December 22, 2025

The Milwaukee County judge on trial for helping a violent illegal immigrant elude federal law enforcement authorities has been convicted on one of the two charges against her. A jury late Thursday found Judge Hannah Dugan guilty of felony obstruction but determined there wasn’t enough evidence to convict her on a misdemeanor charge of concealing an individual from arrest. Her attorney told reporters that Dugan will appeal the conviction, a verdict that should serve as a wake-up call to judges who disregard laws they don’t like in the furtherance of judicial activism.Well of course she'll appeal, since despite my seeing this as a positive sign, given the nature of who occupies far too many a judge's seat in far too many an American courtroom, she might have a shot at winning an appeal. And yet she lost in a Wisconsin court which as we all know, thanks to Madison and Milwaukee is not the conservative bastion that it seemingly ought to be, especially in the eyes of a NYC transplant like me. But be that as it may, here's hoping this criminal is disbarred, disrobed and never gets within 1000 miles of a judges bench except as a defendant, and ultimately serves a lengthy stretch in a federal lockup. And, speaking of Wisconsin, this decision came down from that state's highest court, that, given its current far-leftist majority is a pleasant surprise:
Earlier this year, on June 5, 2025, the Supreme Court rendered a major victory for religious freedom in Catholic Charities Bureau v. Wisconsin Labor & Industry Review Commission. In a unanimous judgment authored by Justice Sotomayor, the Court reversed an earlier order in favor of Wisconsin. The justices reasoned that Wisconsin violated Catholic Charities’ First Amendment rights in denying it a tax exemption because it thought the services provided were not primarily religious insofar as its employees “‘do not proselytize or serve only Catholics’ in the course of performing charitable work.” On remand, Wisconsin officials ignored the Supreme Court, again denying Catholic Charities’ request for an exemption. However, on December 15, 2025, in Catholic Charities Bureau v. Wisconsin Labor and Industry Review Commission, on appeal, the state’s high court summarily ruled that Catholic Charities is entitled to the requested exemption from unemployment taxation. As such, this column reviews Catholic Charities’ judicial history before reflecting on its impact on religious freedom. . . . . . On December 15, 2025, in Catholic Charities Bureau, Inc. v. Wisconsin Labor and Industry Review Commission, Wisconsin’s highest court summarily ruled that “[i]n light of the Supreme Court’s holding that this court ‘impose[d] a denominational preference’ that does not survive strict scrutiny…we determine that Catholic Charities [and its sub-entities are] eligible for the religious purposes exemption to [state] unemployment taxation. . . . . . Catholic Charities is noteworthy because members of the Supreme Court, including separationists Justice Sotomayor, author of its unanimous opinion, with fellow separationist Justice Jackson penning a separate concurrence, put aside their ideological differences in rectifying Wisconsin’s having trammeled Catholic Charities’ First Amendment rights. . . In sum, Wisconsin’s Supreme Court finally applied precedent properly in protecting Catholic Charities’ religious freedom rights. In so doing, Wisconsin’s judges acknowledged that because secular jurists lack the authority, and expertise, to interpret what qualifies as being at the heart of the Catholic Church’s or any other church’s mission, they must defer to the judgments of religious leaders who define their missions.So smacking down a rogue justice who interfered with federal law enforcement and actually aided and abetted a cviolent criminal evade apprehension and a decision that upholds religious liberty, we are given a couple of things to keep hope alive.
And yet elsewhere in the world as lurker extraordinaire Prof. Victor Davis Hanson notes it is indeed open season on Jews. For sure the ongoing 1,500-year bloody war of genocide waged by Islam is a war on Jews. But there is also a rhetorical war being waged against The Jews which sadly has its roots in racial/religious bigotry that predates the founding of this nation and even way before Islam.
Just a few years ago, it used to be that anti-Semitism was mostly on the left and repugnantly identifiable and condemnable by most. . . The right used to be a unified corrective to left-wing anti-Semitism. It still polls nearly 70 percent in favor of Israel. For a while longer, it is far more likely to condemn anti-Semitic violence than the left. But recently, its own base, in varying degrees, has come full circle and joined the left in its distaste for Israel and Jews in general. . . One hallmark of the new right-wing furor against Jews and Israel is the strange symbiosis they employ. Formerly edgy podcasters become vicarious hosts of virulent anti-Semites. The partnerships are a way of not directly owning up to their toxicity but just “putting it out there.”I have no idea how Carlson and Owens were brought up or arrived at their beliefs about "Jews" or "The Jews?" I assume that both have either inherited/absorbed the beliefs of their parents and families which have been passed on for generations. It's not the world's oldest hatred for no reason. Or, even worse, maybe they engage in this merely for personal gain. It's a very short walk from Charlie Kirk and 9/11, to the Deicide trope and even believing that Jews use the blood of Christian children to make Passover matzohs. And that's that, my friends. 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.
. . .Candace Owens initially championed Kanye West (“I’m a bit sleepy tonight but when I wake up, I’m going death con 3 On JEWISH PEOPLE."). Then she graduated to expressing her own old anti-Semitic tropes: “There is just a very small ring of specific people who are using the fact that they are Jewish to shield themselves from any criticism. … All Americans should want answers because this appears to be something that is quite sinister.” Tucker Carlson hosted critics of the U.S. effort against Hitler in World War II and Israel-behind-it conspiracists before escalating to inviting Nick Fuentes on in a mostly friendly manner—which might be attributed to his interview format, except he has attacked fellow conservatives far more than has odious Fuentes.
- ABOVE THE FOLD, BREAKING, NOTEWORTHY LINKS
- Victor Davis Hanson: As leaders equivocate and extremists unite left and right, open season on Jews spreads across the West—unchecked, unnamed, and certain to grow deadlier.
Slouching Toward Open Season on Jews
Posted by: J.J. Sefton at 07:18 AM | Comments (447) | Trackbacks (Suck)
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- How Pepsi saved the Roomba, and how Lina Khan murdered it. (Tech Crunch)
I hadn't heard the Pepsi story before:The press drove this huge initial demand - 70,000 robots. So next year we're going to do four times that. We made 300,000 robots. We even made a television commercial, but we were a bunch of geek engineers, so it totally failed. After Cyber Monday we were sitting with 250,000 robots in our warehouse like, "Oh my God, the world's going to end."
And now for Lina Khan's FTC, the AntiPepsi:
Then something good happened. The guy running our website said, "Why did sales quadruple yesterday?" We hadn't done anything. What had happened was Pepsi had started running a TV ad with Dave Chappelle. He walks into this beautiful home, picks up a potato chip, and a Roomba comes out. He's like, "A vacuum cleaner!" He throws down the potato chip, the vacuum eats it, then chases him. His pants are ripped off. He stands up in boxers. A beautiful woman appears, and he says, "Your vacuum cleaner ate my pants." We sold 250,000 robots in two weeks and realized we knew nothing about marketing.The amount of money and time spent was indescribable. I would not be surprised if over 100,000 documents were created and delivered. iRobot invested a significant part of our discretionary earnings against fulfilling the requirements that went along with doing the transaction. Amazon was forced to invest many, many, many times that. There was a whole team, both internal and external employees and lawyers and economists working to try to, in as many different ways as possible - because it seemed like our message was falling on deaf ears - demonstrate that this acquisition was not going to create a monopolistic situation.
It was never going to create a monopoly. The FTC didn't care. It wanted scalps.There was daily activity for 18 months associated with this. Perhaps most telling, when I was testifying as part of being deposed, I had a chance to walk the halls of the FTC. The examiners on their office doors had printouts of deals blocked, like trophies.
Posted by: Pixy Misa at 04:00 AM | Comments (106) | Trackbacks (Suck)
December 21, 2025

The Winter Solstice is upon us
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On December 17th, 1903, one hundred and twenty-two years ago on a windy sand dune in North Carolina the world was changed. Two brothers, bicycle mechanics from Ohio ran a contraption made of wood, cloth, and wire down a rail until it gained enough speed to become airborne. The first manned powered flight. In the scale of recorded human history, about 5,000 years, 122 years is a trivial span. I would suspect that no similar span anywhere in that history has been as technologically prolific as these last 122 years. The 122 years preceding flight likely are the second most prolific. The power of steam had been harnessed to propel trains, boats, early automobiles, and mechanized farm equipment. Metallurgy flourished. Electricity had been turned from a novelty to useful applications that were just beginning to be implemented. Fossil fuels and the internal combustion engine had burst onto the scene.
The Wright Brothers pioneering pursuit of flight was only made possible by the application of power derived from what was at the time a groundbreaking innovation. A lightweight gasoline engine designed by an employee of their bicycle shop that weighed 180 pounds and produced 12 horsepower. He had hand built the engine in six weeks using simple tools such as a lathe and drill press. And it worked! It is difficult to overstate the importance of what the Wrights accomplished. In the few years following the first flight aviation exploded into the public consciousness and the pace of change in design, reliability, airworthiness, and range was significant. The First World War supercharged the development of the technology and culminated in the development of fast, maneuverable machines that could be armed with guns and bombs. Military tactics changed to accommodate the new technology. The interval between the wars supercharged the development of airplanes and modern aviation both from a civil and military standpoint. During this same period similar advances were occurring in just about every field of science and technology. Just as the telegraph had eclipsed the Pony Express to spread news, radios and air mail surpassed the telegraph. A dominant theme delivered in that stream of news was the pace and breadth change. One hundred twenty-two years. Both of my grandfathers were born before the first manned flight. Their great grandchildren may be able to go to space. I may be able to go to space. What an incredible time to be alive.Posted by: Open Blogger at 12:00 PM | Comments (216) | Trackbacks (Suck)
Welcome to the prestigious, internationally acclaimed, stately, and illustrious Sunday Morning Book Thread! The place where all readers are welcome, regardless of whatever guilty pleasure we feel like reading (Jesus Christ was born!). Here is where we can discuss, argue, bicker, quibble, consider, debate, confabulate, converse, and jaw about our latest fancy in reading material. As always, pants are required, unless you are wearing these pants...(HT: TheJamesMadison was unavailable for comment)
So relax, find yourself a warm kitty (or warm puppy--I won't judge) to curl up in your lap, sneak a peek at a Christmas present under the tree, and dive into a new book. What are YOU reading this fine morning?
Posted by: Open Blogger at 09:00 AM | Comments (332) | Trackbacks (Suck)
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- You know how I said that the Minisforum AI X1-255 mini-PC that I bought cost 60-70% more on Minisforum's US store?
Strike that.
The US store was quoting me prices in AUD, making it just 10% more expensive than from Amazon Australia. (It's also available on Amazon US but they only have one in stock so you'd have to be quick.)
Thanks to Rick C for the correction.
- Is AI useful for programming? Maybe. Sort of. (MIT Technology Review)
I used it last week trying to extract information from a thoroughly-but-incorrectly-documented API, with ultimate success. The API was shit but the AI saved me hours of painful iteration trying different functions looking for one that worked.
On the other hand, if you're carrying out a task where you know what to do you are likely better off doing it yourself, because you will end up with fewer and less severe bugs and a much better understanding of what the code is doing.
And it will in all probability save time doing it yourself.
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December 20, 2025


Posted by: Open Blogger at 10:00 PM | Comments (438) | Trackbacks (Suck)
The Netflix original film A House of Dynamite will likely contend for Academy Award nominations and victories. The movie is directed by Kathryn Bigelow, who won a Best Director Oscar in 2010 for The Hurt Locker.
Bigelow has directed several near-classics (or camp, depending to whom you are speaking) such as Zero Dark Thirty, Point Break and Blue Steel. From The Hurt Locker forward, however, she has become the go to filmmaker for military dramas and thrillers, and thus we arrive at 2025’s A House of Dynamite.A House of Dynamite is another entry into what can only be called the nuclear holocaust sub-genre of war pictures. From Dr. Strangelove to Fail Safe to War Games to By Dawn’s Early Light (and on TV The Day After), the countdown to nuclear war and –sometimes— its aftermath never seems to get old. How could it really? The end of the world is inherently terrifying and addictive to think about. In Bigelow’s latest rendering, we follow the detection of a missile launch from somewhere in Asia as the rocket travels toward the United States. The movie takes a novel approach to the topic, dividing into three, nearly real-time parts from different perspectives.
Posted by: Open Blogger at 08:40 PM | Comments (158) | 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. As previewed, the Ace of Spades Wheel of Hobbies (TM) landed on Christmas Ornaments, Part 2.
Last week, the call went out for Horde Christmas ornament submissions. Are you thinking "I'm a grinch that did not submit an ornament, but I am eager to see what others submitted. I can't wait to get into the content!" I knew it. Enjoy. [Top Photo: The Official Club ONT Restroom token Christmas ornament.]Posted by: Open Blogger at 05:30 PM | Comments (198) | Trackbacks (Suck)

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What an incredible accomplishment to make this Epstein stuff seem like the height of elite decadence. While a thousand Caligulas party on.
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[H/T Sharon (Willow's Apprentice)]
2) Be kind, be nice. He's checking his list twice or something like that.
3) No running with sharp objects. None. Nada. Zilch.
4) The Fabulous and I wish you a Merry Christmas from the Frozen Tundra.
5) Have a great weekend!
Posted by: Misanthropic Humanitarian at 07:10 AM | Comments (355) | Trackbacks (Suck)
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- A couple of weeks ago I found a mini-PC that was priced - in Australia at least - at just 20% more than the cost of the RAM it includes. It uses regular laptop DIMMs so even if the PC doesn't turn out ideal it's a decent price and lets me upgrade any laptop I buy during the memory drought.
Right after I bought it the price went up and I thought I'd ordered just in time, but then the price came back down.
And a week ago memory prices had climbed to match the price of the whole computer, so I bought another one. I have them both set up and they seem to work well.
And now as memory prices continue to climb, the memory alone is 20% more than the cost of the entire computer, so, yeah, you know it. I think I'm set for computers for a while.
I tried out Ethernet-over-Thunderbolt networking today. Plugged in the cable between the two PCs and got instant 20Gb Ethernet. Magic.
It's not a perfect system - the Ryzen 7 255 lacks an NPU, and it only has one rear USB-A port and that port is USB 2.0 - and it's not one I can recommend to most readers because it costs60%70% more in the US than in Australia. But it's pretty good for my needs given the destruction that AI buildouts are wreaking on affordability right now.
- Elon Musk's $56 billion Tesla pay package, previously set aside by the corrupt Chancery Court in Delaware in an action that led to the company shifting its registration to Texas, has been restored by the Delaware Supreme Court. (Tech Crunch)
Though given the increase in Tesla's share price over the intervening years, it is now a $140 billion pay package.
So nice going, guys.
Posted by: Pixy Misa at 04:00 AM | Comments (109) | Trackbacks (Suck)
December 19, 2025
Howdy Horde! Last meme ONT before Christmas! Do you have all your shopping done?

Posted by: WeirdDave at 10:00 PM | Comments (417) | Trackbacks (Suck)

Baby elephant playing with his food. Three year old girl helps put Reggie the Wombat to bed. Adoption day. I think there are two dogs here because people often bring their current dog to meet the potential adopted dog, to make sure they get along. Mini-chainsaws: Not just for bayonets any longer. The true warrior must accept every challenge he's offered. This seal is a player. (Or is it a sea lion? I don't know animals.)
Fun with Nature's Comedians.
Posted by: Ace at 07:33 PM | Comments (259) | Trackbacks (Suck)
No big deal. Don't bother checking IDs, don't bother checking if the necessary poll worker signatures are attached to the "votes."
And then prosecute Trump. He's the bad guy here.
Fulton County: 'We Don't Dispute' 315,000 Votes Lacking Poll Workers' Signatures Were Counted In 2020
Fulton County admits 2020 election did not follow rules
'When the law demands three signatures on tabulator tapes and the county fails to follow the rules, those 315,000 votes are, by definition, uncertified.'
Brianna Lyman Earlier this month, Fulton County admitted that approximately 315,000 early votes from the 2020 election were illegally certified but were nonetheless still included in the final results of that election. The admission came during a Dec. 9 hearing before the Georgia State Election Board (SEB) stemming from a challenge filed by David Cross, a local election integrity activist. Cross filed a challenge with the SEB in March 2022. Cross alleged that Fulton County violated Georgia statute in the handling of advanced voting ahead of the November 2020 election, counting hundreds of thousands of votes even though polling workers failed to sign off on the vote tabulation "tapes" critical to the certification process. And Fulton County admitted to it. Ann Brumbaugh, attorney for the Fulton County Board of Registration and Elections, told the SEB in the hearing that while she has "not seen the tapes" herself, the county does "not dispute that the tapes were not signed." Brumbaugh continued, "It was a violation of the rule. We, since 2020, again, we have new leadership and a new building and a new board and a new standard operating procedures. And since then the training has been enhanced. ... But ... we don't dispute the allegation from the 2020 election." Georgia's Secretary of State Office investigated the alleged failure to sign tabluation tapes and "substantiated" the findings that Fulton County "violated Official Election Record Document Processes when it was discovered that thirty-six (36) out of thirty-seven (37) Advanced Voting Precincts in Fulton County, Georgia failed to sign the Tabulation Tapes as required [by statute]," according to a 2024 investigation summary. In addition to probing the unsigned tabulation tapes, the investigation also found that officials at 32 polling sites failed to verify their zero tapes. Georgia law requires that election officials have each ballot scanner print three closing tapes at the end of each voting day. Poll workers must sign these tapes or include a documented reason for refusal. Voting laws also require poll workers to begin each day of voting by printing and signing a "zero tape" showing that voting machines are starting at zero votes. If there is no record of whether the tabulator was set at zero at the start of polling, there is no way of telling whether ballots from a previous election (or ballots from a test run) were left on the memory card and might later be counted. Notably, this happened in Montana, where officials discovered more votes than were cast and believe the votes were leftover sample data that had not been cleared. "These signed tapes are the sole legal certification that the reported totals are authentic," Cross told the SEB at the Dec. 9 hearing. "Fulton County produced zero signed tabulator tapes in early voting."
Posted by: Ace at 06:34 PM | Comments (186) | Trackbacks (Suck)
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