Trump's support costs Machado liberal support

 Don Surber  

"Reporter: “If you can seize a tanker without killing anyone, shouldn’t that be how we handle these fishing boats?”   Senator Eric Schmidt: “FISHING BOATS?! The drug runners?! Those aren’t FISHING BOATS.” Reporter: “Yeah, but...' ”

"María Corina Machado left her hiding place in Venezuela to visit Oslo, where her daughter accepted the Nobel Peace Prize for Machado on Wednesday—just as President Trump seized an oil tanker that was trying to smuggle contraband oil for the Venezuelan regime. The seizure was not a covert operation to overthrow the government because Trump is quite transparent about his activity.

"In Norway, Machado faced the press.

Reporter: Yesterday, the U.S. seized a ship off the coast of Venezuela. Would you welcome a U.S. military intervention in Venezuela?

María Corina Machado: Look, some people talk about an invasion in Venezuela, the threat of an invasion, and I answer: Venezuela has already been invaded. We have Russian agents. We have Iranian agents. We have terrorist groups such as Hezbollah and Hamas operating freely with the regime’s approval.

We have the Colombian guerrilla and drug cartels controlling 60% of our territory, involved not only in drug trafficking but also in human trafficking and networks of prostitution. This has turned Venezuela into the criminal hub of the Americas.

What sustains the regime is a very powerful, well-funded system of repression. Where does that funding come from? From drug trafficking, the black market in oil, arms trafficking, and human trafficking.

We need to cut those flows. Once that happens and the repression is weakened, it’s over, because violence and terror are all the regime has left. We ask the international community to cut those sources, because the regimes supporting Maduro and the criminal networks have turned Venezuela into a safe haven for their operations across Latin America.

"A reporter asked her how she got to Norway. She replied, “One day I will be able to tell you, because certainly I don’t want to put [those who helped her] at risk right now." . . .

'Gaza doctor murdered Israeli hostage by injecting air into her veins... before her father received video of her dying and begging for her life'

Tell me again, Gen Z, who exactly are the "Nazis"? 

Follow-up to previous Legal Insurrection post in the Tunnel Wall: Report: Gaza ‘Doctor’ Murdered Hostage Noa Marciano, 19, as She Begged For Mercy. The Tunnel Dweller

UK Daily Mail 

"He added that what he went through was the 'biggest nightmare you could ever imagine', saying there are mornings he still wakes to the image of her murder replaying in his mind."

"The father of an Israeli woman abducted on October 7 has revealed his daughter was murdered in Gaza by a civilian doctor - and that he was later sent a video showing the moment she was killed.

"In the footage, Avi Marciano said a medical worker is seen injecting air into his 19-year-old daughter's veins as she lies on a bed inside Shifa Hospital, begging for her life. 

"Marciano, who was speaking publicly to a small crowd for the first time, said that by the end of the clip 'she was sweating and showing no signs of life'.

"His daughter was later identified as Cpl Noa Marciano, who the IDF said had suffered injuries during heavy bombing and gunfire but none that were considered life-threatening.

"As Israeli forces advanced towards where Noa was being held, her captors moved her to Gaza City, where she was later killed.

"Marciano said the video was sent to him on Telegram and showed clearly how his daughter died while in Hamas captivity. 

"He added that what he went through was the 'biggest nightmare you could ever imagine', saying there are mornings he still wakes to the image of her murder replaying in his mind."

Marciano seen in a Hamas propaganda video while in captivity.

Avi Marciano, the father of murdered IDF Cpl. Noa Marciano said he learned of his daughter’s death in Hamas captivity through a video of her last moments shared by Israel activist Shai DeLuca on Wednesday

Noa, 19, was one of seven female soldiers to be kidnapped from the Nahal Oz military base on October 7 – the other being Liri Albag, Karina Ariev, Agam Berger, Daniella Gilboa, Naama Levy and Ori Megidish – and the only one not to have returned alive.

Celebrity narcissists looking for another virtue to signal have alighted upon a fresh cause appropriate to their moral stature: freedom for a notorious mass murderer of the innocent.

My sweet Lady Jas

 Silvio Canto, Jr.  

"Put me down as someone who welcomes her participation. She will move the party further to the Left, and that's not helpful for Democrats down the ballot."

. . . "Another concern is that she has not spoken much on issues beyond repeating talking points about race or Trump bashing. Where does she stand on health care or ObamaCare? We don't know. What is her position on foreign policy? We don't know.

"Miss Crockett represented a safe "blue" district and has never been forced to campaign or defend her positions. In this Senate campaign, she will have to discuss the kinds of issues that a U.S. senator has to vote on. So far, she has not shown much understanding or interest in those issues.

"We know that her staff can find that Jeffrey Epstein contributed to a GOP campaign. Can they prepare her to talk about foreign policy, economic issues and other stuff? Time will tell but Democrats will privately tell you that they are scared to death."   More...

The levels of stupidity

 Kevin Finn

"The antidote is simple in theory and brutal in practice: humility, curiosity, and the willingness to be embarrassed today rather than catastrophic tomorrow. Most people never descend to the seventh level, but almost everyone has lingered at level two or three."

"Interacting with leftists on social media is quite the experience. I’ve written here before about their reliance on lies, psychological projection, and the logical fallacies. I’ve also come to believe that many leftists (AOC, Ilhan Omar), just aren’t that bright. Other people have commented on this phenomenon, and there are plenty of articles and videos available on the topic. Evidently, there are levels of stupidity. We all share the human condition, and so we all fall into one or more of these categories from time to time.

"Stupidity isn’t just the absence of intelligence; it’s an active force that distorts reality and invites catastrophe. What begins as innocent ignorance can, through pride, emotion, and collective pressure, escalate into a deliberate and even malicious rejection of truth. Stupidity can evolve from a personal flaw into a civilizational threat.

"The first level is simple ignorance — a state of simply not knowing." . . .

. . . "The sixth level is intellectual conceit — pride in being wrong together. Inquiry is shut down, sources are dismissed without investigation (“I don’t trust that source”), and critics are demonized rather than engaged. William Paley is quoted as saying, “There is a principle which is a bar against all information, which is proof against all arguments, and which cannot fail to keep a man in everlasting ignorance - that principle is contempt prior to investigation.” Stupidity here wears the mask of certainty and treats doubt as treason. Societies at this stage stop learning; they begin persecuting anyone who still tries.

The seventh and final level is what Martin Luther King Jr. purportedly called “conscientious stupidity.” Here, ignorance is weaponized. The person or institution is blindly certain, impervious to evidence, and willing, and even eager, to inflict harm in service of their noble cause. False logic justifies reckless action; collateral damage is dismissed as necessary.

The Million Petty Annoyances of California’s Regulatory State

 American Greatness   "California’s endless tangle of petty rules shows a state so obsessed with control that even simple daily tasks have become exercises in regulated misery. 

Let’s be clear. The time it takes to fulfill all these steps is often greater than the amount of time that it takes to do the actual work. In many cases, the expense for the excessive designs and disclosures and fees also adds up to more than the actual labor and materials.  

   "The litany of reasons California is broken is well documented. The highest cost of living and the highest taxes. The highest percentages of homeless people and people living in poverty. Unaffordable homes and unaffordable rent. High crime and failing schools. A hostile business climate and record migration out of state as people and businesses flee.

   "But not often enough are we reminded of the countless small things that have gone wrong. Small things that add up to a big problem: a state legislature that is out of touch with the people it represents; a state legislature that, for all practical purposes, holds its constituents in contempt; a state legislature that is doing everything in its power to make life difficult.

   "Just a few days ago, the latest in this long train of abuses arrived. No more plastic bags. Although 2026 is still a few weeks away, this grocery store has already converted to paper only—heavy, fragile paper bags with handles that tear off under the slightest stress. Everything was double-bagged just to lower the probability of catastrophic failure of the handles.

   "The problems with this are more than the inconvenience of having to pay 20 cents for every double-bagged bag full of groceries. With plastic bags, you could loop their handles around your fingers and carry several of them securely in one hand. Try that with a paper bag. And there are no uses after the first use for a paper bag. Shall we use paper bags for cat litter? Trash can liners? Maybe, but they won’t work very well. And storing them uses up space fast.

   "So what’s the advantage? Are we saving oil? Certainly not much. And if savings are what we’re after, why did they ever force us in 2014 to stop using ultra-thin plastic bags in favor of “reusable” bags that nobody reuses for groceries, yet have 10-15 times as much plastic in them per bag? Funny how the plastic industry rolled over on that one. “Please don’t regulate us” morphed into “Never mind, we’ll split with the state that dime we’re charging now per bag.” Corporation wins. State wins. Misanthropic regulations abuse the rest of us.

   " 'Now the plastic bags are gone. But the dime per paper bag? That stays.

"Does this law reduce the “footprint” of plastic? Yes. Marginally. Meanwhile, it increases the footprint of paper bags, which are actually worse for the environment. And maybe that’s the biggest problem here: California’s corporate special interests, their lobbyists, and their fanatic green marionettes are all too ready to force “solutions” onto the public before the technology has caught up." . . . Full article here.

Edward Ring is a senior fellow of the Center for American Greatness. He is also the director of water and energy policy for the California Policy Center, which he co-founded in 2013 and served as its first president. Ring is the author of Fixing California: Abundance, Pragmatism, Optimism (2021) and The Abundance Choice: Our Fight for More Water in California (2022).

Bonus: Visit California: It's America's Future

Kamala Harris’s Sad Book Tour Will Now Be Longer Than Her Campaign

Trump lives gratis in the brains of Hillary. Kamala, Joe, Rosie, all named Joy and your choice of late night host. TD

 The American Spectator   

"But Harris seems not to have asked herself if spending more time mulling over her defeat is a good way to prepare for a new presidential bid."

Tribune Content Agency

"146 days. That’s how long Kamala Harris’s book tour will be when combining the fall leg of the tour and the additional spring dates she announced on Wednesday. That eclipses the 107 days she spent on the campaign trail.

"Her speaking tour complaining will now exceed the time she spent campaigning. Perhaps that’s appropriate for Harris. It’s symbolic of the fact that she will be remembered much more for losing than for anything she accomplished in office.

"Unfortunately for Harris, her book tour is coming at a time when her prospects for the 2028 presidential campaign are dimming. 

"While in February she led all Democratic presidential candidates in a SurveyUSA poll with 37 percent support, an August Emerson poll placed her well behind Gavin Newsom. In that survey, Newsom received 25 percent support, followed by Buttigieg with 16 percent support, with Harris trailing at 11 percent support.

"Recent state polls have also placed her behind both Newsom and Buttigieg. A November St. Anselm poll put Pete Buttigieg in the lead at 28 percent support, followed by Gavin Newsom at 24 percent support. Harris came in third, but well behind, with 6 percent support. A November Emerson poll in Nevada put Newsom in the lead with 37 percent support, Buttigieg in second with 19 percent support, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez in third with 9 percent support, and Kamala Harris in fourth at 6 percent support. 

"Last month, the Washington Post placed her in the “middle of the pack” of Democratic presidential contenders, saying that many Democrats have taken issue with her decision to blame others for letting Biden run for office again (when she herself was his vice president and repeatedly claimed that he was cognitively capable). 

"One question Democrats are increasingly asking themselves is why they should go with Harris in 2028 when she already had her chance and failed. Even one Democratic senator, who remained anonymous, put forward this line of reasoning against a second Harris bid." . . .

More...

(RELATED: Kamala Finally Says Something True, And Now She’s Truly Cooked)

(RELATED: The Spectacle Ep. 279: Kamala Harris’ Book Tour of Excuses)

Erika Kirk Urges Parents: 'Step Up' to Stop Political Violence

NewsMax 

Charlie Kirk KILLER STARES Into The Cameras; Tyler’s LAUGHS & SMIRKS In Court Set Off Outrage"

"Erika Kirk, widow of conservative leader Charlie Kirk, issued a stark call to parents on Thursday to "step up" and counter online radicalization and political violence, saying during a CBS News town hall that many adults are failing to guide their children in a deeply polarized political era.

"Speaking alongside CBS News editor-in-chief Bari Weiss at the prime-time event set to air on CBS on Saturday, Dec. 13, Kirk urged parents to be more vigilant about what their children are exposed to online and to take responsibility for their influence on young minds. 

" 'When you become a father, when you become a mother, how are you raising your kids? Are you taking responsibility, or are you giving them a device and saying, 'Go down that rabbit hole. I'm trying to go to Pilates class,'" Kirk said in the conversation.

"Her remarks reflect broader concerns about the rise of extremist content and ideological echo chambers online, which many experts and lawmakers have linked to radicalization and real-world violence." . . . 

Charlie Kirk's Alleged Assassin Makes First In-Court Appearance, Shows Why Cameras Are Necessary

RedState  

"Other images show Robinson smirking at times. Not a very good look when your attorneys are pleading for your life in front of a jury. Charlie Kirk's widow, Erika Kirk, stated in a November interview on Fox News that she wanted the trial to be televised. Kirk said she wanted everyone to "see what true evil is.' "

"The man accused of assassinating conservative activist Charlie Kirk in the middle of a college event looked calm and chuckled with his lawyers as he appeared for the first time in person in a Utah court — with his family in the gallery.

Tyler Robinson, 22, was brought into the Provo courtroom wearing a simple blue button down and tie as his lawyers prepared to argue that media shouldn’t be allowed to film his hearings by claiming they could potentially taint a jury.

Judge Tony Graf allowed cameras to film for part of Thursday’s proceedings. The judge said he would hear from both sides behind closed doors and then open the courtroom back up to the public afterward. Even Robinson’s family was barred from the secret hearing, despite his lawyers request the kin be allowed to remain.

Robinson looked calm behind the defendant’s table flanked by his attorneys, and even smiled as he appeared to whisper joking comments to one before the hearing began.

Erika Kirk Torches Leftist Ghouls Celebrating Charlie’s Murder in Explosive Town Hall: Sick in Your Soul

Report: Gaza ‘Doctor’ Murdered Hostage Noa Marciano, 19, as She Begged For Mercy

Legal Insurrection   

"Noa’s father received a “video sent to him, in which his daughter is seen begging for her life” as a Palestinian doctor “injected air into her vein.' ”

"The 19-year-old Israeli hostage, Noa Marciano, was murdered by a doctor in Gaza’s Shifa hospital, her father Avi Marciano disclosed in a social media post.

"Noa, who Palestinian terrorists abducted from a kibbutz on October 7, 2023, was taken to Gaza City’s Shifa Hospital after sustaining minor ‘non-life-threatening’ injuries. Weeks after her abduction, and with Israeli troops advancing in the area, a Palestinian doctor “injected air into her vein,” Noa’s father said." . . .

"Noa’s murder by Shifa’s medical staff was recorded on camera, showing a doctor injecting air into her veins while she pleaded for mercy. Avi Marciano “learned of his daughter’s death in Hamas captivity through a video of her last moments shared with him on Telegram,” the Jerusalem Post reported Thursday. The “footage of a medical professional lethally injecting air into her veins after she was taken to Shifa Hospital in Gaza,” the newspaper added.

"Noa, a resident of the central Israeli city of Modi’in, held the rank of Corporal and served as an observation soldier in Israel’s Border Defense Force’s 414 Unit.

"Days after Noa’s murder, the Israeli military managed to recover her body in a raid on the Hamas-controlled hospital. Her father’s revelations are consistent with the Israeli military’s assessment made last summer. In early July 2024, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said in a statement that the Shifa hospital “was used by Hamas for murder(ing)” her." . . .

What say you, Greta?   Just a guess going by his previous pattern, but I feel Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.) would call her death "an “unfortunate accident.” 

Ketanji Brown Jackson Argues Presidents Shouldn’t Be Allowed to Fire Bureaucrats Running Independent Agencies — Justice Brett Kavanaugh Shreds Her Argument

  The Gateway Pundit 

"Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson unleashed a full-throttle defense of unelected bureaucrats on Monday during oral arguments in Trump v. Slaughter, openly arguing that presidents should not be allowed to fire the PhDs, doctors, and so-called “experts” who run America’s “independent commission” scam.

"In other words, bureaucrats should outrank the elected President of the United States.

"The case stems from President Trump’s March decision to fire Rebecca Kelly Slaughter and Alvaro Bedoya, both Democrat commissioners at the Federal Trade Commission.

"Trump acted squarely within Article II, which vests all executive power in the President.

"FTC Chairman Andrew Ferguson made it plain:

“President Donald J. Trump is the head of the executive branch and is vested with all of the executive power in our government. I have no doubts about his constitutional authority to remove Commissioners, which is necessary to ensure democratic accountability for our government. The Federal Trade Commission will continue its tireless work to protect consumers, lower prices, and police anticompetitive behavior.”

"Rebecca Kelly Slaughter and Alvaro Bedoya responded by suing to get their jobs back.

"In July, Biden-appointed U.S. District Judge Loren AliKhan overrode the firing and ordered Slaughter reinstated.

"The D.C. Circuit, stacked with Obama judges, upheld her decision, citing the 90-year-old case Humphrey’s Executor.

"The Supreme Court in September granted the Trump administration’s request to stay the lower-court order, meaning Slaughter would remain removed while the legal challenge proceeds. At the same time, SCOTUS accepted the case for full argument.

"The Supreme Court on Monday held explosive oral arguments for over two hours." . . .

Newsom’s Basket of Deplorables Moment: CA Gov Trashes Anyone Who Works with Trump, Says ‘He Wants to See Trans Kids’

 Breitbart  "On Thursday on “The Alex Marlow Show,” host and Breitbart Editor-in-Chief Alex Marlow talked about Gavin Newsom and recent comments he made.

"Marlow said, “This is really a basket of deplorables moment. This is really a…Trump voters are garbage moment.” . . .

Nicki Minaj Blasts Gavin Newsom Saying He Wants to 'See Trans Kids': 'It's the End of the Road for You'  I'm sure Jimmy Kimmel would disagree.

Gavin Newsom Doubles Down on Woke: 'I Want to See Trans Kids' (VIDEO)

. . .
"The 2024 election made it pretty clear that the public is done with this but Newsom is not going to give it up. He is staking out a positive position on the issue.

"Someone should let the governor know that there is no such thing as trans kids. Just activist parents." . . .

. . . “We didn’t get into trans sports. That’s an issue no one wants to hear about because 80 percent of the people listening disagree with my position on this,” Newsom shared. “But it comes from my heart, not just my head. It wasn’t a political evolution.”

"When asked by Klein about his position, Newsom added that he wants “To see trans kids.”

“I have a trans godson,” Newsom added. “There’s no governor that’s done more pro-trans legislation than I have. No one has been a stronger advocate for the LGBTQ community.”    . . .

Trump threatens California funding over trans athlete  "President Donald Trump on Tuesday threatened to strip “large scale federal funding” from California if the state goes against his executive order banning transgender athletes from participating in women’s sports.

"That funding could be withheld “permanently” if California continues to flout the Feb. 5 order, Trump warned on Truth Social.

"The president’s post complained that a trans athlete who qualified to compete against women in an upcoming competition is “practically unbeatable.”

"He wrote that he will order “local authorities, if necessary, to not allow the transitioned person to compete in the State Finals.”

"Trump added that he will speak with California Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, later Tuesday “to find out which way he wants to go” on the issue.

"Trump did not name the athlete whose participation in women’s sports drew his ire. AB Hernandez, a California high school student and transgender athlete competing in girls track and field, has recently received media attention." . . . 

Over one-third of the state’s budget comes from the federal government, according to the California Budget and Policy Center. The state’s 2025-2026 budget includes more than $170 billion in federal funds. 

Newsom’s Memoir: Another Step in His 2028 Self-Promotion Tour

. . . "No matter what Newsom writes, he cannot escape his scandals, his past, and most importantly, the disastrous way he has run California." . . .

CA High School Track Team Mowed Down by Suspected Drunk Driver

 Breitbart

NY Post

"A high school track team in Anaheim, California, was mowed down during routine training in broad daylight by a suspected drunk driver on Wednesday.

"As many as eight students from Anaheim High School were injured in the collision, with one victim’s father calling it “heartbreaking.”

“ 'It’s heartbreaking. The first thing I did was call both of my boys to make sure they were all right. I know most likely they are going to know some of the students,” one father told KTLA.

"The crash occurred on a busy street in Anaheim as the runners were waiting near a crosswalk “when a car swerved onto the sidewalk and slammed into them, according to a news release from the Anaheim Police Department,” per the New York Post.

The orange Toyota Corolla, was being driven by 27-year-old Anthony Alva-Palafox, who authorities claimed “displayed objective signs of intoxication” at the scene, police said.

Alva-Palafox and seven of the students were hospitalized and treated for varying injuries.

Traffic camera footage obtained by NBC Los Angeles showed the car cruising through a green light before drifting onto the crosswalk and slamming into the team. He barreled through them and collided with a low brick wall, which crumbled against the force of the vehicle.

"Both boys and girls were hit in the crash, with ages ranging between 16 and 17; their coach suffered no injuries. California Rep. Lou Correa said in a post on X that “all of the students appear to be recovering, with one student still waiting for results of additional medical tests.” . . ."