Two Approaches

When the British Empire was in full flower, colonial administrators didn't try to force the natives of their colonies to become British. Now when the citizens of those now-independent nations migrate to Britain, their behavior is often offensive to native Brits. Grooming (rape) gangs, cousin marriage, hijabs, etc. don't sit well with the English, Scots, and Welsh.

By contrast, US colonial administrators have largely imposed US laws and customs on our colonies and their natives. Those natives haven't always loved the experience, but when they move to the US they often fit in better here than the UK's ex-colonials do there. 

Full disclosure: the DrsC lived and worked for a year as civilians in a US colony in Asia - Guam. We experienced the occasional awkwardness that resulted when Asian customs encountered US laws. However it worked reasonably well, several thousand from Guam thrive here in "the States."

Martyrs Wanted

The Iran Embassy in the United Kingdom has posted on their Telegram account a call to Persians living in the UK.

A campaign called Jan Fada which translates to "devotion" or "sacrificing one's life." The message appeared to encourage expatriates to stand up for Iran and even become "martyrs" if needed.

In my eyes, that message constitutes grounds for breaking off diplomatic relations with Iran. PM Starmer is too timid to declare the embassy staff persona non grata, and close the UK embassy in Tehran.

Poll: Support for Trump Iran Policy

Red State reports the findings of a recent Harvard CAPS/Harris Poll. The news about our involvement with Iran is good.

Seventy-four percent of voters say the U.S. is currently winning over Iran, while 54% believe the country has the advantage in negotiations.

According to the poll, conducted April 23-26, 2026, among 2,745 registered voters, 52% of respondents support U.S. military airstrikes on Iran, while 54% say those strikes were justified.

The survey found that 78% of voters believe Trump was right to agree to a temporary ceasefire with Iran. At the same time, 57% approve of the administration's decision to impose a blockade on ships heading to Iran, signaling majority support for combining military pressure with strategic restraint.

Apparently most Americans recognize the wisdom of this adage. "If a group or nation says they seek your death, believe them and act accordingly."

Weird Pharmacological Science

Science Alert reports research finding that individuals taking the most common medication for gout - allopurinol - have a reduced likelihood of heart disease and stroke.

The international team behind the new research studied 109,504 people who were just starting urate-lowering treatment, with allopurinol.

The data showed that those whose uric acid levels dropped below 6 mg/dL in the first 12 months also had a 9 percent lower risk of a significant cardiovascular event over the 5-year study period, compared with those who missed the target.

Why this should be true is as yet unknown. 

Acts of Folly

Stacy McCain posts a quote by author David Mamet that I like very much, perhaps you will like it too.

Our forebears struggled and fought and died to establish and to preserve and broaden those freedoms they bequeathed us, and which have made us the most prosperous country in history. To denigrate our culture and traditions, to turn our back on our place and duty in the world … is an act of folly like that of any thoughtless and weak (not to say ungrateful) inheritor of wealth.

Truly. Hat tip to Instapundit for the link.

The White Spouse Phenomenon

Instapundit posts the following factoid, which presumes Reynolds believes it to be accurate.

Another fun fact: Aside from Kagan, who never married, every Supreme Court justice has a white spouse.

Sonia Sotomayor is divorced now, but she did have a white spouse when she was married.

Kamala Harris has a white spouse also. All of this means something; I leave to the reader the determination of exactly what that meaning could be.

Welfare Queens ... Still With Us

 Just the News reports the following:

Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said Tuesday that a recent review found thousands of Americans who receive Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits in just one state are actually driving luxury vehicles.

The study, conducted by the Foundation for Government Accountability, connected 14,000 luxury vehicles to food stamp enrollees, with Lexus being the most common brand.

The review found 3,636 food stamp recipients are driving Lexus cars, 2,098 are driving Teslas, 1,914 are driving BMWs, 1,131 are driving Cadillacs, 11 drive Lamborghinis, three drive Bentleys and three drive Ferraris.

The taxes you and I just filed are paying the tab while these not-needy individuals are ripping us off. In the Reagan era we called these fraudsters "welfare queens," an evocative term we might usefully resurrect.

Action Figure

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries is a Temu Barack Obama action figure, with a repetitive dialog track. I am beyond tired of seeing his sneering face and hearing his voice on TV. 

Basta.

Ukraine a NATO Proxy

Writing for Politico.eu, Victor Jack discusses five ways in which “NATO is not ready to fight Russia.” He is correct, of course, but the problem isn’t a severe as it appears.

Mobilized for war as it now is, Russia is more formidable than the disorganized collective militaries of NATO’s member states. On the other hand, Russia is bogged down in a war with Ukraine that it cannot win, and seemingly cannot walk away from. 

As long as Russia is tied down in Ukraine, it is unlikely it will overtly attack any NATO country. So-called “gray area warfare” is another matter, that Russia will continue to wage.

One supposes Putin hopes Ukraine will tire of the fight and accept a disadvantageous ceasefire. Similarly, Zelenskyy hopes Russia will recognize the no-win, continuing slog of their invasion and demand Putin stop. As is often noted, “hope” is not a strategy. 

The stalemate in Ukraine pins the Russian bear in a cage match with the Ukrainian tiger. You’d have to say both sides are losing if it were not also true that both are honing their use of drones which bid fair to dominate this century’s battlefields. Already both are selling their hard-won expertise to third parties. 

It is to NATO’s advantage to keep Ukraine in the fight with Russia, via support of arms and munitions. Expensive as that support is, it is cheaper than being prepared to fight Russia mano a mano.

Masterful Putdown

President Trump being interviewed by Norah O'Donnell for CBS' 60 Minutes. Speaking about would-be assassin Cole Allen, she noted:

He had attended a 'No Kings' protest in California.

To which President Trump replied:

No Kings, yeah... If I was a king, I wouldn't be dealing with you.

He drops a retort worthy of Rickles or Dangerfield. Hat tip to Scott Johnson of Power Line for the quote. 

Where the Buses Don’t Run

The following is being attributed to Fox News’ political analyst Brit Hume, and it does sound like his voice.

The Democratic Party has drifted farther to the left than I’ve ever seen. They are out where the buses don’t run.

Conservatives tend to be proud to be Americans, no matter who is in office. But liberals in this country have gone sour on America. They’ve given up on America. They’re rooting against America.

There’s a progressive, radical, socialist ideology that is frankly anti-American. The American experiment doesn’t fit in with their oppressed versus oppressor worldview.

Whoever said this was correct.

Three-Cornered

George Friedman, COTTonLINE’s current favorite foreign policy analyst comes up with a unique plan to achieve an end to the Iran war. It involves a three-cornered deal wherein the US gives China some things China wants in return for China pressuring Iran to drop its nuclear program. 

Friedman believes China as a major customer for Iran’s oil has leverage that we don’t, and it might be sufficient to get Iran to accept a no-nukes deal. As Trump is fond of saying, “we’ll see what happens.”

Trump Responds

The following is from President Trump's press conference after the WHCD broke up. Fox News' Peter Doocy posed this question:

I ask, respectfully: Why do you think this keeps happening to you?

The President replied in a very thoughtful way.

I've studied assassinations, and I must tell you that the most impactful people, the people that do the most, you take a look at the people... Abraham Lincoln, the people who have gone through this, where they got 'em. But, the people that do the most, the people that make the biggest impact, they're the ones that they go after.

I'm agree. A hyperactive, news-dominating POTUS attracts hostile responses.

Culpability

Do you suppose any of the correspondents in the WHCD audience have even a scintilla of awareness of their personal culpability in creating killers like Cole Allen? In a very real sense they coached him to attempt assassination. 

Cole's manifesto echoes the lies, exaggerations, and innuendoes the media have broadcast and published about Trump for the last decade. They succeeded even if their dupe let them down.

More Wisdom

Instapundit reposts the following X by Bayta Ungar-Sargon. She is correct.

The week we learned Charlottesville was funded by the Left and NYT published an interview justifying murder, President Trump survives a third assassination attempt.

We don't have a political violence problem in America. We have a Left-wing political violence problem in America.

Wisdom

Stephen Green posting at Instapundit, drops the following wisdom from an X by Rothmus who appears to cite baseball player Matt Tabor as its originator. Hence, I'm unsure of its author.

The right think guns are used for hunting and protection, because that’s what the right uses them for.

The left think guns are used for murder, because that’s what the left uses them for.

This largely accurate quote is particularly appropriate on the day after an attempt on the President's life, by an avowed leftist. 

The Shooter's 'Manifesto'

Do you wonder what was in the mind of Cole Allen when he tried to kill President Trump & Co. at the WHCD? The New York Post has the shooter's 'manifesto,' mostly couched as an apology.

As you might expect from someone bright enough to graduate from California Institute of Technology, his 'manifesto' is literate and his reasoning is clear. His view of Trump is wrong in my judgment but his description of Secret Service failures is damning. 

I'll bet Allen will attract the same sort of claque as has Luigi Mangione, demonstrating we are not a healthy society. 

Saturday Snark

Images courtesy of Power Line's The Week in Pictures

and its Comments section.

EVs ... Second Thoughts

Earlier this afternoon I was at a neighborhood birthday party, chatting with a couple of neighbor guys about the impracticality of electric cars in our region. We were largely in agreement but some of the back and forth clarified my negative thoughts about EVs.

I have not changed my mind that an EV is practical as a second car for a homeowner who will use it to get to work, school, the grocery, the doctor, etc within a 45 mile range from home, and park it in his/her garage every night where a charger will top up the charge. 

Some businesses which have fenced lots in which the vehicle can be overnighted and which do a lot of short hops in town and to nearby suburbs might find EVs work as well.

Except … few families buy a new "second" car. The second car used around town is often an older once-first car that is paid for and still runs okay, even if we no longer want to risk it hundreds of miles away on a roadtrip.

Our "new car' is typically what we'll use if we find the need (or desire) to go 200-300 miles from home for work or play. 

The consequence is that few EVs are purchased, and those mostly for virtue signaling. Buyers try to use them for longer-distance travel and have grief. Horror stories abound.

The advertised EV mileage is on nice days on level ground with a light load, and no a/c or heat drawing power. You will get less, often much less. Charging stations are often unavailable due to vandalism, damage or overuse.

My conclusion … in the US today, current EVs are very much a niche product. In a future US with a headstrong progressive government - determined to force EVs upon us - a reevaluation might come up with a different answer.

Friday Memes

... with actual cause.

Images courtesy of Politico's

The Nation's Cartoonists on the Week in Politics.

Images courtesy of RealClearPolitics'

Cartoons of the Week.

Image courtesy of News Ammo's

Garrison Cartoons.

Image courtesy of Lucianne.com.