Friday's Final Word

AP Photo/Mary Altaffer

Thank God It's Tabbies -- Tabbies, Tabbies, Tabbies! ...

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Ed: Good for the woman for speaking out. Don Lemon got some grief for walking away when the answer didn't fit his narrative, but in fairness, he did ask follow-up questions, let her answer, and expressed his condolences. Hopefully he learned something about the situation he didn't know previously, or didn't want to know. And at least he didn't edit it out of his presentation. 

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Politico: Democratic state Sen. James Talarico is set to announce his Senate bid on Tuesday, according to three people familiar with the plans, granted anonymity to discuss them.

The state legislator has been considered a rising star in Texas, conducting dozens of national meia interviews after he and his fellow Democrats left the state to hold up a President Donald Trump-led plan aimed at netting more Republican-leaning seats. He also secured a spot on Joe Rogan’s enormously popular podcast this spring.

Ed: Oh look, the next Democrat to paint Texas blue. Can't wait for his Vogue profile and the rest of the Protection Racket Media hosannas. Maybe he will do better than Robert "Beto" O'Rourke, but I doubt that fleabagging is the quality that most Texans seek in their US Senators. It's worth noting that Talarico will have a primary fight against Colin Allred, who got beaten by Ted Cruz in a minor landslide last year. The primary should be fun ... for Republicans. 

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Ed: Normally, I'd second this. However, I have the sneaking suspicion that all of the alternatives would be worse. The problem isn't Macron as much as it is the political environment that produced Macron. 

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AxiosPublic Broadcasting Service on Thursday announced a 15% staff cut in response to recent federal funding cuts that stripped PBS and National Public Radio of nearly $1.1 billion in funding for 2026 and 2027. ...

Only around 1% and 15% of NPR's and PBS' national revenue came through federal funding, respectively, prior to the cuts.

Ed: They're still around? Go figure. The Center for Public Broadcasting has shut down, though, and with it the shell game of federal subsidies to NPR and PBS. 

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Ed: Wow. You know it's going bad for the Protection Racket Media when Democrats have to create their own fake-news sites to have them taken seriously. 

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NY Times: Close advisers have been crafting a plan for President Trump to nominate Mayor Eric Adams to be ambassador to Saudi Arabia, in an effort to end the mayor’s long-shot campaign for re-election in New York City, according to four people familiar with the discussions.

The discussions could still fall apart for a variety of reasons, the people cautioned. But Steve Witkoff, a billionaire real estate investor and adviser to Mr. Trump, has actively pursued the matter in recent days, meeting personally with Mr. Adams earlier this week in Florida and speaking with other people close to him. ...

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Mr. Adams, a Democrat, has told allies he is considering a range of options but at the same time has publicly insisted he is staying in the race for a second term. His final decision could hinge on the details, though, including whether he could end his campaign but serve out his remaining months in office or would be asked to resign early.

Ed: Why not try to get Cuomo out of the way instead? Why bother with this at all? Let New Yorkers make their choice and live with it. If the greatest capital center in the world elects someone who hates capital, let it relocate to Y'All Street in Dallas. The industry already has a large footprint there. The Big Apple can then consign itself to becoming an object lesson about the perils of dabbling in Marxism. And as it turns out ...

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ABC News: New York City Mayor Eric Adams says he will continue his bid for reelection in November.

Adams made the announcement at a Friday press conference following reports that advisers to President Donald Trump have been making efforts over the last few weeks to persuade him to drop out of the race -- a push that gained momentum in recent days with a potential ambassador post in Saudi Arabi being floated among the options to get Adams to drop out. ...

"Serving New Yorkers as their mayor is the only job I've ever wanted. I'm proud of the progress we've made lowering crime, improving schools, building housing, and cutting costs for working families -- and I remain the best person to lead this city forward," Adams said in a statement earlier Friday responding to reports of the discussions.

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"While I will always listen if called to serve our country, no formal offers have been made. I am still running for reelection, and my full focus is on the safety and quality of life of every New Yorker," Adams said.

Ed: Am I crazy, or is that really a non-denial denial? It sounds as though he's still open to a "formal offer." 

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Ed: Italian authorities arrested two Turks earlier this week who either planned a mass shooting on a cultural event in Viterbo or were running guns for *someone*. They had automatic weapons already set up and pointed at the venue. Maybe Europe should rethink where its sympathies lie, eh?

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Free Press: Barrett offered her own answers to questions about her motivations, beliefs, and just about everything else on Thursday night in a wide-ranging conversation with Bari Weiss at Lincoln Center’s Alice Tully Hall in New York City. In a rare public appearance, Barrett—whose book, Listening to the Law: Reflections on the Court and Constitutionis out next week—opened up about everything from her Catholic faith and understanding of America to her recent rulings and some of the biggest political questions of the day.

Are we in the middle of a constitutional crisis, as many Trump critics have argued amid his ongoing feud with the judiciary? No, said Barrett.

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“I think the Constitution is alive and well,” she told Bari, adding that America is still “committed to the rule of law.” What would a crisis look like? It would be a time when “the rule of law crumbled.” And we’re not there yet.["]

Ed: Barrett makes a good accounting for herself and her approach to the law. Bari Weiss is not Norah O'Donnell, and thank goodness for that. 

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Ed: Delulu. Jasmine's coding off and on in this too, while demonstrating a sudden new respect for holding presidents accountable for their health and fitness for the job. I suspect that after the latest redistricting here in Texas, Trump will be in office longer than Crockett. Speaking of which ...

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NY Post: Former President Joe Biden’s longtime spokesman Andrew Bates grimly arrived at the Capitol Friday to be grilled by the House Oversight Committee about the alleged coverup of Biden’s cognitive decline.

Bates, 38, worked as a top spokesman for the Democratic leaders’s 2020 presidential campaign and followed him into the White House as a deputy press secretary.

The Oversight Committee is likely to ask Bates about the frequency of his interactions with Biden over his four years in the West Wing — after a different former spokesman, Ian Sams, testified in August that he spoke face-to-face with the then-president just two times in his own two-year stint.

Ed: Andrew Bates hasn't been identified as one of the Biden Politburo that ran the Joe Biden Regency. If Bates wasn't a member, though, he's close enough to know who they all were and what they did. Did he take the Fifth, or did he put himself at risk of perjury by testifying? Stay tuned.   

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Note: We won't have a Saturday Final Word, as I will be tied up at church all day long tomorrow. 

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