DOES ANYONE IN AMERICAN POLITICS HAVE MORE FUN THAN DONALD TRUMP?

Trump just used this photo of Jill Biden glazing him to promote his cologne I’m dying pic.twitter.com/TqDa9FeYiP

— Caleb Hull (@CalebJHull) December 8, 2024

Fun is contagious.

FLORIDA MAN FRIDAY [VIP]: She Fled from the Police with a Cop in the Backseat. “It’s time for your much-needed break from the serious news and this week we have the world’s worst getaway, the naked carpet cleaner, and the new King of California.”

THAT ESCALATED QUICKLY:

The libs went from loving Elon Musk for his cars to wanting him dead over his politics. Seemingly overnight. NPC meme is undefeated. pic.twitter.com/9NsPGdqKV8

— Oilfield Rando (@Oilfield_Rando) December 6, 2024

This is dangerous, Weimar-era territory we’re in.

BEATS THE HELL OUT OF MMT: El Salvador’s president is triumphant after his bet on bitcoin comes true. “The adoption of bitcoin — which has been legal tender in the Central American nation since 2021 — never quite matched the president’s enthusiasm, but the value of the government’s reported investment now stands at more than $600 million.”

THAT’S ALWAYS BEEN HIS GAME: Obama Just Accused Republicans of What Democrats Are Doing, and It’s Nothing Less Than Ominous.

IT’S TIME FOR VICTORIA TAFT’S West Coast, Messed Coast™ — The ‘Cure’ Is Worse Than the Disease Edition.

UPDATE: Here’s Where Things Stand on JD Vance’s Replacement in the Senate.

MEH. THE S-400 ISN’T ALL THAT:

BREAKING:

Russia starts evacuating its S-400 air defense systems to its naval port in Tartus, fearing they could get captured by advancing Syrian rebels. pic.twitter.com/tHgppjZHyk

— Visegrád 24 (@visegrad24) December 6, 2024

It’s looking more and more like the endgame for the Assad regime. I’m not exactly sad to see Putin humiliated but whether Assad’s downfall (if it happens) ends up making things better or worse in the region, I’d wager on worse.

IT’S OK, HE WON’T REMEMBER IT: Joe Biden Just Got Some Devastating News About His Legacy. “An exclusive Daily Mail poll reveals that voters consider Biden the worst president in nearly 50 years, faring worse than Jimmy Carter, who was voted out after a single term marked by double-digit inflation and a failed attempt to rescue American hostages in Iran, and even below Richard Nixon, who was forced to resign rather than face impeachment over the devastating Watergate scandal.”

HE WAS ROBBED: A’s in English but he can’t read: Deaf student wants job training, given a diploma instead. “The diploma means he’s not eligible for special-education help to attend adult school that offers job training, reports Candice Nguyen for NBC News.”

SHUT UP AND BLEED, THEY EXPLAINED: In Germany, A Man Who Was Stabbed by a Jihadi Has Been Fined for Criticizing Islam.

MOCK CIVILITY IS THE FIRST REFUGE OF A SCOUNDREL:

I'm always amused that "civility" defenders like @BillKristol spend their whole lives planting anonymous smears against opponents, and then say it's uncivil for Trump to insult an opponent out loud, in the light of day.

Both are uncivil. Only one is *cowardly*, though.

— Ace of Spades (@AceofSpadesHQ) December 5, 2024

Kristol’s so-called Bulwark for defending conservatism most conservatively can currently be seen making the case for giving Fauci et al. pre-emptive pardons and bemoaning GOP successes in Florida.

BREAKING: Jury Deadlocked in Daniel Penny Case.

THE NEW SPACE RACE: NASA Sets Artemis Moon Mission Timelines.

WHERE WE ARE:

These people cheered Obamacare, which turned the health insurance industry into a government vassal but want people murdered for the consequences of what they supported.

Wild. https://t.co/jPzddQ30sg

— Bonchie (@bonchieredstate) December 5, 2024

All kidding aside, this is real Weimar-era stuff we’re seeing — the assassination and those egging it on (like Taylor Lorenz) and excusing it (like SLU’s professor of “law and morality”).

HMM: Warning: Trump Needs to Reboot His PR Strategy ASAP.

Hegseth is in a different category. He’s a fresh face, unmarred by GOP infighting or personality conflicts. And on top of it, he’s a Fox News star: Other than Trump himself, Hegseth has more TV experience than anyone else in the President-elect’s cabinet.

And so far, he’s done only one major interview: His appearance yesterday on “The Megyn Kelly” show.

It was a good interview. Hegseth is naturally likable.

Which beckons the obvious question, why the hell isn’t he doing more of these?!

Good question. He should be out there more.

“YOU F***ED UP, YOU TRUSTED US”: Sucker Dems took Biden at his ‘word’ – only to be left with egg on their face and a broken party.

Who are the biggest suckers in America?

Democrats.

They took the president at his “word as a Biden,” and now they’re left with egg on their face and a party in ruins.

Joe Biden’s all-encompassing, precisely 11-year retrospective pardon of his wayward 54-year-old son, Hunter, unprecedented in its scope, just fanned the flames of their discontent.

Now even risk-averse Gavin Newsom knows he’s safe riding with the pack when he publicly denounces Joe Biden for repeatedly lying that he would never pardon his son.

“I took the president at his word,” Newsom said Tuesday.

Lots of suckers have self-revealed since Sunday.

And this one’s Miranda Devine, so read the whole thing.

THE ECONOMICS OF AI ASSISTANTS AREN’T FULLY WORKED OUT: ChatGPT: We Lose Money on Each Query but Make It up on Volume!

OH, FER CRYIN’ OUT LOUD:

Jake Tapper wonders if Climate Change is making earthquakes stronger.
A seismologist has to tell him there's no evidence of that. pic.twitter.com/vY5a9DNRZA

— Nicholas Fondacaro (@NickFondacaro) December 5, 2024

More: “Tapper is also one of the journalists partially responsible for CNN getting slapped with a $1 billion defamation suit that going to trial January 6, 2025.”

The important thing is that he looks smart on camera.

KRUISER’S MORNING BRIEFING: The Canadian Cautionary Tale Gets Worse All the Time. “Let us not forget that, during COVID, Justin Trudeau looked at everything that the worst of the government tyrants in the U.S. were doing and said, ‘Hold my Labatt Blue.’ When truckers were protesting vaccine mandates, he seized their assets.”

FASTER, PLEASE: ‘We’re going to gut the fish’: Republicans give details from closed-door meetings with DOGE’s Musk, Ramaswamy.

The DOGE duo made their rounds with lawmakers in Washington, D.C. on Thursday, spending the morning with members of the Senate DOGE Caucus before heading to a meeting with House GOP leaders and House DOGE Caucus representatives.

The pair, who will spearhead efforts under President-elect Trump to slash government spending and strengthen government efficiency under the incoming Trump administration, wrapped up their day on Capitol Hill by addressing a joint meeting with Republicans of both chambers.

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., incoming chair of the DOGE House subcommittee, revealed that, during the meeting, Musk said there would be a “naughty list” and a “nice list” for lawmakers.

Do we really need a nice list?

MEANWHILE, OVER AT VODKAPUNDIT [VIP]: A Republic, If You Can Keep It.

VIP subscribers asked for more of these longer essays and I’ve been happy to oblige.

WOEING: Boeing plea deal related to Max crashes rejected by judge. “[Judge] O’Connor had problems with the idea that the Justice Department, not the court, would have approval over the selection of the monitor and how Boeing had performed under an earlier settlement with the Justice Department in January 2021 over the same charges. That agreement had deferred prosecution until the safety issues were again raised by a door plug blowing off a 737 Max plane flown by Alaska Airlines in January.”

I’d have problems with today’s Justice Department, too.

ROBERT SPENCER: Fetterman Offers an Unlikely Plan to Bind Up the Nation’s Wounds. “He still isn’t all the way out of the cult, but Fetterman’s heart is clearly in the right place.”

MEANWHILE, OVER AT VODKAPUNDIT [VIP]: A Republic, If You Can Keep It.

VIP subscribers asked for more of these longer essays and I’ve been happy to oblige.