Roundup
(1) Mike Waltz is apparently out. That Signal thing seems to have been the proximate cause. [UPDATE: But he’s being nominated for UN ambassador.]
(2) Wildfires in Israel may have been arson:
An arson suspect was arrested Wednesday, as authorities were probing whether major brush fires west of Jerusalem were started intentionally and as calls appeared on Palestinian social media to start more blazes. However, authorities said Wednesday evening it was too early to determine the cause of the fires.
A 50-year-old resident of East Jerusalem’s Umm Tuba neighborhood was arrested on suspicion of attempting to set fire to vegetation in southern Jerusalem, police said.
(3) Kamala’s back! She gave a speech; does anyone care?
(4) There’s been a rise in attacks by Muslims against Christians in Nigeria.
(5) The EPA is canceling nearly 800 “environmental justice” grants. See this for commentary at Ace’s.
(6) The German government wants to disarm members of their populist party of the right, AfD:
Members and supporters of the right-leaning Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) party are now facing mass gun license revocations. The reason? The German government has labeled the AfD a “right-wing extremist” group — a political designation that suddenly makes its members “unreliable” under the country’s gun laws. And just like that, firearms must be surrendered or destroyed. …
In 2021, Germany’s domestic intelligence agency, the Bundesamt für Verfassungsschutz (BfV), designated the entire AfD as a “suspected threat to democracy.” That move allowed the government to surveil, wiretap, and investigate the party and its members. …
Courts have now upheld revoking gun licenses from AfD members, based solely on their political affiliation.
Our own gun rights are more robust, but the left would dearly love to change that.
Waltz has been nominated as the UN Ambassador:
“I am pleased to announce that I will be nominating Mike Waltz to be the next United States Ambassador to the United Nations. From his time in uniform on the battlefield, in Congress and, as my National Security Advisor, Mike Waltz has worked hard to put our Nation’s Interests first. I know he will do the same in his new role. In the interim, Secretary of State Marco Rubio will serve as National Security Advisor, while continuing his strong leadership at the State Department. Together, we will continue to fight tirelessly to Make America, and the World, SAFE AGAIN. Thank you for your attention to this matter!
Beat me to it, Liz. More details:
https://redstate.com/terichristoph/2025/05/01/mike-waltz-lands-un-ambassador-gig-n2188578
J. D. Vance had some harsh but true words about free speech in Europe.
I just added an update about Waltz.
The behavior of Democrats in 2020 and since makes it clear gun rights is important. Also it shows why socialized medicine is a bad idea even if you agree with it in theory.
So is the Signal thing just legacy media narrative, or is it really the reason? I wonder if there’s a good way to find out. I mean we all got bored with Signal long ago but the left side of the web has still been on it.
Niketas:
I think if Signal was the reason, he wouldn’t have been nominated for the UN job.
In Germany, AfD got something like 21% of the vote in the February elections. Germany is disarming one in five Germans purely because of political affiliation. Just declare the opposition to be “extremists” and disarm them. This can no longer be considered a democratic regime.
@neo:I think if Signal was the reason, he wouldn’t have been nominated for the UN job.
That’s certainly possible, but people are “kicked upstairs” or make lateral moves if it would be difficult to fire them for some reason. In any event, there are a lot of people who wanted to make Signal into a BFD. Looking into the Post article you linked, it’s an anonymous linker who made the connection with Signal, and the Post article is light of facts, heavy on narrative and commentary and speculations on motivation all reported as fact.
Maybe someone with an axe to grind jumped the gun and got it wrong about why Waltz was leaving his position, or maybe Waltz is getting kicked upstairs, but we’ll never learn that from reading newspapers I’m afraid.
@neo:I think if Signal was the reason, he wouldn’t have been nominated for the UN job.
That’s certainly possible, but people are “kicked upstairs” or make lateral moves if it would be difficult to fire them for some reason. In any event, there are a lot of people who wanted to make Signal into a BFD. Looking into the Post article you linked, it’s an anonymous linker who made the connection with Signal, and the Post article is light on facts, heavy on narrative and commentary and speculations on motivation all reported as fact.
Maybe someone with an axe to grind jumped the gun and got it wrong about why Waltz was leaving his position, or maybe Waltz is getting kicked upstairs, but we’ll never learn that from reading newspapers I’m afraid.
@neo:I think if Signal was the reason, he wouldn’t have been nominated for the UN job.
That’s certainly possible, but people are “kicked upstairs” or make lateral moves if it would be difficult to fire them for some reason. In any event, there are a lot of people who wanted to make Signal into a BFD. Looking into the Post article you linked, it’s an anonymous leaker who made the connection with Signal, and the Post article is light on facts, heavy on narrative and commentary and speculations on motivation all reported as fact.
Maybe someone with an axe to grind jumped the gun and got it wrong about why Waltz was leaving his position, or maybe Waltz is getting kicked upstairs, but we’ll never learn that from reading newspapers I’m afraid.
Wildfires in Israel Wildfires in Israel may have been arson
According to my neighbor, who has family in Israel, ain’t no may about it. She told it to me last night, as it was happening.
Meanwhile
https://www.youtube.com/live/QXyEOYcweHI?si=s5yoZB9A2dJq2QY1
The proximate cause of this fooferaw
AfD’s platform is commonsensical. What the German security state is telling you is what you cannot say in Germany and what you cannot say is that the establishment’s population replacement activity must end and be reversed. I’m hoping for an AfD government within ten years, one which dissolves the security agency in question.
Well its what the weimar regime did to the nazis
https://www.nysun.com/article/georgetowns-vote-to-boycott-israel
And they want to make that association crystal clear
The chaser to that story
https://www.georgetown.edu/news/university-news-renewal-agreement-georgetown-in-qatar/