Wednesday, April 1, 2026

Battle of the murals

 Bill Ponton - American Thinker 

 "I say in a civilized nation there is no question as to which mural should be displayed and which should be discarded."


"Providence Mayor Brett Smiley wants a mural of Iryna Zarutska taken down because the intent of those funding the mural is misguided and divisive. I don’t agree, and have an opinion that runs counter to his. I believe this nation needs many more murals of Iryna Zarutska as a reminder of what happened to her. Moreover, I want those murals to supplant every mural of George Floyd, the patron saint of losers. That’s right. I want every mural of George Floyd to be painted over with a mural of Iryna Zarutska. Elon Musk could fund the effort. Which mural is more deserving of display?

"The mural of a bum who went his whole life not amounting to anything. Who was in and out of prison for crimes as serious as threatening a pregnant woman with a gun if she did not reveal the whereabouts of hidden drugs and money. Who’s only notoriety is that he downed a lethal dose of drugs before being taken into police custody for passing off a counterfeit bill.

"Or, the mural of a young woman who fled from war-torn Ukraine seeking refuge in America, working hard to better her lot in life and then having that life taken away from her by a crazed racist black killer while other blacks looked the other way." . . .

. . . "On September 9, Trump used the case to again criticize cashless bail, a policy he says allows dangerous individuals to reoffend. He said, "This cashless bail started a wave in our country where a killer kills somebody and is out on the street by the afternoon, and, in many cases, going out and killing again, cashless bail."  

Elon Musk posted: "End Wokeness @EndWokeness: 0 AP stories on this deadly attack; 0 PBS stories on this deadly attack; 0 NYT stories on this deadly attack;  0 NPR stories on this deadly attack; 0 WSJ stories on this deadly attack; 0 BBC stories on this deadly attack;  0 CNN stories on this deadly attack; 0 WAPO stories on this"

In 1987, Trump predicted this . . .

 Don Surber

"He explained what needed to be done in Iran. Now he is doing it."

"In 1987, Barbara Walters of ABC (then owned by Capital Cities) interviewed Donald and Ivana Trump. He was 41 and they were still married. Walters asked him about Iran, which had a decade earlier had broken international law by seizing the U.S. Embassy and holding all its American employees hostage.
"In so doing, Iran committed an act of war, which Jimmy Carter ignored. We had the military but not the will as we had elected in 1976 a commander-in-chief unfit for the office.
"Nobody outside of Georgia noticed that while Carter was governor, Lieutenant Governor Lester Maddox ran the state as state Senate president. Carter was his Lurleen Wallace—except Carter lacked a beautician’s license.
"Fearing Carter’s replacement in 1981, Ronald Reagan, Iran immediately released its hostages upon his inauguration as president. I don’t think the mullahs pooped from Reagan’s stunning election until he took office.
"In the 1987 Walters interview with Trump, the Iran segment began with him making a speech, in which he said, “Because I’m running for the presidency. I’m here because I’m personally tired of seeing this great country of ours being ripped off.
" 'But as far as Trump is concerned, our allies are only part of [the problem]. The real culprit is Iran. Why couldn’t we go in and take over some of their oil which is along the sea?”
"He was not clairvoyant. His prediction was accurate not because he could see the future but because he could see the present. NATO and Iran haven’t changed much since then but they grew in size and belligerence over the decades.
"Walters asked him, “How would you do that? Would you send in the Marines? Would you take a chance on a war?”
"Trump replied, “Let them have Iran, you’d take their oil. That’s what I [would do].” . . .
"Trump said, “I don’t believe they would. Next time Iran attacks this country, go and grab one of their big oil installations. Grab them and keep [it]. Get back your losses. Because this country has lost plenty because of Iran.'” . . . More...

Eight justices shut down Colorado's 'egregious' censorship of talk therapy in 'conversion' ban

  Just The News 

"Justice Kagan says Jackson's dissent contradicts itself"

"Colorado was cruising for a judicial bruising when it struggled to defend its ban on so-called conversion therapy for minors at the Supreme Court last fall, with several justices skeptical of its last-ditch argument that plaintiff and licensed counselor Kaley Chiles didn't actually violate the law with her talk therapy for kids struggling with gender identity and sexual orientation.

"That bruising came down Tuesday in the form of an 8-1 ruling against the law, with only Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson dissenting, in a worrying sign for similar bans in half the states but also for red states that might try to ban so-called gender affirming counseling.

"The issuance of the majority opinion, a slim 23 pages without the summary, three months before the court typically issues its final decisions of the term, showed how closely aligned the six right-coded and two left-coded justices were on the core issues of the case.

"The court reached the same tally at least twice in high-profile First Amendment cases in the past five years.

"In 2021, over a lone dissent by Chief Justice John Roberts, SCOTUS authorized lawsuits against public officials such as university officials for censorship without measurable economic harm to the victims, in that case student evangelists.

"Months later, with Justice Clarence Thomas in dissent, SCOTUS prohibited K-12 schools from regulating student speech in contexts that are not school-supervised, including social media outside of school hours, based on the speculative threat of disruption on campus." . . .

SCOTUS: Colorado Can’t Ban Counselors from Helping Minors Escape LGBTQ Ideology 

 “Counselors walking alongside these young people shouldn’t be limited to promoting state-approved goals like gender transition, which often leads to harmful drugs and surgeries. The Supreme Court’s ruling is a victory for counselors and, more importantly, kids and families everywhere.”

 Ketanji Brown Jackson Is Not the Idiot You Think She Is – HotAir  

"The reason why KBJ couldn't provide a definition of a woman is not that she has none; it is because the definition literally does not exist until she conjures it in whatever context she needs to. As with her assertion about state power and treating trans kids, it all depends on the context. What she believes about state power depends entirely on whether it gets her the outcome she wants." 

. . . "Now, it is still possible that KBJ is simply a DEI hire without much of a brain in her head, but the fact that she makes no sense to us is not evidence of that. When I was in graduate school ran into perfectly nice and relatively smart people who would argue that physics isn't real; it is a social construct. Gravity exists solely because we believe it does." 

Democrat Kings Want Our Heads

  J.B. Shurk - American Thinker  "American leftists held another “No Kings” rally last weekend.  Democrats and their ideological allies gathered in city parks and town squares to tell the rest of us how awful we are.  They screamed obscenities and called us “fascists” and “Nazis.”  They demanded President Trump’s removal from office.  Some even brazenly wished for his death. 

"To non-leftists, these things are cringeworthy spectacles.  The participants look loony and behave immaturely.  They are not serious people.  Their messages make no sense.  How are they able to protest so vocally if they are living under the yoke of tyranny?  How are they able to call for President Trump’s death if he is truly a malevolent king?  Such riddles are never asked or answered.  We are expected to treat their hurt feelings as reasonable justification for their demands to overthrow the government.  




. . . "Tina Peters sits in jail for fighting election fraud in Colorado.  Social media platforms still censor conservative voices.  A leftist assassinated Charlie Kirk.  Other leftists have repeatedly tried to assassinate President Trump.  And leftists continue to call us “fascists.”  . . . 



. . . "Until leftist criminals who promote violence against the rest of us are held accountable, America will continue to descend into madness.  Until prominent Democrats are prosecuted for serious crimes, two-tiered “justice” will remain.  President Trump takes his constitutional oath seriously.  It is the Democrat Party that is filled with lawless, bloodthirsty kings."   More...

Many worry Hollywood will soon resemble Detroit after the fall of the auto industry

 Revolver News 

"Hollywood forgot the audience was not some captive population, chained to their seats. It was a relationship. They trashed it, and now the breakup will likely destroy them."

Sabrina Fasanella

"Hollywood is in big trouble, and everybody can feel it now. The panic is real, and it’s setting in. Jobs are drying up, and the people inside the Tinsel Town machine are finally having to admit that something really big is going very wrong. Yes, some of this panic is about streaming, economics, COVID fallout, and production fleeing to other states and countries, thanks to Gavin Newsom. But let’s not play dumb here. Hollywood also did this to itself.

"The movie industry made a very deliberate choice to stop entertaining people and start lecturing them. When Trump came down that escalator, Hollywood went bonkers. Actors, studios, late-night bozos, and every other self-important narcissist in the movie galaxy decided they weren’t just actors anymore. They were activists on an unholy mission to “save democracy” by drowning the country in Trump hate, progressive identity sermons, and stale, joyless slop. And normal people, including plenty who don’t even care about politics, eventually reached the same conclusion: enough is enough.

"But in perfect narcissistic form, Hollywood kept ignoring the red flags. They laughed off the sagging box office numbers, the cultural backlash, and the growing hatred toward all the woke messaging because they thought it was too important and big to fail. Hollywood thought they were untouchable and the audience would keep showing up out of habit.

"That didn’t happen.

"Instead, America checked out. Now the days of the “big stars” are gone, the magic disappeared, the loyalty is in the dustbin, and as the whole thing starts to rot from the inside out. And the real kicker is that America isn’t rushing in to save this dying industry. They’re standing on the sidelines and watching it burn.

"The panic got real when the Wall Street Journal published a story on the “nightmare scenario” that’s unfolding." . . . More...

Tuesday, March 31, 2026

Can Democrat Voters Really Be This Dumb?

 Derek Hunter   

"Why is it that these leftists like Rachel “I’ll only work 1 day per week for $25 million but capitalism is evil” Maddow haven’t fled the country after Trump won in 2024?" 


"It’s a question for the ages – Is there a bottom Democrat Party leadership can hit that will cause their supporters to wake up? In a dream, when you trip or fall you jerk yourself awake, but if you’re already awake and reality smacks you across the face, does your mind get a jolt and realize that something was wrong? For smart people, it does – though, smart people tend not to need that smack. For dumb people, nothing will snap them out of their haze. Democrat Party voters, the fact is too many are far too stupid to catch on the fact that they’re being played.

"The emcee of the “flagship” No Kings rally in Minneapolis was one of the creators of The Daily Show, Lizz Winstead. She gave up the game when she told the crowd that they needed to obey their betters – the “leaders” of this mutant march everyone was insisting was “grassroots” and “organic.” 

"Winstead told the crowd, “I want people to know that if you want to act like Minnesota, or you think Minnesota is a model, what can I do? Well, you can check your ego about what you want to do and listen to the leadership, and when they tell you what they need done, you do that. And you pay enough attention to the amazing organizers who have been on the ground, who actually have the information, who have already done the work, instead of starting your own [group]... you need to be the pack mule.”

"Weirdly, after being told to shut up and be obedient grunts, the crowd cheered." . . More...

Derek Hunter is the host of the Derek Hunter Show on WMAL in Washington, DC, and has a free daily podcast (subscribe!) and author of the book, Outrage, INC., which exposes how liberals use fear and hatred to manipulate the masses, and host of the weekly “Week in F*cking Review” podcast where the news is spoken about the way it deserves to be.

Joe Kent vs. Iran’s Imminent Threat; Iran’s 47-year record of active war against America.

 The American Spectator | USA News and Politics


"Kentucky Republican Congressman Thomas Massie has succinctly captured the problem.
"Over there at Fox News is this from Rep. Massie on the much-ballyhooed resignation of Joe Kent, the director of the National Counterterrorism Center: “Said Massie of the Kent resignation: ‘Another insider sees what we see: no imminent threat, just lobby pressure. This is why we need to defund and debate.’”
"No “imminent threat” from the Iranian war machine? Seriously?
"One wonders whether Massie has done any studying of history.
"Over there at the Jerusalem Center for Security and Foreign Affairs is this from Center President Dr. Dan Diker and Tirza Shorr, a senior researcher and program coordinator at the Center. The title: “Understanding Iran’s Imminent Threat to America,” with the subtitle, “A 47-year record of attacks, nuclear brinkmanship, and explicit threats reveals why ‘imminence’ can no longer be measured by outdated standards.”
"In this very perceptive piece, Diker and Shorr say, among other things, this, with bold print for emphasis supplied:
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and its global proxy network have killed more than 1,000 Americans since 1979. Iranian-backed forces conducted over 180 attacks on U.S. military bases in 2023–2024 alone. Iran’s stockpile of 440 kilograms of 60% highly enriched uranium reached a one-week breakout threshold for nuclear weapons before the June 2025 strikes. And just eleven days before Operation Epic Fury commenced, Iran’s Supreme Leader publicly threatened to send U.S. warships to the bottom of the sea. The question is not whether Iran posed an imminent threat to the United States. The question is why it took 47 years to respond to its longstanding threats. 
Former Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, who headed the CIA in the 1990s, determined that the Iranian nuclear program has constituted an imminent threat: “If their policy is to go to the threshold but not assemble a nuclear weapon, how do you tell that they have not assembled? I don’t actually know how you would verify that.” By the time the United States knows with certainty that Iran has crossed the nuclear threshold, it may be too late to act.
"Former Secretary Gates has it exactly right. And even more to the point, Massie saying that he sees “no imminent threat, just lobby pressure”  reminds me of all those pre-World War II Americans who insisted that the on-the-march, decidedly war-minded Japanese empire crossing the Pacific and the advances of the similarly inclined war-loving Hitler in not-so-subtly threatening various European countries were just one big no big deal. Nothing “imminent” to see there! " . . .

WW1: Four Years of War In One Field


"2nd October 1919, a group of soldiers crossed these war shattered fields, in search of the dead. Over the next days, weeks and months, they uncovered more than 1000 of the fallen, one man for every single yard of ground. But just why was this area so bloody and what had happened here during four years of fighting? "Join us in this video, as we do something truly unique, not by studying a single battle or campaign, but by zooming in and investigating what happened on a single patch of ground, across four years of war. "Want to walk the Western Front with the Battle Guide team? From Ypres to the Somme, this 2026 battlefield tour brings the podcast to life on the ground where history was made. "Find out more here: https://battleguide.co.uk/nsq-tour-2026



"Watching this video made my heart pound, sent shivers down my spine and brought tears to my eyes. My grandfather, Unteroffizier Peter Ostlender, fell in square 25 on 17 August 1916, hit by British shrapnel. He lies in a ‘comrades' grave’ in the German military cemetery in Fricourt. Ever since I first visited the cemetery decades ago, I cannot get the thought out of my head that he shares ‘his’ grave with 11,969 others. In a letter to a friend at the time, he wrote what he had kept from his wife, a cynical remark about the attempt to boost the declining morale of the troops by awarding medals in thousands: ‘The only way to escape the Iron Cross is the mass grave.’ My grandfather got both. "... .

In Providence, RI, the Democrat mayor wants to erase an Iryna Zarutska mural

 Andrea Widburg - American Thinker   "The same city that strongly supported BLM and George Floyd public art apparently can’t handle Zarutska’s face on a wall."

Suddenly, for a reason known only to Brown’s violent, broken brain, he lunged forward and slit Iryna’s throat. She swiftly died in a puddle of her own blood, bewildered, cold, and alone, on the floor of a light rail train.

Added by TD. Where's her privilege?

. . . "And so it was that Floyd died, Minneapolis burned, BLM riots swept the nation, where other places burned and almost two dozen were murdered, and four police officers were (in my opinion) wrongly convicted, with Chauvin almost getting stabbed to death in prison.

"One other thing happened thanks to Floyd’s death: America was suddenly festooned in public art commemorating the dead Floyd, who lived his life as a totally worthless, dangerous human being, and BLM generally. Here are just a couple of random examples that Grok located for me. There are dozens, perhaps hundreds, more examples of BLM and George Floyd art: ...

Providence Mayor Smiley calls for removal of controversial mural honoring slain refugee  . . . "Artist Ian Gaudreau, who began the work last week, told NBC 10 News on Friday that he never intended for the tribute to be political. Some residents visiting the site over the weekend echoed that sentiment, urging the community to focus on the victim rather than the politics.

"Here in Rhode Island, in Providence, this is what we're about," said resident Jennifer Cross. "We should be accepting of everything and take politics aside, honor all of the people who need to be honored, and just stop. I know the divisiveness of today's politics... but stop. Let it go forward. She needs to be honored."

"However, the scrutiny has taken a toll on the bar owners. During a visit to the site Sunday, an owner of The Dark Lady asked NBC 10 to leave, stating that the experience has been very distressing for the business. The owners declined to comment further.

"What a sad story. This woman was a true innocent victim. She was murdered in cold blood, seemingly at random. But now she isn't allowed to be a victim because the left likes illegal aliens more than they like legal aliens, such as herself. So she is now considered "bad" because she was unfortunate enough to be murdered by someone higher than her in the left wing hierarchy. And now she gets to be victimized a second time, both times totally beyond her control." Peter Gunder

The George Floyd story, by the way, struck an interesting cord with the British who heard Americans making fun of the Queen's spectacular funeral:

Brit, Sophie Corcoran, Goes Viral Defending the Queen Against Vile U.S. Leftists*



Tunnel Wall: Search results for George Floyd  Democrats bowed in submissive fear of cities burning, which happened anyway. Bullhorns deployed, clenched fists raised, police in fear of prison sentences, all in supplication to honor this criminal who pointed a gun at a pregnant woman's belly. TD

Meanwhile TV personality Don Lemon is quoted: "Don Lemon says he could pursue a presidential run — but claims the rules are stacked against him because he's not a white man.
"Sadly I'm not a white man so the rules are different for me. You know white men get away with way more than women and Black people. Do I think about it? Yes, could it happen? Yes if the right opportunity presented itself."

"This guy is embarrassingly delusional."
The Hodgetwins

The Gavin Newsom Effect: U-Haul Reports Californians Leaving the State in Droves

 California Globe

The Gavin Newsom Effect: U-Haul Reports Californians Leaving the State in Droves – California Globe

‘Out-migration remains prevalent for a number of markets across the Northeast, Midwest and West Coast — and particularly California’  By Katy Grimes

"U-Haul has a new report out and once again – for the fifth year in a row – the once Golden State finished on top of the U-Haul Growth Index – meaning more Californians rented one-way U-Haul trucks to leave the state in 2024, than residents of any other state.

California ranked last in U-Haul growth.

"We call this “The Gavin Newsom effect.”

. . . And right on time, Gavin Newsom’s faithful backyard yapper Brandon Richards (He/Him) cites Newsom’s accomplishments on X – only these all existed before Gavin became governor, and only because California is such a beautiful state with the best weather in the country:" . . .

Exit Ramp: This State Just Came in Dead Last, Again, on the 'UHaul Index' 

 "California Governor Gavin Newsom seems to spend much of his time gratuitously attacking well-governed, Republican-led states around the country -- doing so in a transparent effort to garner publicity among his party's national base.  His ambition-rooted motivation in this pursuit is not much of a secret, given his obvious presidential aspirations, which are likely to materialize in the 2028 cycle, or possibly even sooner.  We've covered a number of his outbursts, which are often directed at Florida, whose governor confronted Newsom in a nationally-televised debate in November.  Ron DeSantis cleaned Newsom's clock on the merits." 

  "For 7 straight years California Governor Gavin Newsom has won U-Haul’s “Man of the Year” award.  "During his reign, his policies actually caused more people to move out of the state, than the number of people who moved in during the 1849 Gold Rush. FACT CHECKED ✔️ https://t.co/18lZCOHbur" / X"

 John D on X: cropped

 The Babylon Bee: Mamdani Dethrones Gavin Newsom as U-Haul's Top Salesman | The Patriot Post   

Monday, March 30, 2026

Mayor Smiley: Mural for Slain Ukrainian Refugee Iryna Zarutska Must Go — It's 'Divisive'

Twitchy

"In Providence, Rhode Island, a mural was being painted to honor a Ukrainian woman slain on train. Iryna Zarutska was killed by insane career criminal on public transportation in North Carolina. This was to be lovely memorial to her life."

. . . What began as a memorial for a slain Ukrainian refugee has transformed into a political lightning rod in the "Creative Capital," with Mayor Brett Smiley now calling for the artwork's removal.

The mural, located on the exterior of The Dark Lady, a prominent LGBTQ+ club downtown, remains incomplete as city officials and community members clash over its message and funding.

The Mayor’s Office confirmed Sunday that Smiley wants the mural of Iryna Zarutska taken down.

He later released the following statement: "The murder of the individual depicted in this mural was a devastating tragedy, but the misguided, isolating intent of those funding murals like the one across the county is I continue to encourage our community to support local artists whose work brings us closer together rather than divide us."

 

Watch: Iranian Woman Confronts Anti-War Protester — With a Stunning Result

RedState 

"She had reached her and informed her. She said that the lady put down the banner and said that she didn't know everything that had been taking place in Iran. She cried, and they cried together. The lady said she would not be carrying that banner anymore. Abadani was so happy that she was able to get through to her and said she believed it came from a place of not knowing." 

"As we reported, the left had another one of their No Kings protests on Saturday.

"While they're attacking President Donald Trump, who isn't a king and was duly elected by the people, they're against the war on the incredibly oppressive regime of Iran that has worse than a king, basically a theocratic dictatorship. 

"Many of them are not only ignorant about their perceptions of Trump, but they're also ignorant about the 47 years of terror that Iran has been involved in. And the present-day media tends to keep them that way. 

"But there's a video that has gone viral of an Iranian woman confronting one of these protesters during the protest in London on Saturday. They don't call it "No Kings" there because they have a king, which is hilarious. But the Guardian, which claimed it wasn't one, included it as part of the protests to show the numbers worldwide. The protester was carrying a "Stop bombing Iran" sign. The Iranian woman then explained to her with deep emotion why Iranian youth were asking for the bombing and asked her why she was "supporting a terrorist regime."

 More...

"With my people in #Iran, these days…A young woman is beaten in the street by police for “improper hijab.” Power used against the powerless."

READ MORE: Fun Media Talk on the 'No Kings' Crowd Numbers As Springsteen, Jane Fonda Come Out in Minnesota

More Funny/Ironic Moments From 'No Kings' Protests