Greetings! Just sayin’: The Democracy First PAC is already fundraising off yesterday’s  smackdown and handcuffing of  Sen. Alex Padillo (D-CA) who attempted to question Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem during a press conference. I got a text message last night...The Heritage Foundation reports that a security guard at the conservative organization’s DC headquarters was attacked with pepper spray.  The alleged assailant was arrested...Must-read of the week: The New Yorker’s  chilling profile of Yarvin Curtis, who is described as “one of America’s most influential illiberal thinkers, an engineer of the intellectual source code for the second Trump administration”...Several times a month, the Wall Street Journal's op-ed section dumps on Trump.  Yesterday, the Rupert Murdoch-owned WSJ gave a Bronx cheer to RFK Jr.’s new vaccine advisors, a group weighted with vax deniers. “They seem to know little about vaccines,” the editorial board noted with amazing restraint....Where are the DOGE cost-cutting hounds when we need them? The Donald’s birthday military parade on Saturday carries an ostentatious  $45 million price tag...Yesterday, I noted the sad irony of the passing of Brian Wilson in the wake of all the unrest in Los Angeles.  My Righting colleague Max Robins reminded me that the genius behind the Beach Boys’ sound wasn’t the only sonic genius who died this week. Sly Stone, another son of the Sunshine State, also passed recently. The brilliant Sly and the Family Stone, made music as diverse, funky and fun as California itself.  Max suggests the documentary Sly Lives, available on Hulu, as a weekend watch...If you’re demonstrating at any of the “No Kings” protests this weekend, raise your high voice and please keep it peaceful. And if you capture any images, please send them to Howard(at)TheRighting.com and I’ll post next week...If you keep reading, I’ll keep Righting. Howard

Greetings! Irony alert: While Los Angeles struggles with social unrest and the aftermath of the deadly January fires, we mourn today the death of Beach Boys resident genius Brian Wilson whose music embodied the utopian ideal of southern California.  His songs helped shape the country’s image of his native land as a magical place filled with abundant sunshine, glorious beaches, girls in bikinis, souped-up cars and tanned, healthy surfers...Gag alert. The NY Post’s fiery conservative columnist Miranda Devine seems to grovel at President Trump’s feet after he appeared as the first guest on her podcast “Pod Force One.” This is what she wrote in the Post about her POTUS  interview. “When you meet Donald Trump, the first thing you notice is his hospitality. He is a bountiful host who always wants to make visitors feel comfortable. He will quite literally offer you the food off his plate.” To that, I would have said, “Thank you, but I’ve already eaten”...Phrase of the week: “They went too far,” wrote Musk about his tweets sandbagging Trump.  If only he wrote that about his DOGE cuts I’d feel better...Annals of Idiocy: Trump’s dig at Joe Biden during his Fort Bragg speech Tuesday backfired spectacularly.  “I’ve known this guy a long time,” Trump sneered.  “He’s not the sharpest bulb.” The HuffPost headline captured the flub perfectly: “Trump Mocked After Suffering Brain Fart While Trying to Insult Biden”...If you’re going to any of the “No Kings” protests planned this weekend, please send me images so I can post the beginning of next week.  Be sure to include your name (if you want) and where the picture was taken or any other info you want to include.  Send  to howard(at)TheRighting.com...If you keep reading, I’ll keep Righting. Howard