Greetings from the Genesee Valley of New York state. Today is Sunday, May 10, 2025. Today of course is Mother's Day. Today I'm reliably advised is National Shrimp Day, National Lipid Day, National Washington Day and my personal favorite, National Train Day.
1534 French navigator Jacques Cartier reaches Newfoundland
1775 Second Continental Congress in Philadelphia names George Washington Supreme Commander
1797 1st US Navy ship, the "United States," is launched
1869 The Golden Spike is driven, completing the first US Transcontinental Railroad at Promontory Summit, Utah, connecting the Central Pacific Railroad with the Union Pacific
1877 U.S. President Rutherford B. Hayes has the first White House telephone installed in the telegraph room
1906 Russian Duma (Parliament) meets for 1st time
1924 J. Edgar Hoover appointed head of FBI
1940 Winston Churchill succeeds Neville Chamberlain as British prime minister at the head of a coalition government
1941 Adolf Hitler's deputy Rudolf Hess escapes to Britain to open secret negotiations with the Allies, parachuting into Scotland
1963 Decca Records signs The Rolling Stones on the advice of Beatles guitarist George Harrison
1968 Vietnam peace talks began in Paris between the U.S. and North Vietnam
1970 The Jackson 5 make their second visit to The Ed Sullivan Show, performing “I Want You Back,” “ABC,” and "The Love You Save"
1976 Paul Harvey's daily syndicated program The Rest of the Story premieres on the ABC Radio Networks, continuing until his death in 2009
1982 WABC radio (NYC) plays its last record — John Lennon's "Imagine" — and switches to all-talk format
1983 TV sitcom Laverne & Shirley last airs on ABC-TV
1996 Twister disaster film written by Michael Crichton starring Helen Hunt and Bill Paxton premieres
Birthdays Today Include: George Ross, American judge and U.S. Founding Father (signed US Declaration of Independence); John Wilkes Booth, actor and assassin of President Abraham Lincoln; Max Steiner, Austrian-American film score composer (King Kong; Casablanca; Gone with the Wind); Alfred Jodl, German general during World War II (head of the German High Command, signed unconditional Nazi surrender); Dimitri Tiomkin, Russian-American film score composer (Academy Award, 1954 - The High and the Mighty; Wild Is the Wind; Rio Bravo); Fred Astaire, stage and screen tap dancer, and singer; David O. Selznick, Academy Award-winning producer (Gone with the Wind; Rebecca); Pat Summerall, NFL player and sportscaster; Scott Muni, Legendary DJ (WABC, WOR, WNEW, WAXQ); Gary Owens, DJ, TV announcer (Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In); Henry Fambrough, R&B singer (The Spinners, 1954-2023 - "Could It Be I'm Falling in Love?"; "The Rubberband Man"); Carl Douglas, Jamaican-British singer ("Kung Fu Fighting"); Dave Mason, British guitarist and singer-songwriter (Traffic - "Feelin' Alright?", solo - "We Just Disagree"); Donovan, Scottish guitarist and singer-songwriter ("Sunshine Superman"; "Mellow Yellow"); Graham Gouldman, British bassist and singer-songwriter (10cc - "I'm Not In Love"; "The Things We Do for Love"); Jay Ferguson, Singer (Spirit - "I Got A Line on You"; solo - "Thunder Island", "Shakedown Cruise"); and Ron Banks, R&B singer and songwriter (Dramatics - "Whatcha See is Whatcha Get").
If you share a birthday with these folks, enjoy your special day.
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Well, color me shocked. Absolutely nobody could have seen this coming — except, of course, for anyone with a pulse, and at least a passing familiarity with British politics over the last several months. Indeed, I’ve been writing about this fuel depot fire that is Britain's Labour Party since late last year, even mentioning it in my annual predictions piece:
Sixth: Current UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer will be gone from Number 10, and Labour will be crippled as a result of the tussle going on between the King and Starmer (of which the American press has said little).
Actually, longer than that, but won’t bother digging into that further. After all, who’s counting?
Certainly not the at-least-22 Labour MPs who have, in a stunning display of loyalty that would warm the heart of any party faithful, publicly and loudly decided that perhaps their fearless leader should consider, at his earliest possible convenience, making expeditious use of that door with the red sign over it. They’re already warming the proverbial tar pots, and a goodly number of chickens are already missing their feathers in preparation for the main event, which, by most reports, will be Monday at the latest.
Not in a rush or anything, Keir — take your time, old boy — have a biscuit, maybe a brief existential crisis — but do have your belongings in a box by the weekend, lest you plan to be in that box yourself.
This discontent with Starmer in the UK is part of a much larger, worldwide backlash against the global left, certainly—but there’s even more to this one. Make no mistake: the imminent demise of Starmer as PM, ramped up in proximity to King Charles’s visit to the United States, is no accident of timing.
Oh, I have several problems with Charles, but even he could not have been unaffected by how the Trump administration likely presented itself, and its annoyance with Starmer — particularly regarding Iran. Even MPs in the UK are now admitting that President Trump is more than justified in his anger over Starmer's betrayal in Iran.
I had called Starmer a “dead man walking” on previous occasions. It now seems, however, that was far too generous a description—because at least a walking dead man has the decency to keep moving.
Sir Keir obviously has no such intentions and seems to have planted himself like an oak tree in the Number 10 carpet, arms folded, jaw set, absolutely serene in the conviction that the 22 colleagues publicly pushing him toward the exit are simply being dramatic. Never mind that more are joining their ranks as this is written. Anyone who has been watching Prime Minister’s Questions over the last six months can tell you that much at least.
Even with all of that, the Substack scribblers and the Fox Digital reporters had to break this story — presumably while the BBC was busy finding yet another flattering camera angle.
Labour MP Catherine West told the BBC that if a Cabinet minister does not challenge Starmer by Monday, she will trigger a leadership contest herself.
West said she was putting the Cabinet "on notice."
"I’m putting people on notice — if I don’t hear by Monday morning of some leadership hopefuls, I will be asking everybody in the Parliamentary Labour Party to put a name against my name, because we need to get this ball rolling," she told the outlet.
Oh, I'm sure the BBC reported that one with absolute delight—no cold sweats, no editorial hand-wringing, no three-hour emergency meetings about "framing" whatsoever. After all, the Beeb has been such a ruthlessly impartial watchdog of the Starmer administration—never missing a chance to hold dear Keir's feet to the fire since he first planted them under the desk at Number 10. Much like their stateside soulmates over at PBS and NPR, who are equally legendary for speaking truth to power rather than, say, enthusiastically fluffing whatever the approved narrative happens to be that week. This scenario is exactly why I have always had a massive distaste for government-run domestic media. Yes, truly, both institutions are absolute paragons of journalistic fearlessness. Someone give them all Pulitzers immediately.
But disappointingly, here is West hedging her bets a little so as to minimize damage to the whole of the party:
“But my preferred option is for the Cabinet to do a reshuffle within itself, where there’s plenty of talent and for Keir to be given a different role, which he might enjoy, perhaps an international role, and then for others to come to the fore, who can communicate the message, who are very able, so we can have minimum fuss," she continued.So, she’s working on the idea that Starmer, that unshakeable pillar of electoral and diplomatic genius, is absolutely fine, thank you very much — never mind the trifling matter of hemorrhaging a mere 1,400 seats in what can only be described as a perfectly normal and healthy democratic performance. And Nigel Farage's Reform Party? Oh, they didn't make "tremendous gains" — let's not be dramatic. They merely hoovered up seats like an industrial vacuum cleaner let loose in a confetti factory. Remove the guy from the PM job and stick him in some cabinet position where his screwups will be somewhat less noticeable. After all, he really didn’t do anything wrong, he was simply implementing the policies Labour thinks are best for the country. It’s just that he got caught at it. Nothing wrong with Labour policy, it’s Starmer himself. And all they need to do is put together a planning commission to work their way out of this from a PR perspective:
Do not be shocked when the major outcome of this ends with her name coming up in the race for the leadership of the Labour Party. The way governments rise and fall over there suggests this will happen in the next few days. But, unlike West and her carefully choreographed dance move, let’s get real here. The problem is both Starmer and the Labour government’s leftist policies, which West still champions. In other words, if through some cruel twist of fate West ever gets the PM job, she will be Starmer warmed over.
Sir Keir, for his own part (bless his immovable heart), has gazed upon this smoldering crater where his party used to be and decided that he, specifically, is the one man standing between Britain and total chaos. The chaos, one must stress, that is definitely not already unfolding in spectacular fashion directly beneath his feet as he speaks. No, no — that’s a completely different chaos. His chaos would be much worse. Probably. He’s keeping the details vague, but trust him — he’s got a plan. Like any leftist around the world, he’s always got a plan. It’s just that the country keeps rudely interrupting it by noting the disasters as they happen, noting their shrinking wallets and their shrinking culture, and the ballooning crime rates, and voting accordingly. Stressed? Yeah, his cortisol levels have to be in the stratosphere, I’m thinking.
Huh. OK, perhaps all that’s a bit strong. But that’s me — I do tend to speak in fluent sarcasm. Still, I’m open to giving Starmer credit where it’s due. After all, how many people could get the notoriously left-leaning British voters yearning for the days of Lady Thatcher?
To my mind, Starmer is likely gone by Monday night. The only remaining question is: will we see Labour in Number 10 again anytime soon? Let’s hope not.
Thought of the day: The letter W starts with a D. Strange world, isn't it?
As always, VIP members, smash that heart on the lower left and let's hear your comments on this. Take care of yourselves. I'll see you here Monday.
Editor's Note: The Democrat Party has never been less popular as voters reject its globalist agenda.
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