Gee, can one really tell whether this was actually written by the Donald himself? (This time, I won’t criticize him for being insensitive to others’ feelings) (Update: SoyBoy Murphy is verwey sadd)

/

UPDATE: Chris “There’s nothing wrong with Joe, he’s just resting” Murphy is concerned. “Such harsh language!”

The Week in Memes

/

And finally, a topic we’ve touched on here before:

UPDATE

Bonus material, because after posting this initially, I went looking for information on Howard French, mentioned above, just to refresh my memory. As it turns out, my distant memory of him was spot-on: Columbia School of Journalism; NY Times foreign correspondent, and an expert on how it was Africa that was at the center of the rise of the Western world. What would we do without experts?

AI Overview

Howard W. French is a prominent foreign correspondent, author, and academic specializing in Africa, China, and Japan

. As a columnist for Foreign Policy, his work critically examines global power dynamics, challenging Western-centric narratives by emphasizing Africa's role in global history, analyzing China's expansion in Africa, and exploring China's rising regional power.

Wikipedia +5

Key Areas of Focus and Books:

First they came for the millionaires, but I was not a millionaire, so I did not speak out

/

Maine Democrats will enact a 2% millionaire tax in the state’s new budget, and expect to collect $150 million from it over the next two years. Fat chance

Lawmakers were still voting on the package after 10 p.m. It will be the last major spending proposal of the governor’s tenure and comes as the 78-year-old navigates a difficult Democratic primary against Graham Platner for the right to take on five-term U.S. Sen. Susan Collins, a Republican who is a top target for Democrats looking to win back the Senate.

This has pushed her to the left in the State House. Mills has long resisted progressive calls to raise taxes on high earners.

…. The millionaire tax looks to be the biggest addition to the budget proposal. Democrats said the 2% tax on income over $1 million would apply to just over 2,600 income tax filers, generating $150 million over two years. This matched a proposal from Rep. Cheryl Golek, D-Harpswell, that is a priority for progressive groups including the Maine Center for Economic Policy.

Mills’ tax office opposed that bill in a hearing last year. She also warded Democrats off from raising income taxes early in her tenure. But she exited her 2022 reelection over former Gov. Paul LePage by approving a paid family and medical leave plan funded by a payroll tax (imposed on millionaires and non-millionaires alike).

Appropriators made other changes on Monday, moving Maine away from several of the tax changes in President Donald Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act. The state will follow Mills’ plan to not conform to popular items including no taxes on tips and overtime as well as phasing out the retail side of the often-scrutinized Business Equipment Tax Reimbursement tax break.

Democrats can pass this budget without any Republican votes.

A year ago, May 25, 2025, the Democrats tried the same thing, and the socialist organization Maine Center for Economic Policy, that drafted the bill, had this to say:

"Today, the Maine Legislature took a big step toward making that vision a reality. Lawmakers on the Taxation Committee voted to advance LD 1089, a bold and long-overdue proposal from Rep. Golek that would add a 2% tax on income over $1 million for individuals or $2 million for couples. This isn’t just symbolic — it’s serious. We’re talking about over $100 million in revenue over the next biennium to help fund our schools.

“This is a major positive step for tax fairness and for the people of Maine, who overwhelmingly support making the ultra-wealthy pay what they owe. The programs families rely on are under threat because our tax code asks too little of those at the top — and LD 1089 starts to fix that.” [Bolding added]

The governor vetoed the bill last year, but the Democrats have now gained enough votes to override their own party’s governor, so they came right back this year.

This is how it always works. When, back in the aftermath of Sandy Hook, Connecticut enacted a gun control law that was hailed as “the strictest law in the nation”. Hailed, that is, except for the Connecticut gun-banners, whose head declared it “a good start”; she and her anti-group demonstrated that by pushing for ever-stricter laws with each succeeding legislative session and succeeded with most of them.

More germaine to this discussion, perhaps, is the federal income tax, first enacted by Wilsonian Democrats in 1913. The tax would, they promised, only affect the top 0.5% of earners, beginning at $3,000 ($98,218 in current dollars) and increasing in graduated increments up to 6% for incomes above $500,000 ($16.5 million).

Maine won’t be able to collect anywhere near the $150 million it expects to extract from it’s millionaires, just as California, Washington state, and New York won’t realize the sums anticipated from their “wealth taxes”, because the geese they hope to pluck will move their assets and themselves out of those jurisdictions. I foresee two, inevitable . Lowering the threshold of $1 million, because the legislatures will have already spent the money they won’t receive; and passing a national wealth tax in order to prevent millionaires from escaping what the socialists consider their duty to “pay what they owe.”

UPDATE: Blue states are rushing to impose “exit taxes”

CT’s one of them:

AI Overview

Yes, legislators in Connecticut, alongside several other "blue" states, have been linked to discussions or proposals regarding "exit taxes" targeting wealthy residents, often framed as part of a broader strategy to prevent revenue loss when high-income earners move

. These proposals frequently target unrealized capital gains or constitute a "wealth tax" applied upon leaving the state.

  • Context: These measures are part of a broader trend where states like Connecticut, New York, California, and others seek to tax wealthy residents on their way out to address budgetary needs.

  • Target: The proposals often target high-net-worth individuals, including those with substantial, unrealized capital gains.

  • Related Federal Proposal: Senator Elizabeth Warren has proposed a 40% "exit tax" on individuals with over $50 million who renounce their U.S. citizenship, a measure that often influences state-level discussions.

  • While some proposals have faced opposition or stalled, the discussion around taxing departing wealthy residents remains a recurring theme among progressive lawmakers in these states

Understandable, but ....

/

This …

Democrats face backlash for leaving Biden out of Easter ‘better times’ post

X users questioned why former President Joe Biden was not referenced in a Democratic Party Easter post about the White House

But not this:

The Democratic Party is facing criticism after it posted an Easter-themed message about "Better times at the White House" featuring former President Barack Obama, while leaving out former President Joe Biden.

The post, published Saturday by the official Democratic Party X account, shows Obama from behind standing beside a person in an Easter Bunny costume with the Washington Monument in the background. The caption reads, "Better times at the White House." Biden is not pictured or mentioned in the post ….

But of course — they aren't Americans, they’re people who … well let’s be kind, and say they DO have values, just different values than ours (Updated)

/

Weeks between German invasion and capitulation: six

UPDATE: As of this writing (12:45), Instapundit has posted a fantastic collection of X Posts on the rescue mission and our former allies’ reaction to it. If you go there now, and you should, if you can, they’re on top. If you hit the site later today and they aren’t leading, scroll down — it’s worth it.

A man from down under gets it

Wrong. We're not. Not even close. The laws, the mindset, and the behaviour, is totally different in this regard. Most of all, the governments are totally different.

The USA's convictions around core freedoms are on a scale we do not share.

Meanwhile, Donald Trump wins the popular vote, the electoral college, the House, and the Senate... a man who, in every other Western country, is held in open derision, if not contempt.

For these and other reasons, we are not the same.

… Yet the West, including Australia, fully expect to rely on the USA for our very survival. If the world turns bad (which will happen - only a question of time), then the whole West, without America, is toast.

So, you may ask - if we're not very aligned ideologically, then it must be that we bring something to the party militarily?

Well, no... actually... we don't matter that much militarily.

The USA has about 470 ships in its navy, including 11 aircraft carriers, 69 submarines, 75 destroyers... plus 110 new ships in the pipeline. Australia has about 30, including 3 destroyers, 7 frigates and 7 outdated submarines. The UK does a little better, with about 60. Meanwhile, the US has over 14,000 military aircraft. A staggering number. Australia has 252 military aircraft. The UK has 556. The US army has just shy of 1,000,000 uniformed personnel in its military. Australia has about 45,000. The USA spends 3.4% ($968 billion) of its GDP on defence. Australia spends 2% ($36.4 billion).

The US spends as much as the next 15 largest military-spending countries (including China) combined.

The USA has a fighting culture.

The men shoot things (a lot) and hunt things, the veterans get favoured in everything from parking spots to boarding planes. A uniformed young man is thanked in the street a dozen times a day.

"Oh, the Americans and their guns!" we say, in our smug way. Yes, they have a warrior culture. We do not. We don't have to, because we're a leech on theirs.

How many young British men are willing to fight for their country? Now ask the same regarding young American men.

…. Somehow, we have landed the deal of a lifetime with the USA that says, "when the baddies come, you'll save us ok?" Because we can't save ourselves. And we live in peace. But we keep gnawing away at freedoms, keep enabling China, and get flabby and disinterested about our military because Uncle Sam's got it.

And, let's be honest, Americans are widely looked down on. To add insult to injury, we don't think that highly of our protectors.

So, the USA is finally saying "enough."

I am here, I can tell you what the vibe is, and that's it. Trump is doing what people want in this regard. They're over it. And we come across all shocked and hard done by. We behave like people with no self-insight at all.

Yes, the global alliance system is all over the place now. From America's perspective, it's about time. And I must say, though I be a proud Australian, I am forced to agree. Something has to change.

Says the woman who's kept the DHS defunded since February 14th

/

Senator decries new shoes-on security policy at US airports as ‘reckless’

Democrat Tammy Duckworth writes letter to TSA calling on agency to reinstate the shoes-off airport security policy

Nine months after US airports allowed passengers to pass through scanners without taking off their shoes, rescinding the stringent policy after almost two decades, a top senator claimed the “reckless” move could put passengers in danger.

The policy amounts to a “potentially catastrophic security deficiency”, according to Tammy Duckworth, Democrat for Illinois, and ranking member of the Senate commerce, science and transportation (CST) aviation subcommittee.

The no-shoes policy was rescinded last July; Duckworth only focuses on it now, issues a press release on it now, after DHS Secretary Noem has fallen from grace and is in the media spotlight? Hypocritical, self-serving idiot; in other words, a politician.

I once complained to a colleague as we left Stamford's criminal court, "our clients are so goddamned stupid". "If they weren't” he replied, "we'd be out of business". Here's an example

/

(No, not this justin leslie — besides lacking a second “s” in his his name, he’s counsel for the house of commons, but his picture showed up when I searched for one of our miscreant, I thought it’d be amusing to use it.)

Mass. man arrested in Plainfield for reckless driving, drugs after going 105 mph, police say

PLAINFIELD — A Massachusetts man faces charges of reckless driving and drug possession following his arrest early Saturday morning during a traffic stop on Interstate 395, police said. 

Police said they seized 1 pound of marijuana, 300 THC vape devices, containers containing hallucinogenic substances and $10,351 in cash. 

Lesslie was charged with reckless driving, two counts of possession of a controlled substance, possession with intent to sell and operating a drug factory, police said.

Plainfield Police Department said in a release that officers spotted a gray Volkswagen SUV speeding in excess of 105 mph at 1:05 a.m. Officers stopped the vehicle in the area of Exit 28 and the driver, 26-year-old Justin Lesslie of Hudson, Mass., was arrested, police said.

Lesslie was charged with reckless driving, two counts of possession of a controlled substance, possession with intent to sell and operating a drug factory, police said. He was released on bond and is scheduled to appear April 16 at state Superior Court in Danielson, police said. 

How stupid? Well, Mr. Lesslie was apparently still out on bond for a similar arrest made last year, yet he still loaded his car with a pound of dope and sped along the highway at 105 mph, a speed pretty much guaranteed to draw the attention of the constabulary — that’s dumb.

From the Oxford Police Department’s FaceBook page, 2025:

Remember this guy? He's back

/

Dem Senator Mourns Criminal ‘Asylum Seeker’ Who Caused Big Pileup While Fleeing ICE

Democrat Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) is shedding crocodile tears over an “asylum seeker” who was “driving to work” when “he was rear-ended by an ICE vehicle.” The real story? He was an illegal alien with a years-old final deportation order who caused a massive vehicle pile-up while fleeing immigration officers. And the illegal alien caused severe injuries to immigration officers, too.

>>>>

“Ever Alvarenga, an asylum seeker, was driving to work Thursday morning when he was rear-ended by an ICE vehicle. He is still in the hospital after suffering significant injuries to his head, chest, back, & hands,” sniffled Van Hollen

>>>>

Fox News correspondent Bill Melugin subsequently responded to Van Hollen to set the record straight. “DHS tells @FoxNews that this ‘asylum seeker’ is actually a Honduran illegal alien who has had a final deportation order since 2018, & when ICE targeted him in Baltimore, he fled in his vehicle at high speeds, slammed on his brakes and caused a multi car pileup, then he bailed out and ran away on foot before being chased down and arrested,” Melugin posted on X.

He added, “DHS says two ICE agents were hospitalized as a result of the crash, and they are accusing Sen. Van Hollen (D-MD) of misrepresenting what happened here.”

Mr. Alvarenga is entitled to as much of my sympathy as that nurse-with-a-gun who was shot dead while simply driving to his job emptying bedpans at the local hospital: none, that is.