Darien closes its doors

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I HAD BEEN ASSURED BY ALL THE VERY BEST PEOPLE THAT THIS WAS IMPOSSIBLE WITHOUT AN ACT OF CONGRESS:

Migrant crossings through Panama’s Darien Gap drop 99% after Trump takes office.

The report found that only 408 migrants traveled through the treacherous jungle route in February 2025, a 98.8 percent decrease from the 37,166 who made the journey in February 2024. Of those migrants, 151 were from Venezuela, 43 from Cameroon, 22 from Bangladesh, 21 from Colombia, 17 from Iran, and the rest from various countries across Latin America, Africa, and Asia.

The Darien Gap is a well-known jungle trail used by migrants passing through South America to Central America, as it is the only land bridge connecting the two regions. In 2023, the area saw record crossings, with Panama documenting over half a million migrants—more than double the number from 2022. Many Venezuelans have used this route in recent years to flee the socialist regime of President Nicolás Maduro.

The February total marks the lowest recorded number of migrants crossing the region since April to November 2020, when travel was significantly reduced due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Additionally, data from Panama’s Migrant Authority shows that no Chinese nationals were recorded crossing the Darien Gap in February. A report by Breitbart noted how there has been a steep decline from nearly 3,000 Chinese nationals in January 2024 to just five in January 2025.

Context:

January 26, 2024:

Biden promises to ‘shut down’ the border if given the authority in a bipartisan bill

“What’s been negotiated would — if passed into law — be the toughest and fairest set of reforms to secure the border we’ve ever had in our country,” Biden said Friday night. “It would give me, as President, a new emergency authority to shut down the border when it becomes overwhelmed. And if given that authority, I would use it the day I sign the bill into law.”

But, uh-oh: Even with a new law, you still can’t possibly stop the flow

January 30 2024:

Current and former DHS officials grumble about Biden's talk of shutting down the border

Current and former officials at the Department of Homeland Security are expressing concern over President Joe Biden’s assertion this weekend that he wants the authority to “shut down” the border.

…. Two former and two current DHS officials say that in order to shut down the border and block asylum-seekers, the U.S. would need the cooperation of Mexico to take back far more migrants.

One of the two former officials said Biden is sending a political message but not one that is based in logistical reality.

“You can’t shove back 8,000 migrants a day without the Mexicans’ approval,” the former official said. “What you would create is frantic surges in the weakened parts of the border.”

On his very first day in office, Biden used his executive authority to throw open our borders and invite in the world. Only when the political heat grew intolerable and the 2024 elections neared did he even pretend to want to reverse his decision, but claimed that he lacked the authority to do so. And the Department of Homeland Security then chimed in and said that nothing could be done, with or without new legislation.

They were both deliberately lying.

Speaking of roads ....

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we had to kill the trees to save them

Amazon forest felled to build road for climate summit

A new four-lane highway cutting through tens of thousands of acres of protected Amazon rainforest is being built for the COP30 climate summit in the Brazilian city of Belém.

It aims to ease traffic to the city, which will host more than 50,000 people – including world leaders – at the conference in November.

The state government touts the highway’s “sustainable” credentials, but some locals and conservationists are outraged at the environmental impact.

The Amazon plays a vital role in absorbing carbon for the world and providing biodiversity, and many say this deforestation contradicts the very purpose of a climate summit.

Along the partially built road, lush rainforest towers on either side - a reminder of what was once there. Logs are piled high in the cleared land which stretches more than 13km (8 miles) through the rainforest into Belém.

Diggers and machines carve through the forest floor, paving over wetland to surface the road which will cut through a protected area.

Claudio Verequete lives about 200m from where the road will be. He used to make an income from harvesting açaí berries from trees that once occupied the space.

"Everything was destroyed," he says, gesturing at the clearing.

"Our harvest has already been cut down. We no longer have that income to support our family."

He says he has received no compensation from the state government and is currently relying on savings.

He worries the construction of this road will lead to more deforestation in the future, now that the area is more accessible for businesses.

"Our fear is that one day someone will come here and say: 'Here's some money. We need this area to build a gas station, or to build a warehouse.' And then we'll have to leave.

"We were born and raised here in the community. Where are we going to go?"

His community won't be connected to the road, given its walls on either side.

"For us who live on the side of the highway, there will be no benefits. There will be benefits for the trucks that will pass through. If someone gets sick, and needs to go to the centre of Belém, we won't be able to use it."

…. The Brazilian president and environment minister say this will be a historic summit because it is "a COP in the Amazon, not a COP about the Amazon".

The president says the meeting will provide an opportunity to focus on the needs of the Amazon, show the forest to the world, and present what the federal government has done to protect it.

But Prof Sardinha says that while these conversations will happen "at a very high level, among business people and government officials", those living in the Amazon are "not being heard".

With any luck, we’ll have pulled out of the United Nations by the time of this November’s conference, thereby leaving it to other countries to pay for their grifters’ and the politically favored’s housing. One might ask, or would, if this weren’t a UN project, why 50,000 people have to fly into Brazil from across the globe to be personally present at a festival that could be accomplished via Zoom, but regardless, the housing for this swarm is going to come dearly, and is the perfect symbol for the grift that is the hallmark of the Global Warming hoax:

Surreal prices for COP30 in Brazil’s Amazon leave attendees scrambling for a place to stay

SAO PAULO (AP) — Nine months ahead of this year’s annual U.N. climate summit, known as COP30, lodging prices in the Brazilian host city of Belem are turning heads—and may soon turn off would-be attendees from the first such meeting in the Amazon rainforest.

With a shortage of housing and high interest, property owners and rental companies are feeling emboldened to charge five-digit rates, even for cramped rooms with shared bathrooms.

On Booking.com, one of the last available hotel rooms listed, a flat apartment, is going $15,266 for one person, up from $158 for the same category currently—a 9,562% increase. A 15-day stay during the conference in November would total $228,992, enough to buy a four-bedroom apartment in one of Belem’s top neighborhoods.

On Airbnb, a room with a shared bathroom in Ananindeua, a poor city near Belem, is listed at $9,320 per day. A comparable room today could be rented for as little as $11 per day. In more upscale neighborhoods, renting an apartment that accommodates eight people costs up to $446,595 for a two-week stay.

“This one scared me,” joked local architect and digital influencer Renato Balaguer about a dilapidated apartment listed at $10,000 for an 11-day stay.

President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who champions himself as a protector of the environment, has boasted about hosting the event in the Amazon, which helps regulate the climate by storing large quantities of carbon dioxide, a gas that causes climate change.

Oh no, not the briar patch!

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Schumer vows to shut down the government, and there’s a problem with that — for him.

Government shutdown likely after Schumer says Senate Dems will block GOP funding bill

But:

“I’ve gone back and forth on this thing three times because it is two horrible choices,” Sen. John Hickenlooper (D-Colo.) admitted to reporters before the lunch.

“If you shut down the government, the president is the person who decides what is essential,” Hickenlooper explained. “He decides what part of the government stays open, so you are actually giving him even more power.”

On the other side of the argument, a senior Senate Democratic aide told The Post that some members  “worry a shutdown leaves Elon Musk alone in the candy store,” referring to the Department of Government Efficiency’s (DOGE) cost-cutting efforts.

“It wouldn’t be your grandfather’s shutdown,” this source added,

And the news might be even better than envisioned, because it won’t be Elon directing the cuts, but the Democrat’s worst nightmare:

ERICK ERICKSON: Magic Mike Johnson Strikes Again.

If you think you’re having a bad day, you could always be a Senate Democrat. After Magic Mike Johnson magically passed a continuing resolution through the evenly divided House, Senate Democrats are left in an impossible position: Vote for a continuing resolution that cuts $13 billion from non-defense spending… or shut the government down and let my friend, OMB Director Russ Vought, be in charge.

That’s right, if the government is shut down, the most hated man in leftwing circles and the face of Project 2025 will directly manage the government shutdown.

I am begging Senate Democrats… fight the Republicans, filibuster the legislation, and shut the government down!!

But think of all the avocados they picked, the pools they cleaned!

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“Para usted, señor”

FL spent $660M on healthcare for illegals as hospitals ordered to verify legal status, report shows

The data shows 67,700 ER visits in Florida last year were by patients who entered the country illegally

The data for 2024 showed a total of 67,700 emergency room visits were made by patients who illegally entered the country, leading to roughly $76.6 million in Medicaid payments for their emergency care.

In total, the state paid nearly $660 million for the cost of care provided to immigrants inside the U.S. illegally. 

Its listing said it offered "a rare opportunity for renovation and customization", but I suspect the bulldozer won't care

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242 Taconic Road was listed in November for $1.395 million, went immediately to highest and best, and has closed at $1.5. It’s on just one acre in the 4-acre zone, but when I wrote about the property back in November, I said I liked its looks and would be perfectly happy here. And perhaps someone will, but I’m guessing that it will be replaced. The property sits on just one acre in the R-4 zone, so, technically the R-4’s FAR ratio would limit a new building to just 2,722.5 sq. ft (0.0625 X 43,560), but the existing house is 4,190 sq. ft., and new construction can probably be at least that large and, builders being the creative types they are, they can pump up that figure by using the basement and maybe even going up.

Pending on Sherwood

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70 Sherwood Avenue, priced at $4.295 million but going via highest and best bid, so final price will be higher. The history of the house is that it was sold, gutted, to the Frattaroli brothers in 2006 for $2.3 million; they completely renovated it and put it back on the market in September 2007 for $5.775 million. I toured it at that time and it was nice house, but the timing was unpropitious, because the great crash was just beginning. They eventually sold it for $3.375 in 2010, that buyer put in a pool, and resold it to these owners in 2021 for $3.495.

So, while the Frattarolis may not have done well here, this owner has.

Whatever their sins, and there are many, what did the poor Irish do to deserve this?

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waiting for barbara

The Unluck of the Irish: Rosie O’Donnell Flees Overseas with Trump Stowed Away in Her Head

Rosie O’Donnell has kept her promise and left the United States thanks to the election of President Donald Trump. Of course, she took Trump with her overseas as he is plainly still living rent-free in her head. On Tuesday, she explained it all in a nine-minute video.

Rosie O’Donnell confirms she has fled the United States for Ireland following the election of Donald Trump.

The 62-year-old says she left and dragged her 12-year-old daughter with her because not all Americans have equal rights now.

"I was never someone who thought I would move to another country, that’s what I decided would be the best for myself and my 12-year-old child. And here we are."

"You know, I’m happy. Clay is happy. I miss my other kids. I miss my friends."

"I miss many things about life there at home and I’m trying to find a home here in this beautiful country and when it is safe for all citizens to have equal rights there in America, that’s when we will consider coming back."

Looks like Trump finally did it...

X-clips are back up, thank goodness, and we can resume watching the best moments of our genius class

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word salad and corn chips: breakfast of champions

I’ve seen her worse, but it’s still a relief to realize that we won’t have to endure four more years of cackling hyena laughs bursting from the lips of the president of the United States. And I want to thank our ex-VP for confirming my long-held belief that the TV audience for the Academy Awards show was made up exclusively of mouth-breathing morons.

Kamala Harris roasted for trying to tie love of Doritos to Big Tech innovation during AI conference

Harris attended the Human[X] AI conference Sunday in Las Vegas, which was billed as Harris' "first post-election address." She took the stage with Nuno Sebastiao, the CEO of data science company Feedzai.

Harris recounted that on the night of the Academy Awards, March 2, she had a hankering for nacho cheese Doritos chips and had them delivered to her house via DoorDash, according to clips of the interview on social media. 

"We did DoorDash ’cause I wanted Doritos, and the red carpet part was about to start, and nobody wanted to leave to go to the grocery store," Harris said. "So it was DoorDash. … So I was willing to give up whatever might be the tracking of Kamala Harris’ particular fondness for nacho cheese Doritos for the sake of getting a big bag of Doritos as I watched the Oscars."

"But here’s the thing. At what point do we also uplift and highlight the consumer’s right to also expect — and you can debate with me if it should be a right — I think it should," she continued in the clip of the video. "To expect that the innovation would also be weighted in terms of solving their everyday problems, which are beyond my craving for Doritos, but about whatever — and I know the work is happening around — you know, scientific discoveries, for example. To cure long-standing diseases."

"But I’m going to throw out another one … I would love it if there would be an investment of resources in solving the affordable housing issue in America," she said. "Like help me with that. Help me with that."