January 08, 2025
Diary of a Working Dog Cafe
Posted by: Ace at 07:30 PM | Comments (388) | Trackbacks (Suck)
Whither Fascism?
I was vigorously, incessantly told that Trump was New Orange-Flavored Hitler and that he was a fascist who would end democracy.
At least I heard that all through the election. Since then, I've seen Biden smiling at the once-Hitlerian Trump and his whore wife making Do-Me eyes at him. So what gives? Please don't tell me they were lying this whole time! My heart just couldn't take it!Where did all the fascism talk go? By Byron York
WHERE DID ALL THE FASCISM TALK GO? On Monday, the journalist Glenn Greenwald asked on X, "Is there a single person in DC or media acting as if Literal Adolf Hitler is about to assume power in 2 weeks in order to end American democracy, install fascism, and create a white supremacist dictatorship? Is it possible those who said this for years never believed it?" You can answer that for yourself. But the fact is, the Donald Trump transition is turning out to be quite ... normal. The president-elect is busy hammering out policy proposals and staffing his administration. Democrats are, of course, criticizing Trump and promising to give some of his nominees a hard time in confirmation hearings. But that is the sort of thing one always sees in transitions from one party to the other. What is absent is the kind of ugly, fevered, frenzied, over-the-top rhetoric about Trump that characterized the campaign. Remember? Vice President Kamala Harris called Trump a fascist. The former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff called Trump a fascist. Media talkers such as Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski called Trump a fascist. Journalists and academics called Trump a fascist. (Sample headlines from the New Yorker: "What Does It Mean that Donald Trump Is a Fascist?" and the Atlantic: "Trump Is Speaking Like Hitler, Stalin, and Mussolini.") For a while, it seemed like everyone on the Left with a podcast, TV show, or X account called Trump a fascist. Trump's rally at Madison Square Garden became the focus of nearly nonstop discussion about fascism and Nazism. In the run-up to the event, it was entirely commonplace for media commentators to compare the rally to the infamous Nazi rally held at the Garden in 1939. Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, the Democratic candidate Trump defeated in 2016, told CNN that Trump would be "actually reenacting the Madison Square Garden rally in 1939."
...
Maybe that is why the talk seemed to disappear so quickly after the election. When Trump won not only the electoral vote but the popular vote as well, many looked back on the fascist moment of just a week earlier and asked, "What was that all about?" It was about defeating Trump, of course, and when it didn't work, it became an embarrassment, certainly for the most fervent fascism talkers.... Such turnabouts were why Greenwald could look around and note that nobody in Washington is acting as if all those dire predictions have come true. Instead, it's mostly business as usual. Politicians and media figures are debating whether there should be one big bill or two. Whether tariffs should apply to this or that product. What border security measure would be most effective. No one is acting as if "Literal Adolf Hitler is about to assume power in 2 weeks in order to end American democracy, install fascism, and create a white supremacist dictatorship."
Posted by: Ace at 06:30 PM | Comments (342) | Trackbacks (Suck)
$1 Billion Defamation Trial Against CNN and Noted Twitter Addict Jake Tapper Begins
U.S. Navy Veteran Zachary Young's legal team accused CNN of choosing "theater over truth" in a desperate attempt to drive ratings, which "destroyed the life of an American Patriot" on Tuesday during the first day of a high-stakes defamation trial. Young believes CNN "destroyed his reputation and business" by branding him an "illegal profiteer" who exploited "desperate Afghans." 14th Judicial Circuit Court Judge William S. Henry, who is presiding over the trial in Bay County, Florida, has ruled that Young "did not act illegally or criminally" despite what the network reported on air. "In August 2021, as American troops withdrew from Afghanistan under President Biden's orders, the world braced for the Taliban's return to power. Anyone watching the news at that time witnessed the chaotic situation that unfolded as millions of people attempted to flee the war-torn country," attorney Kyle Roche said to kick off the plaintiff's opening statement. "But CNN reporters, sitting at their desks in Washington, D.C., wanted to tell Americans an even more sensational story," Roche continued. "They had received a tip that Zachary Young, a veteran and CIA-trained operative, was illegally preying on desperate Afghans in a black market operation." CNN's lead counsel David Axelrod pushed back on Zachary Young's claims, insisting CNN's reporting was "tough and fair" but "accurate." Roche told the jury of six women and two men, including alternates, there would be "nothing wrong" with CNN reporting that if it were true. "The problem for CNN? It couldn't confirm any of the facts," Roche said. "It tried to get evidence that Zach was charging Afghans but everyone it spoke to either said that they had never heard of Zach, or that Zach only worked with corporations like Bloomberg that wanted to pay professionals like Zach to get their people out of the country," he continued. "The facts didn't matter. CNN felt that they had a sensational story that would drive ratings, and they didn't care about the truth." Roche said emails and behind-the-scenes video footage will confirm his argument because they "show that CNN took pleasure in casting Zach as the villain" in an effort to increase interest in the story. Roche then told the jury about internal communications in which CNN employees used profanities and disparaging language when privately discussing Young. The trial judge earlier rejected CNN's attempt to have this lawsuit tossed out based on those emails, which show that CNN did in fact have "actual malice" against Young. They created the story in order to destroy him and they weren't bothering to hide that in emails between each other. They conducted the voir dire over the past few days.
Florida jury. The media is seething. How dare these upstart peasants presume to judge us?!?!
U.S. Navy Veteran Zachary Young's legal team accused CNN of choosing "theater over truth" in a desperate attempt to drive ratings, which "destroyed the life of an American Patriot" on Tuesday during the first day of a high-stakes defamation trial. Young believes CNN "destroyed his reputation and business" by branding him an "illegal profiteer" who exploited "desperate Afghans." 14th Judicial Circuit Court Judge William S. Henry, who is presiding over the trial in Bay County, Florida, has ruled that Young "did not act illegally or criminally" despite what the network reported on air. "In August 2021, as American troops withdrew from Afghanistan under President Biden's orders, the world braced for the Taliban's return to power. Anyone watching the news at that time witnessed the chaotic situation that unfolded as millions of people attempted to flee the war-torn country," attorney Kyle Roche said to kick off the plaintiff's opening statement. "But CNN reporters, sitting at their desks in Washington, D.C., wanted to tell Americans an even more sensational story," Roche continued. "They had received a tip that Zachary Young, a veteran and CIA-trained operative, was illegally preying on desperate Afghans in a black market operation." CNN's lead counsel David Axelrod pushed back on Zachary Young's claims, insisting CNN's reporting was "tough and fair" but "accurate." Roche told the jury of six women and two men, including alternates, there would be "nothing wrong" with CNN reporting that if it were true. "The problem for CNN? It couldn't confirm any of the facts," Roche said. "It tried to get evidence that Zach was charging Afghans but everyone it spoke to either said that they had never heard of Zach, or that Zach only worked with corporations like Bloomberg that wanted to pay professionals like Zach to get their people out of the country," he continued. "The facts didn't matter. CNN felt that they had a sensational story that would drive ratings, and they didn't care about the truth." Roche said emails and behind-the-scenes video footage will confirm his argument because they "show that CNN took pleasure in casting Zach as the villain" in an effort to increase interest in the story. Roche then told the jury about internal communications in which CNN employees used profanities and disparaging language when privately discussing Young. The trial judge earlier rejected CNN's attempt to have this lawsuit tossed out based on those emails, which show that CNN did in fact have "actual malice" against Young. They created the story in order to destroy him and they weren't bothering to hide that in emails between each other. They conducted the voir dire over the past few days.
Young's lead attorney, Devin Freedman, asked prospective jurors during the selection process if they would balk at a $1 billion payout if evidence supports it. Only one expressed hesitation. A potential juror who previously worked for an ABC News affiliate said they "absolutely" would be willing to use a punitive damages judgment to send a message to CNN and other news outlets. Only one potential juror admitted to "regularly" watching CNN, and only 2 out of roughly 40, or 5 percent, knew who Tapper was. Another said he couldn't be impartial because he believes "media outlets think they can say whatever they want" and then "pretend to be the victim when they're called on it." At least six raised their hands when Freedman asked if they believe CNN creates fake news. Six jurors and two alternates were selected Monday evening, allowing the trial to move forward Tuesday morning. Monday's selection marks the beginning of the trial that's been over two years in the making. Young filed suit against CNN in June 2022 over a segment on The Lead with Jake Tapper that ran roughly six months earlier. The November 2021 segment centered on private contractors using an illegal "black market" and charging "exorbitant fees" to evacuate people from Afghanistan as the Taliban regained control during the Biden-Harris administration's chaotic 2021 withdrawal. The segment singled out Young, who was given only two hours to respond when CNN national security correspondent Alex Marquardt reached out for comment. CNN removed the term "black market" from the online version of the segment and issued an on-air apology acknowledging Young had not broken any laws. But attorneys for the Navy veteran say the segment irreparably damaged his reputation and caused tens of millions of dollars in business losses. CNN has already faced several setbacks. On Thursday, Judge William Henry ruled in favor of Young, allowing him to use Tapper's disparagement of Fox News in November 2023 at trial. At the time, Tapper referred to Fox News as a "cancer on the democracy we have" and accused Fox News of abrogating its "grave responsibility" to be "fair and honest" in its news coverage. Young sought to include Tapper's statements to show that the veteran newsman and CNN were keenly aware of the obligation to present fair and accurate information to viewers.LOL.
Henry also ruled that Young's attorneys could present text messages the veteran says will show that CNN employees had an agenda to smear him as a war profiteer. In one, Marquardt, the lead reporter on the Tapper segment, told colleagues he wanted to "nail this Zachary Young mfucker." In another, CNN senior editor Fuzz Hogan called Young "a shit."Nick Fondacaro of Newsbusters has been reporting on this Florida jury.
The pool of prospective jurors was over 40-people strong; several of which were openly hostile and disapproving of the news media industry and weren't shy about letting CNN's legal team know it. Jury selection started hot with prospective Juror One telling the court that he would not be able to be impartial in the case because they strongly disliked the media. Prospective Juror Two told the court that despite being a former employee for an ABC News affiliate, they could be an impartial juror. When asked by Vel Freedman, lead counsel for Navy veteran and Plaintiff Zachary Young, if they'd hesitate to issue a massive punitive damages judgement to "send a message" to CNN, no one raised their hand, including juror two. When asked directly by Freedman, Juror Two said they "absolutely" could send a message to CNN and the rest of the media via a massive punitive damages judgement. ... When it came to questions asked by Young's counsel and CNN's counsel Clifford Sanborn that alluded to key aspects of the case, the pool was largely in agreement.
When asked by Freedman if they thought it was "wrong" to "make money from evacuating people from a war zone," only two prospective jurors raised their hands. Others wanted clarification. One of the prospective jurors who raised their hand felt the motives of the corporation paying for the evacuation was the greater concern. They thought it was fine for a security contractor to make money because that's the job they were hired to do. When asked "does anyone think the United States handled the withdrawal from Afghanistan well," no one raised their hand. One juror said it's hard for them to determine because they don't have all the facts. When asked "if evidence supported it, would they hesitate to write a $100 million check to the plaintiff," no one raised their hand. One juror did express concern about excessive judgements in court cases, but they said they could be fair. ... Prospective Juror 23 was arguably the most blunt with their distaste for the media. He told the court then couldn't be impartial because he holds the opinion that "media outlets think they can say whatever they want" and then "pretend to be the victim when they're called on it."
Posted by: Ace at 05:30 PM | Comments (230) | Trackbacks (Suck)
Comedians Begin to Admit They Were Pressured Into Pushing the Leftwing Propaganda Line
Whitney Cummings talks about her roasting of CNN and the Democrats on New Years Eve:
Update: Bill Maher knocks SNL for refusing to make jokes about Doug "Slugger" Emhoff.
Bill Maher appeared on an episode of the "Fly on the Wall with Dana Carvey and David Spade" podcast on Wednesday, where the three comedians got into a discussion about the media's lack of coverage around Doug Emhoff's #MeToo accusations, and "Saturday Night Live" ignoring them completely. The podcasters welcomed Maher and recounted the SNL skit last month where Spade returned to the show to play Hunter Biden, while Carvey portrayed his old character "Church Lady." Spade expressed surprise that the troubled son of the president hadn't been lampooned before. Spade said he "was always curious as to why they never had anyone play Hunter Biden. It was just sort of ripe for the pickings," adding, "I thought of maybe a hot-tub talk show with guests and girls."
Maher then flipped the conversation to other missed opportunities by SNL, asking "How about, why didn't they make fun of Kamala's husband when he got 'me-too'd'?," adding that "it is amazing the way this country is so partisan, including in the media and the entertainment parts of it, that when something happens for your team that's bad, it's like, you know, the angel of death just flying over the house on Passover. Like, 'we don't see a thing here.' Because, you know, Doug Emhoff was credibly accused of things that others have been accused of." Spade followed up by noting, "Yeah, and that wasn't plastered everywhere." Maher criticized SNL for having Andy Sandberg portray Emhoff as a "funny kind-of dorky Doug" when the allegations against him were "as credible as many other accusations I've heard."
Whitney Cummings talks about her roasting of CNN and the Democrats on New Years Eve:
Pointless useless comic Jim Gaffigan -- who conservatives formerly embraced, because of his general refusal to use profanity or "blue" material in his act, despite never having been funny -- admits that comedians were instructed to not make any jokes about the Cackling Imbecile Kamala Harris.
"If you love your party, you have to be able to criticize it. I don't really take sides ... I always thought of myself as a pretty liberal person. I don't think the Left is as liberal as it used to be. The Left became the party of censorship. 'My body, my choice,' but you have to take this vaccine. And, 'my body, my choice,' the pro-choice party, but you don't have a choice in your candidate," she said, repeating a line from her CNN roast. "I'm not an expert on politics ... but I am an expert on hypocrisy. I was raised by hypocrites. I've dated hypocrites. I know hypocrisy when I see it," she said about her CNN segment. "So for me, I didn't think I was being political. I was just pointing out hypocrisies across the board." Why not roast Donald Trump during her CNN appearance? That would be "hacky." "That's home-court advantage," she cracked about CNN's liberal bias. "There's nothing risky or dangerous about that. It bothers me when comics say stuff that's self-righteous and they get applause when they're being fake-brave," she added. "If I was gonna roast Trump, I'd have to do that on Fox News." "And I already roasted Trump," she said, alluding to the 2011 Trump roast on Comedy Central.
Posted by: Ace at 04:30 PM | Comments (221) | Trackbacks (Suck)
Kamala Harris Is Taking a Taxpayer Funded Trip Around the World... to Inform Foreign Governments of the Biden Administration's Accomplishments
We're paying for her and her aides and her security detail to take a round-the-world trip to tell foreigners about Biden's and Harris's alleged accomplishments?
What are we even talking about? What is happening?
I'm sure our warriors deployed overseas will be overjoyed to be bothered with another political photo op by a useless loser.
Vice President Kamala Harris is set to embark on a whirlwind farewell tour next week that will take the vanquished 2024 Democratic presidential nominee to Asia, the Middle East and Europe in the final days of the Biden administration. Harris, 60, is expected to meet with foreign leaders and US service members stationed in Singapore, Bahrain and Germany throughout the five-day trip, slated for Jan. 13 to Jan. 17, and trumpet her and President Biden's exploits during their only term in the White House. "Throughout her trip, the Vice President will discuss the accomplishments of the Biden-Harris Administration over the past four years in each region, the U.S. partnership with the respective nations, the contributions of U.S. military forces to regional and global security, and the enduring national security interests of the United States," the White House said in a statement Tuesday.
Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff will join Harris on her final world tour as vice president and "engage with civil society, including religious leaders and families of servicemembers," the White House said.
Speaking of the dick-riding devi, there was mild amusement on the right when Deb Fischer's husband balked at shaking Kamala Harris's hand when his wife, Republican Deb Fischer, was being sworn in.
The voyage will allow Harris to check Bahrain off her country count list, which she's never visited as veep, and make the island in the Persian gulf -- which she pronounced as "Beh-ran" just two years ago -- the 22nd country she's traveled to on the taxpayer's dime. She has previously visited Germany and Singapore as vice president. Conservatives on social media ridiculed Harris for embarking on the overseas journey in her final days in office.... "We must see where we have been to know what we have done," one X user quipped in an apparent reference to Harris' infamous proclivity to speak in "word salad."
Posted by: Ace at 03:30 PM | Comments (418) | Trackbacks (Suck)
CNN's Abby Phillips Defends Democrats and Media Lying About Joe Biden's Senility: Accurately Reporting on His Senility Would be "You Know, Kicking a Guy When He's Down"
Very strange that this consideration was never once applied to Trump when he was charged with a hundred fake crimes.
That video below. Before that, Ed Morrissey writes that Biden is now rated the second-worst president in US history per a Gallup poll, with only Nixon standing in his way of immortal infamy.Many more Americans expect history to judge Joe Biden's presidency unfavorably rather than favorably. Fifty-four percent of U.S. adults believe Biden will be remembered as a "below average" (37%) or "poor" (17%) president, while 19% say he will be evaluated as "outstanding" (6%) or "above average" (13%). Another 26% think he will be regarded as "average." Compared with nine recent presidents included in the new Gallup poll, Biden rates most similarly to Richard Nixon, who has a -42 net rating (12% outstanding or above average versus 54% below average or poor). Biden receives more "poor" reviews than Nixon does (37% vs. 30%), but Biden gets more outstanding or above-average ratings.Those "high ratings" are just sunk cost fallacy and partisan cope. As partisan Democrats get over their always-hurt feelings, they'll stop making stupid claims about Biden being an "outstanding" president. As the public saw what real Democrat governance looked like, they stopped being marks for leftwing media propaganda and re-evaluated Trump based on the facts rather than leftwing lies:
Trump's ratings have improved substantially from when he left office in January 2021 in the wake of the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol and the peak in U.S. deaths from COVID-19. At that time, 29% of Americans thought history would judge Trump as an outstanding or above-average president, 10% as average, and 61% below average or poor. The -32 net rating Trump had in 2021 has improved to -4. Since 2021, there has been a larger decrease in below-average or poor evaluations of Trump's first term (down 17 points) than an increase in outstanding or above-average ratings (up 11 points).
Posted by: Ace at 02:30 PM | Comments (378) | Trackbacks (Suck)
Denied by NY Appellate Court, Trump Files Emergency Appeal to SCOTUS to Stop Merchan's Political Rush to Judgment
It won't work, but he has to file it:
Donald Trump's legal team has filed an emergency petition with the U.S. Supreme Court, challenging what it calls an "unjust" decision in a Manhattan criminal case. They argue that the case represents a "political weaponization" of the justice system. Key Details: Trump's legal team filed the emergency petition, targeting the Manhattan District Attorney's office over what they call "unlawful sentencing."Trump will get no relief because the Supreme Court and all other judges continue pushing the completely-fictitious and disproven idea that juries are free from political bias. They are too cowardly to confront the world as it actually is, and rule that in politically-charged cases, the defendant must be tried in a jurisdiction with a balanced political population. They continue to push the lie on us that leftwing Trump-deranged and anti-conservative juries will "put their politics aside" and rule on the facts. We will continue to be treated a second-class citizens until the cowards of the court confront this real and dangerous hyperpartisan bias.
The filing references the Supreme Court's previous decisions on immunity, constitutional protections, and established precedent to demand the case's dismissal.
Steven Cheung, a Trump spokesperson, stated the petition reflects the will of voters who elected Trump, denouncing ongoing investigations as "witch hunts." Diving Deeper: Former President Donald Trump's legal team filed an emergency petition with the U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday, seeking to overturn recent decisions from New York courts related to a Manhattan District Attorney's case against him. The filing accuses New York prosecutors of pursuing a politically motivated agenda, characterizing the case as part of an ongoing "witch hunt" targeting Trump. "The Supreme Court's historic decision on immunity, the Constitution, and established legal precedent mandate that this meritless hoax be immediately dismissed," said Steven Cheung, a spokesperson for Trump, in a statement. The petition asks the Supreme Court to intervene and stop what it describes as "unlawful sentencing" against the former president. Trump's team argues the legal actions violate constitutional protections and represent the weaponization of the justice system against political opponents. Cheung's statement emphasized the broader political implications of the case, asserting that it undermines the trust of voters who elected Trump. "The American People elected President Trump with an overwhelming mandate that demands an immediate end to the political weaponization of our justice system," Cheung added.
Posted by: Ace at 01:27 PM | Comments (369) | Trackbacks (Suck)
Wildfires Devastate Huge Swaths of Los Angeles While Mayor Karen Bass Parties in Africa
There are reports that fire hydrants are empty, so firemen can't spray down the fires. Apparently California passed a ballot initiative ten years ago mandating the building of additional reservoirs and aquifers so that the state would have ready reserves of water. But of course they were never built. Building reservoirs would apparently impact the very important snail darter, or was it the delta smelt? Not sure which critical fish was threatened. Not only didn't they build more reservoirs, they refused to fill the inadequate number they currently have.
Power lines are sparking against trees. The power company doesn't pick up the line when citizens attempt to report the danger.
An ugly leftist woman -- is there any other kind? -- celebrated the burning of James Woods' home, apparently unaware that most of Los Angeles is even more leftwing than she is and their homes burned too. Someone posted this highly informative instructional meme to her. Obviously the mayor and fire chief are DEI hires who have prioritized moar DEI over doing their actual jobs. It's just a sea of female Persons of Color and diverse lesbians as far as you can see.
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass went on a junket to Ghana as part of a Biden administration delegation to President John Dramani's inauguration despite indications that fire season was about to begin. Bass is reportedly on her way back as of Wednesday morning and "should return to the city within hours," according to Newsweek.Obviously she cut the budget of the fire department. As I said, we'll find out all these cuts were required to pay for illegal aliens' shelter and health care.
lm The Police LA
@FilmThePoliceLA Karen Bass cut fire dept funding by $17.6M. That was her 2nd biggest cut.
There are reports that fire hydrants are empty, so firemen can't spray down the fires. Apparently California passed a ballot initiative ten years ago mandating the building of additional reservoirs and aquifers so that the state would have ready reserves of water. But of course they were never built. Building reservoirs would apparently impact the very important snail darter, or was it the delta smelt? Not sure which critical fish was threatened. Not only didn't they build more reservoirs, they refused to fill the inadequate number they currently have.
Nick Sortor
@nicksortor #BREAKING: Los Angeles fire hydrants are OUT OF WATER because the county REFUSED to refill reservoirs, per Rick Caruso "You can't fight a fire without water!" The Mayor did ZERO prep despite the advanced warning of winds and fire risk. This is EXACTLY what happened on Maui!
Bonchie
@bonchieredstate California fails to manage brush and refuses to follow through with new reservoir builds so it can protect a tiny fish and wildfires happen, almost always started by humans. Libs: "This is climate change."
Donald J. Trump
@realDonaldTrump Governor Gavin Newscum refused to sign the water restoration declaration put before him that would have allowed millions of gallons of water, from excess rain and snow melt from the North, to flow daily into many parts of California, including the areas that are currently burning in a virtually apocalyptic way. He wanted to protect an essentially worthless fish called a smelt, by giving it less water (it didn't work!), but didn't care about the people of California. Now the ultimate price is being paid. I will demand that this incompetent governor allow beautiful, clean, fresh water to FLOW INTO CALIFORNIA! He is the blame for this. On top of it all, no water for fire hydrants, not firefighting planes. A true disaster!
Jan 08, 2025, 11:40 AM
Power lines are sparking against trees. The power company doesn't pick up the line when citizens attempt to report the danger.
An ugly leftist woman -- is there any other kind? -- celebrated the burning of James Woods' home, apparently unaware that most of Los Angeles is even more leftwing than she is and their homes burned too. Someone posted this highly informative instructional meme to her. Obviously the mayor and fire chief are DEI hires who have prioritized moar DEI over doing their actual jobs. It's just a sea of female Persons of Color and diverse lesbians as far as you can see.
Posted by: Ace at 12:00 PM | Comments (563) | Trackbacks (Suck)
Wednesday Morning Rant
Clinging
As a foreigner and a neighbor of sorts, I don't usually comment much on Canadian politics, but Trudeau's pseudo-resignation is so familiar and so typical of contemporary western politics that it feels very familiar. My understanding of the ins and outs of Canadian politics is superficial, but this also doesn't look particularly complicated. Trudeau didn't resign, he promised to resign when the party selects a new guy to replace him - a process that will likely take months.
So why the game? Why the promise to resign once the party and its pals find a replacement instead of just resigning or fighting to the end? To hold on, of course. "To hold on" would be an apt title for the entire beleaguered progressive establishment across the west. It probably will hold on, but it is once again losing ground because of how radical and vindictive a club it has become. Populist? Fiscal conservative? Cultural conservative? Nationalist? Trade pragmatist? Energy proponent? Skeptic of any kind? There's no room for you in any of the mainstream parties here or abroad, and they know it. So they, like Trudeau, cling.
Posted by: Joe Mannix at 11:00 AM | Comments (260) | Trackbacks (Suck)
Mid-Morning Art Thread
Franklin Carmichael
Franklin Carmichael
Posted by: CBD at 09:30 AM | Comments (355) | Trackbacks (Suck)
The Morning Report — 1/8/25
The greatest insider threat to this nation was, is and always will be the Left and its epicenter in the Democrat Party. The bloody record of 200 years of destruction is crystal clear on this. Remember, that the US military is one of the most recognizable bastions, pillars as well as symbols of the American Republic as founded, of Judeo Christianity and post-Enlightenment western civilization and thousands of years of painful human development that culminated in Lexington and Concord. Those who have served in uniform as such are the last firewall (before the Second Amendment kicks in) between the abject evil tyranny of Warren and her ilk should the only avenue left to them for obtaining and maintaining absolute power is anti-constitutional repression. Hence their goal of dismantling our military. Look at its magnificent victories since 1775 in the righteous quest to preserve our freedom, paid for in the blood and treasure and sacrifice of real patriots. God bless Pete Hegseth. His presence is akin to showing the cross to Dracula. Yes, the symbolism is evident. Thank God Trump won because it is not beyond the realm of possibility that a military with the likes of Lloyd Austin and Mark Vanilli Milley in charge would have not flinched had they been ordered to fire on US citizens had they dared to protest Harris or whoever about anything. The first casualty in Diversity is diversity of independent thought. Anyone who would've refused their orders no doubt would've faced a summary execution for insubordination. That is who the Left is. Same as it ever was.
Let us go from fire to rain! As it were for this interesting tidbit:
Some people have noticed that Los Angeles is on fire. And it’s true, but more importantly it’s really breaking all sorts of ceilings. And not just with fire, but also with diversity. Los Angeles Fire Department Chief Kristin Crowley is used to shattering glass ceilings. She isn’t just the first LGBTQ+ person to the lead the department, but also the first woman. “Countless people come up and say because you’re out there being who you are and your proud of who you are, that gives them strength,” said Crowley. “I am different, but there’s a lot of difference everywhere in the world. Within the fire service, within the LAFD. I turned it around and looked at it as a true advantage. These other areas i represent from sexual orientation to my gender, to my upbringings. We all our different, but that’s a strength of ours,” said Crowley. Crowley is a proud member of the LGBTQ+ community and says the LAFD has come a long way in terms of inclusion adding there’s a ways to go. Crowley believes the more diverse the LAFD, the better the department is at serving a city as diverse as Los Angeles. I don’t know, I think maybe having a bunch of people who know how to fight fires would work better. As it has for all these many years. . . Right now, I think even the most die-hard woke in LA would take competence over diversity.Well, that remains to be seen. Since long after the last embers have cooled off, and by the time the next state and local elections come around, I wouldn't make book on wild cheering from the typical Angeleno for any GOP candidate who promises to do away with DEI in the wake of this destruction. And that of course also assumes competent GOP candidates and a competent California GOP, which I haven't experienced in my lifetime perhaps since Gray Davis if not the govenorship of Ronald Reagan. On top of that, we have the Red-Green enviro-communists who succeeded in banning controlled burning which could have helped mitigate the almost annual wave of devastating massive wildfires that I clearly remember during my time in California in the late 80s and early 90s. Like everything else the Left does, you have to always keep foremost in mind, the intention is not to bring others up but to bring all of us down. That is exactly what DEI is all about. Regardless of how qualified you may be, You didn't earn it, especially if you are white, Male, non-homo-pervert/Normal and Christian or Jewish. You got it on the backs and sweat of oppressed people. Let's hop into the Wayback Machine for this moldy oldie:
In September 2011, a video went viral of Elizabeth Warren, in a pre-Senate campaign talking tour, excoriating factory owners for claiming they built their businesses. “I hear all this, you know, ‘Well, this is class warfare, this is whatever,’” she said. “No. There is nobody in this country who got rich on his own. Nobody. “You built a factory out there? Good for you. But I want to be clear: you moved your goods to market on the roads the rest of us paid for; you hired workers the rest of us paid to educate; you were safe in your factory because of police forces and fire forces that the rest of us paid for. You didn’t have to worry that marauding bands would come and seize everything at your factory, and hire someone to protect against this, because of the work the rest of us did. We covered the story in 2012, and how Warren and Obama cribbed the concepts, and some of the language, from U.C. Berkeley Lingistics Professor George Lakoff, Obama and Warren cribbed “build it” narrative from progressive Berkeley Professor.Considering the marauding bands of illegal alien and indigenous criminals going around robbing, raping, terrorizing and setting sleeping people on fire among other acts of abject savagery all intentionally unleashed on us by Fauxcahontas and her ilk, she has the unmitigated chutzpocritical gall to go after Pete Hegseth? Meh, She's whiter than a White Democrat Klansman's robes as she pretends to be an Indian. Feather, not dot. Dig this from, the squawking squamous squaw of the people. Who made blood money by buying foreclosed homes for pennies on the dollar and flipping them for, gasp – profit!
The far-left Warren professed to be particularly worried about a tattoo on Hegseth’s bicep, which says “Deus Vult,” or “God wills it.” The angry squaw also “pointed to a Reuters article recounting how a National Guard master sergeant believed the former Fox News host could be an ‘insider threat.’ That master sergeant had done a quick internet search and determined that the tattoo had links to right-wing extremism and had been a battle cry for the Crusaders.” Warren likely isn’t really afraid that Hegseth is going to get a new Crusader army together and go take back Constantinople or something, but the Massachusetts senator and fake Native American is so far out of touch with actual Christianity that she thinks or wants us to believe that she thinks that having a Jerusalem cross tattoo (which Hegseth has on his chest) and “Deus Vult” on his arm means Hegseth is not just a serious Christian but a “right-wing extremist.” The self-righteous harridan reminded Hegseth: “You were also removed from President Biden’s inauguration because of concerns that you were an insider threat after reports that your ‘Deus Vult’ tattoo ‘was a Christian expression associated with right-wing extremism.'” That was actually true, at least partially: the Post noted that National Guard brass “pushed Hegseth out from serving during President Biden’s inauguration day. Notably, top brass had been on high alert at the time in the wake of the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot.” This is, however, hardly an indictment of Hegseth. The left at that time was busy concocting its “insurrection” narrative, and its hysteria was at a high pitch. Few people, if any, whom they could demonize as a “right-wing extremist” were left unscathed. Yet despite the thinness of the case against Hegseth, Warren declared: “We cannot have a Defense Secretary whose fellow servicemembers feel concerned enough about to report as a potential insider threat.” . . . Her endless letter to Hegseth is part of her effort to preserve and protect the far-left, deeply politicized Defense Department that has been created over the last two Democrat juntas. Hegseth threatens that corrupt establishment and threatens to focus the Defense Department on protecting the country rather than on DEI, Critical Race Theory, and drag shows. That’s why Warren wants so desperately to stop him.
The greatest insider threat to this nation was, is and always will be the Left and its epicenter in the Democrat Party. The bloody record of 200 years of destruction is crystal clear on this. Remember, that the US military is one of the most recognizable bastions, pillars as well as symbols of the American Republic as founded, of Judeo Christianity and post-Enlightenment western civilization and thousands of years of painful human development that culminated in Lexington and Concord. Those who have served in uniform as such are the last firewall (before the Second Amendment kicks in) between the abject evil tyranny of Warren and her ilk should the only avenue left to them for obtaining and maintaining absolute power is anti-constitutional repression. Hence their goal of dismantling our military. Look at its magnificent victories since 1775 in the righteous quest to preserve our freedom, paid for in the blood and treasure and sacrifice of real patriots. God bless Pete Hegseth. His presence is akin to showing the cross to Dracula. Yes, the symbolism is evident. Thank God Trump won because it is not beyond the realm of possibility that a military with the likes of Lloyd Austin and Mark Vanilli Milley in charge would have not flinched had they been ordered to fire on US citizens had they dared to protest Harris or whoever about anything. The first casualty in Diversity is diversity of independent thought. Anyone who would've refused their orders no doubt would've faced a summary execution for insubordination. That is who the Left is. Same as it ever was.
Let us go from fire to rain! As it were for this interesting tidbit:
The city of Mecca in Saudi Arabia, the holiest city in the Muslim religion, experienced heavy flooding on Monday after torrential downpours. Videos posted by Saudi citizens and media showed entire neighborhoods submerged, residents forming human chains to rescue children from flooded homes, trees swept away, and vehicles abandoned after stalling in deep water.Oh those crafty Joo Weather Controllers! They invoked the late lamented Travis Bickel from "Taxi Driver." All things considered, maybe Mohammed's magic moon rock can be swept away, never to be seen again. Inshallah, as all the Kool Koran Kamikazes wearing their Fulminate of Mercury Fatwa Fatigues would say before mowing down infidels in New Orleans. 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.
- ABOVE THE FOLD, BREAKING, NOTEWORTHY
- Dismantling the regulatory leviathan – and destroying this terrible Biden legacy – will take a full-scale, concerted, no-holds-barred, effort.
Biden’s Terrible Legacy: A Tsunami Of Growth-Killing Regulations
- China is sending thousands of military-age males across the southern border of the US, consolidating its relations with other BRICS and emerging-market countries, and tightening its grip on supplies of critical resources. China’s stated goal is to establish a new world order and dominate the world by 2049, the 100th anniversary of the Communist Party coming to power in China. (What can be done to bring about the death of the CCP by that date, preferably much sooner? - jjs)
Xi Pondering
- The Dems’ suicidal surrealism has been endangering our country and institutions for decades. Let’s hope that the new administration discredits and discards it, and restores our country to reality.
The Left's enthusiastic support for genocidal terrorists continues.
Posted by: J.J. Sefton at 07:30 AM | Comments (311) | Trackbacks (Suck)
Daily Tech News 8 January 2025
Top Story
- HP has announced a mini-PC (well, mini-ish anyway) based on AMD's new Ryzen AI Max+ Pro 395. (Liliputing)
The Z2 Mini G1a is a desktop version of the ZBook Ultra 14 G1a. So it has up to 16 Zen 5 CPU cores, 40 RDNA 3.5 graphics cores, and 128GB of LPDDR5X RAM.
The desktop model supports two M.2 2280 SSDs, up to three Ethernet ports, two USB4 ports, two mini-DisplayPort ports, and four regular USB ports.
Prices should start around $1200 for a slower model with less memory.
- Nvidia's Project DIGITS is a desktop supercomputer-ish. (Ars Technica)
It has a 20 core Arm CPU, a Blackwell GPU, up to 128GB of memory, and up to 4TB of SSD.
It delivers up to a petaFLOP of AI performance... At four bits of precision.
Prices will start around $3000.
Posted by: Pixy Misa at 04:00 AM | Comments (167) | Trackbacks (Suck)
January 07, 2025
Tuesday Overnight Open Thread - [scampydog]
Posted by: Open Blogger at 10:05 PM | Comments (534) | Trackbacks (Suck)
Lions and Tigers and Bears Cafe
More of mom and cub here.
Via jsg: Man is trying to make a flight in a self-driving car, but the car just keeps driving around in circles. "Have I been hacked? Is this like in the movies?" Elephants can remember. Manta ray tries a mating dance on a human. Balletic glissade. Rasputin did it in The King's Man. (Very underrated action comedy prequel.) Pranking your cat. will you be frenz with me Lion King reenactment. But Mustafa gets a second chance. Sun Tzu says the greatest maneuver in war is getting your enemy to attack himself. Speedbowling, the sport of the future. Butlerian Jihad, turtle division.
More of mom and cub here.
Via jsg: Man is trying to make a flight in a self-driving car, but the car just keeps driving around in circles. "Have I been hacked? Is this like in the movies?" Elephants can remember. Manta ray tries a mating dance on a human. Balletic glissade. Rasputin did it in The King's Man. (Very underrated action comedy prequel.) Pranking your cat. will you be frenz with me Lion King reenactment. But Mustafa gets a second chance. Sun Tzu says the greatest maneuver in war is getting your enemy to attack himself. Speedbowling, the sport of the future. Butlerian Jihad, turtle division.
Posted by: Ace at 07:40 PM | Comments (284) | Trackbacks (Suck)
Los Angeles Is Burning
I believe this is the Palisades area of Los Angeles.
All prayers to California morons and any other innocents. Unfortunately, people get the government the majority vote for. Newsom will scream about global warming and then we'll find out he cut the fire department's funding for scrub-clearing to pay for illegals' health care.Collin RuggA couple of videos of the fire here. Here's James Woods as he evacuates. He gives credit for the cops and firemen doing a good job evacuating people, but I have to think that if Newsom spent any time on doing the actual job of governing the state, these fires would have been prevented. This woman filmed a homeless person setting fires in Colton in San Bernadino, claiming the fires were a "good thing."
@CollinRugg HAPPENING NOW: The Palisades Fire in southern California continues to worsen, with maximum wind speeds not expected until later tonight.
The second video below is the current view from downtown Los Angeles. The fire has swelled to nearly 800 acres, with reports of multiple structures being burnt down. Helicopters and airplanes are making water drops on the fire. Embers are being picked up by the wind and distributed to other locations which is starting more fires. Vegetation surrounding the Los Angeles Fire Department's Palisades station location is even burning, according to local reports. Multiple communities have been told to evacuate.
Posted by: Ace at 06:40 PM | Comments (354) | Trackbacks (Suck)
Leftwing Media and Censorship Complex Seethes Over Meta's Abandonment of Leftwing "Fact"-Checkers; "Fact"-Checkers Worry They Might Lose Their Funding and Their Jobs
You mean that the government has a great deal of power over FaceBook, and that a president may use that power to bully FaceBook into doing the current government's bidding? Weird, you claimed that nothing like this was possible over the past five years!
So yes, FaceBook deciding to pull the plug is a very real threat to these censors' ability to play censor. At least, more of them will have to go back to just demanding censorship freelance on Twitter. Politi-"Fact" whines that it's not true they engaged in censorship -- all they did, after all, was provide extremely partisan fake fact checks labeling any speech they disagreed with "false" or "hateful" and then FaceBook would ban it. We didn't ban anything, they cry! We only provided the "independent" pretext for censorship that all the left was demanding, and we continued labeling all conservative speech as "disinformation" and "hatespeech" once we saw all of this speech being censored! This as led to the most astonishing NYT headline in years: "Fact"-checkers rule criticism against them for being "too partisan" to be false.
Brian Stelter, CNN's Chief Deplatforming Officer, who for years and years has made "combating misinformation" his main mission, calling up social media monopolies every time Media Matters ran a hit on a right-leaning speaker and demanding why are you allowing this Russian Disinformation on your platform!?!, is now shrieking that his censorious grift has taken a big hit.
Mark Zuckerberg's MAGA makeover will reshape the entire internet Analysis by Brian Stelter, CNN New York (CNN) -- Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg is making sweeping changes to the social internet, all in line with the desires of President-elect Donald Trump and his supporters. Out with the fact-checkers that conservatives deride. In with more permissive rules for posting conservative opinions. The recent elections "feel like a cultural tipping point towards once again prioritizing speech," Zuckerberg said in his announcement, justifying relaxed new content moderation rules on Facebook, Instagram and Threads. "Governments and legacy media have pushed to censor more and more," Zuckerberg said, repeating a right-wing talking point used to undermine fact checking."Right-wing talking point" = established and undeniable fact.
Because Meta is such a dominant force in the industry, with billions of users on its platforms worldwide, the changes will resonate even more widely, reshaping whole swaths of the internet in MAGA-friendly ways. Tuesday morning's announcements seemed like they were addressed directly to Trump, especially since Meta first gave the news exclusively to "Fox & Friends," one of the president-elect's favorite TV shows. The company's newly promoted policy chief Joel Kaplan, a former senior adviser to George W. Bush, sat with the Fox co-hosts and fully agreed with the show's "censorship" versus "freedom" framing. ... Meta also has lots of business before the US government. The Federal Trade Commission has an antitrust case against the company that is supposed to go to trial in April.
... Meta is clearly trying to appeal to the incoming administration.
You mean that the government has a great deal of power over FaceBook, and that a president may use that power to bully FaceBook into doing the current government's bidding? Weird, you claimed that nothing like this was possible over the past five years!
Oh no. People will have to "discern for themselves" what is true or not without the censorship services provided by bottom-feeding 22-year-old Oberlin College graduates with no other job prospects? Whatever shall we do? And this means that these bottom-feeding no-account unemployables will suddenly be unemployed? Anything but that!
Zuckerberg, touching on two popular right-wing themes, said the company will "get rid of a bunch of restrictions on topics like immigration and gender that are just out of touch with mainstream discourse." ... Conservatives immediately cheered Meta's changes while others, including misinformation experts, warned Meta's platforms would become even more of a cesspool. False and hateful content will likely become even more commonplace on the social networks. The changes will also likely lead to layoffs at some news outlets. As journalist Jane Lytvynenko noted on Bluesky, Facebook and Google are "chief funders of fact-checking outlets" around the world, and "there are newsrooms around the world for whom that funding means survival." "For those using the platforms, it means they are again on their own to discern what's genuine information and what's not," Lytvynenko added.
Please not the "fact"-checkers! Please don't let them lose their funding! Even though their entire racket was to create a pretext for social media monopolies to ban other people's speech, and to toxify the right so that no advertisers would do business with them! But no, not the "fact"-checkers! Update -- Breaking: "Fact"-checkers have called an emergency meeting.
Patrick Webb
@RealPatrickWebb BREAKING: Fact-checkers claim they were blindsided by Meta's decision to end their partnerships and reportedly fear they won't be able to secure new business to fill the void, potentially putting them at risk of going out of business, according to Wired.
In an exclusive interview with Business Insider, IFCN Director Angie Holan confirmed that the meeting, scheduled for Wednesday, was organized in direct response to Meta's decision... The meeting is expected to draw between 80 to 100 attendees from IFCN's network of fact-checkers, which spans 170 organizations worldwide. Not all of the attendees are Meta fact-checking partners, although many of them have a stake in the program's future and its global implications.FaceBook and Google definitely are paying most of the salaries of these censors. When the left and then the Obama and Biden Administrations demanded censorship, FaceBook and Google wanted to provide it for them. But they wanted to do so with plausible deniability. So they began paying outlets to take on fact-checkers whose salaries were paid by FaceBook and Google (if my understanding of this is correct). In return, outlets who agreed to prop up the new censorship regime, like Bill Kristol's Weekly Standard, would gain favorable treatment from FaceBook's algorithm. Then FaceBook and Google would take the "fact"-checks provided for by the "fact"-checkers whose salaries they were paying and use them as a basis to censor speech -- claiming that "third party independent fact-checkers" had ruled this speech as false or "hateful." I'm sure they also paid millions and millions to Politi-"Fact" and other "fact" check organizations.
So yes, FaceBook deciding to pull the plug is a very real threat to these censors' ability to play censor. At least, more of them will have to go back to just demanding censorship freelance on Twitter. Politi-"Fact" whines that it's not true they engaged in censorship -- all they did, after all, was provide extremely partisan fake fact checks labeling any speech they disagreed with "false" or "hateful" and then FaceBook would ban it. We didn't ban anything, they cry! We only provided the "independent" pretext for censorship that all the left was demanding, and we continued labeling all conservative speech as "disinformation" and "hatespeech" once we saw all of this speech being censored! This as led to the most astonishing NYT headline in years: "Fact"-checkers rule criticism against them for being "too partisan" to be false.
MollieKyle Mann of the Babylon Bee thinks the NYT might be horning in on his hustle.
@MZHemingway A beyond parody headline from propaganda outlet New York Times
Kyle Mann
@The_Kyle_Mann I'd like to offer whoever wrote this headline at the New York Times a job at @TheBabylonBee
Posted by: Ace at 05:32 PM | Comments (365) | Trackbacks (Suck)
Liberals Agree: The Democrat/Progressive Failure Is Epochal and Democrats and Progressives Are Incapable of Reform
POC liberal Fareed Zakaria knocks down the idea that there's a "Crisis of Democracy" in the west.
No, he says. It's a crisis of progressive governance, which is a catastrophic failure. Turning out these deplorable authoritarian failures is the correction to the crisis, not the crisis itself.The author of The Coming Democratic Majority back in the early 90s, Ruy Teixiera, is now writing not of a permanent Democrat majority but a permanent Democrat minority.
The crisis of democracy is really a crisis for the left Why is the left flailing? Look at New York vs. Florida.
Countries with more than half of the world's population went to the polls last year. And the basic message they sent to their governments was one of dissatisfaction and anger with the status quo. Their frustration seemed to be particularly focused on the side that has traditionally been identified with big government, the left. Almost everywhere you look, the left is in ruins. Of the 27 countries of the European Union, only a handful have left-of-center parties leading government coalitions. The primary left-of-center party in the European Parliament now has just 136 seats in a 720-seat chamber. Even in countries that have been able to stem the rise of right-wing populism, such as Poland, it is the center-right that is thriving, not the left. And in the United States, of course, the breadth of Donald Trump's victory -- nearly 90 percent of U.S. counties moved right -- suggests that it is very much part of this trend. The crisis of democratic government then, is actually a crisis of progressive government. People seem to feel that they have been taxed, regulated, bossed around and intimidated by left-of-center politicians for decades -- but the results are bad and have been getting worse. New York, where I live, and Florida, where I often visit, provide an interesting contrast. They have comparable populations -- New York with about 20 million people, Florida with 23 million. But New York state's budget is more than double that of Florida ($239 billion vs. roughly $116 billion). New York City, which is a little more than three times the size of Miami-Dade County, has a budget of more than $100 billion, which is nearly 10 times that of Miami-Dade. New York City's spending grew from 2012 to 2019 by 40 percent, four times the rate of inflation. Does any New Yorker feel that they got 40 percent better services during that time? ...
The ultimate test, of course, is how people are voting with their feet. For years, New York has been losing people to states such as Florida. This same story can be told with minor variations about California and Texas. Basically, big red states are growing at the expense of big blue states, which will translate politically into more Republican representation in Congress and more electoral votes.... On the other side, if Democrats do not learn some hard lessons from the poor governance in many blue cities and states, they will be seen as defending cultural elites, woke ideology and bloated, inefficient government. That might be a formula for permanent minority status.
He cites Democrats diminishing the impact of the left's unbearable cultural imperialism in order to avoid any need for change. He discusses various copes to avoid reality, including the changing the subject, claiming that people are really just mad about corporate big-wigs or something. Of course there are also those who claim "we just have to take control of the narrative." Haven't you already been controlling the narrative through jackbooted censorship and debanking for ten years? And then there are the "dead enders," the Sonny Hostin types who insist that it's not Democrats who have to rethink their positions, but Republicans. Finally, he notes that many Democrats avoid taking any kind of blame for the historic loss by claiming that it was all just baked into the cake due to inflation and covid fatigue (ignoring the fact that Democrats caused these problems), and this is affecting all the countries of the world, so there's nothing we could have done and therefore there is no reason at all to change. See the article for that.
In the wake of the Democrats' drubbing at the hands of Donald Trump and the GOP, you'd assume the party would be all-in on a fundamental rethink, starting with some serious soul-searching on how the party came to be so out of sync with the majority of America on key cultural questions. Questions like: Is America really a "white supremacist" society? What does "structural racism" even mean and does it explain all the socioeconomic problems of nonwhites? Is anyone who raises questions about immigration levels a racist? Are personal pronouns necessary and something that should be popularized if not demanded? Are transwomen exactly the same as biological women and are those who question such a claim simply "haters" who should be expunged from polite society? For each of these questions, the answer for the overwhelming majority of Americans is an obvious no. But in elite Democratic circles, it's a different story. For a party pondering its unpopularity, you might think that this gap would be a good place to start. Well, if the two months since the election is anything to go by, you'd be wrong. Instead, much of the party is maneuvering to change as little as possible on the cultural front. Why? Because fundamentally today's Democrats are culture denialists. That is, they do not consider cultural issues real issues. They are typically viewed as politically motivated distractions or as expressions of something else entirely (i.e., racism, sexism, xenophobia, transphobia, etc.) They are not treated as issues that need to be dealt with on their own terms.
Some political theorists are calling this "The Triumph of Conan Politics" or "Our Cimmerian Moment."
This is all pretty remarkable, given that in this election the top reason among swing voters not to vote for Harris was the perception that she was focused more on cultural issues like transgender issues than on helping the middle class (Blueprint research group polling). This of course was the theme of the campaign's most effective ad (Kamala is for they/them, President Trump is for you). ... In light of these findings, how it even possible that so many Democrats stubbornly refuse to admit cultural issues are a good chunk of what is dragging down the Democratic brand with ordinary voters, especially working-class voters? How can they persist in their blinkered culture denialism? We're definitely getting into "who are you going to believe--me or your lying eyes?" territory. Obviously, part of it is fear of "the Groups"--the advocacy groups who push the positions above--and their many allies across social and mainstream media, foundations, academia, think tanks and within the Democratic party infrastructure itself. Those who might wish to point out the obvious--that Democrats' association with cultural leftism is a huge problem for the party--are not unreasonably afraid that they will face an onslaught of criticism from the Groups and their allies.... So fear is clearly a factor in culture denialism. And voters have picked up on this--they have a sense that the inmates are running the asylum.... However I think the problem goes deeper than the fear, real as that may be. The idea has penetrated deeply into the Democrats' DNA that these issues are not real issues. They are artefacts of the Republican attack machine, preying on bigoted impulses, rather than real concerns of voters. ... These issues reflect deeply held beliefs and values and are vitally important to ordinary voters, especially working-class voters, not diversions from real issues foisted upon them by crafty Republicans. So far, even the screamingly obvious implications of this last election have not been enough to shock many, if not most, Democrats out of their culture denialist torpor. We shall see if this denialism survives the next few years of the Trump administration and the necessity Democrats clearly face to broaden their coalition among the very voters for whom cultural issues are intensely real and the Democratic brand intensely alienating.
Posted by: Ace at 04:30 PM | Comments (421) | Trackbacks (Suck)
Trump Files Emergency Appeal to Delay Merchan's Political Rush to Brand Him a "Convicted and Sentenced Felon;"
Judge Aileen Canon Blocks Release of Jack Smith's Hitjob "Report"
Judge Aileen Canon Blocks Release of Jack Smith's Hitjob "Report"
Jack Smith needs some prosecutorial attention.
If it's good for the goose, it's even better for the rogue prosecutor bending the law to persecute the goose.A federal judge has temporarily barred the Justice Department from releasing a special counsel report in the classified documents case involving President-elect Donald Trump. The legal dispute now moves to the appeals court. Key Details: Judge Aileen Cannon issued a temporary block on the release of special counsel Jack Smith's report while the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals reviews an emergency motion filed by Trump's former codefendants. Prosecutors had indicated the two-volume report could be released as early as Friday, pending approval from Attorney General Merrick Garland. The appeals court decision comes weeks before Trump's inauguration for a second term, with related cases dismissed and unresolved legal questions about the report's release.According to most, an accused isn't considered "convicted" until sentencing. Merchan can't sentence Trump to jail, because the Constitution demands that the elected president be permitted to take office without restraint by petty judges. But Merchan can sentence him to something, like time served, just to brand him a "convicted and sentenced felon," which is of course the entire reason for this pretextual prosecution and sham trial with a handpicked political judge. Trump has filed an emergency appeal to stop Merchan's literal rush to judgment. John Sexton, quoting AP "News:"
Yesterday, Trump appealed to Judge Merchan to reconsider and, as expected, the judge said no. Today, Trump's legal team is taking his case to an appellate court.I'm sure New York will also handpick the judge who first sees this appeal.The expectation is that a single judge will hear the request and issue a response today. If Trump gets a stay from the appeals court judge, that would probably be enough to push this back past his inauguration.
President-elect Donald Trump tried again Tuesday to delay this week's sentencing in his hush money case, asking a New York appeals court to intervene as he fights to avoid the finality of his conviction before he returns to the White House. Trump turned to the Appellate Division of the state's trial court a day after the trial judge, Judge Juan M. Merchan, rebuffed his bid to indefinitely postpone sentencing and ordered it to go ahead as scheduled on Friday. Trump is seeking an immediate stay that would spare him from being sentenced while he appeals Merchan's decision last week to uphold the historic verdict.If the judge grants an interim stay, it might effectively scuttle any chance of sentencing Mr. Trump. A full panel of appellate judges might not have time to take up the matter before Friday, and the window to sentence Mr. Trump is rapidly closing. Once he returns to the White House, Mr. Trump cannot face criminal prosecution.
An emergency request like this one will fall to a single judge, who is expected to hold a brief hearing early Tuesday afternoon. That appellate judge could then issue a ruling before the end of the day.
Posted by: Ace at 03:21 PM | Comments (318) | Trackbacks (Suck)
Donald Trump's Former Employer McDonald's Announces Walkback of DEI Practices
Not a complete abandonment, but a reduction.
McDonald's is the latest US corporation -- and among the largest -- to back off some of its diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) practices, as a Supreme Court ruling against affirmative action and conservative backlash to those programs continues to lead businesses to reevaluate their diversity pledges. The company in a statement Monday said it is sunsetting its specific diversity goals, including requiring its suppliers to commit to certain DEI targets. And it will stop participating in external surveys that measure corporate diversity. McDonald's is also changing the name of its diversity team to the Global Inclusion Team -- a common practice for many other companies that have rolled back diversity pledges.Name-changing isn't going to fool us.
"This name change is more fitting for McDonald's in light of our inclusion value and better aligns with this team's work," McDonald's said in the statement. But the company said it has not abandoned its mission to maintain a diverse workforce. Instead, McDonald said that it will continue to support practices that foster inclusion in the workplace and across its operations, and it will work with its suppliers and vendors to discuss diversity and inclusion practices. ... The company said its new position was driven by a recent Supreme Court ruling against affirmative action and other corporations reevaluating their diversity initiatives. Online pressure, legal threats and customer opposition have led many companies, including Walmart, Ford, Harley-Davidson, John Deere and others to make changes to their DEI initiatives. But some observers say that many high-profile corporate moves on DEI aren't as large a change as they might seem. "DEI isn't going away. It's just changing," J. Danielle Carr, chief officer of inclusion at Lowenstein Sandler and president of the Association of Law Firm Diversity Professionals, told CNN in December. The organization found that just 14 of the Fortune 500 companies made any public changes to their DEI teams or programs in 2024.Costco remains all-in on DEI:
Meanwhile, Costco recently acknowledged that the benefits of its DEI policies proved too rewarding to back down, despite backlash from activist shareholders aiming to end the company's ambitions."Too rewarding." We should change that calculation. Supposedly, Larry Fink of BlackRock, which controls corporations by controlling massive retirement funds invested in those companies, is considering walking back his woke company's commitment to "Net Zero" carbon emissions.
Charles GasparinoElections have consequences.
@CGasparino SCOOP: In a stunning reversal of years making ESG investing a priority and a huge blow the corporate sustainability movement, @BlackRock is considering exiting the so-called "Net Zero Alliance," the @UN sponsored coalition of top corporations who pledge to reach zero-carbon emissions by 2050, people with direct knowledge tell me. Other large asset managers considering such a move include @StateStreet and @JPMorganAM. No final decisions have been made but this is a significant move, I am told. It comes as pressure grows on big businesses to reverse their woke business agenda such as DEI and Environmental Social Governance investing, where asset managers prod portfolio companies to take steps to reduce their carbon footprint and enact other so-called progressive policies. $BLK even weighing such a move is an important marker because it's the largest asset manager and had been on the forefront of ESG investing. It comes after @jpmorgan bank @GoldmanSachs and other big banks announced their departure from the alliance, and growing pressure from the incoming @realDonaldTrump administration to reverse corporate wokeness. The larger story is detailed in my book "Go Woke Go Broke' buy here: https://amazon.com/Go-Woke-Broke-Radicalization-Corporate/dp/1546007415
Story developing in @nypost
Posted by: Ace at 02:22 PM | Comments (297) | Trackbacks (Suck)
Trump Press Conference: He'll Rename the Gulf of Mexico the "Gulf of America," Still Wants Greenland, "All Hell Will Break Loose" if Hamas Doesn't Release Hostages by His Inauguration
Eric Daugherty
@EricLDaugh TRUMP'S PRESS CONFERENCE: Highlights - $20B tech investment into the USA - Will work to rename the Gulf of Mexico to the "Gulf of America" - Does not rule out military/economic coercion to take over Greenland/Panama Canal - Reiterates 'all h*ll will break loose' on Day One if hostages not released by Hamas - Sticking to pardons of Jan 6ers - Working with Congressional Republicans on a package that includes key elements of his agenda, such as tax cuts - Wants states to finish election counting by 10PM on election night - Supports gas heaters over Biden's effort to force electric heaters on American homes - Will "immediately" undo Biden's new offshore drilling ban
Posted by: Ace at 01:15 PM | Comments (527) | Trackbacks (Suck)
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