Greetings! Tucker Carlson is playing a dangerous game flirting obliquely with running for president as a third-party candidate. So says influential conservative pundit Victor Davis Hanson in a recent YouTube video (see transcript).  Hanson points out that no third-party candidate has ever won a U.S. presidential election.  In fact, notes Hanson, “They do affect the election in some cases, but that’s only to hurt the party that is more ideologically akin to the third-party run"....Usha Vance, JD Vance's wife, gets the full profile treatment in the current issue of Vanity Fair. The Victory Girls blog calls the article “petty”...If you’ve been following the flap about men playing in the WNBA, you’ll appreciate this clever headline from The Federalist: The Balls Are in the WNBA’s Court....Somehow I missed ABC's broadcast last night of the 2026 Patriot Games, hosted by Donald J. Trump. It featured high school athletes competing in a variety of challenges testing their strength and endurance capabilities. The competition spotlighted in the one-hour prime time special took place earlier this month. The irony of the doughy-looking, overweight, 80-year-old president presiding over a TV program celebrating fitness does not escape me. And I think he’s got better things to do with his time like figure out an exit for his war with Iran...Weekend Watch: This is an easy choice.  Now is the perfect time to revisit the great 1997 action-thriller Air Force One. It stars Harrison Ford as the brave POTUS who finds himself (and family) aboard his trusty 747 which gets hijacked by Russian bad guys.  Ford fights back heroically.  Trump and Hegseth should take notes. Available for rent on Amazon Prime and well worth the $3.99....I’ll keep Righting. Howard

Greetings! Adios: Karoline Leavitt shocked the political world yesterday with her announcement that she’s stepping down as White House press secretary. In an article I wrote for Mediaite in early January, I predicted that speculation would heat up this year about her next career move. But I thought she’d last until early 2027.  In my article, I forecast two possible career paths for Leavitt and I still stand by those possibilities: TV anchor or run for political office where she would have an adoring right-wing press to put wind at her back. Let’s not forget that in 2022 she ran unsuccessfully for Congress in New Hampshire’s 1^st district. For the past 19 months, I have marveled at her ability to maintain composure performing the world’s toughest communications job in front of an often adversial White House press corp (justifiably so, I might add). However, I also agree completely with this assessment of her stint as the overly aggressive snarling guard dog protecting the 47th president: “(H)er tenure was defined by demonizing the press, smearing individual journalists, and deflecting on behalf of a president who has engaged in open corruption and the weaponization of government,” wrote Oliver Darcy of Status News last night...If you’re interested in the origin story of conservative media mogul Rupert Murdoch, mark your calendar for Dec. 11.  That’s when the movie “Ink” bows theatrically before landing on Netflix January 8.  The film, which stars Guy Pearce as the young press baron in 1969 London, focuses on Murdoch’s struggles to relaunch the British newspaper The Sun into a populist tabloid,  (Variety)....Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA), who is considering a run for the Oval Office in 2028, has penned a Fox News op-ed  where he outlines a 14-point plan to rebuild America. He offers suggestions like free childcare and a $25 minimum wage...If you keep reading, I’ll keep Righting. Howard