CORN, POPPED: Trump’s Plan to Make The Military Great Again Is Going to Cause Fireworks.

BIDEN IS ON HIS WAY OUT, THERE’S NO NEED TO KEEP LYING FOR HIM: Thanksgiving dinner is historically affordable this year.

The costs of this year’s holiday feast — estimated at $58.08 for a 10-person gathering, or $5.81 a head — dropped 5% since last year, the lowest level since 2021, according to a nationwide survey of grocery prices by the American Farm Bureau Federation, which represents millions of U.S. farmers. But the picture improves further when adjusted for inflation.

“If your dollar had the same overall purchasing power as a consumer in 1984 … this would be the least expensive Thanksgiving meal in the 39-year history of the AFBF Thanksgiving survey, other than the outlier of 2020,” the authors wrote.

For plenty of households, it doesn’t feel that way.

Feel?

It’s our turn to host Thanksgiving this year so I showed this story to my wife who got a bitter laugh out of it. She has the receipts, and they ain’t pretty.

RIP: Chuck Woolery, Game Show Host and Conservative Podcaster, Dies at 83.

PLEASE, STOP — THEY WON’T LET ME VOTE FOR HIM AGAIN: Trump ‘to fire entire Jack Smith team and use DOJ to investigate 2020 election.’ “Trump plans to eliminate the entirety of Smith’s team, including career attorneys typically protected from political retribution, according to a report from the Washington Post. Smith had previously said he will resign from the post and wind down his federal cases against Trump before he takes the oath of office in January.”

#JAN6: Jack Smith, in Stunning Conclusion to January 6 Capitol Riot Case Against Trump, Files Motion To Dismiss.

The request comes to Judge Tanya Chutkan in a six-page motion. Mr. Smith acknowledges that it “has long been the position of the Department of Justice that the United States Constitution forbids the federal indictment and subsequent criminal prosecution of a sitting President.” Trump takes office January 20.

Mr. Smith writes that America has “never faced the circumstance here, where a federal indictment against a private citizen has been returned by a grand jury and a criminal prosecution is already underway when the defendant is elected President.” The special counsel consulted the DOJ’s Office of Legal Counsel, which determined that “this prosecution must be dismissed before the defendant is inaugurated.”

The special counsel explains that the prohibition on prosecuting a sitting president is “categorical” and “does not turn on the gravity of the crimes charged, the strength of the Government’s proof, or the merits of the prosecution, which the Government stands fully behind.” Mr. Smith reckons that if Trump had not won, the government could have taken the case to a jury — and won a conviction.

He’s the President-elect, not the President, correct? So he could still be fair game but as Sunny noted on Twitter, “Jack Smith continues his undisputed heavyweight championship title of failing to secure final, non-overturned convictions of top politicians. Bob McDonnell. John Edwards. Now Donald Trump.”

And in just over four years, Trump won’t be President at all:

I'll add they are moving to dismiss "without prejudice," which theoretically means they could refile.

— LB (@beyondreasdoubt) November 25, 2024

Unlikely as it seems that Smith might refile in 2029, Trump could always pardon himself just to watch the heads explode.

CORRECTION: That’s Smith’s Democrat-appointed successor, should there be one.

TAR, FEATHERS, APPLY LIBERALLY: Amish Volunteers Built 100+ ‘Tiny Homes’ for Hurricane Victims but Guess What Happened Next…

BATTLESWARM: Flu Manchu Fraudapalooza.

Flu Manchu lockdowns bankrupted numerous American businesses (restaurants were particularly hard hit), but the firehose of taxpayer money the feds turned on also made a whole lot of people rich, including several fraud artists.

Some are being brought to justice.

First up: Rapper NBA YoungBoy pleads guilty in Utah prescription drug fraud ring.

More like this, please.

LET’S ENJOY 2024 A WHILE LONGER BEFORE WE GET ALL WORKED UP OVER 2028: The Looming MAGA War Between JD Vance and Ron DeSantis: The First Move Is Coming.

EVERYTHING IS GOING SWIMMINGLY: Half of U.S. at risk for blackouts during extreme cold this winter, grid watchdog warns. “NERC has been warning for years that increased reliance on unreliable wind and solar threaten grid reliability, but the ‘2024-2025 Winter Reliability Assessment’ explains that as coal resources diminish and the U.S. becomes more reliant on natural gas, pipeline infrastructure may not be adequate to ensure a secure supply to homes and generators.”

KEVIN DOWNEY JR: Don’t You Dare Forget What the Democrats Did to We the People.

CHANGE:

"According to an Inquirer analysis of election results, Democrats performed worse in 649 of the 688 majority-Black precincts in Philadelphia while Trump grew his share of votes in 635 majority-Black precincts as compared with 2020." (1/2) pic.twitter.com/4LLdPGArPp

— Athan Koutsiouroumbas (@Athan_K) November 25, 2024

Details: Trump’s campaign to win over Black Philadelphians had some success. Black voters told us why.

WILL NO ONE RID ME OF THIS TURBULENT SPEECH? MSNBC News Actor, Race Scholar ‘Confront the First Amendment’s Dark History.’

ACCOUNTABILITY: Russia fires commander for false claims about progress of war in Ukraine, military bloggers say.

Colonel General Gennady Anashkin, the commander of the South Forces Group, was dismissed after providing misleading information about Russia’s progress near the Siversk settlement in the eastern region of Donetsk, according to the bloggers.

Russian media RBC reported Anashkin’s removal, citing unnamed sources within the Russian Ministry of Defense who said he was removed as part of a planned rotation. There has been no official confirmation from Russian officials.

Ukrainian forces are facing “one of the most powerful Russian offensives” since the start of the war on the frontlines, according to Ukraine’s army chief.

But progress has been slower in some regions, with many settlements becoming “synonymous with lies and unjustified losses,” Rybar, one of the most prominent Russian military blogs, said on Telegram.

“Only the lazy did not write about the problems there: in general, it took the system about two months to respond to it properly,” Rybar added, referring to multiple settlements near the frontline that Anashkin allegedly lied about capturing.

Some bloggers claim that false reports made by several commanders about the situation on the ground have led to heavy losses among Russian units.

Putin started a stupid war but at least there’s some accountability among the flag ranks.

What a shame there’s no accountability for Putin.

MEANWHILE, OVER AT VODKAPUNDIT: Too Much Is Never Enough: the Big Lie about Education Spending.

THIS MIGHT BE THE STUPIDEST DAMN THING POLITICO HAS EVER PUBLISHED, AND THAT’S REALLY SAYING SOMETHING: Musk gets a leg up from Trump in space battle vs. Bezos.

Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos have been locked in a bitter rivalry for supremacy in space exploration. Donald Trump’s return to the White House could boost Musk’s ascent.

As it stands, Musk’s SpaceX is the competition’s undisputed leader: It regularly sends astronauts into orbit, while Bezos’ Blue Origin has yet to launch anyone beyond the outer edge of space.

But Bezos’ company, even if far behind SpaceX, is seen as its closest American competitor, and the two companies have clashed in court over billions of dollars in government funding. More recently, their battle has become increasingly bitter, as the billionaires themselves traded barbs on Musk-owned X.

Now, as Musk spends weeks palling around with Trump at Mar-a-Lago after the election, their proximity has the space industry fearing that Musk could rig the space race in his favor by diverting billions of dollars in government funding to SpaceX. The chief threat to SpaceX’s peers is that Musk will aim to create a monopoly in the private space industry.

Blue Origin has yet to put a single kilo of mass into orbit, much less catch up to the reusability standard set by Falcon 9 almost eight years ago. Meanwhile, with Starship, Musk is working on reducing the cost to orbit by two orders of magnitude.

Politico is indulging in the stupidest kind of scaremongering in a story that was probably shopped around by the same “space industry lobbyist granted anonymity” it quotes spouting off nonsense like this gem: “You’re talking about two of the most unpredictable people in the world getting together. It’s not like chocolate and peanut butter, and you get a great combination. You’re talking about world dominance here.”

This next graf is the big tell:

On Capitol Hill, Blue Origin is trying to raise alarms about potential unfair advantages in the space race. The company has been arguing that any policy that crowds out competition and capacity in civil or military space business could hurt the country’s space program and national security, according to the person who works with Blue Origin. Another person familiar with Blue Origin’s Washington strategy said the company has been trying to remind those on the Hill that its technology will be flying soon and intends to be a competitor.

Blue Origin hasn’t been able to compete so the company is crying to Capitol Hill — and garbage publications like Politico are happy to help.

KRUISER’S MORNING BRIEFING: Trump Ruined the Good Vibes With a Couple of Horrible Nominations. “There is nothing for conservatives to like about either of the nominees that we’re discussing this morning. Both Ed and I noted that the Chavez-DeRemer nomination is a gift to Teamsters President Sean O’Brien for his support of Trump. A Republican president who is beholden to Big Labor is…a Democrat.”

If Trump 45 is anything to go by, his worst picks probably won’t last long under Trump 47.

YOU DON’T SAY: Liz Cheney Hurt Kamala Harris with Swing Voters in Rust Belt.

The data, published by Data for Progress, asked voters in Michigan and Pennsylvania if they were more enthusiastic or less enthusiastic about Harris after she campaigned with Cheney.

With Michigan swing voters, 3-in-10 said Cheney’s endorsement made them less enthusiastic about Harris, while only 23 percent said they were more enthusiastic.

Similarly, in Pennsylvania, 28 percent of swing voters said they were less enthusiastic about Harris after she campaigned with Cheney, while only 21 percent said the endorsement from the neoconservative made them more enthusiastic for Harris.

The only people who thought Cheney would help Harris with Republicans are people who don’t know any Republicans — or at least not any from outside the Beltway.

HOW ARE ANY OF THESE HOSTS STILL EMPLOYED? ‘The View’ Hosts Forced to Read Four ‘Legal Notes’ on Friday for Lying and It Was Glorious.

TRANSITION: Trump taps loyalist Rollins for USDA chief in surprise pick.

Rollins served as director of the Office of American Innovation and acting director of the Domestic Policy Council during the first Trump administration. Since her time in the White House, Rollins has co-founded and helmed the America First Policy Institute think tank, which played an influential role in the transition and has been referred to as Trump’s White House in waiting.

Rollins, who grew up on a farm, is a surprise pick for the role, with less experience in agriculture policy than those on Trump’s shortlist. Trump’s decision to tap her, which was first reported by The Wall Street Journal, came amid ongoing fighting over the role among his advisers, family members and powerful agriculture groups.

Since it seems we must have a Secretary for Agriculture — even though the country somehow managed to itself in the century before the department was formed — I’d rather have a farmer and an “expert” in “agriculture policy.”

Regardless of whether they’re a so-called “loyalist.”

But this is where we are in the Dem-to-GOP transition:

Now that it’s not a democrat administration, the media all the sudden:

1. Tells you it’s unheard of to pick loyal cabinet members;

2. Intense vetting and stringent adherence to job qualifications is good again;

3. Billionaires involved in politics is a grave concern for…

— Insurrection Barbie (@DefiyantlyFree) November 24, 2024

EXCEDRIN HEADACHE #47: Voter Approval for Trump’s Transition Creates Huge Problem for Democrats.

YOU DON’T SAY: School did nothing wrong when it punished student for using AI, court rules. “The incident occurred in December 2023 when RNH was a junior. The school determined that RNH and another student ‘had cheated on an AP US History project by attempting to pass off, as their own work, material that they had taken from a generative artificial intelligence (‘AI’) application,’ Levenson wrote. ‘Although students were permitted to use AI to brainstorm topics and identify sources, in this instance the students had indiscriminately copied and pasted text from the AI application, including citations to nonexistent books (i.e., AI hallucinations).'”

IT’S VICTORIA TAFT’S West Coast, Messed Coast™ — Still Drinking the Kool-Aid.

FLORIDA MAN FRIDAY [VIP]: Worst Elon Musk Impersonator EVER. “It’s time for your much-needed break from the serious news and this week we have the world’s worst Elon Musk impersonator, how to get caught at shoplifting without even trying, and Louisiana Man’s Ulta-mate mugshot.”

WHERE DID THE MONEY GO?

March 2023: Gavin Newsom promises to build 1,200 tiny homes by Fall

Fall: Newsom's Senior Advisor on Homelessness offers a word salad explanation for the nonexistent tiny homes

August 2024: $750 MILLION gone & not a single tiny home constructed pic.twitter.com/rI6wwNFnKC

— BAY AREA STATE OF MIND (@YayAreaNews) November 20, 2024

CHRIS QUEEN: The Human Side of Tom Homan. “As tough and uncompromising as Homan comes across in front of a podium, the border crisis and the heartbreaking tragedy it has wrought has taken its toll on him. He appeared on Laura Ingraham’s Fox News show to talk about it.”