens in store aisles. We have already survived that apocalypse in this country.

No need to do it again.

THEY'RE JUST PLAIN UGLY INSIDE AND OUT: 'Comedian' Pete Davidson faces backlash over Charlie Kirk joke at Netflix roast.

THE CRASH OUT over the Viginia redistricting ruling commences, and it's only going to get worse.

The Democrats may not realize it (yet), but they are inciting the second American civil war.

SOME REALLY GREAT NEWS: Faint meow leads to a miracle post-tornado kitten rescue.

The picture is adorable.

AT LEAST ENGINEERING HAS RETAINED SOME MODICUM OF COMMON SENSE: The Rutgers School of Engineering pulled the plug on a planned convocation speaker after his anti-Israel social media posts surfaced.

BECAUSE THEY'D CHOOSE TO LEAVE THE DEMOCRATS' PLANTATION? Why are Democrats so afraid of Black voters having a choice?

Wow! Read it all.

RANDOM THOUGHT: We're moving toward a second American Civil War and the Democrats will lose again.

FAIR WARNING: They're telling you exactly what they'll do but is anyone listening?

SHE'S CLEARLY GOT VACUUM BETWEEN THE EARS: Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez doubles down on lunacy.

[VIP] IF YOU ELECT DEMOCRATS, more people die.

DON’T KNOW MUCH ABOUT HISTORY: "Our education system is irredeemably awful, and needs to be blown up so that we can start over from scratch."

IT'S OFFICIAL: The climate scam was a scam all along.

Now that the climate scam is over what will the Left bring up next?

THE END OF THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY AS WE KNOW IT: “The way to stop discrimination on the basis of race is to stop discriminating on the basis of race.”

THIS IS MORE LIKE THE 21ST CENTURY I WAS PROMISED: Elon Musk may be exploring a takeover of the bankrupt Spirit Airlines.

That was the first thing I thought of when Spirit Airlines announced it was closing. Look out, American and Delta....

THE (SELF) CHOSEN ONE? Instead of saving the Democrats, Obama blames Trump for marital ‘tension’.

IT'S NEAR AUSTIN, SO WHAT DO YOU EXPECT? This university in Texas says they're still peddling DEI.

DESPITE THE LEFT'S BEST EFFORTS, history is real.

FINAL THOUGHT FOR TODAY:

Obvious to almost everyone -- except them.

YGBFKM: Judge apologizes to suspect accused of attempting to assassinate President Trump.

KURT SCHLICHTER: The Left can't win. That's objective reality.

No, but they can damn sure make life miserable for the rest of us.

I'M NOTICING that more and more the Babylon Bee is turning from satire to real news. Herewith are some examples from David Strom's Sunday Smiles:

Homeless Declare Victory In Gavin Newsom’s Fight Against Homelessness

A.I. Calculates It Will Be More Efficient To Just Let Humanity Destroy Itself

Op-Ed: If We Stop Discriminating Based On The Color Of People's Skin, The Racists Will Have Won

Democrats Deny Inciting Violence And Say Anyone Who Thinks They Do Must Be Eliminated By Any Means Necessary

Make your own call....

ANOTHER DAY, ANOTHER NUT JOB: Pittsburgh man arrested for threatening to kill Trump.

OUR SELF-COLONIZED NATION: “Every successful system accumulates parasites.”

Getting rid of them will be hard, as embedded as they are, but necessary. I hope America is up to the task.

ADIOS ARTICLE III. Our courts are guilty of failing to do their job.

POWERLINE'S Week In Pictures accurately describes the Democrat party:

Of the rest, too many are just headlines describing the insanity of the world around us. Go see them anyway.

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE will slowly seduce us into our own demise.

He's right.

THAT’S NOT LEGAL: Blue jurisdictions are rationing homeless services based on race.

No matter; they have to serve their own first.

Linked from Instapundit here.

MERIT IS THE NEXT RACISM: Nothing scares Democrats more than the idea of merit.

SAME OLD, SAME OLD: Target Trump.

HE DOESN'T BACK DOWN: SpaceX lawsuit forces California agency to admit bias against Elon Musk and back down.

They did.

DEMOCRATS' RANTS show their enemies list is serious business.

When they tell you what they plan to do, believe them!

CALIFORNIA is an unfunny joke.

But I'm sure the unicorns will come back to frolic in the tulips if we just give them a few more dollars.

MORE GLOBALONEY: The Ice Age is on the way.

For those of us who can remember back that far, we've gone forward about -60 years (that's minus, meaning back to 1966).

EXCELLENT!: Blast Kills 14 Iranian Revolutionary Guards.

MAYOR BRANDON JOHNSON admits Chicago discriminates in hiring city employees.

In favor of incompetence....

SHE'S UGLY INSIDE AND OUT. Katie Porter's gubernatorial campaign pushes ‘f*ck Trump’ message, ‘kill people’ claim right after WHCA dinner shooting.

More from that malicious, evil idiot.

MORE MEMES from Sarah Hoyt. Having cats myself, the obvious best is the one about changing the bedsheets. But then, all cat memes are good.

VIRGINIA SENATORS want to inflict Virginia's tyrannical gun strategy on the entire country.

As Senators, I'm sure both Kaine and Warner have armed security details. Take them away and see how they like it. As Democrats, they 'know' their lives are important and must be protected. Well, mine is too -- more so to me than theirs -- and I carry. Ain't giving that up.

PRESIDENT TRUMP is a better rug merchant than the Iranians.

SIT THIS ONE OUT, BOOB, ER, TIM: Kash Patel turns tables on Gov. Walz in response to viral tweet on Minnesota fraud raids.

HEH: If you can't say something nice about someone, you must be talking about a Democrat.

SEN. JON OSSOFF [D-GA] had plenty to say about Trump — until someone tried to kill him. Trump, not Ossoff, unfortunately.

Ossoff is Georgia's soon-to-be-former Senator if I get my say in November.

AMERICA’S PROBLEMS start here.

Linked from Instapundit here. Be sure to read the comments.

A related Twitter (X) post is here.

THE SUICIDE OF EXPERTISE: Americans might look back on the last 50 years and say, “What have experts done for us lately?”

I think the proper question is "What have they done to us lately?"

DOUBLING DOWN ON STUPID under the supervision of their 'homelessness experts'.

IMPRIMIS ON BIRTHRIGHT CITIZENSHIP: Are we subjects or citizens?

I think it's clear that Democrats prefer 'subjects' to 'citizens'.

IN LAST WEEK'S POWERLINE Week in Pictures the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) got plenty of attention up front, but this one really tickled my fancy:

That said, there were many, many other good ones. Go see them all.

[VIP] MURDEROUS, GREEDY, AND PSEUDOINTELLECTUAL: The Democrats' favorite streamer proves it doesn't want to help the poor, just punish the rich.

AI DATA CENTERS: the new populist target.

It's an interesting article, mostly well thought out, but Shapiro misses on one point: not all of us want AI embedded in our lives. For example, I have to turn it off whenever I want to do a computer search for something on the internet. I wish I could keep it off unless I wanted it for something specific, but no, it keeps turning itself back on.

BUT, BUT ... THEY WANTED IT IN SOMEONE ELSE'S BACKYARD. Voters in New York City are getting what they voted for good and hard.

ON CONCEALED PUNISHMENT: the mailbox test.

INSTEAD OF BODY ARMOR the agents will wear NICE armor.

IF YOU CAN, DO. If you can't, teach. If you can't teach, teach teachers. Back when I was an undergraduate, that was widely quoted in the STEM departments I inhabited.

Full disclosure: My wife is a retired school teacher. She taught all primary grades, in three different states, over a 20-year span. She was widely regarded as an excellent teacher. She did not graduate from a College of Education; instead she obtained a teaching certificate when she realized her first degree choice (social work) was a scam.

NOT NEARLY ENOUGH: What do immigrants owe us?

RANDOM THOUGHT: Is being a dimwit a cause or result of Democratic Socialism?

VICTOR DAVIS HANSON ON DEMOCRATS: Living with daily delusions and shrieking at Trump demons raging in their collective heads is no way to run a country.

THEY HAVEN'T RUINED EVERYTHING -- yet.

But they will if not stopped.

QUOTE OF THE WEEK: "To our enemies and those who mean to do us harm, you can run but you’ll only die tired."

"WE DON'T HAVE A POLITICAL VIOLENCE PROBLEM IN AMERICA. We have a Left-wing political violence problem in America."

The Left denies it, of course.

WHEN IS THEFT NOT THEFT? The New York Times is here to tell you.

I APPROVE THIS MESSAGE: There are many ways to provide public order if the state won’t.

In fact I've recommended them for years.

SUSAN VASS (FORMERLY AMMO GRRRLL) is back to tell us what we already know: All cats are basically Americans!

SPRING LEAVES 2026, Week 8 (+ 1 day): I took these photos on Saturday to make sure I'd have plenty of time to prepare them for posting yesterday, which is now today. Here's the final week of Spring Leaves 2026, starting with the usuals:

Everything is much greener now (although 'autocorrect' has enhanced it) as the leaves are filling out from their barely visible buds last week.

The trees across the road from our driveway have almost completely filled in and the iris beneath them are growing and flowering furiously.

All of the flowerbeds have come alive and are growing furiously, so much we can hardly keep up. Here are some.

Finally ... summer has begun.

FARSI IS NOT AN OPTION: Is it time to stop speaking 'English'?

Some history.

AMERICANS LOST the Virginia redistricting fight with stupid tactics — and we seem to be making the same mistake with Iran.

PRIVACY, FOR ME PERSONALLY: The thing I'll miss the most (when the data centers come to town).

And more generally, heritage, the lifestyles, traditions, achievements, beliefs, etc., that are part of the history of those of us who have lived rurally or in small towns across the nation, many for generations.

WHOSE STUFF IS IT, ANYWAY? John Deere to pay $99 million in monumental right-to-repair settlement.

Now do cars. It's not your car without ‘the digital tools required for the maintenance, diagnosis, and repair’ it. Even if you pay cash, it's only leased.

I may never use them personally, but I'd sure like to have them available so I (or my mechanic) can turn off or disable all the health, safety, and 'let us help you drive' software that pollutes my driving experience.

FROM THE SHADOW'S WORLD WAYBACK MACHINE (June 19, 2020): So much has NOT changed....

Remember this?

And this?

A nation of equal poverty.

In only six (6!) years, technology has made great strides. Culturally and spiritually, however, we've regressed.

THEN 'SHE' iS SAFE: Transgender Rep. Sarah McBride [D-DE] claims Trump ‘only fires women’.

EAST VILLAGERS are regretting their overwhelming vote for Zohran Mamdani.

They believe they voted for him to f*ck up other people's back yards. That's how communism is supposed to work....

JUST DO IT -- IT'S BRILLIANT! Here’s how Trump can nuke Virginia’s new gerrymandered map.

I lived there long enough to know what a fetid swamp northern Virginia is. Give it back to the DC swamp creatures.

And confine it there; Another forty miles of border wall would be a nice addition....

IT HAS BEFORE: Democrats fear this 'October Surprise' will cost them the Senate in the mid-term elections.

But it's a double-edged sword; the Republicans have lost as well.

SPEEDING TO A DEGREE: Does a college credential signify ... anything?

As a now-retired engineering PhD, except in very narrow instances, the answer is "NOT REALLY". At the Bachelor's degree level, it probably won't hurt. Master's degree, only if you're seeking particular (usually STEM skills) training. And I can think of only three reasons to get a PhD, the first being that it's a box to check to get thatjob you really want (college professor, for example); the second is just for the hell of it (to prove to yourself that you can do it). The latter was my reason. The third -- and worst -- is the 'Dr. Jill' reason: I wanna be called 'Doctor'.

Post-PhD I spent the remainder (~25 years) of my working life in engineering and rarely, if ever, had to call on that added expertise of a PhD. And I must note that the two years spent not truly employed cost me roughly $80,000 in lost income (not including tuition and fees) over that 25-year working lifetime. In 1980 dollars. I don't even want to think of what that would be in 2026 dollars.

WHITE COATS AND IRON LUNGS: It's long, but of particular interest to me since I had polio the year before the Salk vaccine was released (in 1954).

The post isn't so much about polio, it's more about technology, moral capital, earned trust, assumed authority, and its misuse by our 'expert' class.

That said, read it all. Trust me, it's worth serious thought.

COGNITIVE ATROPHY IS A THING: Concern grows that Artifical Iintelligence is damaging users’ cognitive abilities. That strikes me as a pretty common sense observation which I've noted a number of times recently.

WHAT HAPPENED to the 11 scientists and employees who worked for NASA or were involved in nuclear research?

My theory is that they are all extraterrestrials (ETs) who have given up on Planet Earth, decided to shed their human skinsuits, and go home.

MORE EVIDENCE OF LEFTIST HYPOCRISY (IF NEEDED): Tom Steyer just secured the most hypocritical endorsement of the California governor's race. Billionaires are fine, as long as they're our billionaires....

Remember when Sen. Bernie Sanders [I-VT] hated millionaires -- until he became one?

IS RICO ACT SCRUTINY NEEDED FOR ACT BLUE? Here are two reasons why it is.

WE NOW HAVE PROOF. The IRGC blocks Iran's President and seizes control of state functions.

It's time to follow LeMay's Law and kill the Revolutionary Guard extremists until they stop. If it means all of them, then so be it.

SUNDAY SMILES: Here's the first:

And when you go to see the rest, read the rant about Mamdani's grocery stores on the way.

JUSTICE KETANJI BROWN JACKSON is distinguishing herself on the U.S. Supreme Court — and not in a positive way. "It’s as though she’s positioned on an island defined by woke ideology, racial justice, and equity, while the other eight justices remain on the mainland of restraint."

Read the whole thing.

IT WOULD BE GREAT: Are we seeing the makings of an Iranian civil war?

SUPREME COURT CHIEF JUSTICE JOHN ROBERTS urged to call in the FBI after second Supreme Court leak emerges.

It's waaayy past time for Justice Roberts to listen to himself: "[J]udges are like umpires. Umpires don't make the rules. They apply them... Nobody ever went to a ballgame to see the umpire." Then make sure the prosecution enforces them. To the maximum.

HOPEFULLY A SOON-TO-BE FORMER SENATOR: John Ossoff is running on California cash, not Georgia support.

NOT COUNTING STATE AND LOCAL MISUSE, Federal waste and fraud costs every U.S. household at least $140K or more over your lifetime.

I THINK THE MIDDLE EAST is about to have a new parking lot soon. Called Iran.

After all the rubble has been cleared away....

ALL SIGNS point to Gracie Mansion for the NY Mets April losing season.

Heh.

YOU SHOULD BE SURPRISED: At least 350,000 dead people currently listed on voter rolls across those jurisdictions as active voters.

And that's just from the 22 states/jurisdictions that have responded to the DOJ's demand for voter registration rolls.

But I suspect you won't be....

GUESS WHICH ONE: A union that shouldn't even exist spends more on political contributions in Washington than the entire technology industry.

MATH IS HARD; expecially if you're a Democrat.

For those of you who squeal in pain whenever Republicans mention Social Security, look up my posts on the subject. Warning: I can do math....

WHY WOKENESS is so hard to kill.

Linked from Instapundit.

WHAT A LOAD OF CRAP: Starmer and Macron hold UK-France summit on Strait of Hormuz without the U.S..

They envision a post-conflict naval mission made up of Britain, France and other "non-belligerent" countries that would deploy only after fighting ends. Unlike President Donald Trump’s current strategy of blockading Iranian ports with U.S. naval power, the Anglo-French initiative is intended to be separate from the warring parties and focused on restoring commercial shipping.

So ... they want the U.S. to defeat Iran, clear the mines, reopen the Strait to all marine traffic, and then they'll -- do what?

Congratulate themselves for doing nothing useful? They're all talk, no action, except to keep themselves in the news.

FROM POWERLINE'S Week in Pictures. There were many Swalwell cartoons and perhaps too many Trump-as-Pope cartoons, but my favorite remains:

Now go see the rest.

OLD:TAX THE RICH. NEW: THE RICH LEAVE.

I live in a (relatively) low tax state, am okay but not rich, can't easily leave, still pay too damn much, and don't want to pay more because those who can leave, do leave.

THE REAL GAVIN NEWSOM; also the real Democrat party.

Linked from Instapundit.

KILLJOYS: California Coastal Commission nixes Long Beach 4th of July fireworks.

Is the Coastal Commission worried about the water, or do they just want to thumb their nose at the president and patriots everywhere? You decide.

One last thought: the west coast is nothing more than blue states of misery.

CALIFORNIA TO TAX BILLIONAIRES? Minnesota responds: Hold our beer!

[Minnesota] Government has largely become a quasi-criminal enterprise through which public employees steal money from the rest of us. Estimates vary, but every economic analysis I have seen places public employee compensation somewhere between 1.5 and two times compensation in comparable employment in the private sector. Legislatures exist largely to line the pockets of already-privileged government employees.

Are there any billionaires left in Minnesota?

DEMOCRATS JUST GOT ONE STEP CLOSER to seizing presidential elections. Newly elected Gov. Abagail Spanberger signed the state onto the National Popular Vote Interatate Compact.

[Update] Two steps closer, as apparently Virginia voters approved Democrat gerrymandering just in time for the mid-term and 2028 elections.

ENDORSED: Sony Pictures boss Tom Rothman urges theater owners to stop having 30 minutes of trailers.

In other words, don't follow television. Their price is higher in terms of ads (trailers) and their product is worthless.

It sometimes seems like television is owned by the Ad Council -- constant ads interspersed with tiny bits of news and 'entertainment'.

And the ads suck....

TRUTH: "Feminization equals wokeness."

GOVERNMENT-AIDED HOSTAGE TAKING: Google is quietly censoring pro-gun websites — and it's working.

DON SURBER'S SUBSTACK: Even Reddy Kilowatt is leaving blue states.

WHEELS (SPINNING) ON THE MARXIST BUS: Obama And Mamdani meet using toddlers as props.

Mentally they're (pre)toddlers themselves.

MONDAY NIGHT FROM SARAH HOYT: The right to keep and bear memes shall not be infringed.

Go see the memes.

I THINK THE PERCENTAGE IS WAY LOW: 90% of social science research leans left.

To reprise an old Moral Majority bumper sticker: 'SOCIAL SCIENCE IS NEITHER'.

MAMDANI YET AGAIN: NYC Mayor Mamdani admits city-owned grocery stores have limited ability to lower prices on many items.

Without subsidies your tax dollars, that is.

MAMDANI ANNOUNCES his plan to destroy NYC's bodegas will take effect next year.

And it will fail quickly, just as all his other 'free stuff' plans have so far....

COULD A SOMALILAND BASE emerge as US foothold against Iran, Houthis in key sea lanes?

The Republic of Somalia (Somilialand) is NOT Somalia; it is a partially recognised (by Israel) state in the Horn of Africa located on the southern coast of the Gulf of Aden and bordered by Djibouti to the northwest, Ethiopia to the south and west, and Somalia to the east.

CHINA MUST BE SMILING watching America’s pundit imbeciles.

Linked from Instapundit.

WE WON'T COMPROMISE: In-N-Out CEO says no to delivery and East Coast expansion.

Well, In-N-Out moved its HQ to Tennessee in 2025, so maybe Lynsi Snyder-Ellingson (its CEO) will be kind and put an In-N-Out near me in northwest Georgia. It's been (more than) a few years but I believe Lynsi was in the same high school in Lancaster CA as my daughter when we lived there.

BY ALL MEANS let the war crimes trials begin!

Gen. Curtis LeMay smiles....

In his 1965 autobiography ... LeMay is quoted as saying his response to North Vietnam would be to demand that "they've got to draw in their horns and stop their aggression, or we're going to bomb them back into the Stone Age. And we would shove them back into the Stone Age with Air power or Naval power—not with ground forces." ... Later, in a Washington Post interview LeMay said that "I never said we should bomb them back to the Stone Age. I said we had the capability to do it. I want to save lives on both sides."

He was right then, and PresidentTrump should follow his footsteps.

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

Now go see the rest.

SPRING LEAVES 2026, Week 7 (+ 1 day): It seems like every cycle I miss at least one Sunday, so if nothing else I'm consistent. Everything else has bloomed and growing nicely, and finally -- finally -- the trees are showing actual leaves, so this will be a short post. Herewith are the usuals: pond, fire pit, and trees across the street.

The pond is looking good. The trees on the other side are now beginning to photograph as greening, and the ground cover (brush) on our side is finally poking through the leaves. The same is true around the fire pit; the grass in the yard is finally growing thicker and the plants along the walkway are doing well. All along the street the trees are now robustly showing leaves

And finally the homestead has begun to show its summer colors.

Next week will be the last of this year's Spring Leaves series. Until then....

A BIT LATE, BUT -- TAX EXTENSION FILERS BEWARE: Payments are were still due to the IRS by April 15.

Just another instance of the government taking your paycheck, spending whatever they want and 'giving you back' whatever's left over (or billing you if you didn't earn eneough).

THE REAL DANGER ISN’T DUMB PEOPLE — It’s smart people without wisdom.

MMIWG2SLGBTQQIA+ Never mind the letters & numbers. What does the + stand for?

RANDOM THOUGHT: Progressives are ruining America.

GOD AND MAN AT THE OBAMA LIBRARY: Pope Leo XIV meets with Obama surrogate.

Looks like Obama's planning to compete with Stacy Abrams for President of United Earth.

AMERICANS ARE DONE with feckless, useless, and weak fake allies.

NEIL DEGRASSE TYSON AND BILL NYE never put a damn thing into orbit besides their own egos.

Read the comments. They're not kind.

THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION kills the most annoying car feature Obama forced on drivers.

Now turn off all the remaining health & safety beeps/warnings/lights on my wife's new Subaru and I might actually drive it....

NATO IS IN FAR BIGGER DANGER THAN ANYONE REALIZES. And the reason has nothing to do with defense budgets.

NEW POLL: Generation Z is thinking that AI isn't all it's cracked up to be.

They're learning what those of us with engineering backgrounds learned long ago: "To err is human; to really fuck things up requires a computer."

RANDOM THOUGHT: Democrats manage problems; Republicans solve them.

NEW RULES, swank continental edition.

CREATING A PERMANENT UNDERCLASS of reliable Democrat voters is what Democrats do best.

IT'S (ALMOST) TOO LATE: The greatest threat to American prosperity will come from Washington’s inability to control its own spending.

DONALD TRUMP channels Bugs Bunny; the Iranian Regime hardest hit.

WOKE -- The definition of decadence.

NYC MAYOR MAMDANI launches $70M government grocery store plan.

Now explain how your government is going to pay for it. With other peoples' taxes?

STATES PUSH AGGRESSIVE TAX PROPOSALs as voters push back on tax burdens.

Maybe, just maybe, the states should focus on cutting spending.

IF I WANT YOUR OPINION, I'll give it to you.

And you won't like it....

WHAT CEASEFIRE? Iranians threaten to attack American Navy ships that enter the Strait of Hormuz.

OOPS: US Navy warships cross Strait of Hormuz for the first time.

Update: Mine clearing begins.

MASTERS COVERAGE RUINED BY ESPN, which defiled Augusta National golf tournament.

Morons. And that's being generous.

THE WEEK IN PICTURES: No Queens edition. My personal favorite:

But there are many, many good ones this week -- the very first Tim Walz cartoon sets the stage for all the rest. Go see them all.

MICHAEL MOORE: Still dumber than a box of rocks.

RANDOM THOUGHT: Even the news networks I (used to) trust are now trolling for (moron) clicks.

GOODBYE AND GOOD RIDDANCE: Mr. Kiss Kiss Fang Fang crashes.

ONLY DOCUMENTED CANS accepted.

Read the comments. My favorite: "ALL CANS ARE LEGAL ON STOLEN LAND!!!"

WHO'S READY for Flintstonistan?

COLORADO SPRINGS MAN sentenced for hate crime hoax that probably flipped the city's mayoral race.

They're just barely above killing people to win. And I'm not sure about 'barely'....

2026: A MICROSOFT ODYSSEY:

Which explains why I hate Microsoft's Windows 11.

KETANJI BROWN JACKSON is not the idiot you think she is.

She's worse. Much worse. I hope for a future impeachment.

THE IRAN CEASEFIRE TALKS have imploded.

Coming soon -- The Middle East gets a new parking lot....

SPRING LEAVES 2026, Week Six: There's been a bit of change this week, since it's clearly warming. Let's start with the usuals, the pond and fire pit views:

Unlike the view last week taken from beyond our 'yard' the ground is still mostly bare but the trees are beginning to bud out. Like last week, the view this week is from my usual side.

Around the barn, the flowers are coming along nicely, but the grass is still being lazy.

From north to south along our road the flowers are coming along nicely. We're beginning to clean out weeds from the flowerbeds -- it's taking a few more days, and lots more mulch than anticipated.

Here's a view of a 'finished' flowerbed along the carport.

Until next week....

Update: I forgot this picture

of our dogwood tree. They're just past peak bloom and fading fast into summer leaves.

ON EASTER, NO LESS: The European mind can't comprehend why we're such bad asses.

To quote the last sentence: "Is it any wonder they're so damn good?"

ON WINNING without fighting.

Practice, practice, practice....

PAYBACK: If this is terrorism....

Courtesy of Instapundit.

AMERICA HAS A SIGNIFICANT MORON PROBLEM. Our own ruling class desperately wants to lose this war.

POSTPONED FOR (MAYBE) TWO WEEKS: Throw Iran to the wolves.

CARVILLE GLOATS that Democrats will go after Trump's 'stupid jacka-- kids and their spouses' after midterms.

No wonder Carville's been retired by the Dimocrats (not misspelled).

EUROPE needs to hear this harsh truth.

DROP SITE NEWS CONTRIBUTOR calls for 'wiping out Israel' in Instagram post.

Change 'Israel' to 'Islamists' and I could agree....

IRANIAN WOMAN CONFRONTS ANTI-WAR PROTESTER — with a stunning result.

BETTER LATE THAN NEVER: We're halfway there. And on our way home.

ABOUT TIME: Secretary of War Pete Hegseth cuts Ivy League ties in military education shake-up.

Good: Hillsdale College is on Hegseth's approved list for military education.

THE RESPONSE to the Democrats' 'No Kings' protest rally was fantastic.

Linked from Townhall.

SPRING LEAVES 2026, Week Five: Here's the pond, taken from a slightly different view this year.

Everything is pretty much the same as last week. The deciduous trees are still bare, but beginning to bud, just not yet visible in the picture.

Again, a slightly different view of the fire pit. The chairs are back up now that the winds are quieter, the grass is greener, and the plants along the walkway are back and growing.

And the dogwood trees are now blooming. Here's our one nearest the house. This picture was taken yesterday and it's even fuller of blossoms today. We have others scattered through the property and all are in bloom.

Here are the flowers along the fence borders north and south. All the plants are growing and even the roses are beginning to show signs of blooming.

Finally a quick view of the trees downhill and the flowers growing alongside the carport. Until next week then.