January 05, 2026
Updated: She Repeatedly Calls for the Seizure of Private Property
That headline is not juiced. It's what she says.
Sabrina (LionHearted)
@LionHearted76 13h Wow.... 😶 Absolutely speechless! "For centuries we really treated property as an individualized good and not a collective good, in transitioning into treating it as a collective good and towards the model of shared equity...it will mean that families, especially White families...are going to have a different relationship to property than the one that we currently have." This is the same damaging trajectory as Biden letting in millions of unvetted illegals, as Gavin Newsom making a law that no one needs voter ID to vote, and the same 'collectivism' that Maduro used to ruin Venezuela. For New Yorkers to vote for this idiocy was pure insanity.
Posted by: Ace at 02:00 PM | Comments (481) | Trackbacks (Suck)
(Except Tucker Carlson, One Day Later)
Margaret Brennan says she's "confused" why Hegseth (and Rubio) just didn't order Delta Force to not only land inside a military base to capture Maduro, but also order five other helicopter squads to simultaneously capture the other top five leaders of his regime.
Why didn't we just do five simultaneous Al Qaeda captures when we got OBL? My guess would be: Because as soon as you do one, the entire country is alerted to your presence, so you have to get the Big One and get out, quick. But that's too obvious. Margaret Brennan is "confused" why Delta Force just didn't execute five other Miracle Operations in perfect coordinated simultaneity.Ryan Saavedra
@RyanSaavedra 21h Marco Rubio schools Margaret Brennan after she demands answers over why the U.S. did not arrest all of Nicolas Maduro's henchmen: "You're confused? I don't know why that's confusing to you. ... It is not easy to land helicopters in the middle of the largest military base in the country, the guy lived on a military base, land within three minutes, kick down his door, grab him, put him in handcuffs, read him his rights, put him in a helicopter and leave the country without losing any American or any American assets. That's not an easy mission. And you're asking me, why didn't we do that in five other places at the same time? I mean, that's absurd."
Posted by: Ace at 01:10 PM | Comments (338) | Trackbacks (Suck)
In a video below the fold, it's reported that Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar met with Walz and told him she's running to replace him as governor and she showed him polls showing that he would lose.
Democrats need you to know two things: 1, there is no fraud in Minnesota and even if there is fraud, it's not the Democrats' fault and they've been fighting it like cracked-up bears. 2, Tim Walz has failed and needs to go or else he'll be primaried by another Democrat. It's exactly as it was with Joe Biden -- he's completely, 100% mentally fit but also he needs to withdraw from the race or else all donors will close their wallets to him. Tampon Tim wraps it up.Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz pulled the plug on his re-election bid Monday, abruptly stepping away from a once-touted run for a third term as his administration remains engulfed by sprawling fraud cases that critics say ballooned into the billions on his watch. Walz, a Democrat and former 2024 vice-presidential pick of Kamala Harris, announced the decision after months of mounting scrutiny over taxpayer dollars siphoned through state programs--an issue Republicans have pressed relentlessly and one that has begun to rattle Democrats privately as well. In a statement released before a planned press conference, Walz said he had entered the race last September believing he could win a historic third term, but concluded after discussions with family and advisers over the holidays that he could not devote himself fully to a campaign. He framed the exit as a choice to prioritize governing, arguing that time spent defending his political future would detract from protecting Minnesotans from criminals who "prey on our generosity" and from political cynics who exploit division.He also, get this, Blamed Trump, claiming that he was dropping out of the race because he could not abide Trump attacking his beloved Somali Pirate Donors. His statement is released in a font similar to Comic Sans, called Middle Aged Queen Sans.

Posted by: Ace at 12:10 PM | Comments (404) | Trackbacks (Suck)

Russia is offering stark criticism of the U.S. military attack on Venezuela, which resulted in the capture of President Nicolas Maduro. “This morning, the United States carried out an act of armed aggression against Venezuela. This causes deep concern and condemnation,” Russia said in a statement from its Foreign Ministry.By taking out the communist leadership in Venezuela, and with the imminent(?) toppling of the Iranian mullocracy, a very powerful message has been sent to any despot who wants to cause harm to the United States. As Zineb Riboua said, “At the end of the day, it is absolutely crucial for any leader around the globe to believe that the United States can get him if it wants to. That belief is deterrence. And that type of willpower is the backbone of national security.”
At the end of the day, it is absolutely crucial for any leader around the globe to believe that the United States can get him if it wants to. That belief is deterrence. And that type of willpower is the backbone of national security.
— Zineb Riboua (@zriboua) January 3, 2026
America’s national security has been strengthened by the removal of Maduro. Any foreign leader who continues to engage in asymmetric warfare against American civilians should strongly reconsider the consequence of what s/he is doing. [buck.throckmorton at protonmail dot com]
Posted by: Buck Throckmorton at 11:00 AM | Comments (453) | Trackbacks (Suck)

James Henry Moser
Posted by: CBD at 09:30 AM | Comments (356) | Trackbacks (Suck)

Along with the destruction of the Iranian nuclear weapons sites, the action to take down Maduro will likely be another jewel in the crown of President Trump's foreign policy triumphs and there are still three years left to his presidency.
The deterrent effect of this operation cannot be overstated. The cartels and kingpins that have historically poisoned the US with drugs are now on notice. Sure, the US military will continue to bomb their vessels on the high seas. But what scares them more now is the prospect of being captured and then getting shipped to the United States to face justice. Don’t expect everyone in the United States to cheer this historic event, though. Ever since the failed experiments to rebuild Iraq and Afghanistan, neo-isolationists in Washington have warned that America must avoid regime change at all costs. Their howls of disapproval can be expected in the days and weeks to come. For now, Trump intends for the United States to run the government in Venezuela until a suitable government can be installed. And that carries with it significant risk. If Venezuela unravels, Trump will be blamed. If the wider region descends into chaos, the president will be saddled with that, too. Will Trump’s base give him the opportunity to improve upon the regime-change failures of his predecessors? He appears determined to try. In truth, the regime-change controversy is of secondary importance. Bringing down Maduro was about bringing the Western hemisphere back under the influence of the United States. Maduro was not just the head of a narco-state. He was an ally of America’s nastiest enemies. n fact, Maduro met with a senior Chinese delegation in Caracas shortly before he was captured by US special forces. But Maduro’s regime was not just an ally to China. The regime in Caracas was also a valuable partner to other rogue states like Russia, Cuba and Iran. Even the Republic of Turkey, a notoriously unreliable NATO ally, has been an ally to the Maduro regime. The government of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is the fifth member of Venezuela’s “Fabulous Five” — the countries that helped prop up the Venezuelan strongman. One or more of these regimes may try to exploit the vacuum in Venezuela. They may not be able to restore Maduro to power. But they can try to make America pay a price for ousting their ally. The Trump administration must bare its teeth now, and warn them to keep out. If done right, the ousting of Maduro will weaken the influence of America’s adversaries in our hemisphere. It will deprive the cartels of a transit hub for shipments to the United States. And it will deprive our enemies of a valued ally. If that’s how things play out, not a bad start to 2026.
Now just to play devil's advocate for a moment . President Trump has indeed reasserted and reinvigorated the spirit of the Monroe Doctrine. Now, if taking Maduro out along with the rise of Milei, Bukele and Kast, which hopefully leads to the ouster of Lula in Brazil and who knows, even the fall of Communism and the ultimate liberation of the tropical gulag of Cuba. While the Red Chinese have been worming their way into our hemisphere, what if Xi and the Chi-Coms ultimately do make a move to take Taiwan, could they not then if not right now cite the President's actions against Maduro as justification? And of course it's a good thing to check the rise of communism abroad especially in our own hemisphere but then again, look what the hell is going on right here at home in NYC!
So We bagged Maduro. Can we put the bag on Soros and decapitate the leadership of Antifa, BLM, the ACLU/SPLC/CAIR and the DNC??? Have a great day. And lastly, a quick shout-out and a huge 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
- “I wanted to share a brief health update. I recently underwent surgery to remove a cancerous tumor and am now recovering. I’m doing well and hopeful as I move forward,” Hanson said in the statement. “Thank you for the many messages of support and prayers—they truly mean more than I can say. As I focus on recovery, I may not be able to respond to everyone, but please know how grateful I am.”
Victor Davis Hanson Gives Health Update After Undergoing Major Operation
Posted by: J.J. Sefton at 07:50 AM | Comments (473) | Trackbacks (Suck)
Top Story
- CES 2026 starts tomorrow, so - given the frivolities of time zones - I will likely be inundated with stories then. Today is the calm before the storm of products you can't afford, can't buy, or can't avoid.
What to expect: AI slop, health-related AI slop, enterprise AI slop, energy AI slop, vehicle AI slop, and robots. (CES)
Tell Skynet it's late.
Posted by: Pixy Misa at 04:00 AM | Comments (228) | Trackbacks (Suck)
January 04, 2026

Posted by: Open Blogger at 10:00 PM | Comments (600) | Trackbacks (Suck)

Posted by: Weasel at 07:00 PM | Comments (224) | Trackbacks (Suck)
[A dip into the vast archives of AoSHQ...And from the beginning of the Scamdemic no less! It's also fun to see a few call-outs to old commenters...]

Posted by: CBD at 04:00 PM | Comments (336) | Trackbacks (Suck)

Posted by: CBD at 02:00 PM | Comments (220) | Trackbacks (Suck)
We were promised forever wars by the bien pensants, and President Trump has disappointed us greatly.
The surgical strike on Iran's major nuclear facilities was a superb example of American technological superiority, logistics skill, intelligence capability, war planning, and above all, the marvel of the American military unleashed to do what they do better than any other military in the history of the world...kill people and break things. It was no carefully titrated and calibrated attack designed to "send a message." No empty buildings far from everything were destroyed. No warning was issued...no dangerous and counterproductive rules of engagement (ROE) were handed down from the White House. The mission was given to our military, and they were trusted to complete it in the best way possible. And that meant flying more than 7,000 miles with multiple refuelings, and dropping the largest conventional bombs in our inventory onto targets that were just a few meters in diameter. The bombers were protected by the most advance military aircraft on earth. An Ohio class submarine also launched cruise missiles from...who knows where...to complete the destruction of the targets. No losses of any kind. No leaks from a formerly porous Pentagon and administration. Nothing but a clear and unambiguous military action that was successful in its mission, and also made clear to the world that the United States Military is a force unlike anything they have ever seen. Yesterday the rest of the military said, "hold my beer," and captured the head of the Venezuela cartel, otherwise known as the "President" of Venezuela. Maduro and his wife were taken from the heart of the country, and are now in jail in NYC. No loss of life, no equipment was lost, and the mission seems to have gone exactly as planned. Tellingly, there was no leaking before the fact, as has been the pathetic case for years. Delta Force and the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment did their jobs well, which means they demonstrated that they are perhaps the best in the world. Without the political and social binds of an insanely woke, globalist administration, the United States military showed what they are made of. Secretary Hegseth has clearly had an outsized influence on our armed forces, and an even bigger one on the previously unaccountable mandarins who thought they ran our military. He has purged or compartmentalized them so they can do no damage. He has unleashed the traditional and ferocious martial spirit of America, and our military responded overwhelmingly. No more struggle sessions...no more transsexual lunacy...no more race-baiting. Just fine Americans doing what they have been trained to do. And that IS a message...to the world. Sure, Iran will spout their typical vitriol, but they know that we are now serious, and have the capacity to back up our words with actions. But more importantly it is a message to those who would interfere with the countries in our back yard. The new Monroe Doctrine (The Donroe Doctrine?) is being fleshed out, and it is no coincidence that conservative leaders are arising in Central and South America. They know they have a friend in America. Hopefully that doesn't mean "Nation Building" like the vile Bush wing of the Republican party loved to do, and failed at. But the President has already said that we will be running Venezuela only until they sort out their own mess, which is quite different than the open-ended quagmires we have been in over the last 20+ years. President Trump seems to want a strong and free Western Hemisphere, unburdened by the hangover of Soviet socialism or Chinese expansionism. And that is a fine plan, because with strength and freedom comes free markets and wealth and emergence from the 3rd world squalor that has enveloped much of the region, courtesy of socialism! Am I entirely happy with the way the President decapitated Venezuela? No. In a perfect world he would have consulted our representatives in Congress, but they have made it perfectly clear that they cannot be trusted to support the best interests of the country, or oppose the administration in a principled way. So what President Trump did was the next best thing, and it is also in the best interest of the American people!Posted by: CBD at 12:00 PM | Comments (443) | Trackbacks (Suck)

Posted by: Open Blogger at 09:00 AM | Comments (382) | Trackbacks (Suck)
Top Story
- The US Invaded Venezuela and Captured Nicolás Maduro.
ChatGPT and the Perplexity search engine are here to help you understand why this is not only a bad thing, but absolutely did not happen. (Wired) (archive site)"What's likely going on is a mix-up with real events that are often described in dramatic or misleading ways online. Here's what actually has happened:
What the U.S. did not do
❌ No U.S. military invasion of Venezuela
❌ No arrest or capture of Nicolás Maduro
❌ No overthrow of the Venezuelan government by U.S. forces
Maduro is still in power in Venezuela."
I have used Grok as an augmented search tool on occasion and it's often pretty good. When you don't know the exact name of what you are looking for it will match things up better than Google.
Sometimes it misses things or simply gets it wrong, but I haven't seen it get things this wrong. (Grok told me in answer to a poorly-worded question, "No, the US did not capture Nicolás Maduro today. It happened yesterday." which was true at least in my own time zone.)"Pure LLMs are inevitably stuck in the past, tied to when they are trained, and deeply limited in their inherent abilities to reason, search the web, 'think' critically, etc.," says Gary Marcus, a cognitive scientist and author of Taming Silicon Valley: How We Can Ensure That AI Works for Us. While human intervention can fix glaring problems like the Maduro response, Marcus says, that doesn't address the underlying problem. "The unreliability of LLMs in the face of novelty is one of the core reasons why businesses shouldn't trust LLMs."
This problem has been greatly alleviated by AI providers enabling live search, which loads fresh data into the context window - the AI equivalent of short-term memory.
But it can't be properly fixed without continual learning, which is an unsolved problem with LLMs.
Posted by: Pixy Misa at 04:00 AM | Comments (324) | Trackbacks (Suck)
January 03, 2026

Welcome to first Club ONT of 2026. A collaboration the 3D's - The Disco, The Dino, and The Doggo. New Year wishes to you: May your coffee be strong, your Wi-Fi stable, and commenting be witty. Did you get a new calendar? Mark Club ONTs for each 2026 Saturday - in pen. [Top photo: Antietam National Battlefield, Sharpsburg, MD]
Posted by: Open Blogger at 10:00 PM | Comments (478) | Trackbacks (Suck)
Otto Preminger

Before I started watching the complete filmography of Otto Preminger, I didn't really know what I was going to get. Oh, sure, I'd seen the highlights. I'd seen Anatomy of a Murder, Advise and Consent, and Laura, but he completed nearly forty films in his nearly fifty years making movies. Could I say that those three films were representative of him?
It's not like Laura and the other two have a whole lot in common, but you could draw lines of comparison, but what about Forever Amber or The Moon is Blue or Bonjour Tristesse or Hurry Sundown? What do they have to say about Preminger? Well, that's why I do these runs, so that I can find out.
And you know what I found out about Otto Preminger?
I do not think he was a very good filmmaker.
Posted by: TheJamesMadison at 07:30 PM | Comments (233) | Trackbacks (Suck)

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 officially sanctioned Ace of Spades Hobby Thread. We gave the Ace of Spades Wheel of Hobbies (TM) its first spin of the new year and it landed on ice fishing.
Posted by: Open Blogger at 05:30 PM | Comments (121) | Trackbacks (Suck)

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 03:18 PM | Comments (48) | Trackbacks (Suck)
Walter Kirn: "If you go back and watch my recent podcasts w/ @mtaibbi you will note that I've consistently predicted a short, sharp conflict with Venezuela.
The hysteria over a long war was all propaganda. Maduro & Co held no cards."Posted by: K.T. at 02:54 PM | Comments (438) | Trackbacks (Suck)

My husband was in the Army for 38 years and we lived in several different climates (coastal CA, central valley CA, Baltimore, Tidewater VA, and Hawaii). We retired to Las Vegas and while I was never much of a gardener, I managed to keep our living quarters looking OK over the years. Not here. Unless you love cactus, this is easily the most challenging garden environment ever. Fortunately I can buy amaryllis bulbs. They are from Eden Gardens, a wonderful garden supplier. They were badly hit by the North Carolina floods, but still managed to fulfill their orders on time. Anyway, here’s part of my “harvest” this year. The flowers are so large that they sometimes fall over, but this is not a problem because they do really well when cut and put in a vase. Ps. I always enjoy your thread. Thanks. MargsnowA low-key thread on a busy day today, starting with some beautiful flowers! It's okay to switch between specialty and news threads on the weekend.
Posted by: K.T. at 01:04 PM | Comments (60) | Trackbacks (Suck)
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