An audience far, far away

That Park Place: "Star Wars Spent a Decade Pushing Away Boys — So Why Would Today’s Teenagers Care About The Mandalorian and Grogu?"

Sounds like it's off to a rocky start: "‘The Mandalorian and Grogu’ is Disney’s lowest-ever Star Wars film opening." 

The Empire State Building was built in 14 months

Washington Post: "Americans are numb to infrastructure dysfunction - If the delays on the Key Bridge rebuild don't motivate calls for better results for taxpayers, nothing will." 

Project Hail Mary

What a great movie.

I don't go to the movies very often.  I think the last time was for "Marty Supreme" which was meh.  But "Project Hail Mary" was a fun ride, half sci-fi and half buddy movie.  Yeah, the "save the world" story line has been done before but this movie had a handful of twists to keep the story fresh.  One scene in particular was so refreshingly honest about human nature I might have gasped in delight.  (The "I've made peace with it" scene).  Glad I saw this on the "big screen."  Highly recommend.

This seems like a bad deal

Hot Air: "Iran Deal? Reports Say 'Yes'."

Al Jazeera: Sources say the Iran draft proposal includes ending the war on all fronts, including Lebanon, unfreezing billions in Iranian funds, lifting the U.S. naval blockade, reopening the Strait of Hormuz, and pulling U.S. forces away from Iran’s vicinity.

The sides would then have 30 days, extendable by agreement, to finalize a nuclear deal. Iran says future management of the Strait would be handled jointly with Oman.

Um, the one thing we've been firm on is nuclear disarmament and we're going to talk about that later?  With another delay tactic to extend beyond 30 days?  With that loophole, there's zero chance a nuclear deal will be inked in a month, while Iran gets a lot of what they want.

Denial ain't just a river in Egypt

Byron York: "The DNC autopsy: Did Democrats really want to know?"

There is a reason DNC chair Martin resisted releasing the autopsy for so long. Many assumed Martin was hiding an explosive document that would reveal his party’s political malpractice. But that’s not the reason. The reason is there is a lot about 2024 that the Democratic Party’s leadership didn’t want to know. Releasing the incomplete and ill-considered autopsy would show the world that the party never made a serious effort to understand its failure. 

There are really obvious reasons why the Democrats lost but they didn't want to admit it.  Joe Biden was senile but nobody - especially Dementia Joe - wanted to admit it.  Harris was a terrible candidate.  I will never understand her strategy of campaigning with Liz Cheney.  Who was that supposed to appeal to?  Her message was nothing more than "Trump bad" and nobody knew what she stood for.

I'm starting to believe

Ya know, I think this Spencer Pratt guy could pull it off: "Spencer Pratt Has an Unreal Fundraising Lead Over Woke LA Mayor Karen Bass." 

The delaying game

Fox News: "Renewed US combat operations against Iran are ‘matter of when,' former Navy commander says."

From what I've read, Pakistan and Qatar are trying to get Iran to do the right thing and instead they're sending over "proposals" where the United States leaves and pays reparations.  Oh, and they keep the uranium.  Honestly, I thought it was going to re-start after the stock market closed on Friday.

Robert Reich: 'nuf said

Powerline: "Dems lying about taxes: What else is new?"

As John Hinderaker notes, Robert Reich is not a fool and surely understands that the way he presents his argument is deeply dishonest.  But he's got to stir up the outrage and get the clicks.

RIP Kyle Busch

I can't improve on this excellent article from Jerry Wilson at Red State: "Why Kyle Busch's Death Hurts So Much."

For those of you unfamiliar with the NASCAR scene, Kyle Busch was a talented driver and a two-time Cup champion.  But it's fair to say he was not a fan favorite.  He was abrasive and off-standish and was an ungracious and sullen loser.  When he won, boos would rain down on him from the grandstand.

But I kinda liked him for his uncompromising style.  At one NASCAR race I saw in New Hampshire, I might have been the only person in the crowd wearing a #5 Kyle Busch hat.

Kyle Busch leaves behind an 11-year-old son and a 4-year-old daughter.  Very sad.

Something happened

Ace: "Surprise! The DNC's "Autopsy" Is a Sham, a Deliberately Incomplete Document Left Unfinished Because Democrats Don't Dare Tell the Truth About Their Collapse."

Politico: "'The report's so stupid': The DNC 2024 autopsy is roiling Democrats."

From what I can tell, the report is a version of the joke of when you're asked at an interview about your greatest weakness and you respond: "I work too hard!"  In this case the Democrats have come up with "gosh darn it, we just weren't negative enough against Trump."

"Sure we called him Hitler but we should have called him Super Hitler!"

Also, I hear the passive voice does some heavy lifting in phrases like "then the debate happened."

That's okay. You guys didn't mention it either until you were forced to after that debate. https://t.co/qXdi5z79cg

— Stephen L. Miller (@redsteeze) May 21, 2026

Colbert is a coward

Sasha Stone: "Good Riddance, Stephen Colbert - It couldn't have happened to a bigger jerk."

Good riddance, Stephen Colbert, you snide, smug, sanctimonious, intolerable partisan hack. Don’t let the door hit you on the way out.

My main beef with Colbert/Kimmel/Oliver etc. is that they love to play the tough guy within their echo chamber but they'll never confront their enemies face-to-face.  If they truly believed they had a monopoly on political rhetoric, they would invite Ted Cruz or Marco Rubio or Scott Jennings onto their show to mix it up.  Instead they all - like cowards - invite Bernie Sanders and AOC so they call all agree with one another and bask in the glow of their own moral superiority.

Oh it's (D)ifferent now

Manhattan Contrarian: "Sue and Settle: Two can play this game." - "So no, New York Times, there is nothing “unusual,” let alone “highly unusual,” about the government using settlement of a litigation to set up a slush fund to pass out to political friends and allies.  The only thing unusual is the use of this strategy by a Republican President.  It took him a while, but it looks like he finally figured out that two can play this game." 

This will go as well as "buy nothing" day

Nobody is going to do this: "NAACP Urges Athletes to Withhold Support From Schools in States That Have Moved to Erase Black Votes." 

Here we go again

Red State: "SCOTUS Just Hit Reset on Two Voting Rights Cases - and KBJ Is Not Happy."

The sole dissenter...again. 

Extra - Legal Insurrection - “KBJ has become the equivalent of a hand grenade that Joe Biden threw into the Supreme Court”

Medicaid for...art lessons?

Wall Street Journal: "The Great California Medicaid Grift - Why the federal share of the state’s spending on the program is $138 billion, more than the general fund of every other state." 

And the media lets them off the hook

Townhall: "Democrats Refuse To Even Talk To the American People Anymore."

I used to watch the Sunday morning shows but the quality of the interviews has gotten so poor.  The guests are asked a question and - no matter the topic - they launch into their talking points as a kind of filibuster to run out the clock.  You will never get Elizabeth Warren to tell you what a "fair share" is.  Hakeem Jeffries will never explain how he thinks the Supreme Court is full of racists.  Democrats can say the craziest stuff and the interviewer just nods along.

Flashback - "Bill Maher Blasts Democrats for Being Too ‘Afraid’ to Go on His Show."

There's no crying in NASCAR

Outkick: "Female NASCAR driver cries during shocking in-car meltdown, parks truck during race and rage-quits the series." - "In no world should her boss be trying to talk her off a ledge over the radio during a race. That's high school stuff. This is the real world." 

I've been a NASCAR fan for a long time so let me say this about another female driver that NASCAR was desperately trying to promote: Danica Patrick.  She was considered something of a joke and her racing record was extremely spotty with more DNFs than top-10 finishes.  But she was never afraid to jump out of her car after a race and confront somebody who had done her wrong.  She's a spitfire.

Crying in your truck?  What a travesty. 

Mamdani discovers he's the parasite

NY Post: "Billionaire Ken Griffin ghosts Mamdani after NYC ‘Tax the Rich’ video flap"

After Mamdani doxxed Griffin, the billionaire said he was "reviewing" a huge development in New York City and that he was definitely going to expand his financial operation in Miami.  Quite suddenly, the Boy Mayor discovered that he's the parasite to Griffin's host.