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.

RANDOM THOUGHT: Progressive Democrats and Islamist Muslims are cut from opposides of the same cloth.

TALK ABOUT STEPPING IN IT. David French says Trump is the worst free-speech President of his lifetime.

He hasn't lived very long has he? French should go back to kindergarten and start over.

SOME OF THESE NOVEMBER PREVIEWS ARE SURPRISINGLY FUN: Jon Ossoff’s ID hypocrisy was begging for mockery and Mike Collins delivered.

Mike Collins just won my vote for Georgia's next Senator.

THANK HEAVEN FOR SMALL FAVORS: Democrats in decline.

DOES THE NEW YORK TIMES know what NATO stands for?

Linked from Instapundit.

'NO KINGS’ PROTESTERS are dumber than you think.

Impossible. They can't be dumber than I think....

CEO OF WORLD'S LARGEST BANK has some harsh reality for blue states: Population exodus is your own fault.

Is fly-over country about to become fly-to country?

EVEN DEMOCRATS. EVEN SOME MICHIGAN DEMOCRATS: Michigan State Representative Karen Whitsett says faith drove her from the Democratic Party. "I’m not a co-signer of crazy."

REALLY? You don't think there's a plan?

CLEANING UP AMERICA'S BEACHES: Cops turn beach bash into a perp parade.

KURT SCHLICHTER: The victory option.

WOULDN’T IT BE NICE if New York City were as clean and well-run as San Salvador?

YES, IT'S FROM AMERICA'S NEWS OF RECORD: Tiger Woods awarded honorary California CDL.

Linked from Instapundit.

EXALT THE CRIMINAL, ignore the innocent. As noted by the author, "Democrats are sick people."

A BIT LATE, DON'CHA THINK? Federal judge halts White House ballroom project after ruling Trump lacks authority.

AFTER A DECADE, San Francisco discovers that teaching mathematics is key in ensuring students learn mathematics.

Lazarus Long responds: "Anyone who cannot cope with mathematics is not fully human. At best he is a tolerable sub-human who has learned to wear shoes, bathe, and not make messes in the house."

Which describes most Democrats....

LIBERALISM is a mental illness.

Hat tip TO Instapundit.

DEMOCRAT VIRGINIA GOVERNOR ABIGAIL SPANBERGER blames ICE as repeat offender kept getting released.

PROBABLY FOR THE BEST: OpenAI “indefinitely” shelves plans for erotic ChatGPT.

Then again, maybe not. It might keep the nutcases off the streets until our mental institutions can be rebuilt....

LIBERAL MINDSET IN A NUTSHELL: "The higher your educational attainment and the more shiny your credentials, the more likely you are to be a radical totalitarian with a love for technocracy."

PEOPLE LIKE MARKWAYNE MULLIN built this country. People like Jimmy Kimmel don't deserve to live in this country. An outhouse is too good for his kind.

GIVEN THE LEVEL OF HUMAN STUPIDITY EVIDENT TODAY I don't think it's possible to overestimate AI's ability to think like humans.

GOODBYE:

Our country is already great; go home and work on yours.

RANDOM THOUGHT: Anything said, written, or posted by a certified-by-the-mainstream-media 'expert' is almost certainly wrong.

I'm reminded by the wisdom of Lazarus Long: "Always listen to experts. They’ll tell you what can’t be done and why. Then do it!"

INTERNATIONAL ACTORS are involved in the State Department led color revolution.

Data Republican's Twitter post is here. You'll need a speaker to listen to the last part of her post.

THE BLOWS JUST KEEP COMING for residents of Washington state.

MY FAVORITE from Powerline's Week in Pictures says it all:

Now go see the rest.

I KNEW THIS YEARS AGO. Apple co-founder warns 'you are owned' by big technology.

I bought a new Windows 11 based computer a few months ago and use it sparingly (because my old Windows 7 computer still mostly works) until I can remove copilot, auto-update, and all the cloud-based features on Windows 11.

Assuming that's even possible.

HEH: The Democrats problem with young white men.

OK, now do the Obama library.

THEY'RE TOO STUPID TO PANIC: Democrats should be panicking about this.

[VIP] I'M ALREADY HELPING -- and increasing my assistence -- daily. Bourbon waste may power the future, and I'm happy to help.

LAUGHTER IS THE BEST MEDICINE: Democrats narrative crumbles as ICE agents deliver perfect response to unhinged person in airport.

Click on both videos.

PJ MEDIA'S KEVIN DOWNEY JR. celebrates yesterday's 'No Kings' rallys. Click on all the picture links.

SPRING LEAVES 2026, Week Four: We begin again with the two usuals, the pond and fire pit views:

There's still not a lot of difference from last week. A little bit of growth on the ground and the trees are just beginning to bud if you're close enough to see, but nothing yet in the photographs.

It's difficult to see in this picture but one dogwood on the south side of our house has just begun to bloom. Next week maybe we'll see actual blossoms from both dogwoods. Unfortunately that side of the house doesn't get much sun so the dogwoods can't really grow grow and the steepness of the terrain makes it difficult to take out the small stuff that interferes with their sun.

Looking across the valley where our creek runs, you can actually see the trees on the other side. That won't last as the forest fills out.

Here's the other side of our abode along the road. It's looking pretty good - all the plants and flowers are growing nicely, although the roses have still yet to begin flowering.

Finally across the road from our house, the trees are still bare. No obvious budding out yet. Until next week, then.

YOUR FIELD GUIDE to observing the seasonal 'No Kings' display.

Enjoy the astroturf you paid for with your (stolen) tax dollars....

IF YOU THINK DEMOCRATS CARE ABOUT YOU, you’re an idiot.

I'll be generous and go with moron.

IT PAYS TO BE EXTRA-SKEPTICAL of anything published in medical journals — particularly when it involves firearms.

It pays to be extra-skeptical of any mainstream news (or advertising) source....

DEMOCRATS: Elect us, we're miserable too.

KURT SCHLICHTER: No, MAGA is not falling apart.

POVERTY TOURISM: Poverty is good for little people.

Like Cuba....

WELL, THEY'RE GOOD AT PLAYING TRAUMA VICTIMS: Are you ready for the Democrats’ 2028 Presidential Childhood Trauma Olympics?

In a 1960s interview, John Wayne said, “Ten or 15 years ago audiences went to pictures to see men behaving like men… today there are too many neurotic roles.”

Now that's how Democrats audition for the role of The Most Powerful Man in the World.

Linked from Instapundit.

CONFIRMED: Another one gets a dirt nap.

FIVE DAYS AND $19 LATER: "For shits and giggles, I decided to see just how hard it would be to replace my birth certificate, Social Security card, AND my marriage license, since Democrats think women are too stupid to figure it out."

The Patriot Post agrees.

I LIKE ELON MUSK but as a former Austinite, moving facilities there is a bad call.

On the bright side, however, Lockheed Martin's old Austin facility may still be available....

ISRAELI ENVOY: Iranians likely to overthrow regime.

One can must hope.

ALEXANDRIA OCASIO-CORTEZ spent $19K on ketamine-linked psychiatrist.

According to my web sources, at lower doses ketamine is used as a treatment for pain and treatment-resistant depression. It is not used to treat stupidity....

REPUBLICANS PUT SENATE on the record in vote on biological men in womens' sports.

Read the record -- and weep for America.

SEN. JOHN KENNEDY [R-LA] goes full beast mode on cowardly colleague.

CROWN PRINCE PAHLAVI: Iran is not the Islamic Republic.

BREAKING: Senate votes for Markwayne Mullin for DHS Secretary.

I agree with Sarah Anderson (the author) on this one: you do need a college (preferably Ivy League) degree to be a Congressional idiot.

UGLY, CHEAP, AND DEADLY: The A-10 proves itself again over the Red Sea.

ENGINEERING is magic (to those who can't do math).

YEAH, RIGHT: Something is screwy is going on in the Georgia election fraud investigation.

It's called Fulton county.

I GUESS CAMERAS are now racist.

Linked from Instapundit here.

DEPENDS ON THE SIZE OF THE CUP: Scientistes may have found the ideal amount of coffee to lower stress.

Fun comments here.

MAMDANI'S LATEST PROPOSAL: Stripping the dying of their assets.

That'll certainly hasten NYC's devolution into a third-rate township in rural New York....

THE MORE THINGS CHANGE

the more they stay the same.

COMMON SENSE? FROM NEW YORK? Oops, that climate law was a mistake...

Yes. Yes, it was. So is taxing millionaires and billionaires....

THE DEMOCRATS' HIVE MIND has received today's message: ICE may "brutalize or in some instances, kill" people at airports...

Starting Monday.

I GUESS I'M 'PRE-CLASSIC': The day we become classics.

CHARLES DARWIN RETURNS: Progressive crackpots vs. environmental wackos.

theory of evolution in In his book 'On the Origin of Species' in 1859, Darwin theorized that the hardier species evolved while those less hardy disappeared. With the advent of modern medicine, those lesser species have evolved into 'progressive crackpots' and 'evvironmental wackos'.

I don't have a humane solution other than perhaps to not let them vote....

MR. PRESIDENT: Change the name of the Department of Homeland Security to the (no longer used) Department of Defense and dare the Democrats to defund it.

Something I suggested earlier.

IT GOES FOR THE USA, TOO.

THE DEMOCRATS are locked in a Möbius loop of crazy.

THE ULTIMATE ONLINE PRIVACY POLICY:

You have none. Linked from here. There are more; go see the rest.

More memes in the comments here.