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?