Chicago Antifa Terrorists Box In an ICE Vehicle and More Antifa Ram Another ICE Van;
CHICAGO POLICE ORDERED TO FLEE THE AREA AND RENDER NO ASSISTANCE TO FELLOW LEOs UNDER ATTACK

This is insurrection.

The Democrat-Antifa-Media Cult is making it clear that yes, Antifa are their street paramilitaries and operate under color of law at the direction of Democrat politicians.

Shocking video captured the moment an unhinged driver rammed into an Immigration and Customs Enforcement vehicle in Chicago amid a spate of attacks on federal agents.

The chaotic scene unfolded when the black SUV was caught on camera suddenly plowing into the back of the ICE truck in the middle of heavy traffic on Saturday, the Department of Homeland Security said.

The driver then chased the ICE vehicle before repeatedly slamming into its bumper in front of shocked bystanders.

Scores of federal agents could be seen drawing their guns in a bid to prevent the driver from fleeing.

It wasn't immediately clear if the driver was apprehended.

The assault came soon after Border Patrol agents shot a gun-toting woman elsewhere in the city when an angry mob of anti-ICE protesters ambushed federal agents and boxed them in with 10 vehicles.

The woman, Marimar Martinez, as well as another driver, Anthony Ian Santos Ruiz, were both arrested and branded "domestic terrorists."

"The scene became increasingly violent as more domestic terrorists gathered and began throwing smoke, gas, rocks, and bottles at DHS law enforcement," DHS said.

Several Border Patrol agents were injured as the violent scenes unfolded, according to authorities.

Chicago Police were ordered to allow the terrorists to attack ICE and Border Patrol personnel.

Two longtime, ranking Chicago police sources sharply rejected the department's assertion that officers responded to calls for help from ICE agents who were rammed and surrounded by protesters on Saturday, telling Fox News the official statement is, in their words, "COVER THEIR A-- BULLS--T!!"

Their comments come as Fox News obtained an internal dispatch revealing that Chicago police officers were ordered by their chief of patrol not to respond after Border Patrol agents called for help, saying they were boxed in and surrounded following a ramming incident outside the city, according to multiple federal and Chicago law enforcement sources.

Fox News reviewed the computer-aided dispatch message sent to Chicago police officers by their chief of patrol. The message instructed officers not to respond to a Saturday morning ramming on the southwest side of the city in which an armed woman was shot and agents were boxed in and surrounded.

"PLEASE CHIEF OF PATROL NO UNITS WILL RESPOND TO THIS AS RELATED FROM 04-Oc5-2025/12:34:44...CALLER IS 1 OF APPROX 30 ARMED PATROL AGENTS (ICE) WHO ARE BEING SURROUNDED BY A LARGE CROWD OF PEOPLE REQUESTING CPD," the dispatch message read.

On Saturday morning, federal agents were rammed and trapped by 10 vehicles, where anti-ICE crowds had gathered for days. Nearly a dozen people were arrested.
In a statement Sunday, the Chicago Police Department disputed claims that officers failed to respond, saying they were on scene to manage safety and document the incident.

...

But two senior Chicago police sources told Fox News the department's statement was false -- and that internal communications tell a very different story.

One ranking source told Fox News that the Chicago Police Department's statement is "not true," pointing to "legit" dispatch audio.

Posted by: Ace at 03:41 PM | Comments (378) | Trackbacks (Suck)

In the NJ Governor Race, Republicans Are Turning In Mail-In Ballots at a Faster Clip Than Democrats

And of course Democrats have long enjoyed a big advantage in the early vote, with Republicans forced to make up the deficit on the actual (Constitution-prescribed) Election Day.

I should clarify that Republicans are turning in ballots at a higher rate, not necessarily in terms of absolute numbers. There are more Democrats in NJ than Republicans so they are probably turning in more actual ballots.

New Jersey Republicans are returning their mail-in ballots at a higher clip than Democrats in an early positive sign for GOP gubernatorial hopeful Jack Ciattarelli, as polls show a tightening race between him and Rep. Mikie Sherrill in the high-stakes race.

Garden State Republicans have so far notched an 18.61% return rate for their mail-in ballots, outpacing the Democrats' 16.55%, according to data compiled and analyzed by DecisionDeskHQ's director of political science, Michael Pruser.

GOP pollster Adam Geller, who has worked with the Ciattarelli campaign, told The Post that Republicans have historically been less inclined to vote by mail, meaning this lead in the rate of early ballot returns could be a hopeful sign.

"Clearly, it's encouraging for the Republicans right now," Geller said. "You could argue that, in addition to coming around to vote by mail, it could be a measurement of the enthusiasm for the candidate."

Brent Buchanan, the president and CEO of Cygnal polling firm, said that the early mail-in data is interesting given President Trump's growing popularity in the Garden State.

"Republicans have gotten serious about participating in early voting," Buchanan told The Post.

"Pair that with the strong shift statewide toward Trump, and you have a growing recipe for Republican wins up and down the ticket."

Kamala Harris only won New Jersey by a 6% margin in the 2024 presidential election, marking the narrowest Democratic margin in the state since 1992, according to the New Jersey Globe.

...

An internal poll conducted by Geller showed Ciattarelli with a threadbare lead, and an Emerson College Polling survey pegged Sherrill and Ciattarelli as being neck and neck.

Other polls have shown that the race is getting tighter, something that has spooked national Democrats.

Sherrill has a 3.3 percentage point advantage over her conservative counterpart, according to the latest RealClearPolitics aggregate of polling. Exactly one month ago, she had an 8.3 point lead.

For context, the RCP aggregate underestimated Ciattarelli's support by some 5 points in the 2021 New Jersey gubernatorial race. Ciattarelli lost to incumbent Gov. Phil Murphy (D) by about 3 points.

The early mail-in vote means that Democrats can't pull a Torricelli Option any longer. Votes have already been cast. I don't doubt that the ultra-corrupt far-left NJ Supreme Court would try to justify cancelling the votes already cast and forcing people to vote again with a new Democrat candidate in the race, but I think the Supreme Court might actually step in and tell them they can't cancel votes already cast.

Democrats are worried:

Top Democrats are increasingly alarmed the party could lose the governor's race in traditionally blue New Jersey next month because of a series of stumbles by the Democratic nominee, U.S. Rep. Mikie Sherrill.

Why it matters: Both parties are investing millions in the race between Sherrill, a former Navy pilot, and Republican Jack Ciattarelli, an ex-state lawmaker -- and it's getting national attention as a preview of the 2026 midterms.

The prospect of a close election or even a loss in the Garden State has set off handwringing among Democrats.

"So much for the Dem resistance if we are struggling to even win a N.J. governorship while Trump has taken a wrecking ball to the government and Constitution," said Democratic strategist Irene Lin, who isn't working on the race.

"Sherrill has spent a fortune on polling and has no message beyond she flies helicopters and Ciattarelli loves Trump," Lin said. "How have we not learned ... that tired anti-Trump attacks aren't enough?"

Behind the scenes: Some Democrats privately say Sherrill is a better candidate on paper than in reality. They argue she's been too scripted, hasn't focused enough on high prices, and has relied too much on staff from D.C. rather than New Jersey-based operatives.

They're also concerned Ciattarelli is hustling to make inroads in Black communities that usually vote overwhelmingly for Democrats.

Sherrill initially had trouble naming "one piece" of legislation she would pass in response to a question from a CBS New York reporter, which led to Ciattarelli blasting her in an ad.

In an interview with influential radio host Charlamagne tha God in May, Sherrill -- who's in her fourth term in the House -- struggled to answer questions about her family's increased wealth in recent years.

When asked whether she made $7 million through stock trades as alleged in conservative media, she said, "I, I haven't ... I don't believe I did," and then said she'd have to check where the allegations originated.

Ciattarelli's campaign responded by launching a website: MikieMadeMillions.com.

Another spot by a pro-Ciattarelli super PAC highlighted Sherrill saying clean power is "gonna cost you an arm and a leg, but if you're a good person, you'll do it."

But the group's ad didn't say that Sherrill actually was criticizing her own party's messaging.

Bullshit.

All she was doing was criticizing the messaging -- not the policy itself. She was saying that Democrats can't sell green energy by saying it will cost you an armed and a leg, but you should sacrifice your limbs for Gaia. But she completely supports cutting off limbs for Gaia. She just wants to be more dishonest about the transaction.

A spokesperson for the Republican Governors Association, which backs the group behind the ad, declined to directly address taking Sherrill out of context and provided a statement attacking her energy record.

Related: Run, Julianna, Run!

Posted by: Ace at 02:30 PM | Comments (440) | Trackbacks (Suck)

Washington Post Goes On Firing Spree, Canning Presumably Far-Left Opinion Writers

Oh no. No!

The Washington Post launched a sweeping round of layoffs Friday in its Opinion section, cutting veteran journalists and longtime staffers.

The Washington Post ignited a firestorm inside its own newsroom after reportedly axing more than a dozen editorial staffers, according to multiple reports. NBC News reporter Mark Segraves said that Marc Fisher -- a 39-year veteran of the paper and one of its most recognized voices -- was among those terminated.

"The @washingtonpost has fired writer & editor @mffisher along with 15 other columnists & editors. Marc Fisher spent 39 years at WaPo and is one of the greatest voices and reporters our city has. Democracy Dies In Darkness and the Washington Post is turning out the lights," Segraves wrote.

New York Times media reporter Ben Mullin posted a confirmation that Adam O'Neal, the Post's new Opinion Editor, ordered the dismissals as part of a planned overhaul. Mullin reported that six employees were formally laid off, while several contractors also lost their jobs. He shared an internal email that outlined O'Neal's decision to restructure the section.

"Scoop: Adam O'Neal, the new Opinion Editor at The Washington Post, is laying off staffers as part of a plan to shake up the section. A source says six employees are affected. I've also been told some contractors are being terminated," Mullin posted.

Retired Washington Post editor, correspondent and columnist Robert McCartney added more details, warning that the Opinion section will now operate without copy editors.

The Washington Post actually reported on DC cops complaining that serious crimes are routinely recorded as minor crimes to make the numbers look good and to avoid the "ire" of the brass.

D.C. police officers are feeding information to the Justice Department as it probes accusations of manipulated crime data, according to the D.C. Police Union and five other people familiar with the situation who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss an investigation in progress. The voluntary cooperation of about three dozen from the police force, according to three of the people, reflects long-standing frustrations about how violent crime is categorized by supervisors -- and surfaces as public safety in D.C. continues to capture the president's attention.

Some rank-and-file officers and detectives have complained for months -- in some cases, years -- that managers were recording serious crimes as more minor ones to make their police districts appear safer or avoid the ire of top department brass. Some kept lists, documenting cases where they believed a higher-up improperly classified a crime as a lesser offense. One such tally, obtained by The Washington Post, lists more than 150 instances since March 2024 where staff in a Southeast D.C. police district believed offenses were, at least initially, inappropriately classified.

Previously, just a month ago, the Washington Post insisted that Trump was crazy to claim that crime was out-of-control because all of the numbers say crime is down!

Posted by: Ace at 01:30 PM | Comments (359) | Trackbacks (Suck)

The Democrat Running to be Virginia's Top Law Enforcement Officer, the Attorney General, Repeatedly Wished for the Assassination of a Former Speaker of the House;
CIA Plant Abigail Spanberger Refuses to Call for His Withdrawal

National Review's Audrey Fahlberg:

Dem AG Nominee Jay Jones Fantasized About Shooting Former Virginia GOP Speaker: 'He Receives Both Bullets'

On August 8, 2022, a Republican state legislator received a disturbing string of early-morning text messages from a former colleague, Jay Jones, this year's Democratic nominee for Virginia attorney general.

Jones, who at the time had recently resigned from the state house after a brief stint representing Norfolk, had strong feelings about how the political class was eulogizing recently deceased former state legislator Joe Johnson Jr., a moderate Democrat with a long tenure in Virginia politics. Republican legislators like House Speaker Todd Gilbert had begun making public statements honoring Johnson's memory and political legacy, and some of those statements were making the rounds in state legislative group chats.

Around 8 a.m., Jones shared those feelings with his former state legislative colleague, Republican House Delegate Carrie Coyner. In a series of text messages obtained by National Review, Jones derided Johnson's political centrism and scoffed at the "glowing" tributes that were being made in his honor by Republicans in the wake of his death.

"Damn that was for mark," he wrote to Coyner, suggesting he'd meant to send the texts to someone else. And yet that realization didn't stop Jones from joking about what "that POS" Gilbert "would say about me if I died."

Then, the conversation took a dark turn.

"If those guys die before me," Jones wrote, referencing the Republican colleagues who were publicly honoring the deceased Johnson's memory, "I will go to their funerals to piss on their graves" to "send them out awash in something."

Jones then suggested that, presented with a hypothetical situation in which he had only two bullets and was faced with the choice of murdering then-Speaker of the House Todd Gilbert or two dictators, he'd shoot Gilbert "every time," prompting pushback from his former colleague:

Jones: Three people, two bullets
Gilbert, hitler, and pol pot
Gilbert gets two bullets to the head
Spoiler: put Gilbert in the crew with the two worst people you know and he receives both bullets every time
Coyner: Jay
Please stop
Jones: Lol
Ok, ok
Coyner: It really bothers me when you talk about hurting people or wishing death on them
It isn't ok
No matter who they are

...

Asked about the years-old text exchange, Coyner condemned Jones's rhetoric and said she sent screenshots of the conversation to Gilbert that day. She said she and Jones haven't spoken since, aside from a brief conversation about policy issues. "On August 8, 2022 I had a text conversation with Jay Jones, what he said was not just disturbing but disqualifying for anyone who wants to seek public office," she told NR in a statement. "Jay Jones wished violence on the children of a colleague and joked about shooting Todd Gilbert. It's disgusting and unbecoming of any public official."

...

'Breeding Little Fascists'

Coyner's alarm at her former colleague's violent rhetoric toward Gilbert prompted Jones to call her and explain his reasoning over the phone, a source familiar with the exchange told NR.

According to the source, the Democratic former legislator doubled down on the call, saying the only way public policy changes is when policymakers feel pain themselves, like the pain that parents feel when they watch their children die from gun violence. He asked her to provide counterexamples to disprove his claim.

Then at one point, the source said, he suggested he wished Gilbert's wife could watch her own child die in her arms so that Gilbert might reconsider his political views, prompting Coyner to hang up the phone in disgust.

Afterward, Jones continued his barrage of text messages, saying he was just asking questions. Coyner dismissed his excuse via text and chastised Jones for "hopping [sic] Jennifer Gilbert's children would die."

Rather than deny that he had wished death on the children, Jones responded by saying, "Yes, I've told you this before. Only when people feel pain personally do they move on policy."
Faced with more pushback from his frazzled former colleague, Jones somehow took the conversation a step further: "I mean do I think Todd and Jennifer are evil? And that they're breeding little fascists? Yes," he wrote, referring to Gilbert's wife and two young children.

The CIA Operative and Deep State Obersturmkommander Abigail Spanberger refuses to call for him to step aside.

Below, the children that Jay Jones -- who would be the top prosecutor in the state -- wants to see murdered so that their parents will adhere to the commands of the Democrat-Antifa-Media Death Cult.

Posted by: Ace at 12:17 PM | Comments (391) | Trackbacks (Suck)

A Breakdown of Joe Biden’s Unprecedented 81 Million Votes in 2020

Hillary Clinton tallied about 65 million votes as the Democrats’ presidential candidate in 2016, but in the Covid-year of 2020, Joe Biden received over 81 million votes. In 2024, Kamala Harris received 75 million votes, a significant dropoff from Joe Biden’s record ballot total.

Donald Trump, by contrast saw a steady increase in his vote total in each successive presidential race:

2016: ~ 62 million votes
2020: ~ 74 million votes
2024: ~ 77 million votes

Because it is simply preposterous that Joe Biden so wildly overperformed Hillary and Kamala, especially considering that all three ran against the same Republican candidate, there is a widespread assumption that Covid-era ballot chicanery resulted in Biden’s unmatched vote total. You’ll also recall that in the midst of the 2020 Covid hysteria, in-person voting was deemed lethally dangerous by Democrats, numerous judges, and the legacy media. Instead, ballots were scattered into the wind, to be gathered via mail, dropbox, ballot harvesters, copy machines, etc., with verification protocols mostly abandoned.

So where did those excess Biden ballots come from? I asked Grok to create a table for me, showing the vote totals by state for each of those three presidential elections, and then I exported those results into Excel so I could calculate the differences over the election cycles. There is nothing askew in the Trump results. On a state level and nationally, his vote totals consistently increased across the board over the three elections. But there are some huge swings in Democrat vote totals.

None of this proves fraud, but neither does it explain the Democrats’ extraordinary ballot haul in 2020. Further, the most preposterous Democrat vote totals in 2020 mainly occurred in deep blue states, so whatever ballot fraud may or may not have been occurring there served to increase Biden’s national vote total, but did not affect those states’ electoral votes. However, to the extent that there were fraudulent Democrat ballots for Biden, those likely cost Republicans some down ballot races in blue states.

While I have posted all vote totals further below, immediately below are the Democrats’ totals in swing states, and a few other interesting state results. Directly below this table are a few observations of mine about these state results.

Posted by: Buck Throckmorton at 11:00 AM | Comments (337) | Trackbacks (Suck)

Mid-Morning Art Thread

Rosemary in Thought
Raphael Soyer

Posted by: CBD at 09:30 AM | Comments (309) | Trackbacks (Suck)

The Morning Report — 10/6/25

Good morning kids. First, a very happy 250th birthday to the United States Navy! The Secretary of War (I just love writing that) Pete Hegseth had this to say:

War Secretary Pete Hegseth addressed a lively audience of U.S. Navy Sailors in Virginia to commemorate the military branch’s 250th anniversary, reiterating President Donald Trump’s emphasis on “America first, and peace through strength” and blasting diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). Hegseth received loud applause as he began his remarks to thousands of Sailors at the Naval Station Norfolk, the world’s largest naval station with over 82,000 active-duty military on base and over 29,000 civilians. Calling the crowd “the absolute best of America,” the War secretary said, “Looking out at all of you — I know you know why the President always says we have the strongest, most powerful, most lethal, most ready military on the planet, and he’s going to make sure we keep it that way.” “This is the perfect way to mark 250 years of the United States Navy. You know, President Trump has made our mission clear; America first, and peace through strength with common sense at every turn,” Hegseth continued, before emphasizing the name change from Department of Defense to Department of War. 

CBD and I discussed Secretary Hegseth's outstanding record to date as among the bright spots of the Trump 2.0 administration on the latest edition of the podcast. As a bit of a tease for the upcoming episode a bit later this week, we will be joined by a retired army veteran whose byline as an open blogger has appeared here on many occasions, and we'll get into the nitty gritty of Hegseth and the newWar Department. Should be an outstanding show.

So happy birthday and Anchors Aweigh!

Well there are wars and rumors of war. Abroad for sure but most alarmingly here at home. After 10 years and counting of blood-libeling President Donald Trump as literally Hitler and those who voted for and support him as White-Supremacist fascists (not understanding what that word actually means) ready to round up colored people of color and toss them into concentration camps, is it any wonder that cities have burned to the ground, and ICE officers are openly assaulted in the streets for doing their jobs in apprehending and deporting illegal aliens.

Most unhelpful to say the least are vile scumbag degenerates like this one shooting his mouth off and in so doing giving the green light for the truly unhinged among the Left (which is a number that is perhaps even larger than even we want to imagine possible) to attack anyone and anything even a red pubic hair's breadth to the right of Fidel Castro.

Virginia Democrat attorney general nominee Jay Jones in 2022 "fantasized" about shooting then-Republican colleague Todd Gilbert twice and wished death on Gilbert’s children, National Review reported Friday.

"Gilbert gets two bullets to the head," Jones told Republican House delegate Carrie Coyner as he laid out a hypothetical "three people, two bullets" scenario in which he listed Gilbert alongside Hitler and Pol Pot, according to text messages dated August 8, 2022, obtained by National Review. "Spoiler: put Gilbert in the crew with the two worst people you know and he receives both bullets every time," Jones wrote.

And this bipedal metastatic cancer on everything that is just, decent, moral and righteous is actually a candidate for Attorney General?! More horrifying than that is the fact that Virginia being what it is, he'll probably win.

Small wonder then that this actually happened:

A Biden-appointed federal judge who sentenced the man found guilty of attempting to assassinate U.S. Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh in 2022 is being accused of leniency in the case. Judge Deborah Boardman sentenced Nicholas Roske to eight years in prison on Friday, Fox News reported on Saturday. Roske is a transgender person, or a man living as a woman, who goes by the name Sophie. . . “The sentence is more lenient than what the Department of Justice (DOJ) had sought. Prosecutors said Roske should face at least 30 years, while Roske’s defense team had asked for eight,” the Fox article said. In a social media post on Friday, U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi said the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) would be appealing the sentence

Good on Bondi. That said, here's a headline or internet meme that I'd truly like to see:

Brett Kavanaugh's would-be assassin didn't kill himself! Ditto this Deborah Boardman.

As for this notion of being in a civil war, that would presuppose that both sides are racking up body count. And so far, it is our side that is being put into hospitals, morgues and prisons as terrorists in black robes hurl law books at us while terrorists in keffiyahs and balaclavas hurl prepositioned bricks, molotov cocktails, fists and bullets at us with impunity courtesy of the former.

And so President Trump has thrown down the gauntlet by sending in the National Guard to try and put a stop to this insanity before it gets out of hand, unless of course we have blown past that point.

A federal judge on Saturday issued a temporary restraining order blocking President Trump from sending Oregon’s National Guard to Portland to defend federal agents from violent attacks by black bloc militants who surround the ICE facility every night.

Obama-appointed District Judge Michael Simon was convinced by lawyers for Oregon State that the attacks were peaceful. 

This flies in the face of footage from Fox News and “citizen journalists” chronicling violence every night as Antifa mobs hurl rocks at federal agents and their vehicles, assault journalists, and block traffic while Portland police stand by.  In fact, Portland police are doing more than nothing: they have been filmed actively gathering complaints from Antifa thugs who claim they were maced or roughed up by federal agents.

When called for backup, these pretend cops respond that they “don’t have the resources,” according to court documents tendered in the State of Oregon’s lawsuit. 

After “citizen journalist” Katie Daviscourt was given a black eye by an Antifa type who attacked her with a flagpole last week, Portland police ignored her entreaties to arrest her assailant. 

But the next night, they arrested her colleague Nick Sortor and charged him with disorderly conduct after he got into a one-sided scuffle with an aggressive group of black bloc militants who pushed him to the ground and broke his camera. 

After spending the night in a cell, Sortor told Fox News that the Portland jail was “weirdly empty because they don’t actually arrest criminals around here, just people like me that report on what’s actually happening on the ground…

“If what I was doing was disorderly, what do you call people with megaphones at three in the morning lighting fires in the middle of the street?”

Under orders from the Democrats who run the city, there’s no question that Portland cops are taking sides against the federal government, even as Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem has revealed that her officers are being threatened with doxing campaigns and even $10,000 bounties to kill them.

I suppose the question is; Are the Portland cops sitting on their hands for fear of Antifa or for fear of retribution from the Democrats who control the city, or worse because they are actually members of Antifa who somehow snuck onto the force. Considering that a known Communist John Brennan actually became not only a CIA operative but rose to become the head of the agency itself, my assertion is certainly a frightening possibility.

There's Portland Oregon and the entire state of Illinois as that fat criminal Schlub Pritzker is also engaging in incitement and insurrection against the legitimate functioning of federal law enforcement. This is insurrection and revolution my friends. Unless and until everyone and everything behind this is utterly smashed, we are facing a reckoning and it's not going to be pretty.

An Indiana man accused of breaking into a home and stabbing a family, including the brutal, fatal stabbing of 6-year-old Logan Tipton, is now a free man. . .

"If I ever cross paths with him, I will kill the man. I will kill him where he stands," the boy's father said.

Consider that heartbreaking statement in light of all of the aforementioned and the totally corrupt system. So what would happen in Portland should the good and honest citizens decide to take matters into their own hands to defend their lives and property. They might actually find themselves firing not only on Antifa goons but Portland Police officers who may very well be Antifa's allies but dressed in Cop drag as it were.

And this my friends is how societies break down.

Have a good day!

And lastly, a quick shout-out and thank you for your continued support in hitting our tip jar. It truly is appreciated more than you can know. 

ABOVE THE FOLD, BREAKING, NOTEWORTHY LINKS
• Roger Kimball: The FBI once chased Catholics and parents with the SPLC’s “hate map.” Now, under Trump, the grifters are exposed and America’s institutions are being reset.
  Trump’s Second Term Resets Washington’s Playbook
  
• Victor Davis Hanson: Portland’s left-wing mobs and officials are waging a neo-Confederate-style rebellion—defying federal law, protecting illegal aliens, and turning the city into a sanctuary for anarchy.
  Reactionary, Neo-Confederate Portland

Posted by: J.J. Sefton at 07:25 AM | Comments (307) | Trackbacks (Suck)

Daily Tech News 6 October 2025

Top Story

• In May, OpenAI, which has never made a profit, spent $6.5 billion to buy Jony Ive's company io, which has never made a product. The first device to ship from the partnership? Anyone's guess, they're out of ideas. (Tech Crunch) (archive site)

  The FT now says that OpenAI and Ive aim to create "a palm-sized device without a screen that can take audio and visual cues from the physical environment and respond to users' requests."

  A phone? I'm told those already exist.

  But unresolved issues around the device's "personality," how it handles privacy, and computing infrastructure might delay the launch.

  Good grief, they've created the Sirius Cybernetics Corporation.

  "Listen," said Ford, who was still engrossed in the sales brochure, "they make a big thing of the ship's cybernetics. A new generation of Sirius Cybernetics Corporation robots and computers, with the new GPP feature." "GPP feature?" said Arthur. "What's that?"
  "Oh, it says Genuine People Personalities."
  "Oh," said Arthur, "sounds ghastly."
  A voice behind them said, "It is." The voice was low and hopeless and accompanied by a slight clanking sound. They span round and saw an abject steel man standing hunched in the doorway.
  "What?" they said.
  "Ghastly," continued Marvin, "it all is. Absolutely ghastly. Just don't even talk about it. Look at this door," he said, stepping through it. The irony circuits cut into his voice modulator as he mimicked the style of the sales brochure. "All the doors in this spaceship have a cheerful and sunny disposition. It is their pleasure to open for you, and their satisfaction to close again with the knowledge of a job well done."
  As the door closed behind them it became apparent that it did indeed have a satisfied sigh-like quality to it. "Hummmmmmmyummmmmmm ah!" it said.

Posted by: Pixy Misa at 04:00 AM | Comments (104) | Trackbacks (Suck)

Sunday Overnight Open Thread - October 5, 2025 [Doof]

Welcome one and all to the Sunday night ONT!

Posted by: Open Blogger at 10:00 PM | Comments (442) | Trackbacks (Suck)

Gun Thread: First October Edition!

Howdy, Y'all! Welcome to the wondrously fabulous Gun Thread! As always, I want to thank all of our regulars for being here week in and week out, and also offer a bigly Gun Thread welcome to any newcomers who may be joining us tonight. Howdy and thank you for stopping by! I hope you find our wacky conversation on the subject of guns 'n shooting both enjoyable and informative. You are always welcome to lurk in the shadows of shame, but I'd like to invite you to jump into the conversation, say howdy, and tell us what kind of shooting you like to do!

Holy Shitballs! How in the ever-loving Hell did it get to be the first October edition? The TXMoMe is just a couple of weeks away!! More on that below.

Programming Note: I am still out of town on a super-sekrit mission, so this week will again be an abbreviated, or content-lite, Gun Thread. Thanks for understanding

With that, step into the dojo and let's get to the gun stuff below, shall we?

Posted by: Weasel at 07:00 PM | Comments (240) | Trackbacks (Suck)

Food Thread: Luscious Peacock Thighs, And Other Delicious Things

Yes, yes, everyone should know by now that chicken thighs are the way to go, but I am nothing if not repetitive and tedious! So here it goes again! But humor me, they are so easy and forgiving that it is shame to waste the money on any other part of the chicken, except perhaps legs, but I think the thighs taste better!

Now...I'm talking about pieces to be grilled. Roasting a whole chicken is a different animal entirely, and I heartily recommend doing that as often as possible.

Anyway, my current technique is to trim the excess skin from the thighs, and carefully reserve it for chicken skin cracklins, otherwise known as Gribenes in Yiddish.
Then I salt them, dust on my homemade dry rub, and stash them in the refrigerator, uncovered, for a day, or as long as I have, whichever comes first.

Then it is on to my gas grill, with the burners on low, for about 30 minutes. I then turn the thighs and move them around so they all cook evenly. The next part is optional, but it has worked very nicely the last several times I have done it. I paint the tops with some homemade Kansas City BBQ sauce (thank you Bluebell for the recipe!), cook for another 10, then flip, paint, and cook for however long they need to get nice and crispy and almost charred.

Yes, I have frequently lost track of time (Old Fashioneds will do that), and thighs stand up to overcooking extremely well!

Yes, this is a lazy man's technique, but they are delicious!

Posted by: CBD at 04:00 PM | Comments (177) | Trackbacks (Suck)

First-World Problems...

Sigh...what to use?

I have ricocheted from electric to safety razor to cartridge to a brief foray into straight razor insanity.

And because I have a rare skill at drawing blood, I can cut myself with all four!

Seriously. I can draw blood with an electric shaver.

Recently I have settled on a cartridge system that seems to work reasonably well, but not the five-blade silliness. No, I am a purist, and go with the four-blade system!

Finding the sweet spot is a pain in the ass though...the first, and sometimes the second shave is sub-optimal, then there are a few good shaves, then it descends into abattoir-levels of bloodiness.

And because I am a cheap bastard, I will always push the hematological envelope!

The struggle is real!

Posted by: CBD at 02:00 PM | Comments (231) | Trackbacks (Suck)

Until You See Pigs Flying Over Trenton And Richmond, Don't Hold Your Breath

Sometimes the conventional wisdom is correct, no matter how much we want it to be wrong. There are two governor races that are being sized up as referendums on the 2026 prospects for the Republican party, but neither race is being taken seriously by the corporate Republican hierarchy, which signals their lack of interest in the mid-term elections, and their lack of support for Donald Trump!

The Republican candidates are both flawed, but in different ways.

Virginia: Winsome Earle-Sears vs. Abigail Spanberger is an easy one. Winsome Earle-Sears is relatively new to politics, and simply does not have the relationships and contacts necessary to raise money on her own. Her earnest but ham-handed direct efforts may draw small donations, but the Democrats are throwing a huge amount of money at her trans-loving lunatic opponent! And of course corporate Republicans are flocking to Sears' campaign to sop up whatever money is available, but there is no coherent effort. They want her to lose with dignity!

New Jersey: Jack Ciattarelli vs. Mikie Sherrill is a clown-show of flawed candidates. The republican challenger is conspicuously light on political philosophy, but quite adept at judging wind direction! In 2015, he called Donald Trump a "charlatan," but by 2020 he was a Trump supporter! Of course he is pro-abortion until 20 weeks, and supports drivers licenses for wetbacks, so how he meshes with President Trump's policies is a mystery. He also failed to pursue the obvious failings in the 2021 NJ governor's election, preferring to lose with dignity, mostly to preserve his options to run again!

Sadly, he is running against an awful candidate who is implicated in three different issues that should have sunk her campaign. She was implicated in a cheating scandal at the Naval Academy, she scammed her two teenage children into nominations for the naval academy class of 2029, and she claims ignorance about the now-typical stock grift of congressmen that supposedly netted her $7,000,000. Whether that is true is secondary to her evasions about it and the other issues.

But hope springs eternal!

Hope in Virginia and New Jersey: Republicans Could Actually WIN This Thing!

Conventional wisdom has the GOP dead in the water in Virginia and New Jersey — the only two states that’ll be electing new governors in Nov. 2025. This highly focused spotlight gives the Commonwealth of Virginia and/or New York Junior an outsized role in determining long-term political mojo: The winning party owns the opening momentum in next year’s midterms.

And conventional wisdom has the Republican Party in a world of hurt.

New Jersey, after all, is a Democratic stronghold. Hasn’t gone Republican in a presidential race since 1988. Out of their 12 congressmen, only 3 are Republicans.

Meanwhile, from 1952 through 2004, Virginia went red in every presidential election, sans ’64. But since 2008, they’ve gone blue every single time — and often by lopsided margins. The three times Trump was on the Virginia ballot, he never got within five points of his Democratic opponent. (His worst defeat was in 2020, where he lost to Biden by over 10 points.)

The optimism is marvelous, but almost entirely without concrete successes on the ground where it counts. Is there a significant Republican GOTV effort in Virginia? No. Is there a significant upsurge in Winsome Earle-Sears' fundraising? No. Although to be fair, I did get about 17 increasingly frantic text messages since I sent her some money!

And in New Jersey? Sure...Sherrill has been rocked back by the allegations, but she has a compliant media backing her, and as is their wont, the Democrats are circling the wagons to protect her. Is there a significant GOTV effort funded by the Republican party? Hah! I have not gotten a single in-state communication about the governor's race or, for that matter, any NJ race!

These two races expose the weakness of the Republican party as a counter to the Democrat party's fantastic legal and illegal efforts. Think about the disarray of the Democrats this year, and imagine how these two sates would be fairing with a well-organized state Republican party and solid, well-organized support from the national party.

But the real question as we begin to look at a post-Trump political landscape is whether the Republican party can energize the base without the incredible draw of Donald Trump? Converting his popularity into meaningful, long-term electoral changes requires more than what the Republican party is doing today.

Posted by: CBD at 12:00 PM | Comments (183) | Trackbacks (Suck)

Reading Thread 10/05/2025

Howdy Readers! Welcome to the Reading Thread, your Sunday morning source for the insightful, lively and spirited discussion of books 'n stuff. I'm filling in for a while as this space re-invents itself under new management so please set your near-term expectations accordingly low.

What do we have this week? Why, it's none other than Frankenstein; Or, The Modern Prometheus, written by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley and published in 1818. As I mentioned in the other editions of the Reading Thread you may not always get such fabulous selections as this.

Anyhoo, feel free to discuss reading and books in general and share your thoughts on this week's selection if you're so inclined. There may even be a special added bonus below!

I know you're just as excited as I am, so just jump below the fold to get started!

Posted by: Weasel at 09:00 AM | Comments (340) | Trackbacks (Suck)

Daily Tech News 35 September 2025

Top Story

• The Eternal September is finally over after 34 years as AOL shuts down its dialup service. (Tom's Hardware)
  
  Looking around and seeing the current state of the internet, I think they might have left it running a little too long.
  
  
  
• Speaking of which, how does my upgraded 500Mb internet feel?
  
  Exactly the same as before, on 100Mb, to be honest. Moving from ADSL (I got about 16Mb down and 2Mb up) to a nominal 100/40 connection was a huge upgrade. At least it was until I got hit by lightning and my modem exploded.
  
  Since I mostly look at (and work on) US-hosted sites, that trans-Pacific latency erases any obvious gains. The new plan is cheaper, though, and the next step down goes all the way to 50/20 and only saves $2.
  
  

Posted by: Pixy Misa at 04:00 AM | Comments (147) | Trackbacks (Suck)

Saturday Night "Club ONT" October 4, 2025 [The 3 Ds]

The Club is ready for liquid chemistry, goggles, and irresponsible comments.

Welcome to Club ONT! A collaboration the 3D's - The Disco, The Dino, and The Doggo. Come on in. The Club has no velvet ropes nor safety vests. There is that one moron at the door that's not checking dental plans - easy to sneak past him.

Pssst...Have you heard about TX MoMe X? The meetup is happening. The place to be! Excuses prohibited. See the left side bar on main page for Ben Had contact info.

Posted by: Open Blogger at 10:00 PM | Comments (428) | Trackbacks (Suck)

Saturday Evening Movie Thread [moviegique]: Dead of Winter

In the past few weeks, we saw Spinal Tap: The End Conitnues, which was quite good. (In a world of pathetic, warmed-over moribund properties, this is a hilarious, pathetic warmed-over moribund property.) We also saw Riefenstahl, which is interesting but ultimately kind of gormless with some terrific close-up film of the '36 Olympics.

We also saw The Long Walk, based on a Stephen King novel, and so I figured you might enjoy a review of a movie weighted down by its own stupidity. But that turned out to be a spoiler-laden 3,000 words.

Then we saw Chain Reactions, with a bunch of old lefties reflecting on Texas Chainsaw Massacre, and that turned out to be 2,000 words.

Fortunately, then we saw a good movie, which was easy to sum up in less than 1,000 non-spoiler-y words. And so I present:

Dead of Winter

"Emma Thompson is the love child of Marge Gunderson and Rambo" is your high concept take on Dead of Winter, the new thriller from Brian Kirk (best known as a director on "Game Of Thrones" and "Penny Dreadful") working off a script by composer Nicholas Jacob-Larson and actor Dalton Leeb.

Seriously, this screenplay is the only one either has to their credit.

The story is simple, but not shallow: Barb (Thompson) has come out to a remote lake in northern Minnesota for some reason, and getting a bit lost along the way she stops at a cabin where she interrupts Camo Jacket (Marc Menchaca, "Ozark", "Generation Kill") in the midst of his wood gathering.

Yeah, he has no name. The cast of ten has only five characters with names. This is an interesting kind of economy—you don't really notice it when people don't have names, but you really notice it when they do. Barb, as it turns out, is a widow, and one of the people who has a name is her late husband "Karl".

Anyway, she interrupts Camo Jacket and notices a little blood on the ground, and that he's a little awkward. But he points her to the lake and off she goes.

While she's off at the lake, we see her fishing, and clutching a tackle box like it's her most prized possession. She gets her truck stuck in the snow and while she's trying to get it out, we see Camo Guy chasing a young, bound girl, and dragging her back.

And that's the opening.

Ooh, yer gonna wanna put some "Bactine" on that.

Posted by: Open Blogger at 08:30 PM | Comments (185) | Trackbacks (Suck)

Hobby Thread - October 4, 2025 [Santa Rex]

Welcome hobbyists! Pull up a chair and sit a spell with the Horde in this little corner of the interweb. This is the mighty, mighty, mighty officially sanctioned Ace of Spades Hobby Thread. A spin of the Ace of Spades Wheel of Hobbies (TM) landed on Christmas crafting.

If you are tempted to say "I don't make things for Christmas, so there is nothing here for me," let the thought pass. No Moron could possibly say such a thing. Stick around. You might be entertained or learn something. You might enjoy hearing from others and seeing what others are hobbying.

I have faith that you can find something in the content that resonates or contribute your own hobbying interests. Dig around in the content and soak in the comments. Be curious. Glad you're here.

TRex has been detailed for duty elsewhere, so behave yourself in the comments. The Grateful will be looking out for unapproved shenanigans.

[Top: Half off Christmas hobbying!]

Posted by: Open Blogger at 05:30 PM | Comments (124) | Trackbacks (Suck)

Ace of Spades Pet Thread, October 4

* * *

Good afternoon and welcome to the almost world famous Ace of Spades Pet Thread. Thanks for stopping by. Kick back and enjoy the world of animals.

Would you like a treat?

Let's relax a little with the animals and leave the world of politics and current events outside today.

Posted by: K.T. at 03:12 PM | Comments (71) | Trackbacks (Suck)

Berry Enticing Guest Gardening Post [Lex]

Don't those berries look enticing? Their fresh season is over in the Boston area, I think, but I have a friend who makes blueberry pie for Thanksgiving using frozen berries. Think about it: Blueberries are American berries, perfect for Thanksgiving!

As you read the inspiring guest post from Lex, think about berries that might be suited to your climate and maybe even to your own garden next year.
K.T.

Take it away, Lex!

The Great Blueberry Bush Battle

Posted by: K.T. at 01:05 PM | Comments (75) | Trackbacks (Suck)