BOB GRABOYES HAS LOST HIS WIFE: I Lift My Eyes to the Mountains: Meditations on the conclusion of a long and wonderful journey together.

SO SAD: Sunny Hostin Has Regrets for Actually Asking Kamala a Question and Tanking Her Campaign.

It was a moment that many feel ended Kamala Harris’ presidential campaign, and it never would have happened to a qualified candidate. It went down in October ’24 when “The View’s” far-left contributor Sunny Hostin asked Harris what she would do differently from her addled boss, then-President Joe Biden. Kamala basically answered, not a darn thing.

It was a softball question if there ever was one, and Harris swung and missed in one of the great political whiffs of the century.

Now Hostin has the sads that she had the temerity to ask what should have been a simple query. Speaking on the “Behind the Table” podcast  posted Wednesday, the incendiary host said she feels “terrible.”

“It’s Sunny’s fault she [Kamala] didn’t win,” Joy Behar quipped, trying to be funny but figuratively stabbing her co-host in the back. Sunny put her hands to her face in shame, then responded:

“I knew it instantly when she answered it,” Hostin said during the podcast conversation, when asked by Teta if she knew it would be a viral moment. “Which is why I asked the follow-up question, ‘is there one thing?’  Because I knew, I could see the soundbite and I knew what was going to happen, but I thought it was a really fair question and I thought it was a question that she would expect.”

[…]

“And now Jake Tapper wrote it in his book?” she asked her fellow co-host, Alyssa Farah Griffin. “I feel terrible.”

Co-host on a show produced by ABC News feels “terrible” because she actually committed one of the network’s rare moments of journalism.

NOW IT CAN BE TOLD: The Scandal of the Biden ‘Tell-All’ Books.

Despite the world crumbling all around them, the inner circle never broke ranks. This raises the third reason, beyond groupthink and the desperation to beat Trump, for the cover-up. Parnes and Allen argue that the Politburo was motivated by venality. Its members were desperate to maintain their own elevated positions.

Parnes and Allen provide a revealing quote from Donilon. It is not direct, of course, but comes via a “prominent Democrat.” According to the source, Donilon said, “Nobody walks away from this. No one walks away from the house, the plane, the helicopter.” The nobody he is referring to could have been Biden, but it could also just have easily been Donilon and Ricchetti and Reed and members of the top Biden team who had access to the house and the plane and the helicopter, along with their patron.

Tapper and Thompson note this dynamic as well. They report that when “discussing the insanity of the situation with a House Democrat, [House Democratic Caucus Chair Pete] Aguilar remarked that ‘folks like Ricchetti and Donilon—they’re living the first line of their obituaries right now. People don’t give that up.’”

The top Biden people were not only protecting their own access and their reputations, but their families as well. Donilon, Reed, and Ricchetti all had relatives on the administration payroll, including all four of Ricchetti’s children. They would not get to keep those jobs if Biden stepped down.

Once these people were on board with the need for the cover-up, it was difficult for them to see the reality of Biden’s infirmity. Other realities became distorted as well. Ted Kaufman, a longtime Biden aide who once had briefly replaced Biden in the Senate, shared the mindset. He argued to Whipple after the debate that when even the exceedingly Biden-friendly New York Times started asking questions, it was plotting against Biden: “I’ll bet you $1 million that they had an executive editorial board meeting and said, ‘Here’s what we’re going to do, guys.’” If you’re supporting a Democratic incumbent and you think the New York Times is conspiring against you, you have crossed the line into madness. Kaufman was dismissive of the Clooney op-ed as well, saying, “I don’t care, George, with all due respect. I know you’re famous and you’re important and people kiss your ass every day. But George, I’m just not interested!”

So far, the reviews of the recent behind the scenes tell-all books have only barely touched upon the most important aspect of the Biden “Politburo:” — it’s potential unconstitutionality:

Conservative constitutionalists believe the President is a *singular* official — the only branch of our three federal branches of government that consists of only one man.

In important ways, widespread use of the autopen— and certainly abuse without knowledge by the singular… https://t.co/eEl8bp3BFY

— Jeff Clark (@JeffClarkUS) June 19, 2025

SO TRAVEL BACK IN TIME AND TELL YOUR 20 YEAR OLD SELF THIS: Study Reveals How Much Exercise You Need Each Week to Control Blood Pressure. “When the researchers looked at the people who had done five hours of moderate exercise a week during early adulthood – double the minimum amount currently recommended for adults – they found this level of activity lowered the risk of hypertension considerably, and especially if people maintained their exercise habits until age 60.”

HIGHER EDUCATION BUBBLE UPDATE: “Interestingly, I think there is an argument to bring back the MRS degree.” “I don’t think he said only. And I don’t think you can ignore the smile that broke out on that girl’s face at 0:30. You can want more than one thing, and you don’t have to pretend to yourself that you don’t want those things that are not your career.”

AS A MAJOR OIL PRODUCER, WHY SHOULD THE U.S. GO OUT OF ITS WAY TO GIVE COMPETING PRODUCERS MARKET ACCESS?

A quarter of the world’s oil and 20 percent of the world’s liquefied natural gas pass through it. If Iran mines it the world will indignantly demand it be swept open by you know what navy.https://t.co/IlEBlaCs6P

— wretchardthecat (@wretchardthecat) June 19, 2025

YES:

Dear Canada,

Read this headline again. And again. And again. pic.twitter.com/qi1cYYabNQ

— 𝗡𝗶𝗼𝗵 𝗕𝗲𝗿𝗴 ♛ ✡︎ (@NiohBerg) June 19, 2025

WELL, THEY COULD HARDLY BE DUMBER: Fish Are Smarter Than Previously Thought, Scientists Reveal.

THERE’S A SCREWFLY SOLUTION, YOU KNOW: USDA seeks to combat spread of New World screwworms into U.S.

BE PREPARED:

U.S. officials have confirmed to CNN that non-sheltered USAF aircraft have been evacuated from Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar, and U.S. Navy vessels previously forward-deployed at Naval Support Activity Bahrain have also repositioned.

Additionally, medical logistics have been… pic.twitter.com/zi54fIhXpg

— GMI (@Global_Mil_Info) June 19, 2025

A MODEST REQUEST: Wanted: A Used B-52.

I just hope Israel has thought through what they’d be getting into here:

UPDATE: Could Israeli C-130s Drop GBU-57 Massive Ordnance Penetrator Bunker Busters?

Found via Ace of Spades, who adds: Trump: I’ll Decide Within Two Weeks Whether I’ll Send Bombers to Take Out the Iranian Nuke Sites.

IT’S MY THURSDAY ESSAY FOR VIP SUBSCRIBERS: Pity Poor China (Really!) “Most Thursdays, I take readers on a deep dive into a topic I hope you’ll find interesting, important, or at least amusing in its absurdity. These essays are made possible by — and are exclusive to — our VIP supporters. If you’d like to join us, take advantage of our 60% off promotion.”

ARAK AND ROLL SUICIDE: Israel strikes Iranian nuclear reactor.

Israel struck an Iranian reactor in the central city of Arak on Thursday in its latest efforts to destroy the regime’s nuclear programme.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said it targeted Iran’s heavy water nuclear reactor, striking what it described as “a key component in plutonium production”.

A black and white video, circulated online by the IDF, showed a missile crashing into the target, followed by a large explosion.

Both sides have been fighting for nearly a week since Israel launched attacks on Iranian nuclear sites and killed several top generals and nuclear scientists.

On Thursday, Israel said its warplanes also struck a facility at Natanz, a key Iranian nuclear site, which was being used to develop nuclear weapons, a military spokesman said.

The IDF said: “The site houses unique components and equipment used for the development of nuclear weapons, and hosts projects that enable the acceleration of the nuclear weapons programme.”

Faster, please.

⭕This nuclear reactor in Arak was created for one purpose: to build a nuclear bomb.

It has now been neutralized. Here is a closer look at the reactor itself: pic.twitter.com/4KBDsgp8IN

— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) June 19, 2025

I’M HAPPY TO SEE MORE COMPETITION IN THIS FIELD: Honda’s Playing with Robots and Reusable Rockets—Look Out, Tesla and SpaceX?

CAVEAT EMPTOR:

American got his Washington State Vehicle Registration Fee for a Tesla Model S

Just to register his car it’s $1,659.25

This is every year

The amount of fees Washington Democrats add on is INSANE

$ 75.00 Electric Vehicle Transportation Fee
$30.00 License fee funds road… pic.twitter.com/FmLlHr9xOp

— Wall Street Apes (@WallStreetApes) June 19, 2025

Full list:

$75.00 Electric Vehicle Transportation Fee
$30.00 License fee funds road construction
$150.00 Electric vehicle fee funds roads
$10.00 Additional vehicle weight fee
$45.00 Vehicle weight fee funds Highway improvement
$4.50 Filing fee funds go to the county
$8.00 Service fee retained by subagent
$0.25 License service fee supports the computer systems
$0.50 The DOL service fee supports the computer systems
$1,331.00 Regional Transit Authority tax

$ 1,654.25 Subtotal
$ 5.00 Optional state parks donation
$ 1,659.25 Total

How can it cost $1,659.25 a year just to register one car with the DMV???

That’s an easy one: because Democrats.

Update: For the folks in the comments who think that $1,331.00 Regional Transit Authority tax is just to make up for lost gas tax revenue, think again.

A typical ICE driver in Washington state — 12,000 miles per year, 25 mpg — pays about $325 a year in combined state and federal gas taxes.

The total of $205 in EV and weight fees is probably just about right to make up for the lost state gas tax revenue.

Caveat emptor, indeed.

SHHHH, IT’S A SECRET: Israel’s Secretive RA-01 Drone Allegedly Spotted Over Syria–Israel Border.

CHANGE: Justice Department Plans to Use Law Weaponized Against Pro-Life Activists to Protect Them Instead.

HELP YOUR PET: Liquid Probiotics for Dogs of All Ages – Probiotics for Cats to Support Digestion Well-Being. #CommissionEarned

TWENTY MINUTES INTO THE FUTURE: ‘Iranian regime in death throes risks a major economic shock.’

Sir Niall [Ferguson], the Milbank family senior fellow at the Hoover Institution, Stanford University, said: “I think the markets are complacent about this because there have been so many Middle Eastern crises in our lifetimes that produced only a blip in the oil price.

“But remember when an authoritarian regime is on its last legs, when it’s the end game, they tend not to go quietly.”

He predicted that the Iranian regime and its allies could hurt the US by blocking the Strait of Hormuz, and that would have a “massive economic impact”, pushing up the price of oil.

Read the whole thing.

WELL, SOMEBODY HAS TO HAVE A HIGH OPINION OF HIM: Malignant Narcissism: ‘Founding Fighter’ Jamie Raskin Has an Awfully High Opinion of Himself.

THESE SAME RESULTS KEEP COMING UP:

OK, not even sure where to begin with this one! But here's an attempt at a deeper dive at understanding why conservatives are so much happier than liberals. Mostly looking at how persistent the gap is in survey data rather than extrapolating too much. pic.twitter.com/qV59d3kxuJ

— Nate Silver (@NateSilver538) June 18, 2025

What I take away from this is that unhappy and/or crazy people want to ruin things for everyone else.

SMART: State Department to Resume Student Visa Appointments, but There’s a Catch. “Visa applicants with social media profiles must ensure that all privacy settings are set to ‘public’ so consulate officers can view them. A cable sent to various diplomatic posts around the world suggested that ‘limited access to, or visibility of, online presence could be construed as an effort to evade or hide certain activity.'”

SHOW YOUR WORK, CHILDREN: Apparently, somebody at the Washington Post thinks their readers don’t need to know the demographic details of respondents to a survey that purports to show 2-1 public opposition to Trump’s Big Beautiful Bill.

The Washington Stand talks to an international pollster who says showing your work in the details of your sample is essential to being credible. And no surprise, a spokesman for the Post could not be reached.

READER FAVORITE: Headlamp Rechargeable 2980 High Lumens Super Bright LED Head Lamp for Adults. #CommissionEarned

CHANGE: Department of Justice Plans to Cut Two-Thirds of ATF’s IOI Firearm Inspectors. “The move, part of the Trump administration’s effort to defang and downsize the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, comes as the department considers merging the A.T.F. and the Drug Enforcement Administration. It follows a rollback of Biden-era regulations aimed at stemming the spread of deadly homemade firearms, along with other gun control measures.”

If it isn’t deadly, what good is it?