Bullet Points:
** Note to Tim Kaine: We don’t know about you, but our moms wouldn’t let us get away with that excuse when we were six years old.
** Jules split for Split. This is her account. Koala! (Hvala) She drank chicken wine (Pileće vino) without the chicken. How do you manage that? She claimed to have visited Dalmatia but didn’t see a spotted fire engine dog (Dalmatinski pas). How do you know that it’s really Dalmatia?
** Admiral Stavridis (ret) said that the seizure of the tanker is “unquestionably legal” and part of economic pressure: “We are in the mode of enforcing a blockade… putting economic pressure on Iran… by choking back their oil… not unlike what happened in the United States during the Civil War with plan Anaconda.” – precedent.
** A Frenchman regrets going to Florida (more here)
** Netflix didn’t renew its deals with Barack and Big Mike Obama. Meghan Markle was also canceled. “𝘞𝘦’𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘢 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘤𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘢 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘧𝘶𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘢 𝘣𝘶𝘯𝘤𝘩 𝘰𝘧 𝘥𝘪𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘴𝘵𝘶𝘥𝘪𝘰𝘴.” — 𝘉𝘢𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘖𝘣𝘢𝘮𝘢
The Obamas’ “Higher Ground Productions” is going independent after their Netflix deal expires later this year. They’re now shopping projects to HBO, Apple, and other studios — because Netflix apparently decided eight years of Obama content was enough. This comes alongside Netflix also parting ways with 𝐌𝐞𝐠𝐡𝐚𝐧 𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐤𝐥𝐞 — another vanity deal that produced more headlines than viewers.
The pattern is clear: Netflix offered massive deals to politically connected celebrities, thinking the brand name alone would drive subscriber growth. It didn’t. Obama’s slate included documentaries, children’s shows, and “inspirational” content that generated awards buzz but 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩 𝐧𝐮𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫𝐬 Netflix needs. It appears that having the former First Mate reading stories to children was even too creepy for Netflix, which would sacrifice a cat on live television if it meant an extra ‘click’.
** Canadian PM Carney’s answer to U.S. tariffs? Fly to Beijing and open Canada up to Chinese electric cars. Sec. Lutnick’s response: “Does he think the Chinese economy is going to buy his stuff? China is 𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐲 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭-𝐝𝐫𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐧—they’re not buying Canadian goods. They’re selling. Canada exports 75% of its goods to the United States. Carney’s plan is to antagonize the country that keeps Canada’s economy alive and replace it with one that wants to flood Canada with cheap imports. Canada’s food inflation remained the worst in the G7 in March, as overall inflation recorded the biggest one-month jump in 13 months. Canadians can’t solely blame global factors when Canada’s food prices are rising faster than all other G7 countries, which face the same factors. The Carney Liberals’ money-printing deficits and high taxes have inflated everything and helped give Canada the worst household debt, the worst housing costs, and the worst food inflation in the G7. It will be worse for them when Alberta and Saskatchewan leave and form their own nation.
** Fresh horses and whiskey for my men!
** Australia has decided to retire its fleet of C-27J Spartans after just over a decade in service, marking an early exit. The decision is part of the country’s updated defense strategy, which shifts focus toward long-range capabilities and more flexible logistics solutions, including the potential use of commercial aircraft for regional transport. The C-27J was originally intended to fill the gap between helicopters and larger transport aircraft, supporting missions in remote and austere environments across the Indo-Pacific.
** Attitude (right)
** Physical gold is moving from London to New York. Copper pricing is migrating from the London Metal Exchange to American markets. Trump busted Lloyd’s of London’s shipping insurance monopoly by offering U.S.-backed insurance on Strait of Hormuz traffic. And Treasury Secretary Bessent sat down with Britain’s Chancellor and delivered a warning about “economic fury” against anyone supporting Iran’s terrorist activities. The London Defense Conference—once attended by dozens of U.S. officials—drew one US Congressman this year. Trump posted denunciations of NATO, called them a paper tiger, and told Europe, “I told them to stay away” from the Gulf. The empire’s last diplomatic card is the King’s visit – not to negotiate but to eulogize.
** White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt announced this morning that Senator Mark Kelly’s security clearance has been revoked “at every level.” That means he will no longer receive a daily briefing as a member of the Senate National Security Committee, nor will he have access to any of the classified plans and designs associated with the role. Senate Majority Leader John Thune says he’ll replace Kelly by the end of the month if Kelly doesn’t step down on his own.
***
Commercial Driver’s Licenses
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy just laid out the shocking fraud uncovered in New York’s commercial driver’s license program. “We audited New York and 53% of the licenses, commercial driver’s licenses issued to foreigners. 53% were issued illegally contrary to our rules,” Duffy said.
The Trump administration gave New York four months to fix it. “We gave New York four months to say, hey, what we want you to do is just go back in and audit all these licenses that you’ve given, and if you’ve given them contrary to the rules, we’ll revoke that license.”
New York refused. “In essence, New York said go pound sand, DOT,” Duffy stated. “So we had no choice but to pull funding — and if they still refuse, we can pull their ability to issue commercial driver licenses.” Duffy emphasized the national danger and the America First response: “There are countless Americans who want to drive trucks. These are great jobs. They support families. Instead, we have illegals or foreigners getting these jobs, hurting the American people. We will not tolerate it at DOT. President Trump said no more.”
***
Woke Montana
Montana and Wyoming have different demographics, to say the least. The Montana Supreme Court ruled 5-2 that “transgender” persons can amend their birth certificates and change their driver’s licenses to match their chosen “gender identities.” The majority overruled biological reality, writing that “Transgender discrimination is, by its very nature, sex discrimination.” The two dissenting justices noted that the Supreme Court has already ruled that “one’s gender identity choice does not constitute a protected class that establishes a basis for a sex discrimination claim,” and that the majority was ordering the state to issue “falsified legal documents.” I’ve heard from a number of people that Montana has undergone “Californication.” It’s even discussed in the TV series, Yellowstone.
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School Choice
The Supreme Court has agreed to hear a Catholic parish’s challenge to Colorado barring its schools from a state program that pays for families to send their children to the preschool of their choice, public or private. Funny how Democrats claim to be pro-choice, but only if you make the choices they want you to make.
Why Democrats Love Maduro
Viva! A political firestorm has erupted in Washington as explosive allegations surface tying dozens of Democrat U.S. Senators to millions in bribes funneled from Nicolás Maduro’s regime and its associated drug trafficking networks. The so-called “Venezuela List,” reportedly drawn from testimony and documents linked to former Venezuelan intelligence chief Hugo Carvajal, claims that these Democrat senators accepted illicit payments in exchange for undermining President Donald Trump’s aggressive crackdown on Venezuelan narcoterrorism and the deadly flow of drugs into American communities. Supporters of the President see this as vindication of his long-standing warnings about deep-state resistance and foreign influence peddling that have plagued efforts to secure the border and combat the fentanyl crisis.
THE VENEZUELA LIST: DEMOCRAT SENATORS ON THE TAKE
Here is the full list of Democrat U.S. Senators named in the explosive “Venezuela List” allegations:
The allegations paint a disturbing picture of Democrat senators “on the take,” using their positions to slow walk sanctions, block military options against Maduro’s narco regime, and protect the very networks flooding U.S. streets with poison. President Trump, who has made dismantling these cartels and restoring American sovereignty a cornerstone of his agenda, has long faced opposition from establishment Democrats in Congress. If proven, this scandal would expose how foreign adversaries exploit weak-kneed politicians to sabotage policies that put America First. Trump allies argue the timing, amid renewed focus on Venezuela, highlights why bold leadership is essential to drain the swamp and hold accountable those who prioritize personal gain over national security.
As calls grow for full transparency, investigations, and prosecutions, the “Venezuela List” serves as a stark reminder of the corruption that President Trump has fought to eradicate since his first term. Patriots demand answers: Which Democrats profited while Americans suffered from open borders and record overdoses? The documents and full roster now circulating demand immediate congressional action and independent probes. Under Trump’s leadership, such betrayals will not go unchecked. America is watching, and real accountability may finally be on the horizon.
Ripping the Band-Aid from the Narrative
Identify the Ship
1
Nostalgia from the day when the UK had a navy.
2
The ensign on the jackstaff is a hint. Then there’s the hull number.
Identify the Aircraft
3
Hint: Export Aircraft
4
5
Parting Shot
h/t Frank
End
1 is HMS Newfoundland
RAAF Spartans –
A couple of active duty people I know are in the squadron that flies the Spartans. Have not seen them lately but should on Anzac Day this coming Saturday. Will see if I can get an opinion.
That would be interesting.
Born, bred, and raised in Miami ~ I have never heard a more succinct description of Miami / Florida in my life. And Cletus; the final boss of humanity? I’m dyin!
It took a foreigner to define what everyone has known all along.
The 15% of what he said that I could understand was accurate. and funny!
Wonder if the “frenchman” has spent much time in Paris? That’s one of the places in France I avoid and have avoided like the plague.
The Paris and London of today are not what they were 40 years ago. There are fewer Qataris in Qatar than there are in London and Paris (for example).
When you look at a world map or globe, and pay attention to the lines, you can see that Gainesville is south of Tel-Aviv. And Miami is 200 miles south of Gainesville. So, yeah, crazy from the heat and humidity.
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Seriously, there are days during the summer where the sun is NORTH of me. NOOORRTTHH of me. I live on a giant oak hammock that gets little cooling breezes during the summer and way too cold winds a-blowing during the winter. And the weather is far more insane than in Italy or Spain. To expect Mijami to be sane is beyond comprehension.
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This state, especially south of Orlando, is literally Mal-Aria. Bad Air. Mosquitoes, rotting peat bogs, fish kills and even worse, the over-bearing stench of tanning lotions and bad mixed-drinks.
Identify the Ship
1 – HMNZS Royalist – Originally the HMS Royalist before being transferred to the Royal New Zealand Navy
2 – HMCS Quebec – Originally the HMS Uganda before being transferred to the Royal Canadian Navy
Identify the Aircraft
3 – Curtiss O2C-1
4 – Fiat CR.32
5 – Finnish Air Force VL Tuisku
No on #3. It was a tough one. Surly didn’t get it either. Answer below.
I’m not100% against paying for TV shows, and we Did have Netflix for a while, it lapsed and then the Obama’s made that deal and I have not even considered paying for anything from them since. I’m not paying for Disney stuff either.
I’m sure they are both deeply wounded by my attitude.
Because I live remotely and Amazon delivers, I have Prime. I also get my MLB feed through Prime rather than through Disney/ESPN. I refuse to pay Disney anything. It’s something like $5.00 a month for baseball during baseball season.
Re Commercial Driver’s Licenses-
“We will not tolerate it at DOT. President Trump said no more”.
Good decision. No one should be tolerating the intolerable. The colonists didn’t in 1774, and we shouldn’t be doing it now.
There is still a lot of intolerable out there. Weeding the garden takes time.
Identify the Ship:
1. HMS Newfoundland
2. HMCS Quebec
Identify the Aircraft:
3. Avia BH-33 (a wild guess)
4. Fiat CR.32
5. VL Tuisku
#3 is a Blackburn Lincock III – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blackburn_Lincock
.
One was retained in Old Blighty, two were sold to China, and two were sold to Japan.
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An additional Lincock III was built in Italy under license and designated Piaggio P.11
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(as Surly knows) When I want to throw a knuckleball, Blackburn is my go-to.
Even an AI cannot conceive of the extent of the range of Blackburn aircraft.
AI depictions can be ugly, but nothing can be as ugly as so many of the British planes.
It took balls to get into them and launch them into the wild blue. Blackburn built some successful aircraft given the eras they flew in, but mostly, they built prototypes and short-run productions, which makes them fun to throw at those up for the challenge.
About Tim Kaine — as someone who has practices law in Virginia since 1986, Kaine was well-known to be a sleazy lawyer at an ambulance chasing firm. Not well liked. His rise to city council, mayor and then governor was surprising and discouraging, The Republican dominated legislature kept him line. As a senator, he has been nothing but a far-left tool. Virginia is lost and probably will not recover. My family has been in Virginia since Jamestown; I am leaving.
I’m watching things play out in Virginia. I’d leave too. I left California 7+ years ago for similar reasons, and I watched things go downhill since then. Sometimes MRSLL speaks of moving back or getting a place there (rather than visiting and staying with our kids, who have room for us to do that). I remind her that it costs AT LEAST 20% more to live there than in Arizona. I think it could be 25% more for the same life. Then we visit the kids, and she tells me that things have changed, and she likes Arizona.
Funny how that happens, the sleazy not smart bums somehow manage to get elected to congress. WTP must have some of the top idiots on the planet in Congress compared to decades past.
It’s almost like dark money and/or dark gods are behind the rise of these stupid bums and bumettes.
We here in Florida ‘lost’ yet another democrat congresscritter as she couldn’t fight being censured and kicked out due to stealing FEMA money to fund her election and lavish lifestyle. This isn’t new, just read up on the malfeasance of Corinne Brown, who had a whole voting district created for her (but dems never ever gerrymander, do they?) that goes from Jacksonville down to almost Orlando, and at one point is just one block wide as it skirts around a very old white settlement.
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Again, both dem females are almost as dumb and ignorant as Mad Maxine Waters. So how do they get elected? Dark Money and/or Dark gods.
It makes sense Hillary would choose Kaine as her running mate; birds of a feather and all.
Both are connivers, both are drunks, both are cunning in their circles. Neither has the slightest scruples.
kaine, you got that right. i watched him on richmond. his entire city counsel and several members of his crew served time for what went on under his reign. somehow he skated…..we’re searching wv daily for the right place. i have a guy that wants my place already, no brokers etc. i really, really, don’t want to move but see no choice.
I’m sorry RR. It’s a sad refrain for a lot of people (myself included) who become refugees from communism in our own land.
Thank you for the trip advisory. I wish the ones from the web (Trip Advisor) were similar. Very enjoyable.
It was a pleasure to be of assistance.
Another list, more allegations of corruption and as yet we have nothing to show for it. No indictments, no perp walks, no orange jumpsuits for the criminals at the top.
My name isn’t Thomas but how can I not have doubts this latest list will lead to actual prosecutions?
I’ll believe it when I see it.
I don’t know what level of proof they have at hand. The Venezuela List could be compelling if Maduro and friends testified before a grand jury and then in open court at the trial.
Didn’t Noriega testify in court listing those in the US he used to run drugs? That made a small splash as I remember and then back to business as usual.
He did, people went to prison, Panama was flushed out in terms of laundering for a short time. They were heavier into laundering than outright trafficking.
Thanks LL. I didn’t remember all the facts there. Hopefully, there is substance to the Venezuela List.
I wonder what level of proof is required by the IRS to just tax them vs criminal charges. Seems like a start to me.
The same IRS approach could be used on all the fraud at the state level with USG funds.
It seems like very few are punished for fraud.
Start by making it inconvenient and embarrassing.
They may have paid taxes on lucre. Having been in the law enforcement biz, I have seen people whose sole income came from criminal activity pay taxes and spend their money. Las Vegas escorts/prostitutes come to mind. I had an informant once who was a whore who earned a living in Vegas, paid taxes, had a mortgage (in Vegas, they’ll lend a hooker money legitimately because they know what the income is), and so forth. If the politicians took money, there are campaign income laws, but the money likely came from PACs, and the senators will say that they didn’t know where the PACs got the money. To be fair, they may not have known.
Will the level of proof rise up to the definition of Treason? Sure seems so. Giving aid and comfort to the direct enemy of the United States seems to fit the definition, but what do I know, as I’m the only person I know who’s ever gotten a ticket for pulling up in the fire lane to get money from an ATM (even worse, I was working for the local PD at the time and seen all of them do it, and yet nobody else seemed to or still seems to get away with it, dammit, and I am one of those people who can’t get away with anything. For Christ’s sake I failed my first polygraph over my name. Catholic guilt, it permeates everything…)
Mark Kelly can join Chris ‘Awesome’ Murphy at the treason wall…oh wait…Congress doesn’t hold them accountable anymore, that is except for Our Brilliantly Prepared and Fearless Press Secretary dressing these bums down (CNN tried to ‘catch her’ yesterday…didn’t work).
***
A lot to unpack today…suffice it to say our President and his Team are the smart adult ones in the room, the rest, even Carney in our Attic, are beyond help. So be it, let the chips fall where they may…as long as they don’t all come crying looking for a rescue handout bailout when their decisions begin to fail [more] miserably.
***
Ran the 70 miles to Bozeman yesterday, the closest Home Depot. Driving up main through town…nice town by the way…saw a group of leftover 70’s era folks with ‘Trump this’…Trump that’ signs on the sidewalk protesting…something or other. Almost yelled through the window, “And what is your solution when the Jihadists show up here?”…but refrained. Idiots do exist, often crying for help when their proclivities cause them harm. This baloney always starts in university towns (Boulder, Fort Collins, etc)…Bozeman has become that, yet…it is getting overbuilt which is the opposite to what one would expect from the envircowhack’s. The remainder of the state…like Colorado…still live the rural life with the inherent values. The safe space bubble living Bozeman goofballs are the micro minority…and everyone here knows it…even if the state court did generate some misplaced compassion weirdness for the ‘gender’ confused.
love the artwork
signature looks like the scrawl Kunitsuru might have used on his tab at a 鮨屋
The artwork almost looks like someone is using attitude to do flower arrangements…
I see a lot of veterans on the venezuela list unfortunaly. Seems they hide behind their service when they get caught.
Grok, my most often “go-to” for weird/unusual information debunks the “List”, but it uses snopes in one of its info web searches; I have found many (and yes! that’s “many”) times in the past that snopes is a left-leaning propaganda machine.
Fortunately, Grok, if challenged with specific citation(s), will change course and provide a more balanced result, but it does require specific references and hard, incontrovertible evidence.
Mark Kelly has an impressive resume – Combat pilot, astronaut, senator, but he’s a neo-Marxist at heart and a crook.
Boron, I think the list is legitimate, but the devil is in the details, and I don’t have those (see above). Likely, the money came through PACs, through CIT-Go Petroleum (Venezuelan-owned), and so forth, where there could be plausible deniability. Again, having been in the business, what can Maduro and his friends testify to? What do the documents show? How do you establish criminal culpability? Proof beyond a reasonable doubt to a moral certainty is a high bar to leap over. The democrat funding structure was based on a species of ‘laundering’ and ‘obfuscating’. Boron gets a clean energy grant/gift, he donates 30% to the Party through PACs, he leases a building, hires a few people, ages the grant. Some of the money goes to build the Potemkin Village some goes into the pockets of Boron, who spreads it around. Having failed to do anything with the money, Boron takes his company into Chapter 11 and then Chapter 7 where lawyers and factors suck up the scraps. Money gone, Boron applies for another green energy project, possibly with a new front man, rinse repeat through uncounted billions. Or Boron starts an NGO, is favored by US State and kicks back 50% to the Party. Or Boron starts a medical transport company to take the underprivilaged to the doctor – and doesn’t take anyone anywhere and contributes a cut to the Party. Lawyers guide his actions keeping it “legal” after a fashion.
I’m shocked, terribly shocked, to see both Colorado Senators on the Venezuela List. Worse, I learned about it from a blog, not our local newspapers.
(Yeah, WSF, your attempt at sarcasm is a tad weak)
Wait! I thought Hickenlooper was put out to pasture. How is it these people never go away, like that ONE annoying mosquitoe?
Hick is 74 and is up for reelection. This will be his second term. Our senior senator, Hedge Fund Bennett, is running for Governor without giving up his Senate seat. The bright spot, if there is one, with Hick running Emperor Polis is sidelined. This will give him time to prepare for running for President.
Aren’t you glad you no longer live in Colofornia?
Ah! would you like to donate to Boron’s Learing Centers in SW Floorida? – for the elderly (80+ only).
The check is in the mail.
I’m old enough to remember ABSCAM. Congress members need to be investigated.
I think that Patel has the sack to run ABSCAM again, but how many Republican members of Congress could we lose in the process? There’s not much cushion, particularly with Virginia.
Minor error – Chris Murphy – D – Delaware – This should be CT
THX – Mischief Managed.
What other foul deeds will be exposed past the point the ability of the eneMedia to provide cover? And thank God for the courts forcing Musk to actually buy out Twitter once he found out how much of a house of cards it was.
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Remember that? Once he found out, he wanted to drop it and run away, but, no… And so the Left, worldwide, chose the form of it’s destructor.
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Would any of this be possible if X wasn’t a free-speech (for good or ill, it’s free) platform?