The Morning Rant: Minimalist Edition

Amateur athletics has been a joke for a very long time. The Olympics, once an important cultural and athletic event, has morphed into a marketing miasma filled with professional athletes in a dizzying variety of sports and pseudo-sports. They began to allow professionals in the 1980s, and every four years the Olympics has become less important, and seemingly more crooked and graft-seeking. Does anyone really care anymore?

But for sheer, disgusting, acquisitive, money-grubbing, power-hungry sleaziness, it is hard to beat the NCAA. It has been around for 115 years, and its stranglehold on college athletics has been a cash-cow for its leadership and major universities, but has also created a massive problem for itself, because it treated the student athletes -- the entire reason for its existence -- as chattel. They didn't want to share any of the oceans of TV money that suddenly flooded into its coffers, and why should they? Student athletes were a dime a dozen! So they created a massive regulatory apparatus that allowed them to control every aspect of college athletics, essentially a modern plantation.

Every dime went to the NCAA and the universities, and if an athlete had the temerity to make a few bucks selling autographs? Bang! Loss of eligibility!

But their generations of total control began to show some flaws, as athletes and even some schools began to attack the NCAA in court. In 2021, NCAA v. Alston, a unanimous SCOTUS decision held that their behavior was illegal, and that student-athletes could be paid.

That was good and bad, as the charming and romantic fiction that major-college athletes were "students" finally fell apart. But at least these athletes can now take financial advantage of their skills.

And the legal attacks keep coming!

College Athletes File Lawsuit Against NCAA To Change The 'Redshirt Rule'

Right now, the five-year rule that is currently in place only allows athletes to compete in four years of the five years granted to them, with plenty of athletes in football, basketball, baseball and other sports only being part of a team if they use a 'redshirt year' as part of their clock. Athletes are not given that opportunity to play in all five years, only four, with a set number of games during the redshirt year in place.

If an athlete wanted to maintain their 'redshirt year', they could only compete in four games during that initial redshirt season. If they were to compete in a fifth, it would count towards their eligibility clock.

In the new lawsuit filed by the 'Texas Trial Group' on Tuesday, they are challenging the NCAA's right to allow these athletes to participate in workouts, practice and other daily activities, but not allowed to play in the actual games.

Hopefully the NCAA will fade into oblivion, as the various college conferences manage their own athletes, and admit to the world that college athletics is a business, and a very big one!

It is sad that amateur athletics is rapidly disappearing, although one wonders whether it ever truly existed. But the eventual demise of the NCAA is an unalloyed good thing, no matter what one may think of the current state of college athletics. They have been a corrosive influence on American sports for too long.

[Crossposted at CutJibNewsletter and X/Twitter]. If you folks who are on X/Twitter would follow us it would be much appreciated!

Posted by: CBD at 11:00 AM | Comments (314) | Trackbacks (Suck)

Mid-Morning Art Thread

Bernard et Roger à Bourré
Maurice Boutet de Monvel

Damien...is that you?

Posted by: CBD at 09:30 AM | Comments (255) | Trackbacks (Suck)

The Morning Report — 9/4/25

Good morning kids. Let's start it off with a bang, shall we.

Seven months in, Trump has curbed illegal immigration, steadied the economy, and scored foreign policy wins—while Democrats flounder without a counteragenda. . . The greatest Democrat fear? That it has so institutionalized excessive executive orders, ad hominem lawfare, lower-court usurpation, state nullification of federal law, and federal intervention in higher education, the energy industry, and the nation’s open spaces that their own legacies empowered Trump and now will boomerang upon themselves—as the public applauds the karma.

To the author of this essay, lurker extraordinaire and Ace cruelty fanboi #1 Prof. Victor Davis Hanson, I would say that the Democrat agenda to destroy and/conquer America has been effectively checked by President Trump (may it stay that way forever please GOd!) like no other President in memory if not history.

All they can do is reflexively oppose anything and everything he does, regardless of the real world consequences.

It's like Monty Python's "Argument Clinic" sketch playing out live. They'll weep, moan and mourn the fate of narco-criminal illegal aliens, indigenous criminals at long last rounded up by the National Guard and disturbed transexual freaks after one of their own gun down innocent Catholic children. And like Pavlov's dog or touching a piece of metal to the exposed frog's tendon in the petri dish, the reflexive reaction is completely predictable.

I hate to do it to you, but revolting as it is, it's just too illustrative to ignore:

Crockett said, “I mean, clearly, the White House, they are the hostile actors . . . we’re talking about him unlawfully going into various minority controlled cities and honestly, the list goes on. So we know where the hostility is coming from.”

Wait one Cotton-Picking minute!!! Minority-CONTROLLED? How exactly do minorities or anyone for that matter "CONTROL" a city or any other area in a free country where the citizenry allegedly elect their representatives in what is supposed to be a representative government where elected officials have very restricted and limited duties.

Well, smear my face with feces and call me Tawana. OR better yet, cover Crockett in Sherwin Williams taupe and call her Jasmine Cracker (Barrel)!

So, apparently, there is a black comedian out there named Druski (whose given name is Andrew Desbordes) who is turning a lot of heads these days with a video of himself not just in whiteface, but with the whole of his upper body painted white, complete with a farmer’s tan sunburn and tattoos. It’s a total hoot until you start paying attention to what is going on.

Druski clearly wanted to make people think he was a Southern redneck; the New York Post observed Wednesday that he “completed the redneck character’s look with a mullet, beard, American flag cowboy hat and a pair of overalls with no shirt revealing American flag tattoos.” When Druski posted the video, he added the caption “That Guy who is just Proud to be AMERICAN.”

Okay, so this hyper-patriotic white Southern guy, as Druski portrays him, is in the first place a total slob, walking around with his massive rolls of fat on display for the delectation of all and sundry, yelling, spitting, cursing, drinking, and telling off-color jokes. All right. It’s all in fun, right? Sure. But Druski’s redneck is a stereotype come to life, so on-the-nose that it raises the inevitable question of what the reaction might be if any other group were portrayed in a similar way. 

Finally an actual example of the black face of white supremacy. . .

With that, a bit of housekeeping, scheduling conflicts prevented the podcast from posting yesterday as promised, but we should have it for your weekend dining and dancing pleasure some time around noon Eastern tomorrow.

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.

Have a great day!

ABOVE THE FOLD, BREAKING, NOTEWORTHY
• Victor Davis Hanson: Seven months in, Trump has curbed illegal immigration, steadied the economy, and scored foreign policy wins—while Democrats flounder without a counteragenda. (they have one; it's called national suicide - jjs)
  Trump Astride at Seven Months
  
• Michael Walsh: When this madness all began -- we can pretty confidently date it to the time of the presidential candidacies of Eugene McCarthy in 1968 (aborted) and of George McGovern in 1972 (failed) -- one of the popular Leftist slogans of the day was that "dissent is the highest form of patriotism." . . . Today that shibboleth has morphed into something far more sinister: overt treason is now the highest form of patriotism.
  And See Who Salutes
  
• “Our institutions remain perilously captured.”
  The Public Health Model of Speech Suppression
  
• Government overreach is putting kids in danger.
  Prager U Video: Is California Stripping Parents of Their Rights?

Posted by: J.J. Sefton at 07:43 AM | Comments (324) | Trackbacks (Suck)

Daily Tech News 4 September 2025

Top Story

• AI could bring us a smarter home - if we can trust it, which we obviously can't. (The Verge) (archive site)
  
  They're talking about combining three things, each hilariously unreliable: The Internet of Things, consumer appliances, and LLM-driven AI.
  
  It all reminds me of this:

  Tech Enthusiasts: Everything in my house is wired to the Internet of Things! I control it all from my smartphone! My smart-house is bluetooth enabled and I can give it voice commands via alexa! I love the future!
  
  Programmers / Engineers: The most recent piece of technology I own is a printer from 2004 and I keep a loaded gun ready to shoot it if it ever makes an unexpected noise.

  My house was built in 2019 and it contains no smart anythings.

Posted by: Pixy Misa at 04:54 AM | Comments (166) | Trackbacks (Suck)

Wednesday Overnight Open Thread - Sept 3, 2025 [Confucius TRex]

Good evening Horde. The time has come for mid-week shenanigans of the overnight variety.

Welcome to the Wednesday night ONTwhich means another random assortment of interweb debris. Pull up a chair and sit a spell. Be nice to your fellow commenters and AoS contributors.

[Top photo: Glade Creek Grist Mill at Babcock State Park, West Virginia]

Posted by: Open Blogger at 10:00 PM | Comments (326) | Trackbacks (Suck)

Protectors' Cafe

If Saturn orbited the earth at the distance of the Moon
(or really if earth orbited Saturn at the distance of the Moon)
(I've heard it's all relative anyway)

Neighborhood watch.

Vigilant dog stops stroller from rolling away.

He's not different, he's just special.

Dog protects baby lamb.

This cat lady has a nice spread of land.

Donkey comes back to help his friend.

Wombat & Son.

Gooble gobble, we accept you, one of us, one of us...

Chinchilla has impressive pouncing and seizing skills.

At least they tried: Mastiff lumbers and blunders through agility test.

Basset hound has the heart of a lion, but the legs of a weasel.

And this dog thinks there's a prize for "creativity."

I wish I could have a little Crow Friend.

France has trained crows to pick up trash.

Compilation of dogs making friends with strange animals and then bringing their new frenz home.

ICYMI: Lion pays respecc to a dog.

Old clip: A horse decides to join a French bike race.

Border collie shows two aggressive sheep who runs Barter Town.

Posted by: Ace at 07:20 PM | Comments (322) | Trackbacks (Suck)

Quick Hits

Florida just ended all vaccine mandates.

Florida announced it will end all vaccine mandates, with Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo calling them an assault on medical freedom. The move comes as Gov. Ron DeSantis launches the Florida Make America Healthy Again commission, aligning with President Donald Trump's national health initiative.

Key Details:

Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo declared the end of all vaccine mandates in Florida, calling them "wrong" and likening them to "slavery."

Gov. Ron DeSantis unveiled the Florida Make America Healthy Again commission, chaired by First Lady Casey DeSantis and Lt. Gov. Jay Collins.

The commission will focus on medical freedom, informed consent, parental rights, and innovation in health care, while pushing reforms to restore trust in public health.

Congress declassified 33,000 Epstein case files. I'm not sure there's anything interesting in them because I'm not seeing much chatter.

The committee shared 33,295 pages of files subpoenaed by Chairman James Comer (R-KY) on August 5, which DOJ supplied with redactions for victims' identities and child sexual abuse evidence.

The records include flight logs for Epstein's private jet, "Lolita Express," showing routes to his private island and other locations, along with Palm Beach police reports dating back to 2005, when Epstein first faced sex abuse allegations.

Republicans say the release is the most complete look yet at Epstein's network, as they push for full DOJ transparency.

The Disney Groomer Corporation's fake news subsidiary ABC got very enthusiastic about Disney's communist partners in China flexing their military muscle.

Since their parent company Disney was beholden to the Chinese Communist Party, even giving a "special thanks" to those carrying out a genocide against Uighurs in the credits of Mulan, ABC foreign correspondent Britt Clennett beclowned herself and the network during Wednesday's Good Morning America. With prime seating in Tiananmen Square, Clennett had a huge smile on her face as she was overcome with awe at the military equipment and being able to lay her eyes on Chinese dictator Xi Jinping.

"Yeah, just a remarkable sight to see here in Beijing. China very much flexing its military muscle, with the latest generation of ballistic missiles and drones in a carefully choreographed parade designed to show its patriotism and power," Clennett boasted to co-host Michael Strahan a head of the video portion of her report.

Touting the parade as Xi's "grand show of force," she fawned over the pageantry of the event:

Marking 80 years since the end of World War II with its biggest ever military parade. We were there as the crowd of more than 50,000 waived Chinese flags, cheering as thousands of soldiers marched in perfect unison. Several hundred ground weapon systems on display, over 100 aircraft and jets ripping through the sky above Tiananmen Square.

The guests of honor, Russian president Vladimir Putin, and North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un with Xi, together for the first time watching over the parade from the balcony.

"The crowd is clapping, XI Jinping is flanked by Putin and Kim just over there in an extraordinary show of unity," she beamed from her prime seat overlooking the point where the soldiers would pass in front of Xi.

Well isn't that spesh. ("Spesh" is the hip cool new way 29 year olds are saying "special." Trust me.)

Jen Psaki previously swore she'd never seen a hint of cognitive decline in Biden. But now she says she can see that Trump is in cognitive decline.

Suspicions are growing about the six AfD candidates -- no, now make that seven -- who have died from "heart attacks" before the upcoming elections in Nazi Germany.

Mario Nawfal
@MarioNawfal

ERMANY ROCKED BY "IMPOSSIBLE" WAVE OF DEATHS IN CONSERVATIVE PARTY

Alice Weidel, the face of AfD, says it's "statistically impossible" that 7 candidates have died suddenly in the run-up to elections.

For 4 of the deaths, no cause has been given publicly.

The disruption is historic - ballots shredded and reprinted, campaigns suspended, and local governments plunged into chaos.

And all of this has erupted just days before Germans vote.

Observers say there is no precedent in modern German history for such a cluster of deaths within a single party on the eve of an election.

A lone tragedy would shock communities.

But 7, striking the same movement as its popularity surges, has rattled Europe.

Whether these deaths are coincidence or point to something far darker, the timing has upended the race, ignited speculation across the continent, and placed Germany's democratic process under intense international scrutiny.

Source: GZERO Media, WDR, Hungarian Conservative

Paid liar and would-be Satanic prophet David French claims -- for the benefit of the NYT audience that underwrites his paycheck -- that the whole woke Crackle Barrel branding was a made-up fake outrage story fabricated by the right, just like the Sydney Sweeney story.

Every paragraph of French's column is a strawman. Every claim is obviously false. He's not even sort of describing surface-level reality. David French now gets paid to point at cows and say, "That's definitely not a cow." He's a fabulist, and a talentless one. His sole value is that he gets to cosplay "conservative" while mindlessly doing all of the dumb leftist tropes, giving correct-thinking cadre the very small thrill of feeling righteous about the people they hate. He's a professional reassurance artist: Yes, New York Times readers, people you disagree with are always wrong and never have a point about anything. Thanks, David, here's a nickel.

So.

You must be blind and amnesiac, because French explains this about the "good jeans" thing with Sydney Sweeney, the other recent branding controversy that he discusses alongside the Cracker Barrel thing: "There was no actual groundswell of opposition to Sweeney."

No, seriously: "There was no actual groundswell of opposition to Sweeney." David French just wrote this sentence and got it published in The New York Times.

Right-wingers just made it all up, calculatedly stoking outrage about something that wasn't even real: "But if there's a conflict between telling the truth and stoking outrage, time and again, the right chooses outrage."

Christopher F. Rufo
@realchrisrufo

No, David French: As @robbystarbuck and I have pointed out, the fight is not about the logo, but about Cracker Barrel's support for DEI, trans activism, gender pronouns, and Pride shows for kids. French knows this, but pretends that he doesn't. A supremely dishonest person.

Posted by: Ace at 06:15 PM | Comments (225) | Trackbacks (Suck)

Newsmax Sues Fox, Alleging That the Fake Conservative Network Uses Illegal Means to Keep the Conservative Market All to Itself

Specifically, Newsmax claims Fox is abusing its market position to pressure streaming channels into not carrying its competitor.

Newsmax filed a lawsuit against Fox News in Florida on Wednesday for allegedly illegally cornering the market on conservatives.

Attorneys for Newsmax argued that Fox has "long engaged in an exclusionary scheme to increase and maintain its dominance in the market for U.S. right-leaning pay TV news, resulting in suppression of competition in that market that harms consumers, competition, and Newsmax," The Hill news outlet reported.

"Fox leverages this market power to coerce distributors into not carrying or into marginalizing other right-leaning news channels, including Newsmax," the lawsuit reads.

Newsmax also alleges that Fox, in the process, has "deliberately blocked Newsmax's growth in critical distribution platforms such as Hulu, Sling, Fubo, and other major platforms."

"Fox may have profited from exclusionary contracts and intimidation tactics for years, but those days are over," Newsmax CEO Christopher Ruddy said.

Fox News said in response tha Newsmax "cannot sue their way out of their own competitive failures in the marketplace to chase headlines simply because they can't attract viewers."

I don't know if they can prevail, even if what they're saying is true. Companies are allowed to use their market power to fence out competition -- unless they have monopoly power. Does Fox have a "monopoly" or near-monopoly on conservative viewers? I don't know about that.

And I doubt any court will rule against a monopolist, anyway. A federal judge found that Google is a monopoly and uses its monopoly power to maintain and expand its monopoly position -- which the law specifically forbids -- and decided to let Google keep on using its monopoly power to fence out competitors anyway.

The rule of law is on tenuous grounds in America these days, with even easy stuff that might hinder the powerful running into serious obstacles. Today, the decade-long campaign to stop big tech from dominating our society took a significant step backwards, as the judge hearing the search case against Google, Amit Mehta, chose not to meaningfully constrain the firm's illegal behavior. And to engage in such deferential behavior, he openly ignored Supreme Court precedent.

You don't have to take it from me. It's Mehta who last year found Google to have violated the law. "Google is a monopolist," he wrote, "and it has acted as one to maintain its monopoly. It has violated Section 2 of the Sherman Act." It's also Mehta who found the Supreme Court mandated what he called the "remedial objective" in monopolization cases, to "terminate the illegal monopoly." But, Mehta wrote, "remedies designed to eliminate the defendant's monopoly--i.e., structural remedies--are inappropriate in this case."

So there we go. Mehta understood the law mandates he terminate Google's monopoly, but he just decided against doing so. This kind of lawlessness, incoherence and deference to big business is now routine among elites in our society, so I guess it's not too surprising that it happened in this case. In fact it's not surprising to readers of BIG; back in June I wrote a very timely piece on precisely this dynamic, titled "Why Is Google Still in One Piece? The Terminating a Monopoly Problem." In it, I described why Mehta may turn his back on this requirement and flout the law. I had hoped he wouldn't, but he has.

BTW, Google is getting worse and worse regarding deliberately suppressing conservative media. Even when I search for a story I know appeared in conservative media under the exact keywords needed to bring the article up, it gives me nothing but CNN, ABC, "MS NOW," etc.

Apple is really showing its quasi-religious fantacism as it promotes a new show in which a "Karen content moderator" (in other words, censor) is the hero Gotham needs.

Of course it stars gonzo feminist left-wing midwit Jessica Chastain.

Posted by: Ace at 05:15 PM | Comments (242) | Trackbacks (Suck)

Nigel Farage Testifies to Congress About the End of Free Speech in the UK

Mario Nawfal
@MarioNawfal

NIGEL FARAGE: UK FREE SPEECH IS UNDER ATTACK

"We have this thing now called a non-crime hate incident.

Let's say I post that I object to illegal immigrants moving into my area -- you might get a knock at the door from police warning you not to say it again.

You've committed no crime, yet the state tells you not to speak freely.

Free speech is being impinged upon in every way. Satire is almost banned.

The Online Safety Act, which even impacts Americans, says we could cause psychological harm through speech.

Isn't that what humans do -- challenge each other?

This is really bad news."

Keir Starmer called him "unpatriotic" for complaining about the UK's lurch towards left-wing fascism.

Farage testified about the end of free speech in the UK before the US Congress.

A House Judiciary Committee hearing Wednesday pumped fresh oxygen into the transatlantic argument over tech regulation, giving right-wing United Kingdom leader Nigel Farage a platform to attack his own country's laws.

Online safety rules have created an "awful, authoritarian situation" in the European Union and the U.K., said Farage, leader of his country's Reform Party.

Farage was invited by House Judiciary Chair Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), marking an escalation in Jordan's war on Europe's tech regulations -- part of a yearslong effort to pressure Europe into loosening laws that have led to investigations and fines against American tech companies.

In organizing the hearing, Jordan is attempting to put an international spin on the conservative argument against online speech restrictions in the U.S., a complaint stemming from the arguments over Covid-19 and the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection, when numerous far-right figures were deplatformed for promoting potentially dangerous misinformation.

"In addition to attacking American tech companies, Europe is attacking free speech around the world, including here in America," Jordan said.

He has an ally in Farage, a populist leader who has taken up the same cause against his own country's rules.

As the U.K.'s Online Safety Act went into effect this summer, it became a point of international tension between tech companies and governments. At the same time, Europe's laws governing antitrust and online content have begun leading to large fines on American companies.

Although the U.S. does not have direct influence on overseas laws, Farage's presence in Washington has stoked anxiety in both the U.K. and EU that a sympathetic White House might use American trade muscle to push back on foreign rules.

Let's hope so!

Nigel Farage says that now he intends to deport all "migrants" from the UK.

"Young men come into our country on small dinghies across the English Channel. They throw their passports and iPhones into the sea when they reach the 12 mile line, they come in. They get put in four star hotels. They get three meals a day. And you know what? We don't know who they are. They pose a threat to our national security. I will deport every single one of them, and that'll win me the election, oh yes."

Unfortunately, the current UK government just won its court appeal to allow a horde of asylum seekers -- that is, unvetted illegal aliens -- to remain in an infamous Epping hotel at taxpayer expense. The hotel became a focal point of protests after one of the supposed "asylum seekers" faced accusations of sexually assaulting a 14-year-old girl. Slogans at the protest, which drew thousands of people, included "save our kids" and "send them home."

Hot story from gonzo communist UK rag The Guardian. This author opines that calling right-wingers and immigration-restrictionists "fascist" doesn't work any longer because they've just used the slur too many times.

So he argues that the left should instead honestly engage with immigration restrictionists and admit the ways in which unvetted mass immigration is causing problems.

Just kidding, he says the left just needs to smear its enemies with a new, improved slur.

Earlier this month, I helped organise a protest to defend the refugees holed up at the Thistle City Barbican hotel in London. We mobilised 800 people to support the asylum seekers, who waved back at us from the hotel to show their gratitude. On the other side of the road, about 250 people had gathered to demand the hotel be closed. Speakers there called refugees "illegal", "invaders" and "parasites".

Seeing and hearing our opponents, the anti-racists responded with a spontaneous chant of "Nazi scum, off our streets", which our side was able to sustain for more than an hour. I understand why people wanted to express their contempt for the people who tell lies about refugees, but the chant didn't strike me as effective when I heard it, and the more I have thought about it since, the more convinced I am that it was the wrong strategy.

...

The strategy of labelling our enemies fascist depends on a context where the mainstream is willing to isolate and shame Nazis. Those are not the times we are living in. So a smarter, more tailored message is necessary.

...

In the weeks since the Barbican protest, the anti-refugee movement has kept up its momentum. Calling them Nazis -- even when there were fascists present at the edges of their event -- has done little to undermine them. They don't believe they are fascists; they don't have organised fascists in their leading circles. The term seems to them exaggerated, laughable.

Instead, he says, we should call the people demonstrating against mass unvetted immigration wife-beaters.

And the simplest, one-line refutation of it is to look at the men who were arrested for offences in the various race riots that followed events at Southport last year. Of those men, a staggering 40% had been reported to the police for domestic violence. There is, in other words, probably no single group of people -- not in Britain or anywhere else -- who are more prone to violence against women than the people now standing outside the hotels denouncing refugees.

This, rather than shouting Nazi, is the argument most likely to undermine the anti-refugee protests. We need to be using it in our leaflets, when we talk to people, and on our protests.

This guy is arguing for the continued mass rape of British girls, but sure, you're the ones concerned about women's safety.

Don't worry, though: Keir Starmer is protecting young British girls from the real threat, which turns out to be 1 comedy writers writing tweets and 2 high-caffeine energy drinks.

The UK political class will face a reckoning to rival that inflicted on the communist governments of Eastern Europe.

Beneath the surface, the United Kingdom is rapidly heading towards a grand and brutal reckoning. The political class in Westminster (and particularly the administerial bureaucrats in Whitehall) have run the country into the ground. Political incentives all align against any real fixes being made. The bizarre ideologues of mass immigration keep the endless inflows coming, all while the social welfare budget becomes bloats like a corpse in water. All the while, on the horizon, the specter of something even more dangerous hovers - with protests, riots, and terrorism carried out by both the anti-immigration right and the pro-Palestine/Islamic left now a weekly, if not daily, occurrence.

At numerous levels, the United Kingdom is undergoing severe stress-testing that now threatens to sink the entire enterprise entirely. Fiscally, the state is broke and the economy has been thrown into chaos by a series of insane court-mandated rules. Socially, the nation's understanding of itself has been shattered through a combination of immigration and extreme bifurcation of opportunity between the general area surrounding the City of London and the rest of the nation. Politically, the people now search for a solution that does not appear to be coming as the political class grows more sclerotic, not less, in the face of all these challenges.

The government is broke with crippling debt, yet they continue to spend billions to put up third-world murder hobos in four star restaurants and offer people free cars if they just claim they have some kind of "disability," which can be as minor as "anxiety" or "depression."

I do not know what is going to happen in the United Kingdom in the next few years, but I am very confident that the present system will not last. Something will surely give, and when it does each piece of the situation I have just laid out for you will metastasize in rapid fashion, throwing one of the most clownish and intolerable political castes that presently exist anywhere on the planet into a nightmarish situation that far more competent men would barely be able to navigate successfully.

Posted by: Ace at 04:20 PM | Comments (309) | Trackbacks (Suck)

US Military Drone-Strikes a Tren de Aragua Drug Smuggling Boat and the Pro-Crime, Pro-Terrorism Left Is Angry

Trump gave the Pentagon the order that drug smugglers' boats were no longer to have their engines shot out and their crews rescued and arrested, but were to be vaporized.

Good.

President Trump shared dramatic footage of the US military obliterating a boat carrying drugs and Tren de Aragua gangbangers off the coast of Venezuela on Tuesday.

The video showed the small boat being blown out of international waters and exploding into flames after it was struck by a single missile, killing all aboard.

Trump said the boat was occupied by 11 "Tren de Aragua Narcoterrorists" and was en route to the US when it was blown to smithereens.

"TDA is a designated Foreign Terrorist Organization, operating under the control of Nicolas Maduro, responsible for mass murder, drug trafficking, sex trafficking, and acts of violence and terror across the United States and Western Hemisphere," Trump wrote on Truth Social.

"No U.S. Forces were harmed in this strike. Please let this serve as notice to anybody even thinking about bringing drugs into the United States of America. BEWARE!"

...

Trump in late August deployed three guided-missile destroyers and about 4,000 Marines to the Venezuelan coast -- prompting Maduro, the country's authoritarian left-wing leader, to mobilize millions of militia members and claim an invasion was imminent.

The Trump administration has branded the Cuba-aligned strongman, in power since 2013, as a drug cartel leader and fugitive from justice.

The US government in early August offered a $50 million reward for information leading to Maduro's arrest.

Posted by: Ace at 03:12 PM | Comments (436) | Trackbacks (Suck)

Epstein Victims Claim They Want Transparency But Refuse to Name Their Alleged Abusers

This seems to have been organized by renegade NeverTrump RINO Thomas Massie, and Democrat (with presidential ambitions) Ro Khanna, so I'm skeptical of the ultimate motive here.

Women who said they were sexually abused by deceased financier Jeffrey Epstein commanded the attention of Capitol Hill on Wednesday as they urged Congress to pass legislation to expose the extent of his alleged sex trafficking network.

Reps. Thomas Massie (R-KY) and Ro Khanna (D-CA) called the press conference outside the Capitol and were joined by Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) and the sexual abuse survivors asking for passage of the Epstein Files Transparency Act, which would force the full release of the criminal files with redactions to protect the victims.

Many survivors spoke outside of the Capitol in a press event that Greene said was the biggest in crowd size of her time in Congress. It was the day after Massie and Khanna introduced a petition to force a vote on their transparency bill, saying they would not be silenced until the full files are released.

"The only motive for opposing this bill would be to conceal wrongdoing," survivor Anouska De Georgiou said at the press conference. "You have a choice to stand with the truth or with the lies that have protected predators for decades.

"I am no longer weak, I am no longer powerless, and I'm no longer alone, and with your vote, neither will the next generation be. President Trump, you have so much influence and power in this situation, please use that influence and power to help us because we need it now, and this country needs it now."

The survivors were accompanied by large demonstrations outside the Capitol, holding signs and joining them to call for a full release of the files.

Reps. Lauren Boebert (R-CO), Nancy Mace (R-SC), and Greene signed on to the discharge petition after Mace left a House Oversight Committee meeting with the victims in tears. Along with Massie, they are the only Republicans on the petition as of Wednesday morning.

The so-called "discharge petition" must reach 218 signatures for it to force the speaker to call a vote on it. After the petition reaches that threshold, the member can call a vote after seven legislative days. Most, if not all, Democrats are expected to sign on to the petition, meaning only six Republicans would need to cross party lines to add their names.

Viva Frei wants to know why they turned this into a political event, instead of just naming the names that they personally know.

@thevivafrei

To recap the Epstein alleged-victim press conference from today:

They want closure and won't name the names of their alleged abusers?

They want to protect children and won't name the names of their alleged abusers?

They claim Virginia Giuffre is a "national hero" for naming names, then they refuse to do so themselves when given the biggest platform on earth?

They want to protect future victims, yet they are making a "confidential" list of their alleged abusers "for themselves"?

This press conference made their "plight for justice" sound more like their own threat / shakedown that has nothing to do with transparency, justice or closure.

That's what you get for getting certain lawyers involved, I guess...

In my humble opinion - and I have been one of the most vocal critics of Bondi's Epstein rollout (or lack thereof) - that press conference in fact did damage to the HR that @RoKhanna and @RepThomasMassie are putting forward by making it look more like political opportunism than a demand for transparency.

Will discuss on today's show.

This seems like a political stunt, or an attempt to get a publisher to offer millions to the group for a tell-all.

My problem is that opportunists looking for a paycheck will claim whatever is necessary for the biggest paycheck, and what would get them the biggest paycheck is making up stories about Trump.

Posted by: Ace at 02:13 PM | Comments (216) | Trackbacks (Suck)

Lisa Cook's Lawyers: You Can't Fire Her For Mortgage Fraud Because She Admitted Being a Mortgage Fraudster to Biden and He Said It's Okay

What?

Embattled Federal Reserve Board Governor Lisa Cook can't be fired by President Trump over allegations of mortgage fraud -- because she already fessed up to discrepancies in her home loan paperwork while she was being vetted by the Biden administration ahead of her confirmation in 2022, her lawyers say.

Trump announced Aug. 25 that he was removing Cook from the Fed board over claims she improperly listed both an Atlanta condo and a Michigan home as her primary residence to receive more favorable home loan terms.

In addition, Cook is accused of putting her Cambridge, Mass. condo down as a rental property on government ethics forms while calling it a "second home" on mortgage papers, according to Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Bill Pulte.

Cook attorney Abbe Lowell -- who notably represented Hunter Biden in two criminal cases involving the then-first son -- fired back in court papers filed Tuesday in DC federal court.

"[T]he Government has long known about the alleged facial inconsistencies in Governor Cook's financial documents," said Lowell, who confirmed that Cook stated on a background check form submitted as part of her vetting that the Michigan house was her primary residence and her Georgia condo was her "2nd home."

On another document, Cook listed both abodes, as well as her Massachusetts condo, as her "present residence," while specifying the Michigan home was her "current permanent residence" and the Cambridge condo was both a second home and a rental property.

"If those are facial contradictions, as the Government and President claim ..." Lowell wrote. "Senators or White House advisors could have inquired of her about any alleged 'facial inconsistencies.'"

"Governor Cook's alleged 'contradictions' were included in documents disclosed to the White House before she was appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate," the attorney summed up. "During her Senate confirmation process, Governor Cook submitted questionnaires and provided reports that would have revealed the same purported 'facial' contradictions the Government now claims are 'cause' to fire her ... As the Government rightly acknowledges, such pre-office conduct 'that was known at the time' likely cannot constitute a legitimate basis for President Trump's removal of Governor Cook."

It's not "pre-office conduct." She is currently benefiting from the reduced mortgage interest rates she obtained through fraud on a bank (and the American people). She has not repaired her fraud or repaid the additional interest she'd have paid if not for the fraud.

...

At a hearing that lasted more than two hours, Lowell argued any problem with Cook's mortgage paperwork was simply a "clerical error."

Biden appointed her as a Federal Bank Governor claiming she was a highly sophisticated financial expert, and now her lawyer is claiming that when she repeatedly falsified her mortgage applications for three different properties, she just didn't know what she was doing.

Posted by: Ace at 01:17 PM | Comments (293) | Trackbacks (Suck)

Liberal Woke "Intellectual" Malcolm Gladwell: I Knew That It Was Wrong to Let Men Compete Against Women But I Lied and Said I Supported It Because of Leftwing Social Pressure

I'm an expert, trust me! I routinely lie about what the facts are or even what my beliefs about the facts are because I'm a coward who cannot stand the thought of being ostracized for telling the truth, but trust me anyway! I have Credentials (TM)!

Posted by: Ace at 12:25 PM | Comments (397) | Trackbacks (Suck)

Wednesday Morning Rant

Risk

There can be a spectacular degree of risk in a single act, and the recent ruling on Trump's tariffs represents perhaps the single greatest risk that the administration - and the country - faces. There are many things that could could be done about this, but my greatest fear at the moment is that nobody does anything. The ruling declares that Trump overstepped his authority with his tariff regime, and exceeded the powers that are delegated to the executive by Congress. There are many opinions on the merits of the ruling and it doesn't look reasonable to me, but the ruling has been made.

SCOTUS will probably take this up and so we will, of course, find out later what the decision is - but the stakes are incredibly high. This is an important ruling with tremendous implications for government fiscal conditions, for the wider economy, for the business environment and for the MAGA movement more broadly. If SCOTUS upholds the lower court decision and Congress does nothing, the game could be over regardless of merit.

Posted by: Joe Mannix at 11:00 AM | Comments (246) | Trackbacks (Suck)

Mid-Morning Art Thread

Soleil couchant à Ivry
Armand Guillaumin

Posted by: CBD at 09:30 AM | Comments (228) | Trackbacks (Suck)

The Morning Report — 9/3/25

Good morning kids. First, a super-massive gas giant has imploded, seemingly leaving an unfillable void in the continuum? No, that is not a headline from the Science section, but the news that the noxious cloud of sulfurous methane, mustard, cream soda and lipids also known as Gerald Nadler has announced his retirement from Congress.

In a recent interview with The New York Times, Nadler, 78, acknowledged his reluctance to step aside, citing his belief that President Donald Trump “is threatening the foundations of democracy.” Still, he said he wanted to clear a path for “generational change” within the Democratic Party. “Watching the Biden thing really said something about the necessity for generational change in the party, and I think I want to respect that,” Nadler told the Times. He added that a younger successor “can maybe do better, can maybe help us more.” . . .his retirement raises questions about who will succeed him. It’s entirely possible that voters could opt for a successor in the mold of Democratic Socialist Zohran Mamdani, the far-left, antisemitic, current frontrunner in New York City’s mayoral race, whom Nadler has endorsed.

Meh, the science is settled; the void will doubtless be filled by dark matter. Extremely DARK matter . . . an entity that has more longevity than Nadler 1.0 and the ability to not have to use the cloaking device to conceal its anti-semitism and anti-Americanism every two years for political expediency (not that that matters with its many orbiting cohorts that willingly stay in its orbit and vote Democrat either regardless or worse because of the hatred.

Moving on to the top story -- American military assets being used to sink a Venezuelan boat in international waters that was suspected of being used as a drug smuggling vessel. God bless President Trump, as his second term is certainly turning out to be the FAFO presidency.

Former U.S. Army Special Forces and WorldStrat President Jim Hanson warned drug cartels Tuesday on Fox News’ “Jesse Watters Primetime” that a “holy hell” would be “unleashed” if they tried to retaliate against America for cracking down on their activities.

President Donald Trump announced Tuesday that the American military sank a vessel belonging to Venezuelan drug cartel Tren de Aragua, killing 11 cartel members on board. Discussing the strike against the vessel, Fox’s Jesse Watters asked Hanson if he believes there’s a risk of “counterstrikes inside the U.S.” from cartel members. (RELATED: Latin America’s Narco States Freaking Out Over Trump’s Cartel Crackdown) . .

. . .The strike, conducted by the U.S. Southern Command in international waters, took place near three Aegis-class missile boats stationed alongside other assets to disrupt the Latin American cartel’s drug trade routes. In a post about the hit against the organization, Trump wrote that the drug cartel has been “operating under the control of [Venezuela President] Nicolas Maduro,” who is “responsible for mass murder, drug trafficking, sex trafficking, and acts of violence and terror across the United States and Western Hemisphere.”

Let's hope that this attitude extends to our enemies not just foreign but most especially domestic.

President Donald Trump has once again struck at the heart of the globalist machine, demanding federal racketeering charges against Democrat megadonor George Soros and his son, Alexander. For decades, Soros has funneled billions into organizations and movements that destabilize nations, bankroll violent protests, and manipulate democratic processes under the cover of “philanthropy.” . . .George Soros has not worked alone; his son, Alexander, has stepped forward as the heir and executor of this vast political machinery. Far from a passive observer, Alexander has publicly embraced his role in steering progressive movements, funding left-wing media, and coordinating initiatives that mirror his father’s strategy of global influence. Together, the Soros family represents a dynastic network, blending philanthropy with political engineering, and ensuring that radical agendas persist across generations.

And the accursed Soros and spawn are not the sole bad actors at home and abroad. Yes, he the elder is foreign-born but the actions of the progeny of a name that is as American as it gets are just as malign.

The Ford Foundation has been funneling millions of dollars into leftist advocacy groups, including those promoting the abolition of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Concerningly, taxpayer-funded grants have been used to support some of the same initiatives. . . “Media Matters for America, approved for a $250,000 Ford grant in November 2024, was founded by Clinton Family attack lapdog David Brock. As that history would indicate, Media Matters is the epitome of a rabidly partisan, anti-Republican media platform. The only reason to give them money is to advance the political and policy messaging of Democrat presidents and congressional leadership.” – Capital Research Center

Coincidentally or not, both Soros and Henry Ford were virulently anti-Semitic, with the former despite being born Jewish and the latter both linked closely with Hitler (the actual Adolf not the mythical Hitler Democrats call Trump). Ford admired and along with many others sought an accommodation if not an actual alliance with him before WW2 while George Soros acted as an eager and willing Nazi collaborator in Hungary helping the SS roundup and deport that country's Jews, among them a number of my relatives.

But that aside, as a first amendment/free speech absolutist, the Fords and even Soros can have and express their views on any issue they desire, even if their opinions are repulsive and repugnant. But, if they are funding groups that are actually working to destroy our civil society from within in a provably criminal manner, then they must be silenced and stopped by any and every legal means necessary.

While we're on the subject of free speech, here's yet another sign that the Sun is finally setting not only on the British Empire but on Western Civilization itself.

British comedy writer Graham Linehan, who has been shunned and canceled in the entertainment industry for speaking out against trans, was arrested in England after he returned there from Arizona, where he's been living and working. As soon as he stepped off the plane at Heathrow, he was snagged by five police officers and taken into custody. The charge? Three tweets.  Once a nation starts arresting people over speech, over social media posts, that nation is essentially lost. The leaders in the UK believe that they have to shut up their citizens rather than address their complaints and concerns. The UK is lost. They're arresting people for social media posts and they're doing it quite frequently, with data suggesting it's up to some 30 people per day, or 12,000 per year. It's not just an arrest with caution, these people see the inside of a prison cell, often for months at a time. And the posts vary. They're not all about trans. 

UK citizens are arrested for complaining about mass migration, about foreign flags being flown over their high streets, a candidate with the Reform Party was arrested for waving the Union Jack in a public building. Muslims are allowed to hold mass prayer in public squares but Christians are arrested for praying—silently—near abortion clinics. 

A tragic bookend to the story covered over the last few days about brave Scottish lass Sophie of Dundee.

In perhaps a not entirely unrelated story, I give you the most recent actions of greasy greasball Gavin Newsom:

California Democrat governor Gavin Newsom's "agricultural equity" advisers are finalizing recommendations for the state to redistribute farmland to non-white Californians and Native American tribes through land transfers and financial assistance programs that exclusively benefit racial minorities. For more than two years, the California Agricultural Land Equity Task Force—part of Newsom's Office of Land Use and Climate Innovation—has crafted a set of policy recommendations to "equitably increase agricultural land access." It will deliver a final report to Newsom and the California legislature cementing those recommendations by the end of the year. . . "The wealth of the U.S., including that of its agriculture industry, has been built on stolen land and the forced labor of California Tribal Nations, enslaved African Americans, and other exploited communities, who have been systematically excluded from land ownership and wealth-building opportunities," the report says. "Addressing these past and continuing harms requires active efforts to ensure that all people have secure and affordable access to viable land for the care and cultivation of food, fiber, medicine, and culturally valuable resources, free from systemic barriers and
racial disparities."

The initiative marks the latest left-wing attempt to pursue reparations through the agriculture industry. The Biden junta and congressional Democrats, for example, allocated $5 billion in the Inflation Reduction Act to grant loan forgiveness to non-white farmers, though that initiative was held up in the courts. In a separate program, the junta authorized more than $2 billion in payments to non-white farmers and ranchers whose applications for loans had been rejected by the USDA—rejections that the Biden junta chalked up to racial discrimination.

Put this in context with the actions of Newsom and Karen Bass in the wake of the Pacific Palisades wildfires and their moves to deny homeowners permission to rebuild and instead demand that their land be essentially de facto confiscated and forcibly transformed into low income government approved housing.

Well, just smear Newsom's face with Sharpton's feces and call him Tawana Mugabe. The bitter irony is that the justification for all of this is built on outright blood-libels against America, and the people who actually built America and made California the one time 6th most prosperous place on earth, and America's promised land. No, it wasn't slaves nor was it Mexicans. It was American-Americans, which is the only hyphenate category I recognize.

The bastards who drape themselves in the Constitution are the same ones who have spent over 200 years ripping it to shreds. The sheer Chutzpocrisy is sickening beyond my capacity to describe it. And yet here we are, surrounded on all sides by Mamdanis.

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.

New podcast episode coming later today, so be on the lookout for that in the sidebar and of course at Cut Jib Newsletter and the panoply of outlets listed below.

Have a great 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.

Have a great day!

ABOVE THE FOLD, BREAKING, NOTEWORTHY
• President Donald Trump announced Tuesday that the American military sank a vessel belonging to Venezuelan drug cartel Tren de Aragua, killing 11 cartel members on board. Discussing the strike against the vessel, Fox’s Jesse Watters asked Hanson if he believes there’s a risk of “counterstrikes inside the U.S.” from cartel members. “There is. Asymmetric warfare is the Achilles heel of the United States. We are one giant soft target here inside the United States. However, payback can be a medevac if they try something like that,” Hanson said. “You know, you go ahead and hit us here, and you want to see some holy hell unleashed wherever you’re operating. I don’t think they’d do it more than once.”

  Fmr US Army Special Forces Warns Cartels Of ‘Holy Hell Unleashed’ If They Try Anything Against America
  

Posted by: J.J. Sefton at 07:29 AM | Comments (370) | Trackbacks (Suck)

Daily Tech News 3 September 2025

Top Story

• Do AI systems need world models to augment their knowledge with facts rather than just stories? Yes. Duh. (Quanta)
  
  Although the answer is painfully obvious and we have covered it here many times, the article is worth reading. Worth reading because it covers SHRDLU, a classic AI system from the 1960s that notably included a world model with impressive results, and also because it goes into the difficulty of scaling this to modern AI systems, such as nobody having the faintest bloody idea how to do it.

Posted by: Pixy Misa at 04:30 AM | Comments (123) | Trackbacks (Suck)

Tuesday Overnight Open Thread (9/2/25)

[Mystery Click long distance dedication to The Fabulous]

*****

The Quotes of The Day

Quote I

First, we agreed on a simple definition so that my daughter, Rosy, could easily identify UPFs at the store. Scientists have yet to agree on an easy way to classify these foods but generally agree that they consist of ingredients like preservatives and emulsifiers that aren’t found in home kitchens. We decided that if a food had an ingredient that we don’t use or could barely pronounce (e.g., maltodextrin, soy lecithin, guar gum), then we wouldn’t buy it. Michaeleen Doucleff

Quote II

“The council has let us down… migrants were more important than the British people.” – Orla Minihane

Quote III

“Every genocide enabler, look at this room motherfuckers — we ain’t going anywhere.” Rep. Rashida Tlaib (Muslim Extremist-MI)

Posted by: Misanthropic Humanitarian at 09:35 PM | Comments (320) | Trackbacks (Suck)

Holiday Hangover Cafe

Cat agrees with basketball.

Frenz.

Baby baaa.

Puppy siblings are cloyingly adorable. And even more cute puppies.

Once again, a cat rejects the toy you bought him with your hard-earned money.

Puppy's first swim.

Dog is an easy rider.

Beluga plays with an air ring.

Celebrating baby's every monthaversary until age 1.

Tiger seizes and pounces. Mooses.

Anteaters are weird.

Cosmo Kramer's rickshaw business is off to a bad start.

Posted by: Ace at 07:15 PM | Comments (242) | Trackbacks (Suck)

Quick Hits

Black radical communist and Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson calls for an insurrection.

Speaking at a Workers Over Billionaires rally on Labor Day, Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson called for city residents to be prepared to "defend this land" against the Trump administration, saying that the city "will defend this country."

Johnson told the crowd, "No federal troops in the city of Chicago, no militarized force in the city of Chicago. We're going to protect the humanity of every single person in the city of Chicago."

He later added, "Are you prepared to defend this land, this land that was built by slaves, a land that was built by indigenous people, a land that is built by workers. Are you prepared to defend this land? The people united will always prevail."

"I need you all to stand firm, to stand strong if this president decides to continue to break this constitution. It's gonna be the labor movement that stitches it back together, the labor movement that brings white folks, black folks, Asians, it brings brown folks together.

"This is the city that said keep hope alive, the city that birthed yes we can, and the city that will defend this country," he added.

...

Following Johnson's comments at the rally, commentator Matt Walsh wrote, "1) This is treason. Brandon Johnson should be arrested, charged, convicted, and then given the requisite punishment for a capital offense. 2) Chicago was not in any sense built by "slaves and indigenous people."

Other Chicago Democrats are telling Brandon Johnson to swallow his unwarranted crime and accept federal help to stop the bloodshed in Chicago.

Not all Democratic politicians are opposed to President Donald Trump using the National Guard to crack down on crime.

Chicago Alderman Raymond Lopez (D) said he is "absolutely" in favor of the president deploying the military to The Windy City in order to thwart lawlessness, before adding he has a "real hard time accepting" his fellow party members who are opposed to the idea.

"Chicagoans want to feel safe in the city of Chicago," Lopez told Fox News. "They want to know that they can leave their homes and come back safely, they could go to work, they could sit on their front steps, [and] their kids can go to school without being shot at."

Lopez shared his thoughts during a brief segment on Fox News Live on Saturday afternoon. The 47-year-old Democrat told Fox correspondent Rich Edson he would love to see the Trump Administration deploy the National Guard to Chicago, just like he did recently in Washington, D.C., because he is sick of seeing teenagers shot dead in his community.

"So when I hear my Democratic colleagues tell me, 'Don't worry, crime is down -- Trump, stay home in Washington,' I have a real hard time accepting that," Lopez continued.

He added his city has "always coordinated" with the federal government and federal agencies, like the FBI and DEA, to combat crime. The only thing that has changed now, though, is that Trump is in charge -- and that is why Democrats are opposed to it, according to Lopez.

"All of a sudden, now we don't want to work with them -- but we still want their grant money," Lopez said. "So there's a serious disconnect in what's going on here on the ground. But overwhelmingly, anything that helps bring peace -- as we saw, increase public safety in Washington, D.C. over the past 30 days -- they want that here as well."

Somehow, a destitute refugee who married her brother as an immigration scam got elected to Congress and wound up a multimillionaire.

Bad Hombre
@joma_gc

JUST IN: Ilhan Omar reported a negative net worth of -$45,000 when she was first elected to Congress in 2019.

Her latest financial disclosure from May 2025 shows a net worth of up to $30 Million.

That’s a 66,676% increase in 6 years.

Here's a Fox Report. She previously attacked people who said she was a millionaire, claiming they were lying.

NY Post: $quad Goals.

Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) reported a net worth of up to $30 million in her latest financial disclosure -- a document filed just months after the congresswoman dismissed claims she was a millionaire as "ridiculous" and "categorically false."

The disclosure, filed in May, shows the far-left "Squad" lawmaker and her husband, Tim Mynett, experienced a roughly 3,500% increase in net worth last year, compared to 2023.
Rep. Ilhan Omar speaking at a news conference.The surge in wealth detailed in Omar's disclosure is the result of an explosion in the value of assets held by her husband's venture capital firm and winery. AP

The surge in the couple's wealth was first reported by the Washington Free Beacon on Monday.

The financial gains came from Mynett's two businesses, a Santa Rosa, Calif.-based winery and a venture capital firm headquartered in Washington, DC.

Omar valued the winery's assets at between $1,000,000 and $5,000,000 in her latest disclosure. By comparison, the winery, eStCru LLC, was only worth between $15,000 and $50,000 in Omar's previous financial disclosure.

More dramatic was the explosion in growth experienced by Mynett's venture capital firm, Rose Lake Capital LLC.

Rose Lake Capital's assets were valued at between $5,000,000 and $25,000,000 by the end of 2024. The company had less than $1,000 in assets the previous year.

Notably, income from the venture capital firm is listed as "none" in 2024 but between $15,000 and $50,000 the previous year.

Rose Lake Capital claims to have $60 billion in assets under management, according to the company's website.

Michael Shellenberger: The authoritarian leftist government of Germany is blocking an AfD candidate from running for mayor, because... he likes Lord of the Rings and that confirms our paranoias that he's a Secret Nazi.

BTW, he was praising the woke LOTR fan-fiction, "Rings of Power." You'd think that praising a woke race-swapped girlboss fantasy would be an affirmative defense to a charge of Nazism.

Michael Shellenberger
@shellenberger
·
Aug 29

Imagine a man running for mayor and the local election authorities disqualify him because he praised a "Lord of the Rings" television mini-series, made the "okay" sign with his fingers, and went to a book fair.

That's what's happened to Joachim Paul. He was the front-runner in the mayoral race in the working-class German city of Ludwigshafen (population: 180,000) when the local election council, which is supposed to be politically neutral, declared that he could not run in the September 21 mayoral election. The council relied upon an analysis by the Ministry of Interior, which is the equivalent of the Department of Homeland Security in the United States, for the Rhineland-Palatinate (Rheinland-Pfalz) state.

As evidence that Paul was a threat to the Constitution, the Ministry quoted from Paul's praise of the Amazon series "The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power." "The protagonists in 'Lord of the Rings' fight for a cause that is greater than themselves," Paul wrote for an Austrian magazine in 2022, "the homeland, the continuation of their culture, a just order, the defense against a world danger. They are prepared to risk their lives for it."

Said Paul, "They say that, by writing positively about 'Lord of the Rings,' I want to support nationalism and the 'Conservative Revolution'. But I didn't mention nationalism. I didn't mention 'Conservative Revolution.' It's all made up. The intent was to draw a picture of me as somebody who is far right.... [U.S. Vice President] J.D. Vance nor Giorgia Maloni, the president of Italy, couldn't run for office in Ludwigshafen."

Paul is the candidate for the right-wing populist and nationalist party, Alternative for Germany (AfD), which advocates for repatriating immigrants back to their native countries and other policies with which reasonable people might disagree.

But one need not agree with any of AfD's politics to see that the reasons given by the Interior Ministry for Rhineland-Palatinate, which is supposed to focus on potentially violent extremists, are frivolous or highly subjective.

For example, the Interior Ministry accused him of making the "OK" sign. "Leftist groups say making the OK sign means white power," he said, "but it's crazy to talk about the OK sign as a white power sign."

One of the Ministry's bullet points notes that "On 18 and 19 of October 2024, Joachim Paul was invited to a book bazaar in the 'Quartier Kirschstein.' Among other things, the Chemnitz-based 'Antiquariat Zeitenstrom' exhibited various right-wing literature there."

Paul says the "right-wing literature" they are referring to is Ernst Jünger's Storm of Steel, a classic of German war literature taught in universities that some on the Left say glorifies war and violence.

"To consider these books as right-wing is childish," said Paul. "Literature is literature. Even if I read right-wing books, that doesn't mean I agree with every single word. No book has for me the value of a party program. It's crazy thinking."

Paul's Social Democrat opponents weaponized both the Ministry and the local election council, he says.

"I was a member of an election council and I approved every candidate, left, right, and ecological [Green]. Their duty is only to check formal correctness, not political positions," Paul said. "But now the Social Democrats have developed a strategy to weaponize election councils."

All of this occurs within the context of widespread censorship by the German government, despite Germany's ostensible status as a liberal democracy. What the government is doing to Paul is, he says, a new and "hidden strategy... my case is unique."

Paul's lawyer is confident that the electoral court is in violation of the constitution. Still, it has kept Paul off the ballot, stating that if higher courts rule in Paul's favor, they will conduct the election again.

"The federal constitution says that you can be stripped of your right to run for office only by a court and only if you are convicted of dangerous crimes like sabotage, espionage, or defrauding elections," said Paul. "But the court said, 'We don't want to discuss this any further. Even if it's not constitutional, we can't fix it on this level anyway, and so it's better to have the election now. They've opened the door to weaponizing the council for party politics to get rid of opponents."

What is going on? Why is the German government openly undermining democracy?

Most of the left-wing governments of Europe are now repealing democracy. Because they hate democracy -- they are, and always have been, communists determined to rule through sheer will to power. The masks are coming off because their positions are so unpopular that the popular vote is no longer a viable path to power, even with cheating.

The more they refuse to adapt to the popular will, the more they have to crack down on the opposition -- "the opposition" meaning the majority of the citizenry-- which then makes them even more unpopular and forces them to break the laws to remain in power, because they know, the moment they're turned out of power, prison awaits.

And this results in train gathering steam towards actual revolution and insurrection. Which is no longer just a dream of the a accelerationists. ("Accelerationists" are people who want the left to get worse and even more unbearable, precisely because it will spark off a violent counter-revolution against them.)

Yesterday I watched an episode on Triggernometry to which I was glued. Historian of war David Betz sat down with Francis and Konstantine to discuss the likelihood of civil conflict in the UK, and Betz was quite clear--and gloomy about it--that the UK was just a spark away from an insurgency. He isn't sure what form it will take, but the conditions are ripe for civil conflict.

The episode is long--an hour and a half--and I watched it through. If you are interested in the subject, you should too.

That video is here. I haven't watched it myself, but I've seen him speaking before. He has held the belief that the UK is on the verge of a civil war for a while.

Posted by: Ace at 06:12 PM | Comments (361) | Trackbacks (Suck)