A perfectly nice house, but end-users are going to be competing with developers, and one of those builders will probably prevail

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New to the market today, 32 Winthrop Drive, Riverside, has been listed at $2.795 million. There will certainly be a bidding war, and, given recent sale prices of new construction on Winthrop, I’m guessing that this 1949 home isn’t long for the world. I’m not saying that’s a good thing, or bad, it’s just a comment on the current market.

An impending scalping on Mohawk Lane?

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41 Mohawk Lane could have been yours Friday for $9.8 million; as of today it’ll set you back $11.750 — go figure.

I can’t tell from the picture whether that’s a three-car garage we see here or a drive-in living room, but the listing’s description is positively lyrical either way:

Conceived through a rare collaboration between Boutique Project Development, Atkins Construction Group, and the celebrated Vakota [Vodka?] Architecture, this six-bedroom, nine-and-a-half-bath residence stands as one of Backcountry Greenwich's most significant architectural achievements.

Hey: we report, you decide.

I admit that I'd never heard of him until a few weeks ago when he pooped up in Cuba, but that's because I don't spend any time on leftist websites and television shows; he's real

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five-star hotel, $1,383 Cartier glasses, $700 designer shirt, $1,200 Cartier gold ring (on his finger, not in hs nose) — Hating america has been very, very good for hassan

David Stom:

Hasan Piker Is Becoming a Litmus Test for the Left

Hasan Piker is now a key part of the Democratic Party conversation, and many Democrats are flocking to him. You should consider reading and watching these videos anyway. Democratic Party candidates and influencers are embracing him, to the horror of many people, including some Democrats. Article follows:

The Democrats are having a massive debate about whether Hasan Piker is an ally they should embrace. Piker, who is an avowed Marxist who believes that America deserved 9/11, that Hamas is "1000 times better than Israel," that it was unfortunate that America won the Cold War, that China is the closest to an ideal society we have, and that capitalist blood should be running through the streets, has become the hot new thing among progressives. 

Strom’s article includes quite few videos of Piker, and I’ll leave it up to you to follow the link and watch them if you care to; I didn’t. But here’s one, ti give you a (dis) taste:

The New York Times has not only profiled him; it gave him space on its pages to serve as an analyst. He is showing up on CNN and other networks, and progressives are flocking to his podcast or even campaigning with him as a surrogate. 

>>>>

It tells you a lot that his audience, which should be niche, is seen as a key voting bloc for Democrats these days. He is a featured speaker alongside old Obama hands at Democrat events, and was a rock star at the DNC convention. 

>>>>

You have Democrats like John Fetterman and Rahm Emmanuel who are appalled at what their party is becoming and doing their best to bring it back from the edge, but they are putting their fingers into a crumbling dike to hold back the waters. 

>>>>

There is actually little that is ideological in this movement, as cozy as it is with communism. What holds people like Tim Miller and Hasan Piker is pure rage. The commitment to destroy an America they see as having betrayed them. Miller was the Communications Director for Jeb Bush, and Hasan Piker is a literal communist revolutionary who allies with Hamas and is supporting Iran in the current war. 

>>>>

Both parties have some house cleaning to do. Tucker, Candace, and Megyn Kelly have gone off the rails and have been bleeding mainstream Republican support while picking up the Nick Fuentes crowd, who was never part of the coalition. 

Democrats, though, are falling all over themselves to embrace Piker, seeing his audience as the next big thing. 

TDS is a powerful drug. 

Here’s one more video I’ll include, just because it shows that least a few liberals are resisting, and it’s John Fetterman, who i’ve come to admire despite his generally-liberal views; the Daniel Patrick Moynihan of the 21st Century.

The only thing this woman has ever created was a phoney claim to Indian heritage that enabled her to gain undeserved academic posts.

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I didn’t build that

Jeff Bezos, on the other hand, created Amazon, beginning in a cheap office with a door on sawhorses for a desk. Elon Musk recreated rocket technology, electric cars and their charging system, broadband internet access, and he’s not finished yet.

Now Bitsy Betsy wants to seize a portion of what they built, and pass it on to her friends and into the maw of the corrupt public social services machinery so that Bezos’, Musk’s and other successful entrepreneurs’ money can be more wisely and efficiently spent? She’s a criminal, a thief, and a liar.

Another price cut for this Cos Cob house

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I wrote about 681 River Road three weeks ago, asking what was wrong with it, and why it couldn’t sell. Placed on the market in March, 2025 at $2.985 million, it was then asking $2.575, and that struck me as, if not a brgain, at least a reasonable price.

A reader who had toured it with every expectation of placing a bid, wrote in after he’d seen it, giving his impressions, and a list of things that dissuaded his wife and him from making an offer. But still, he (and I) thought that the low inventory and this home’s relatively low price would encourage someone would step up. Wrong: Friday it dropped another $100,000.

After a year on the market, a house develops a stigma and drifts towards free-fall. I don’t know where the bottom is for this property, but it must be getting close.

So much for any hope that TMZ might be trying to shift even tad towards legitimate journalism

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An honest headline would have read, manufactured hysteria over Trump’s supposed “health crisis” debunked.

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)

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

The Week in Memes

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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

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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