Final prices reported from Riverside

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68 Willowmere Circle, full price, $3.895 million, 10 days

dawn harbor

14 Dawn Harbor Lane, full price, $8.495 million, 10 days.

meyer place

11 Meyer Place, $3.090 million got, $3.135 asked; 23 days.

highgate road

10 Highgate Road, land sale, $2.7 million, 718 days.

I showed this property to clients back in 2009 or 2010, and they almost bit; the house was certainly very livable, and could have been renovated at not too much expense, but even then its value was a land, and they passed. Too bad — they ended up settling for something not, in my opinion, as nice in another town.

It's J.D. Vance, and that's fine with me, though I'm sure there'll be howls on the right. (UPDATED)

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Trump’s announced his pick.

Vance’s Hillbilly Elegy showed a compassionate understanding of the drug problem that’s trapped half the population of rural America (up in Maine, as well as his old Kentucky home) balanced by admiration for the other half who, like Vance himself, persevere. The book’s a fine read, and before his critics tear him apart, they should read it (and I don’t mean viewing the Ron Howard TV adaptation, that missed the whole point of the book).

Just read this after writing the above, and, remembering that the mark of a genius is a man who agrees with you, here’s HOTAIR’s managing editor and resident genius, Ed Morrissey, weighing on on the pick:

At 39, Vance will be one of the youngest candidates ever on a national presidential ticket. He only has one partial term as Senator under his belt; his direct opponent, Kamala Harris, had only one incomplete term in the Senate as well when Joe Biden picked her as a running mate. Vance authored Hillbilly Elegy, a book that resonated among Trump's conservo-populist base, and has been a tireless ally for the former and likely future president.

Vance will certainly provide youth and vigor on the campaign trail. He will also be the only veteran on either ticket, and a combat veteran at that in Iraq as a military journalist. He has proven himself articulate on the stump as well as on the page, and has been a promising bench member since joining the Senate less than two years ago. 

The surprising non-surprise comes from the events of the last couple of days, and perhaps since the debate. Trump had already signaled that his strategy was shifting to woo people outside the tent rather than just a base turnout strategy after Biden bombed so badly less than three weeks ago. The question was whether that strategic shift would also impact his selection of running mate, choosing someone who could broaden the appeal rather than excite the base.

Now we have our answer, and a good look at what Trump plans to do. He has already told Salena Zito that he threw out his red-meat acceptance speech for Thursday in favor of a more positive, conciliatory speech to promote unity. We can expect that to continue past the convention too, especially since Biden seems incapable of meeting the moment effectively. 

By choosing Vance as his running mate, though, Trump can keep his base happy and fired up. Plus, it's been clear since Trump's acrimonious split with Mike Pence that he would almost certainly not use the pick to elevate the establishment faction of the GOP again. He wants a partner he can trust, plus someone who can carry on the MAGA agenda and base in case he can't finish the term, and/or into the future. This allows Trump to expand his appeal rather than changing his entire approach. And he can also ask Vance to do some of the rhetorical heavy lifting on the MAGA agenda with certified credibility while Trump himself focuses on conciliation and national leadership.

That's a smart strategy. It's not the only smart strategy that was available to Trump, but it's a rational choice, and not one likely to get much second-guessing this week. 

Uh huh

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(I’m aware of this morning’s dismissal of the Jack Smith case against Trump, and feel free to comment below, but the decision will go up on appeal to the 11th Circuit and from there to the Supreme Court before judgement is truly “final”, so I choose to look at an issue that’s here and now, instead.)

One story: DHS Secretary Who Insisted the Border Was Secure Claims Trump's Had 'Enhanced Security' for Weeks. Denies the claims (below) that any agents were switched to Jill protection.

And here’s the other: Secret Service resources were diverted from Trump rally and sent off to protect the President’s baby sitter

>>> But that's not the only problem with Trump's security detail that day. Another source at the Secret Service told Crabtree that Trump's usual protective detail has been overworked, with agents working seven days a week without days off. Due to the strain, many agents assigned to Trump's detail on Saturday were temporary replacements from different field offices, and there were only two snipers. 

[Well, three, if you count Mr. Crook — Ed]

“Trump has a permanent detail, however it’s much smaller in the amount of bodies,” the source explained. “His detail has been worked so hard with all the travel that they’re working 7 days a week with shift changes. so HQ sends in temp agents to supplement - not a good scenario. Mission Failure, IMHO.”

Only one agent from Trump's permanent security detail was reportedly present.

"The Pittsburgh USSS Field Office had a Jill Biden visit and designated a lot of resources to her." 

“That is f***ing unbelievable to me,” the source told Crabtree.

Who to believe? I’d say that the results speak for themselves.

“It’s time to put Trump in a bullseye”

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More from “President ‘can’t we all get along?’: “Donald Trump is a genuine threat to this nation. He's a threat to our freedom He’s a threat to our democracy. He's literally a threat to everything America stands for.”

And then there’s this:

Don’t be fooled folks.

This is what unity looks like from Democrat politicians and many of their supporter’s. pic.twitter.com/RXz7KbQbGT

— Allen Lively (@AllenLivelyLOF)July 14, 2024

🚨Flashback to Lincoln Project cofounder Rick Wilson in 2023:

"They're still going to have to go out and put a bullet in Donald Trump." pic.twitter.com/FqMFty7SlO

The Democratic super-donor, in a post on X, tried to clean up the inflammatory remarks he made last week while telling the audience at the Allen & Company Sun Valley Conference that he and fellow tech entrepreneur Peter Thiel had a falling out due to a “moral issue” — Thiel’s backing of Trump, according to a Friday report in Puck News.

Thiel, who was in the audience at the panel, spoke up and sarcastically thanked thanked Hoffman for putting money behind lawsuits against Trump, saying that the legal action had turned the 45th president into “martyr.”

“Yeah, I wish I had made him an actual martyr,” Hoffman reportedly replied.

I'm no conspiracist, but I look forward to learning who trained him, and where

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no deadeye dick, he

Would-be Trump assassin tried to join high school shooting club, was rejected for being ‘comically bad’ shot

The Pennsylvania man who attempted to assassinate President Donald Trump during a rally on Saturday  tried out for his high school’s rifle team, but he was rejected for being a “terrible” shot and making “off-color” jokes.

>>>

A few years before the assassination attempt, Crooks tried out for the rifle team at Bethel Park High School, two former classmates told The Post.

The team at Bethel Park shoots Anschutz single-shot rifles with peep sights and .22-caliber ammunition, Jameson Murphy and another former student explained.

The shooting range at the school is 50 feet long by 21 feet wide, with seven ranges.

Crooks once fired from the seventh lane — the closest lane to the right wall — and hit the left wall, completely missing every target on the back wall. He missed his target by close to 20 feet, Murphy recalled.

“He tried out…and was such a comically bad shot he was unable to make the team and left after the first day,” Murphy said.

>>>

Crooks – who has been described as a loner who wore hunting outfits to class – ”couldn’t shoot at all. He was a terrible shot,” the second classmate added.

Even the coach, they continued, had concerns about Crooks.

“Our old coach was a stickler, he trained Navy marksmen, so he knew people. He knew when someone’s not the greatest person,” the ex-classmate explained.

All this was “ few years ago”, and you can train almost anyone to be a marksman in less than three years — the military does, and even I have helped complete novices from a local Maine high school rifle team hit bullseyes in a single fall semester, but it does take practice: a lot of it, at a range, and almost certainly with an instructor — self-instruction, while certainly possible, is rare.

So this is a curious story.

Why would she have considered this inappropriate, give her boss's own position on the matter?

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“I’m shocked — shocked, I say, that any staffer of mine could think such a thing.”

Dem staffer axed after saying Trump gunman should have taken ‘shooting lessons so you don’t miss next time’

A staffer for a Democratic congressman from Mississippi was fired for her inflammatory comments saying she hoped the shooter who targeted Donald Trump “wouldn’t miss next time.”

“I don’t condone violence but please get you some shooting lessons so you don’t miss next time ooops that wasn’t me talking,” Jacqueline Marsaw wrote on Facebook Saturday evening, shortly after Trump narrowly avoided being shot in the head during a rally in Pennsylvania.

Marsaw, of Natchez, worked as a field director of Rep. Bennie Thompson, the Natchez Democrat reported.

Marsaw also wrote that the shooting – which killed one rally attendee and critically wounded two others – “couldn’t [have] happened to a nicer fellow,” though she insisted that it was a “staged” incident.

“That’s what your hate speech got you!” she added in a third post, seemingly referring to Trump’s often-controversial takes on social and political issues.

As of Sunday morning, all of the posts had been deleted.

(As was Miss Marsaw)

And here’s her boss just three months ago:

Daily Caller

Flashback: Dems Pushed Bill To Take Away Trump’s Secret Service Detail

April 19 2024: Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.) on Friday introduced legislation that would strip Secret Service protection from convicted felons sentenced to prison, a bill clearly aimed at former President Donald Trump. 

“Unfortunately, current law doesn’t anticipate how Secret Service protection would impact the felony prison sentences of a protectee – even a former President,” Thompson, the former chairman of the House Jan. 6 select committee, said in a statement. 

“It is regrettable that it has come to this, but this previously unthought-of scenario could become our reality,” he added. 

“This measure would apply to former President Trump. It also would apply to all Secret Service protectees convicted and sentenced under felony charges,” according to a fact sheet.

Co-sponsors of the bill include Democratic Reps. Troy A. Carter Sr., Rep. Barbara Lee, Rep. Frederica Wilson, Rep. Yvette Clarke, Rep. Bonnie Coleman, Rep. Jasmine Crockett, Joyce Beatty and Steve Cohen, according to the release.“This measure would apply to former President Trump. It also would apply to all Secret Service protectees convicted and sentenced under felony charges,” according to a fact sheet.

I saw this headline and thought, "BS", but no, it appears authentic. If Trump hadn’t turned his head ….

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A photo capturing the historic events of the shooting at former President Donald Trump’s rally in Pennsylvaniashowed one of the bullets in the frame, just barely missing Trump’s head.

The photo, taken by New York Times photographer Doug Mills, showed a gray line just above Trump’s left shoulder. Another photo taken by Mills right after showed Trump checking his right ear, and a third one showed blood on his hand after taking it away from his ear.