Worth Knowing, Probably Not Quite Threadworthy 3/16

[SVPete]

Democrats Turn on Eric Swalwell Using Evidence From a Trump Official

https://pjmedia.com/david-manney/2026/03/16/democrats-turn-on-eric-swalwell-using-evidence-from-a-trump-official-n4950681

California politics rarely looks gentle, and the latest fight in the governor's race proves that point. A Democrat now tries to knock Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.) out of the contest using evidence first uncovered by an official serving under President Donald Trump.

Director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, Bill Pulte, sent a criminal referral to the U.S. Department of Justice in November 2025 involving Swalwell. The referral claims Swalwell listed a Washington property as his primary residence while securing a mortgage loan. Mortgage documents often offer better terms for primary residences, which raised questions about how the property was classified.

Tom Steyer, the billionaire also running for California governor, quickly seized on that information and filed a request asking California Secretary of State Shirley Weber to examine whether Swalwell meets the state's residency requirement for governor. California law requires a candidate to live in the state for at least seven years before running for the office.

 

[SVPete]

The Horror: Texas Now Requires Professional, Trade Licensees to Prove One Thing First

https://hotair.com/ed-morrissey/2026/03/16/the-horror-texas-now-requires-professional-licensees-to-prove-one-thing-n3812902

Gee, what might the state of Texas want to confirm before granting a license to work in professions and trades? Note in particular the emphasis on work.

The Austin American-Statesman appears aghast at the new requirement in Texas that licensees demonstrate that they can work in the US legally. The bigger issue is that the state of Texas had licensed illegal aliens in the first place. Their report starts off with a sob story:
...
There are two significant issues in play here: immigration enforcement and the scope of licensing requirements. Let's look at the latter first. There are those who claim that states over-require licensing for mundane activities; requiring a license for eyelash extensions almost makes that argument without further debate. Libertarians make good arguments on a consistent basis that such policies are needlessly restrictive and often rent-seeking policies by larger participants in markets to prevent small competitors from entering their markets. For some states and localities, it's simply a cash grab, but even then, the hurdle exists and keeps smaller competitors from gaining entry. In the case of Ms. Yanez, it cost her $13,000 and a year of work just to get to the point of having a hairdresser license.

Without debating the relative merits of licensing in each and every instance, licensing requirements by their nature restrict access to markets and do so deliberately, using the power of the state and its law-enforcement authority. That means the state actively prevents access to the marketplace for those who seek to work in it by requiring state approval first. Since licensing acts as a gatekeeper to employment in these fields, should states not confirm that the applicant for this state approval can actually work in the US first? Illegal aliens cannot legally work in the US. In fact, legal aliens cannot either, unless they get a green card as a legal permanent resident or get a work visa when entering the US.

Licensing has, at least sometimes, valid government interests, e.g. health/safety and fraud prevention. A generation or so ago, requiring proof of eligibility  to work in the US would have been seen as common sense. Now, in ProgLand, it's racist or something else Eeeee-Vile-ist.

[SVPete]

Katherine Heigl Fires Back at Fans Outraged Over Her Attendance at Mar-a-Lago Dog Rescue Event

https://www.breitbart.com/entertainment/2026/03/12/katherine-heigl-fires-back-at-fans-outraged-over-her-attendance-at-mar-a-lago-dog-rescue-event/

Actress Katherine Heigl fired back at fans outraged over her attending a dog rescue charity event at Mar-a-Lago, given that it is also President Donald Trump’s Florida residence.

“Animals don’t vote. The only room they don’t like is the euthanasia room at a shelter,” Heigl told Page Six in a statement on Wednesday. “They are completely at the mercy of us, and they have no voice of their own.”

“This event was about animal advocacy — something that has always been deeply personal to me,” the Grey’s Anatomy star continued. “Anyone who knows me knows that protecting animals is one of my greatest passions.”

Heigl reportedly attended a fundraised called “Wine, Women & Shoes Benefiting Big Dog Ranch Rescue” on Sunday at President Trump’s home in Palm Beach, Florida.

“As a society, we should all come together to protect the voiceless and the innocent,” the Knocked Up actress added. “This should not be a polarizing issue.”

The Mar-a-Lago event raised over $5.5 million in support of Big Dog Ranch Rescue, the organization announced in a Thursday Instagram post.

Progs hate anything that "normalizes" Trump, i.e. that he isn't the monster Progs believe he is.

[SVPete]

Epstein Accountant’s Testimony Matches Previous Witnesses’ Statements About Trump [WATCH]

https://www.lifezette.com/2026/03/epstein-accountants-testimony-matches-previous-witnesses-statements-about-trump-watch/

House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer said testimony obtained during a recent deposition related to Jeffrey Epstein confirmed payments from several high-profile clients while also adding to sworn statements indicating no financial transactions involving President Donald Trump or members of his family.

Comer provided details about the deposition during remarks following questioning of a witness identified as Mr. Khan.

According to Comer, the deposition had already lasted two hours at the time of his comments and could extend significantly longer.

Many people had non-criminal, non-sinister, financial dealings with Epstein, and until Epstein's criminality became public knowledge, so what. Trump, apparently, didn't even do financial transactions with Epstein.

[SVPete]

Jeffrey Epstein tapped Bill Clinton’s ex-press secretary Joe Lockhart for PR advice — off Larry Summers’ recommendation

https://nypost.com/2026/03/11/business/jeffrey-epstein-tapped-bill-clintons-ex-press-secretary-joe-lockhart-for-pr-advice-mistakenly-calling-him-lockhard-docs-show/

Dead pedophile Jeffrey Epstein tapped Bill Clinton’s former White House press secretary Joe Lockhart — calling him “lockhard” in what looked like an email typo — for help with damage control over a widening sex-trafficking scandal in 2015, according to documents released by the Justice Department and reviewed by The Post.

Lockhart — who served as White House press secretary from 1998 to 2000, fielding the media firestorm over Clinton’s salacious affair with Monica Lewinsky — was introduced to Epstein by Clinton’s ex-Treasury Secretary Larry Summers, according to the “Epstein files” released by the Justice Department and the House Oversight Committee.

“I’d like to talk to lockhard if you think he is smart,” Epstein wrote Summers in an email exchange on Jan. 25, 2015, misspelling the crisis PR expert’s surname.
...
The now-ex Harvard University professor then introduced the two men in a separate, blank email later on Jan. 25, 2015 with the subject line “Connecting the two of you.”

There is no evidence in the document dump that Epstein ever signed a contract with Lockhart, but emails show they promptly made arrangements to talk on the phone.

Lockhart has said that he declined Epstein's offer to work for him. It's "good" Lockhart is a D, as an R, especially Trump, would be tarred with guilt-by-association.

[SVPete]

Hegseth Hatred Leaves Democrat Politicians and Media With Egg on Their Faces As Well As Steak and Lobster

https://redstate.com/streiff/2026/03/12/hegseth-hatred-leaves-democrat-politicians-and-media-with-egg-on-their-faces-as-well-as-steak-and-lobster-n2200146

On Monday, a most unusual attack was launched against Secretary of War Pete Hegseth. Attacks on Hegseth are pretty much par for the course as he's easily the member of President Trump's cabinet most hated by the left and the mainstream media. This one was unusual not only for its superficiality, but also for the ease with which it was debunked and the number of Democrat politicians and media outlets who let their hatred of a man and an administration prevent them from ever questioning the story.

First off, if you've been in the military or federal government, you know what the procurement environment is like in September. It is the last month of the fiscal year. It is the witching hour for current fiscal year appropriations. This is when money is reprogrammed from accounts that can't spend it to those who can. Every cent has to be spent by September 30, or it is lost. Worse than lost, someone up the food chain may cut your budget since you didn't spend everything, thereby proving you were overfunded. Without tight management, it can devolve into a spending bacchanalia. Even with tight management, it would cause Ron Paul to stroke out. For some reason, The New Republic, which has degenerated from an outlet that sane people might read into a Tumblr for TDS sufferers, chose this week to cover Pentagon spending in September and was apparently unaware of the context and unwilling to ask for explanations.

BEGALA: You know what’s important? He [Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth] has spent 15 million dollars in one month for ribeye steak, 6.9 million for lobster tail, 225 million dollars for furniture. He spent more in the month of September than most countries on Earth spent in their defense. All for himself! Lobster tails!? While our troops are eating MREs!? Lobster tails!?

JENNINGS: Do you believe the secretary of defense is personally eating all the lobster? It’s for the troops!

BEGALA: Oh really? The troops are getting lobster!?

JENNINGS: Frequently in theater! Troops who are going to war.

It's Olympic-class self-beclowning.

[SVPete]

Old Dominion terrorist Mohamed Bailor Jalloh was released from prison early — despite admitting to helping plot attack against US

https://nypost.com/2026/03/13/us-news/old-dominion-terrorist-mohamed-bailor-jalloh-was-released-from-prison-early-despite-admitting-to-helping-plot-attack-against-us/

Old Dominion terrorist Mohamed Bailor Jalloh had previously been serving time in federal prison for helping to plot a heinous potential attack against the US — but he ended up being cut loose early, records show.

The 36-year-old ISIS-linked maniac — who was killed when he opened fire at the Virginia university Thursday — had said he was considering trying to pull off another attack akin to the Fort Hood massacre in 2009 that killed 13 people, the feds said.
...
The convicted terror plotter received an early release after completing a prison drug-treatment program that lets inmates shave up to a year off their sentences, The Associated Press reported Friday, citing a source familiar with the situation.

But it is unclear why Jalloh would have been allowed the sentence-reducing credit, since terror convicts are typically barred from receiving it. It also was not known why he got another year and a half off on top of that, too.
...
News of his prior conviction — and subsequent release — sparked immediate questions as to how a perp with known ties to ISIS was still able to carry out the sickening attack.

“The horrific tragedy that occurred today on ODU’s campus never should have happened,” Rep. Jen Kiggans, who represents the congressional district neighboring the university, said in a statement shortly after the attack.

The Bureau of Prisons did not respond to a Post request for comment Friday.

Lenient sentence under Obama, released early under LIEden ... maybe there's a sinister pattern, maybe it's doubled-down stupidity, but a good man was killed by this filth.

[SVPete]

BREAKING: Trump's Chief of Staff Susie Wiles Has Cancer

https://pjmedia.com/sarah-anderson/2026/03/16/breaking-trumps-chief-of-staff-susie-wiles-has-cancer-n4950698

White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles has announced that she has breast cancer, but it sounds like her prognosis is good.

The 68-year-old told the New York Times that it was caught in its early stages. She will begin treatment in Washington soon, and she doesn't plan to take a leave of absence from her role in the Donald Trump administration.

Praying for her recovery.