The Grammys, Which Apparently Still Exist, Once Again Descend Into an Sloppy Orgy of Virtue Signalling and Cultural Irrelevance

The emcee, the failed DEI "comic" Trevor Noah, accused Trump WITHOUT EVIDENCE of having visited Epstein's island -- and Trump says he's suing.

Posted by: Ace at 12:02 PM | Comments (496) | Trackbacks (Suck)

Minnesota CEOs Request ‘De-Escalation’ of Federal Immigration Law Enforcement; Perhaps Federal Laws that Protect Minnesota Corporations Should Also Not Be Enforced

The capture of corporate executive suites by the left is something I never would have predicted a few decades ago, because a fundamental tenet of the left has been state ownership of all enterprises. But with many corporations actively advocating for the advancement of the left’s radical agenda, corporations have bought themselves a level of protection from left-wing politicians. In addition, many corporate executives are clearly true believers in the left’s effort to reorganize civilization.

We on the right have no obligation to continue defending corporations who are allied with the left against us.

Last week the CEOs of dozens of corporations headquartered in Minnesota released a letter requesting that the federal government stand down and stop enforcing immigration law, specifically requesting “an immediate deescalation of tensions” and instead of enforcing the law, demanding that the federal government work with state and local officials “to find real solutions” other than removing criminal illegal aliens.

Among the signers were the CEOs of Target, Best Buy, US Bank, General Mills, 3M, and Red Wing Shoes.

These CEOs are advocating for selective non-enforcement of federal laws that protect everyday citizens from the pathologies that have been brought to this country by a flood of millions of illegal immigrants, many of whom are hardened criminals. Since these CEOs believe that enforcement of federal law is optional, surely they would be OK if federal laws that protect their corporations are not enforced too, correct?

Here are some more opportunities for selective non-enforcement of federal law:

Target has a famous logo protected by US trademark laws. If Target is cool with federal immigration laws not being enforced, I’m cool with allowing any retailer to use Target’s logo without any enforcement of federal trademark laws.

3M is an industrial powerhouse that has prospered from its development of patent-protected products. Perhaps the federal government should “de-escalate” enforcement of 3M’s patents when competitors sell knock-offs?

Red Wing Boots is a market leader in premium-priced work boots. Since its CEO is advocating for federal laws not to be enforced, there is a great opportunity to sell cheap imitation boots with Red Wing branding, and have the federal government stand down in protecting Red Wing’s trademark.

US Bank relies on the federal government to enforce laws that protect banks from criminal fraud. Enforcing these laws requires federal manpower and taxpayer money. Since US Bank’s CEO is advocating for the federal government not to enforce immigration laws, perhaps we can extend the same courtesy and have US Bank exempted from federal protections against bank fraud.

If Best Buy’s CEO is going to advocate for the non-enforcement of federal law, I might in turn advocate that any electronics retailer be allowed to put up a sign identifying their store as a Best Buy.

General Mills sells Cheerios, among other cereals, and other well-known consumer products such as Pillsbury and Betty Crocker, which are all protected by trademark law. It seems to me that by signing the letter requesting that immigration law not be enforced, General Mills’ CEO is also announcing that federal laws protecting its trademarks can be ignored too. Selling generic oat cereal as authentic Cheerios sounds like a good business opportunity.

Laws that protect corporations and laws that protect individuals are all part of the social contract that keeps this country functioning. It is reckless for either corporations or individuals to advocate for the selective non-enforcement of laws that don’t specifically benefit them...but that’s what these Minnesota CEOs are doing.

If the “real solutions” that these CEOs seek is to allow criminal aliens to avoid arrest and deportation, then those companies can surrender federal protection of their intellectual property as part of those “real solutions.”

When I hear the MN corporate CEOs request the federal government stand down on enforcing immigration law that protects citizens, I also hear them saying it’s OK to no longer enforce federal laws that protect *their* businesses, such as Intellectual property & false advertising.

— Buck Throckmorton (@BuckThrockmort) January 28, 2026

[buck.throckmorton at protonmail dot com]

Posted by: Buck Throckmorton at 11:00 AM | Comments (310) | Trackbacks (Suck)

Mid-Morning Art Thread

Les Nymphes
Luis Ricardo Falero

Posted by: CBD at 09:30 AM | Comments (378) | Trackbacks (Suck)

The Morning Report — 2/2/26

Good morning kids. As I and many of you for sure have pondered lo these many months going on perhaps years now if we are in a state of civil war, but for sure we are in a phase of accelerating societal breakdown. On the surface, life goes on much as it always has, kids go to school we go to work or otherwise go about our routines mostly as per usual. Beyond the violence and mayhem we are witnessing in Minneapolis and elsewhere, the most alarming aspect is the utter breakdown and corruption of our judicial system that has now been infiltrated and weaponized against us.

This here is madness and things like this more than even the open violent insurrection against law enforcement which not only represents President Trump and his policies but is supposed to represent our collective individual and societal liberties, rights and freedoms, will be and are indeed our undoing, in the here and now.

First, Judge Gregory Carro in New York State argued that Luigi Mangione, the leftist terrorist, wasn’t a terrorist because he said he wasn’t.

. . . More of the same now at the federal level where Judge Margaret Garnett, a recent Biden appointee, decided that Luigi Mangione stalking Brian Thompson in order to kill him wasn’t a “crime of violence”. . . The only thing tortured and strange here is that Democrats are trying not to pretend that they’re bailing out a leftist terrorist. Had Luigi Mangione worn a red cap and hunted down and killed a liberal judge, all of a sudden all of these rulings would be the opposite of what they are, and the ‘tortured and strange’ parts of them would be the sound of the law creaking to be bent backward the other way.

You better believe that the ICE agents who took down Good and Pretti, should some Soros prosecutor get the ball rolling are going to get the Derek Chauvin treatment if not a cell on death row. Donald Trump and Kristi Noem as well. The DemoKKKrats are already making noises about impeachement should they win back Congress this coming November and beyond that, they are itching to see those two and others dangling from a hangman's noose.

They've learned their lesson. Next time they will completely wipe out all opposition to them and seize absolute power. And anyone who objects will ironically and disgustingly be labeled as a terrorist and insurrectionist, and be subject to the harshest of penalties. Like J-6 the process will only be the beginning of the punishment.

It is clear that the Democrat Left has the ability and the willingness to mobilize an armed force of internal terrorists and insurrectionists who will do their bidding knowing they face no repercussions. At least no repercussions in the legal sense.

Can you imagine if average law abiding and armed citizens had a similar system to communicate and rapidly mobilize to be on scene to counter the criminal terrorist insurrectionists and stand shoulder to shoulder with law enforcement, or to oppose any Don Lemon squad of goons bent on invading a church service?

We are heading down that road. But considering our innate sense of morality (that has been completely burned out of the Left since childhood over the past 60 years or more) and concomitant abhorrence of violence, Perhaps it might never come to armed response.

We as a nation are coming to a crossroads. The Left uses our Constitution as both a shield and a cudgel. And bearing all of the aforementioned in mind, there's this frightening development:

Democrats spent years pushing for gun restrictions. Now they’re rushing to buy firearms and invoking Second Amendment rights after federal agents killed a licensed gun owner in Minneapolis.

The shift has drawn accusations of hypocrisy from conservative critics. Writing in The Hill, columnist Robby Soave noted that progressives “favor all sorts of restrictions on gun ownership” yet now champion constitutional gun rights following Alex Pretti’s death. The ACLU even backpedaled on whether it supports concealed carry rights for protesters, Soave wrote.

But, they will acquire and use firearms in an offensive manner and when the smoke clears claim self defense as a judge like the one who let Mangione off the hook and the one who railroaded Derek Chauvin will agree. When you have mayors and governors now openly going after and attempting to impede ICE and other federal agents from doing their duty, no doubt their armed Antifa goons and gang-bangers as in Long Beach CA will be deputized and given the full protection of a bastardized legal system.

Unfortunately or fortunately? We cannot deny anyone their second amendment right to bear arms based on their political beliefs. But considering a frighteningly large number of individuals not only want to destroy America as founded but as we have seen not just in Minneapolis but since the 1960s are willing and able to use violence to achieve their aims. Worse the Democrat Party in its eternal quest to seize absolute power is giving them political and legal cover to act as their street goons/enforcers.

If by some chance their election rigging machine fails to deliver them control of Congress, what we're seeing in Minneapolis is just a foretaste of what is to come that will be orders of magnitude worse. The President will be forced to respond and in so doing potentially play into their hands despite being completely in the right to quash an armed violent leftist/Democrat insurrection.

Friend and friend of the blog Mark Pulliam lays it all out in his latest piece, on his blog which is worthy of bookmarking and following:

. . .What happens if the Republicans lose control of Congress in the mid-terms this November?

We don’t have to wonder, because the Democrats have told us. Expect a 180-degree reversal of everything President Trump has done. We can expect as abrupt a change, on a national scale, as the radical onslaught incoming Governor Abigail Spanberger is imposing on the commonwealth of Virginia. Elections truly have consequences.

And if the Democrats re-gain the White House in 2028, things will be even worse. President Trump’s historic victory in 2024, and the MAGA agenda in general, will be foiled by the Democrats’ radical policies . . The Constitution, as we know if, would be shredded.

And for me it would essentially be the end of even the veneer of the illusion of regular order/business as usual that we barely are able to delude ourselves into believing. They will go all out to seize absolute power, crush any and all opposition and that will be that. A run of 250 years as they traipse around in the skin suit for another century or so demanding respect.

Unless something radical changes the course of history back towards sanity. As we had hoped the election, three times!, of Donald Trump would do.

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
• Just how do they “spontaneously” materialize en masse to scream profanities, blast whistles and block official vehicles? . . . When I deployed to Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom, I saw similar spotter tactics employed by any number of guerilla groups who communicated via handheld radios to initiate IEDs on roadways traveled by American troops.
  I’ve seen insurgencies up close — and anti-ICE actions look eerily familiar

• In 1776, pamphleteer Thomas Paine, in a series of essays entitled “The American Crisis,”  exhorted the besieged colonists during the Revolutionary War to stand strong in their struggle for freedom. His opening line was “These are the times that try men’s souls.” The same is true today. However bleak conditions may appear, we must remain committed to victory.
  The New American Crisis

Posted by: J.J. Sefton at 07:20 AM | Comments (374) | Trackbacks (Suck)

Daily Tech News 2 February 2026

Top News

• Notepad++, a text editor used by every programmer in the world, got hijacked and used to install malware. (Notepad++)
  
  You're probably safe to click on that link. I think.
  
  The server providing software updates for Notepad++ got hacked to selectively deliver malware, apparently by West Taiwan targeting specific users in Taiwan.
  
  This went undetected for months because of the focused nature of the attack; if it had affected everyone who uses the software it would have been uncovered the next day. And would also have been a global catastrophe, because that would have given the attackers an indirect back door into basically everything.
  
  So it could have been worse, but is more than a little worrying.

Posted by: Pixy Misa at 04:00 AM | Comments (106) | Trackbacks (Suck)

Sunday Overnight Open Thread - February 1, 2026 [Doof]

Photo credit - Howard in Alberta

Howdy Hordelings - welcome to February! Did you participate in "Dry January"? I most definitely did not. Maybe next year. Probably not. Anyway, the ONT is here and so are you. Any lurkers in the house? Why not make tonight the night to delurk? Regulars - be nice!

Posted by: Open Blogger at 10:00 PM | Comments (427) | Trackbacks (Suck)

Gun Thread: First February 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 February Edition? Show of hands - who is already sick of winter? I know that I am. I do not think we have been above freezing here for two weeks, and it's becoming annoying.

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 (207) | Trackbacks (Suck)

Food Thread: Bourbon, Cornbread, And Bacon, The Three Legs Of The American Meal

Commenter "Pete Bog" poses the question: "Too much bacon?"

After I moved past the embarrassment of the question...the answer is obviously, "not enough."

In fact, it is an even more flawed question, because the bacon in the photo is homemade bacon, made from a 4H pig, which was no doubt lovingly raised by a very motivated teenager. Pete Bog, aside from his Paella-stirring blindness, is no slouch in the kitchen, and has embraced the real (not virtue-signaling) concept of "Farm To Table" and "Nose To Tail!"

Obviously not all of us have access to 4H pigs, but trying to keep the food we eat as close to the source as possible is a fine goal. Bags of chopped vegetables, containers of cut fruit, supermarket-roasted chickens, and even more processed foods are undoubtedly convenient, but they are often more expensive, expose us to food-borne illness at a higher rate than our home kitchens, and remove us from the elemental joys of preparing our own food from start to finish.

One of the things that has convinced me of the virtue-signaling silliness of most of the current food craze is the plethora of (____) milks. Show me the nipples on an almond or an oat, and I will accept them as real. But a glance at the ingredients of these ultra-processed foods should convince you of the silliness of their positions as natural replacements for evil cow milk.

But back to bacon! Even store-bought mass market bacon is tasty. I don't recall ever having bad bacon, unless it was under-cooked or burned beyond recognition. But there is a big difference between Safeway bacon and a well-made bacon or homemade. Yes, you can spend a ton of money...try Neuske's if you have some extra cash, but Costco thick-sliced bacon is quite good! Certainly better than generic supermarket bacon, and it is less expensive to boot.

The rambling point is; We can eat well and healthfully without breaking the bank, as long as we pay a bit of attention to what we start with. And that isn't necessarily more time consuming! The undeniable bonus is that it is often fun and satisfying!

Posted by: CBD at 04:00 PM | Comments (280) | Trackbacks (Suck)

First World Problems...

For some unfathomable, deeply anti-freedom reason, lip balm tubes always advance the lip balm into the top while resting in my pocket, rather than it being a random thing...sometimes advancing and sometimes retracting. And of course the balm nestles into the top and then breaks off from the rest, and there we have it...the crisis of the lip. Should I use my little finger to try to dig it out? Advance the remaining balm in hopes that it will adhere to the separated balm and then...impossibly...retract whole back into the body of the dispenser?

It is obviously a vast conspiracy between Big Lip and Big Balm, and the engineers who designed this one-way screw mechanism should be arrested, tried, and executed.

Posted by: CBD at 02:00 PM | Comments (172) | Trackbacks (Suck)

As The UK Circles The Drain, The Labour Party Resorts To -- You Already Know The Answer -- Demagoguery

Never mind that the Reform candidate is stating the obvious, that what he is saying is objectively true. The existential crisis that the UK finds itself in is almost entirely the result of catastrophically poor decisions made during the dissolution of the empire, when they welcomed their former subjects into England, assuming that they would continue on the path to 1st world civilized behavior, culture, and morals. Then, to make it even worse, they began to import cheap labor from the 3rd world because, frankly, they were too stupid to cultivate home-grown labor, and needed the endless expansion of the welfare state to continue.

Labour brand Reform's Matt Goodwin 'extreme' -- but admit he's beating them in polls

“Goodwin has claimed non-white people cannot truly be English. He said if we'd listened to Tommy Robinson and the English Defence League, we would have ‘avoided some of the problems’ we face today.

“He complained about our civilisation being ‘drained away’ by ‘people from inferior cultures’. He's even suggested women should be told when they should have children.

“This isn't mainstream politics. It's extreme – and Reform chose Goodwin deliberately to drive a wedge between voters.”

The United Kingdom is unrecognizable, and it is trending toward 2nd world status. In London, White Britons are no longer the majority, and a trip on the Tube suggests that English is not the most popular language in the city!

Vast swaths of the country have been taken over by immigrants from the UK's former colonies, and they brought the worst of their countries without embracing the best of British culture. Add in a healthy dose of illegal immigration, and the former jewel of the civilized world is a few generations from losing its position in Western culture, and entering the miasma of the developing world.

But Labour, as it has always done, is fanatical about splitting away immigrants from any sense of patriotism or love of country that may develop, and continues to either demonize traditional Britons or push them farther into the vicious cycle of welfare dependence.

How this shakes out in 2029 when Britain goes to the polls again is hard to predict, but if Britain does not arrest the multicultural catastrophe that is its current domestic politics, then it is lost. The current trend of an ascendant Reform party is full of risk for both the Conservative Party, which has plummeted to practically minor-party status, and for Labour, which may lose not only its absolute majority in Parliament today, but may become a minority party.

But the election is three and a half years away, and that is an eternity in parliamentary politics. It is possible, but not likely, that the prime minister will call an election earlier, simply to protect as many seats as possible . He would lose his position, and it is distinctly possible that Reform would win. But to avoid a catastrophe in 2029, that may be the best choice.

Of course the Labour party is busily trying to lock in its gains, and the destruction of free speech, the resistance to any controls over the border, and the expansion of the welfare state may well cement their gains of last year. That would be the end of "Great" Britain, but that is a cost they are happy to pay to retain power!

Sound familiar?

Posted by: CBD at 12:00 PM | Comments (244) | Trackbacks (Suck)

Sunday Morning Book Thread (02/01/2026) [MP4]

Good morning, ‘rons and ‘ronettes. It’s time once again for the semi-regular MP4-hosted Sunday Book Thread. Dress is country club casual, but hats for ladies are required, such as this:

So ask the barman for an Old Fashioned, covfefe or tea and let’s get started!
Today’s opening topic is a two parter:

1. What was the first book you read?

2. What book (if any) changed your life?

Posted by: Open Blogger at 09:00 AM | Comments (409) | Trackbacks (Suck)

Daily Tech News 1 February 2026

Top Story

• Jensen Huang, CEO of Nvidia, has denied reports that his company is not going to invest $100 billion in OpenAI. (CNBC)
  
  He explained that the real story is that Nvidia is not going to invest $100 billion in OpenAI:

  "Sam is closing the round (of investment) and we will absolutely be involved," Huang added. "We will invest ‍a great deal of money, probably the largest investment we've ever made."
  
  Asked whether ‌it would be over $100 billion, he said: "No, no, nothing like ⁠that."

  So there you have it. Nvidia will absolutely definitively be going ahead with investing some amount in some company at some point maybe.
  
  Unless they don't.
  
  

Posted by: Pixy Misa at 04:00 AM | Comments (136) | Trackbacks (Suck)

Saturday Night Club ONT - January 31, 2026 [Double Vision]

Welcome to Club ONT - Seeing double? D and D? This is a collaboration of The Disco and The Dino.

The parking lot may still not be fully cleared from last weekend's snow storm, but we are full open for both business and fun! Don't let the lyrics to tonight's mystery click give you any ideas about our guests there on that table. They are friends, not food!

Posted by: Open Blogger at 10:00 PM | Comments (357) | Trackbacks (Suck)

Saturday Night Something Something

Charles is off on holiday. He regretfully asked yours truly if I would present a reasonable facsimile of a music thread.

Ha. Fat chance I thought to myself.

Posted by: Misanthropic Humanitarian at 07:50 PM | Comments (160) | Trackbacks (Suck)

Hobby Thread - January 31, 2026 [TRex]

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) a spin it landed on sea shells.

Best wishes to Morons in the midst of the current weather event. Feel free to check in with weather reports.

[Top photo: Tasmania]

Posted by: Open Blogger at 05:30 PM | Comments (175) | Trackbacks (Suck)

Ace of Spades Pet Thread, January 31

Courtesy Dr _ No

* * *

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 03:23 PM | Comments (68) | Trackbacks (Suck)

Gardening, Home and Nature Thread, Jan. 31

When Iris Eyes are Smilin'

First week this season I've seen them selling them here.

Regards from Jerusalem,

Biden's Dog

So cheerful!

*

Posted by: K.T. at 01:26 PM | Comments (53) | Trackbacks (Suck)

Law according to the honor system

I recently saw a perplexed, sort-of conservative person on social media ask why Trump needed to send all those rough ICE agents to Michigan just because of a few reports of daycare fraud by Nick Shirley. But before Nick Shirley, there was a NYT report blasting Tim Walz about fraud, as well as Chris Rufo pointing out that taxpayer money was ending up in the hands of Somali terrorists.

Why didn't she know this?

Oh. And there was also this LONG written piece before any of the above:

LOOTING, PILLAGING, THEFT, BILLIONS IN

DISBURSEMENTS, ALL ON THE HONOR SYSTEM

We have discussed this piece before, but I don't think we have emphasized the honor system factor, based partly on a previous Norwegian high-trust society which was prominent in Michigan (Ooops - Minnesota - hope it doesn't spread) for a long time.

We are all Somalis now

The Shame of Our Cities

The specifics of how these fraudulent systems seem to have developed are remarkable. I don't think it's all "cultural differences". I think a lot of it is leftism. Pick an example from this piece and see what you think. In one case, a whistleblower report of fraud was sent back to the ringleader of the fraud for resolution!

So much fraud was reported for so long, and IGNORED for so long.

*

Going even further back in time. . .

Posted by: K.T. at 11:05 AM | Comments (291) | Trackbacks (Suck)

The Classical Saturday Coffee Break & Prayer Revival

*****

Good morning boys and girls and everything in between. Before we enter the Prayer Revival just a few housekeeping matters to take care of. (Rulz for those of you in Iola)

1) This is an open thread. Feel free to lurk, opine and/or bloviate.
2) Be kind, be nice. Being Pretti good isn't good enough.
3) Running with sharp objects? Sure you can. We just won't pray for you.
4) Have a great weekend!

Posted by: Misanthropic Humanitarian at 08:00 AM | Comments (366) | Trackbacks (Suck)

Daily Tech News 31 January 2026

Top Story

• One third of video game workers have been laid off in the past two years. (Variety)
  
  I'm a little surprised it's not higher, but the article points out that layoffs have hit major - so called "AAA" - Triple A - studios twice as hard as indies, so it is higher for the companies I'd focus on with news stories.

  The survey also found that 82% of US-based respondents support the unionization of game industry workers, with 5% opposed and 13% unsure.

  And I was just about to feel some sympathy for these people.
  
  
  
• Ubisoft has cancelled six games and closed three of its studios in the wake of disastrous sales of its recent major titles. (BBC)
  
  The studios on the chopping block include Ubisoft Halifax, which unionised earlier this month. (Games Industry)
  
  That went about as well as could be expected.
  
  
  

Posted by: Pixy Misa at 04:00 AM | Comments (136) | Trackbacks (Suck)