December 31, 2024
2024: The Greatest Year of Media/Government Disinformation
At the Federalist: The top 10 hoaxes of a hoax-filled year.
Here are 8 through 10:8. Trump's Liz Cheney Comments One of the biggest media-driven hoaxes concocted this year was the manipulation of Trump's remarks about Liz Cheney. While speaking at an event days before the Nov. 5 election, Trump critiqued Cheney's obsession with overseas military adventurism. The former president referred to Cheney as a "radical war hawk" and defended the troops forced to fight in the never-ending conflicts neocons like Cheney would never personally partake in. "Let's put her with a rifle, standing there with nine barrels shooting at her, okay? Let's see how she feels about it ... when the guns are trained on her face. You know, they're all war hawks when they're sitting in Washington in a nice building saying, 'Gee, let's send 10,000 troops right into the mouth of the enemy,'" Trump said. In the wake of Biden's "garbage" smear, the media rushed to distort Trump's comments to make it appear as if he was calling for Cheney to be executed via firing squad. The disinformation operation represented a clear attempt to smear Trump ahead of the election and boost Harris' prospects. 9. What Assassination Attempts? If you watched and read nothing but legacy media, there's a good chance you'd know little to nothing about the two assassination attempts against Trump this year. After a longtime Democrat donor allegedly tried to kill the incoming president on his Palm Beach golf course in September, left-wing propagandists at NBC News and The Washington Post downplayed the attempted murder as nothing more than an "incident." Outlets like Time magazine whitewashed the suspect's history of donating to Democrats, characterizing him in a tweet as a "58-year-old with unclear political ideology." Such dishonest propaganda isn't surprising, however. It's the same playbook these media hacks -- who spent years leading an "assassination prep" campaign with horrific smears and lies directed at Trump -- deployed when initially "covering" the first assassination attempt against Trump in July. 10. The Atlantic's Hitler Hysteria In a last-ditch attempt to salvage Kamala Harris' flailing presidential bid, The Atlantic's Jeffrey Goldberg -- who ran the debunked 2020 "suckers" and losers" smear -- published an anonymously sourced October hit piece with claims that Trump said he wanted "the kind of generals that Hitler had." It also contained accusations that Trump expressed anger about paying for the funeral services of a murdered Army soldier. To the media, it didn't matter that the soldier's sister blasted Goldberg for his anti-Trump fabrications, or that numerous former Trump administration officials debunked the bogus claims. What mattered was regurgitating The Atlantic's slanderous hatchet job, which they did with no questions asked.Update: CNN's Abby Phillips is a disinformation All-Star. Possibly the biggest disinformation concerned the fact that the PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES IS ESSENTIALLY A VEGETABLE. This was officially "cheapfake disinformation" until they could hide it no more.
BonchieWhat a thing to say out loud.
@bonchieredstate
In which Matt Yglesias admits he was incapable of assessing and investigating Biden’s condition on his own and needed "insiders" to feed him talking points so he could function as a "journalist."
"Biden and some of his aides still believe he should have stayed in the race, despite the rocky debate performance and low poll numbers that prompted Democrats to pressure him to drop out," the Post reported. "Biden and these aides have told people in recent days that he could have defeated Trump, according to people familiar with their comments, who spoke on the condition of anonymity." Biden might earnestly believe that the confused, slow, dead-eyed, mouth-breathing performance he delivered at the June debate against Trump was because he "was sick" -- a one-off night that he could recover from before election day. People suffering from dementia oftentimes lack self-awareness. Also, it's what he was being told. That Washington Post story led with an anecdote from Rep. James Clyburn (D-S.C.), who, you might remember, was the man who saved Biden's foundering primary campaign in 2020. Clyburn "made a confession" to the Post about his "belief that substance is more important than style in politics." "I have come to the conclusion in recent days that I'm wrong about that," Clyburn told Biden after the debate. "The new environment that we currently live in -- style seems to carry the day more than substance," and "Your style does not lend itself well to the environment we're currently in." "Style" was Biden's problem on June 27 -- yeah, that's the ticket. Yet it's the theme threaded throughout WaPo's excuse-mongering report on a failed president, with reporter Tyler Pager going deep to sell the fiction that Biden was a success on substance but doomed to a single term by a country obsessed with mere style.Biden had "substance"?
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Despite Biden's Interference, Texas Completes 54 Miles of the Border Wall; Trump Prepares His Day One Executive Orders on Immigration
Border Czar Tom Homan
Forced to go it alone, Texas officials have managed to erect more than 54 miles of security wall along the international border with Mexico during the Biden administration, the Washington Examiner has learned. The Texas Facilities Commission installed 54.2 miles of border wall between mid-2021 and Dec. 19, an agency spokesman told the Washington Examiner on Monday. "Almost a month ago, Director Novak noted 'that the goal was to erect 50 miles of the wall by the end of the calendar year ... that milestone could be achieved by Thanksgiving,'" a TFC spokesperson said in a statement issued last month. "The agency reached that milestone two weeks before Thanksgiving and six weeks ahead of schedule." The state is now halfway to its goal of delivering a minimum of 100 miles of wall by the end of 2026. All projects were funded by $3.1 billion made available during the 2021 and 2022 regular legislative sessions and the fourth special session in 2022, according to TFC spokesman Richard Glancey. Gov. Greg Abbott (R-TX) is also crowdfunding donations and has raised $55 million to date. Construction is underway in 13 locations across six border counties, including Cameron, Maverick, Starr, Val Verde, Webb, and Zapata. However, the state is expected to blow past its 100-mile goal. To date, Texas has 65 miles of border-adjacent land that has been approved through easement deals and another 109 miles of easements are also underway but not finished yet.
President-elect Donald Trump's signature issue of immigration and border security will occupy much of his first day in office come Jan. 20, 2025. Trump's plans, including mass deportation and illegal immigration curbs, have been the subject of much debate in the transition period as opponents and supporters await his final decisions. Trump's Day One executive orders on immigration will be far-reaching with possible plans to: End birthright citizenship for all would-be Americans; Re-implement a plan for asylum-seekers to live and remain in Mexico through court proceedings; Impose a bar on asylum-seekers who have traversed through other countries but not sought refuge there; Expanded detention facilities to detain illegal immigrants arrested during the deportation proceedings; Rescind instructions to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement that it focus only on the worst criminals in the United States; Carry out the largest-ever massive deportation the country has seen; Impose sanctions or withhold foreign aid to countries that refuse to take their citizens back; Stop the use of U.S. Customs and Border Protection's CBP One app for the purpose of immigration. Work with Congress to fund border security through reconciliation House and Senate Republicans are endorsing a two-step approach to enact the incoming Trump administration agenda early next Congress, seeing up a border security-focused reconciliation bill followed by tax legislation. House Freedom Caucus Chairman Andy Harris (R-MD) and Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL) put House and Senate leadership on notice in late December that a border bill must take priority in January. ...
The Trump administration plans to deport criminal illegal immigrants and anyone who an immigration judge has already ordered to be removed from the country, totaling 1 million to 2 million people. ... Homan told the Washington Examiner in mid-December that there would be "a lot of collateral arrests," in addition to those aforementioned -- meaning that illegal immigrant children and family members found living with criminals would also be swept up and deported. "In sanctuary cities, expect a lot of collateral arrests," Homan said. "I mean, not priority criminal arrests. We can't get the bad guy in jail. That means we have to go into the communities and find them, and there may be others. We expect a lot of collateral arrests." Anthony Romero, executive president of the American Civil Liberties Union, told MSNBC host Rachel Maddow on Dec. 16 that it, too, was ramping up its team and operations for the forthcoming Trump administration.
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The Obama-Biden Censorship Front Group "Global Engagement Center" Shuts Down Due to an End to Its Funding
More at the link. More about the CIA's censorship arm, CISA, from the Brownstone Institute.
The Global Engagement Center, an office housed within the State Department and aiming to thwart disinformation and misinformation, has been forced by Congress to close up shop. It's no mystery why; the taxpayer-backed GEC violated its mandate to work only overseas and devolved into a partisan enabler of speech suppression in the United States. Here's how. Founded in 2016 and technically the product of an Obama-era executive order on counterterrorism, the GEC lapsed in December and lost congressional funding. Over the last two years, my investigative reporting in the Washington Examiner as well as that of Racket News journalist Matt Taibbi pulled back the curtain of the GEC's ties to foreign and domestic NGOs trying to defund news outlets they say peddle disinformation -- including RealClearPolitics. My reporting showed that the GEC and the State Department-funded National Endowment for Democracy combined granted almost $1 million to the British Global Disinformation Index, which created a blacklist of U.S.-based websites that published content it determined to push "adversarial narratives" and then pressured advertisers to shut them down (think the Hunter Biden laptop story and COVID-19 lab leak hypothesis). The GEC, moreover, was involved with the Election Integrity Partnership, a consortium of left-wing nonprofit groups, universities, and federal agencies that pressured Twitter and Facebook to remove GOP-aligned content in the lead-up to the 2020 presidential election. The GEC also bankrolled New York-based company NewsGuard, a "misinformation" tracker that, along with the Global Disinformation Index, has found itself at the center of a lawsuit brought by the Federalist, the Daily Wire, and the State of Texas against the GEC for allegedly funding an unconstitutional "censorship scheme" that suppressed voices on the right. Taibbi, the former Rolling Stone writer, demonstrated that the GEC pressured social media platforms in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic to moderate extensive content, testifying to Congress in March 2023, "We learned Twitter, Facebook, Google, and other companies developed a formal system for taking in moderation 'requests' from every corner of government: the FBI, DHS, HHS, DOD, the Global Engagement Center at State, even the CIA." In turn, these revelations and others culminated in a high-level pressure campaign in December that resulted in the GEC losing out on a one-year lifeline through a congressional spending package. Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy joined President-elect Donald Trump in demanding that House Speaker Mike Johnson -- who had initially brokered a controversial deal to allow the GEC to continue to receive more of your tax dollars -- remove the pro-GEC provision. Once this powerful trio came out against more GEC funding, the nail was squarely in the coffin. It didn't help Johnson that conservative lawmakers with clout in Trump World such as Dan Bishop, Trump's pick for a high-ranking role at the Office of Management and Budget, fervently opposed the bill. Soon, the bill was dead. And the GEC with it.
The most astonishing court document just came out. It was unearthed in the course of litigation undertaken by America First Legal. It has no redaction. It is a reverse chronicle of most of what they did from February 2020 until last year. It is 500 pages long. The version available now takes an age to download, so we shrunk it and put it on fast view so you can see the entire thing. What you discover is this. Everything that the intelligence agencies did not like during this period -- doubting lockdowns, dismissing masking, questioning the vaccine, and so on -- was targeted through a variety of cutouts among NGOs, universities, and private-sector fact-checkers. It was all labeled as Russian and Chinese propaganda so as to fit in with CISA's mandate. Then it was throttled and taken down. It managed remarkable feats such as getting WhatsApp to stop allowing bulk sharing. ... AFL summarizes the document as follows. * CISA's Countering Foreign Influence Task Force (CFITF) relied on the Censorship Industrial Complex to inform its censorship of alleged foreign disinformation narratives regarding COVID-19. * Unelected bureaucrats at CISA weaponized the homeland security apparatus, including FEMA, to monitor COVID-19 speech dissenting from "expert" medical guidance, including President Trump's comments about taking Hydroxychloroquine in 2020. Many of these "false" narratives later turned out to be true, calling into question the government's ability to identify "misinformation," regardless of its authority to do so. * To determine what was "foreign disinformation," CISA relied on the Censorship Industrial Complex's usual suspects (Atlantic Council DFR Lab, Media Matters, Stanford Internet Observatory) -- even those discredited for erroneously attributing domestic content to foreign sources (Alliance for Securing Democracy). CISA even relied on foreign government authorities (EU vs. Disinfo) and foreign government-linked groups (CCDH, GDI) that advocated for the demonetization and deplatforming of individual Americans to monitor and target constitutionally protected speech by American citizens. For years, this story of censorship has unfolded in shocking ways. This document among tens of thousands of pages is surely among the most incriminating. And discussing it is apparently still taboo because the Subcommittee report on Covid never once mentions CISA. Why might that be? In the strange world of D.C., CISA might be considered untouchable because it was staffed out of the National Security Agency which itself is a spinoff of the Central Intelligence Agency. Thus does its activities generally fall under the category of classified. And its many functioning assets in the civilian sector are legally bound to keep their relationships and connections private. Thank goodness at least one judge believed otherwise and forced the agency to cough it up.We're in the very best of hands:
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Jack Smith Drops Appeal to Reinstate Charges Against Trump's Codefendants in the Florida Classified Documents Persecution
Judge Ailene Canon tossed the prosecution, citing the fact that Congress never authorized or appropriated funds for Smith's prosecution, as the Constitution and relevant statutes require.
Although Trump is now protected against the prosecution due to the Supreme Court's presidential immunity doctrine, the people around Trump that Smith prosecuted were still exposed to (unlawful) criminal prosecution. Smith had appealed Canon's ruling. Now, as his office shuts down, he drops that appeal.Smith may have passed the appeal to Florida federal prosecutors, but Trump will soon be appointing all of America's US Attorneys, so that should finally end this crap. Bonus: a retrospective of all the times bears were out of control in 2024.
Special counsel Jack Smith on Monday withdrew his appeals request for his Florida classified documents case against President-elect Donald Trump's co-defendants.
... Trump and the co-defendants, longtime Trump aide Walt Nauta and Mar-a-Lago employee Carlos De Oliveira, all pleaded not guilty to the charges. The new order withdraws Smith's appeal in the prosecution of the two co-defendants, per ABC News.
Smith also passed the appeal to federal prosecutors in Florida, including U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida Markenzy Lapointe. It is not clear whether the prosecutors intend to continue the appeal. Smith is expected to step down from his post ahead of Trump's inauguration next month.
Posted by: Ace at 03:40 PM | Comments (145) | Trackbacks (Suck)
Germany Enjoys Its Newest Cultural Import, Random Stabbings to Ring In the New Year
The cultural enrichment is gushing all over the street.
I'm not sure it even makes a difference -- so maybe it wasn't just a terrorist. Maybe it was just a lunatic from Syria who had to flee because he stabbed random people in Syria, but Germany let him in under its suicidal "Wilkommen" policy. That is no better.
Berlin police have detained a man who stabbed two Germans in random attacks in Charlottenburg, a quiet district in the Berlin metropolitan area. The attacker was a Syrian national who had recently arrived in Germany from Sweden.[ABC News:] Berlin police said they detained a man Tuesday who attacked and injured two people in the city's Charlottenburg neighborhood, further jolting Germany days after a deadly Christmas market attack elsewhere in the country. Police said the attacker was a Syrian citizen with residency in Sweden. "Initial findings indicate that the suspect may have signs of mental illness and that there is not indication for a terrorist motivation," police spokeswoman Jane Berndt told The Associated Press, adding that the investigation is still ongoing.While the Berlin police don't see any indication of a terrorist motivation, that claim is a little hard to swallow, given recent events in traditional German Christmas markets around that country - at least one of which was carried out by, you guessed it, a Syrian national.
Posted by: Ace at 02:43 PM | Comments (212) | Trackbacks (Suck)
The Corpse King Biden Moves to Unilaterally Ban Oil Leases in Nevada With Just Days Remaining In His Fake Presidency
We should be happy that he spent 40% of his fake presidency on vacation. Note that he really worked hard his last year -- he was only on vacation a quarter of the time.
The Biden administration is attempting to implement last-minute restrictions on oil and gas drilling in the west just weeks before President-elect Donald Trump's inauguration. On Monday, the Department of the Interior announced plans to pursue a 20-year ban on oil and gas leases in 264,000 acres of Nevada's Ruby Mountains. The administration submitted an application to withdraw the acreage from any potential leasing, which initiated a two-year ban on new mineral leases in the area during the approval process. The proposal now heads into a 90-day public comment period, which will fall under the Trump administration. "The Ruby Mountains are an iconic landscape with exceptional recreation opportunities and valuable fish and wildlife habitat worth preserving for the future," Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said in a statement. "Today's action honors the voices of Tribal communities and conservation and sportsmen's groups and marks another important step to protect a treasured landscape." ... It is unclear whether the Trump administration will consider potential leases in the region, but such actions could face roadblocks following the Biden administration's new proposal.
President Joe Biden's final year in office was marked by an increased amount of time spent away from the White House. According to a Daily Caller review of White House pool reports, Biden spent 24% of 2024 in Delaware, Camp David, or other vacation spots--amounting to 89 full or partial days away. This figure excludes foreign trips taken for official business. After dropping out of the 2024 presidential race, Biden's time outside the office grew substantially, with 46 days spent in Delaware, Camp David, St. Croix, Nantucket, and California from August through December. Among the notable trips, he spent 21 days in August away from Washington, including 14 in Delaware and six days at a $37 million California residence owned by Joe Kiani. The president also maintained his tradition of a Thanksgiving trip to Nantucket, staying at billionaire David Rubenstein's $34 million residence. His current trip to St. Croix, which began in December, remains ongoing, with no specified end date. White House spokesperson Andrew Bates defended the president's schedule, emphasizing Biden's ability to work "around the clock" from any location. Bates cited accomplishments during Biden's time away, such as securing international deals and addressing key issues. Bates also noted that Biden's vacation days have decreased compared to earlier years in his presidency.
Posted by: Ace at 01:10 PM | Comments (270) | Trackbacks (Suck)
Biden's "Business" Associates in China Hack the US Treasury Department
We're here. We're at the end of 2024. It's been, as they say, a journey.
It started miserably and is ending a high note. And it should get better from here. But until then, Biden's legacy of shame continues to deliver. Fox News:Meanwhile, all the Marxist propaganda outlets embargoed the clear photographic proof of Biden meeting with his son's Chinese "business" associates, because of course they did. They've lied about this for five years. They're not going to stop now.
An actor affiliated with the Chinese government recently hacked the U.S. Treasury Department in a "major incident," officials announced on Monday. In a letter obtained by FOX Business, the Treasury Department disclosed the incident to Senate Banking Committee leadership. Officials learned of the breach on Dec. 8. The cybercriminal reportedly gained access to Treasury Department workstations and documents via a security key. "Once Treasury was alerted by the service provider, we immediately contacted Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) and have worked with law enforcement partners across the government to ascertain the impact of this incident," the spokesperson said. What isn't mentioned is what, if any, questions have been raised with the Chinese government as to why a hacker "affiliated with" China was seeking access to the U.S. Treasury. It is belaboring the obvious to note how unlikely it is that this Chinese hacker acted on his or her own; this was likely done with at least the consent of the Chinese government, if not on the orders of the Chinese government.
Nelson's first of two articles about the newly-released photos was stamped 12:45pm ET on Friday afternoon, yet none of the Big Three evening or morning broadcasts subsequently mentioned the damning new proof of Joe Biden's participation in his son's business dealings. Last night, ABC's World News Tonight and NBC Nightly News led their broadcasts with winter weather, while the CBS Evening News began with the passing of CBS Sports broadcaster Greg Gumbel. This morning, ABC's Good Morning America, CBS Saturday Morning and NBC's Today provided a combined five and a half hours of news programming -- but chose not to utter a peep about the new Biden scandal headlines.
Posted by: Ace at 12:00 PM | Comments (224) | Trackbacks (Suck)
The Morning Rant: Minimalist Edition
I defy you to find a worse cable company than Optimum, or Cablevision, or The Devil's Carbuncle, or whatever they call themselves. Open Thread, because composing a rant on a phone is a non starter.
I defy you to find a worse cable company than Optimum, or Cablevision, or The Devil's Carbuncle, or whatever they call themselves. Open Thread, because composing a rant on a phone is a non starter.
Posted by: CBD at 11:00 AM | Comments (214) | Trackbacks (Suck)
Mid-Morning Art Thread
Mark Tansey
Mark Tansey
Posted by: CBD at 09:30 AM | Comments (285) | Trackbacks (Suck)
The Morning Report — 12/31/24
First up, we have this madness. . . How is it that George Stephanopoulos and ABC have to cough up $15 million to Trump for falsely libeling him as a rapist while Trump's defamation guilty verdict he got slapped with for accurately describing this E. Jean Carroll slag as a liar for accusing him of rape doesn't get tossed out of court?
There are a couple of stories to ponder as please-God Donald Trump is sworn in, in just about three weeks time. Considering all he has been through and of course by extension all of us:
The title and sub headline of this essay is,
On that hopeful note to keep in mind at the stroke of midnight as we ring in 2025, I want to wish each of you a new year blessed with an abundance of peace, happiness, prosperity and the good health to live your life and see your dreams fulfilled. 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. And my gratitude for your being here each day is truly boundless. Happy New Year to you all!
First up, we have this madness. . . How is it that George Stephanopoulos and ABC have to cough up $15 million to Trump for falsely libeling him as a rapist while Trump's defamation guilty verdict he got slapped with for accurately describing this E. Jean Carroll slag as a liar for accusing him of rape doesn't get tossed out of court?
There are a couple of stories to ponder as please-God Donald Trump is sworn in, in just about three weeks time. Considering all he has been through and of course by extension all of us:
U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Matthew Graves will resign from his position on Jan. 16, he announced Monday. Under Graves, 1,572 defendants were charged with crimes related to their presence at the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, according to his office. . . . . . More than 250 of the defendants charged under Graves were impacted by the Supreme Court’s ruling in Fisher v. United States, which found the DOJ stretched an obstruction law designed for financial crimes when it used it to prosecute Jan. 6 defendants. “The Government’s reading of Section 1512 would intrude on that deliberate arrangement of constitutional authority over federal crimes, giving prosecutors broad discretion to seek a 20- year maximum sentence for acts Congress saw fit to punish only with far shorter terms of imprisonment—for example, three years for harassment under §1512(d)(1), or ten years for threatening a juror under §1503,” Chief Justice John Roberts wrote in the decision. Since the ruling, the government has abandoned the charge in 96 pending cases and decided it would not oppose dismissing the charge in 54 cases that were already decided. Five defendants had their sentences reduced as a result of the ruling, according to Grave’s office. (RELATED: Biden Regrets Hiring Merrick Garland Because He Didn’t Prosecute Trump Enough: REPORT) Graves recommended longer sentences for some non-violent Jan. 6 defendants than defendants with a more extensive criminal history.Funny how Capitol PD officer Michael Byrd who shot and murdered an unarmed, non-violent Ashli Babbitt and other law enforcement agents provocateurs, among the several dozen FBI plants/confederates in the crowd as we now know, stomped and choked Roseanne Boyland to death, were not only never charged but if the usual suspects get to write the history books will all go down as heroes. All things considered, Matthew Graves should go by the name of "Mass" Graves, considering his actions reflect a political lineage more in keeping with Roland Freisler and Lavrenty Beria. Everyone who entered the Capitol building had the doors opened for them and were escorted inside by Malig-Nancy Pelosis goons with badges. Oh how she and her ilk go on and on about "protecting our precious democracy. With that as the set-up, I ask the obviously rhetorical question, what do you suppose the reaction would be if this amoral eager "little Eichmann" Graves were to encounter his own personal Mangione. I'm just asking the question. I am neither encouraging nor eager for anyone to commit any act of violence, regardless of my well-known and well-read opinions about the 2020 election and the events of nearly four years ago on 1/6/21. Hell, I wrote a book about it. And yet, here we are, which leads to my next item that dovetails nicely, if not somewhat depressingly as you can infer by the article, my observations and no doubt the observations of many of you.
The title and sub headline of this essay is,
Trump’s 2024 Victory – and American Restoral: A reprieve from the nonstop leftist onslaught on our Republic?The gravamen of the author's discourse concerns Joey Sponge-Brain Shits=Pants rescinding of Trump's early E.O concerning the design of federal buildings.
Trump’s critics linked the former president to the authoritarians of the past because he too wanted government buildings built in the classical style. And since Hitler admired classical architecture, ergo, Trump is another Hitler? From reports, Hitler loved chocolate eclairs and puppies. So, as we follow the logic, all lovers of chocolate and puppies are secret Nazis as well. Enough of Hitler and Mussolini and their brutalist imitation of the ancient world, let us reach back further into our own history. Let us look to Thomas Jefferson, the man who not only wrote the document that declared our independence from Great Britain but was, in so many ways, our founding architect. One cannot help but stand in awe of the original buildings in Washington D.C., which emulate the majestic look of ancient temples, pillars, and domes. That aesthetic was by design, part of Jefferson’s vision of the United States and his creation of a new American culture. The founding father knew that if our new country were to succeed, it had to develop a culture that was entirely American, but based on the exemplars of the past. The inspirations for Jefferson’s political and architectural beliefs were the classical civilizations of ancient Greece and Rome. . . . . .What of all this talk concerning glory, beauty, art, and culture? What makes it so critical to the survival and restoration of America? How does culture fit into the lexicon of “Making America Great Again”? I am arguing that it is at the heart of this national resurgence and restoration that we desperately need to take place. Whence America goes is unknown. With the 2024 election, we have a kind of reprieve from the nonstop Leftist onslaught on our culture, values, and on our very Republic. We also know that the Left will never relent, they will chase these false illusions until the end of time. Yes, that means attacking our economic system, attacking the “patriarchy” of America society, all the isms, the family, everything comes under attack. And central to these attacks is that of our history, culture, art, beauty, and everything that we cherish.Indeed architecture is a metaphor and also an art form like so many other things that the wokesters and tyrannical communists seek to control and/or destroy in order to gain absolute power for their own purposes in reshaping the world in their own warped and twisted image. Indeed the miraculous RE-re-election of Donald Trump or perhaps more importantly the rejection of what the Democrats wrought during the prior four years is for sure in the short term only a reprieve. To make America "great again" we must collectively make America "AMERICA" again, and that means those who vote for their and our own destruction have to wake the hell up and recognize that that is what they've been doing at least since the time of FDR and for sure since LBJ, every time Democrats control government. Forget the nation, if the residents of places like Detroit and Chicago don't or won't snap out of it there's no hope. Because the dismantling of America as founded has been going on since Aaron Burr murdered Alexander Hamilton in 1804. We can elect Donald Trump and please God more like him for the next 40 years, the only sure way to restore this nation is the utter destruction of the Leftist political enterprise, the neutralizing of those who support it and dismantling of its official party which must be barred, banished and prevented from ever being allowed to hold office or lecture in the classroom, or have any platform for the dissemination of their libelous and murderous propaganda. How we do that while still preserving the Constitution is the multi-trillion dollar, multi-million victim and multi-century question. Leftists are fond of declaring that the Constitution isn't supposed to be a suicide pact, mostly as a pretext for stripping those who oppose hem of their rights and the ability to legally and peacefully resist their depredations, to commit the assisted suicide (that is the murder) of America as founded. But, in a strange way perhaps they're not far off the mark. Heaven help me for saying that, but until they prostrate themselves before us, our forbears, those they have victimized, driven insane, impoverished and murdered in their never-ending quest for absolute power and control, and at a minimum beg our forgiveness and apologize for their sins and crimes against us, no quarter should be given them. Period. The Left can go straight to Hell for all I care and roast alongside Jimmy Carter and his nuts for all eternity, as they deserve. Maybe then we'll have peace and America can be great again. In the immortal words of John Lennon, "you may say, I'm a dreamer, but I'm not the only one . . . "
On that hopeful note to keep in mind at the stroke of midnight as we ring in 2025, I want to wish each of you a new year blessed with an abundance of peace, happiness, prosperity and the good health to live your life and see your dreams fulfilled. 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. And my gratitude for your being here each day is truly boundless. Happy New Year to you all!
- ABOVE THE FOLD, BREAKING, NOTEWORTHY
- Nothing New Under The Sun: Leftist ideologues learn from communist theory and practice and constantly adapt various failed concepts to present reality, in order to achieve their radical goals of dismantling Western tradition.
The Communist Precursors of DEI
- Some great ideas for President Trump’s new term to cement his agenda for decades to come.
A MAGA Wishlist
- Not all Democrats think a Trump Presidency in 2025 is unavoidable. More
A Conspiracy to Overthrow the 2024 Elections
Posted by: J.J. Sefton at 07:30 AM | Comments (290) | Trackbacks (Suck)
Daily Tech News 31 December 2024
Top Story
- The US Treasury was hacked by Chinese spies. (Reuters)
Fortunately it was empty at the time.
Posted by: Pixy Misa at 04:00 AM | Comments (141) | Trackbacks (Suck)
December 30, 2024
Monday Overnight Open Thread - December 30, 2024 [Doof]
Howdy Hordelings, and welcome to the final Monday night ONT of 2024. Nothing serious on the agenda tonight. Just some stuff to make your Monday a Funday! Thanks for stopping by. Wouldn't be as nice without you!
Howdy Hordelings, and welcome to the final Monday night ONT of 2024. Nothing serious on the agenda tonight. Just some stuff to make your Monday a Funday! Thanks for stopping by. Wouldn't be as nice without you!
Posted by: Open Blogger at 09:55 PM | Comments (620) | Trackbacks (Suck)
Jazz Pawz Cafe
Dog has special spin-fu defense again Cat-style attack. Fluff magnet. May I have some, please? Good boy greets the garbage men. Kitten begins his swatting career early. Taking revenge on the cat. Summon the budgies.
Dog has special spin-fu defense again Cat-style attack. Fluff magnet. May I have some, please? Good boy greets the garbage men. Kitten begins his swatting career early. Taking revenge on the cat. Summon the budgies.
Posted by: Ace at 07:15 PM | Comments (199) | Trackbacks (Suck)
Quick Hits
Who's the president with grace and dignity? Donald Trump is. Biden isn't.
Trump, displaying the genuine decency that won him the respect and affection of so many Americans over the last eight years, wrote gracious words about Carter and his disastrous presidency:
Liberal rag The Hill calls for an insurrection.
Shambling Corpse King Biden announced he that he would unilaterally give nearly six billion in taxpayer dollars to the country that bribed him, Ukraine.
The Biden-Harris administration announced a sweeping $5.9 billion aid package to Ukraine on Monday, aiming to reinforce the nation's defenses as the war against Russia nears its three-year mark. This decision underscores President Joe Biden's commitment to providing robust support to Kyiv, despite skepticism from some Republicans poised to control Congress in the new year. The military portion of the package includes $1.25 billion drawn directly from U.S. stockpiles for immediate delivery and $1.22 billion under the USAI, which funds long-term procurement of air defense systems, artillery, and other critical equipment. However, USAI supplies often take months to reach the battlefield. President Biden highlighted the importance of delivering these resources to maintain Ukraine's resilience, stating, "The United States will continue to work relentlessly to strengthen Ukraine's position in this war over the remainder of my time in office."
Who's the president with grace and dignity? Donald Trump is. Biden isn't.
We all know the establishment media narrative: whatever his faults, Old Joe Biden is an affable, decent, all-around good fellow, while Donald Trump is arrogant, mean, nasty, and corrupt. This is not true and was never true of either man, and on Sunday, their reactions to the death of their predecessor Jimmy Carter once again showed the truth about each of them.
Trump, displaying the genuine decency that won him the respect and affection of so many Americans over the last eight years, wrote gracious words about Carter and his disastrous presidency:
Trump added more, but I'll leave that at the link.
I just heard of the news about the passing of President Jimmy Carter. Those of us who have been fortunate to have served as President understand this is a very exclusive club, and only we can relate to the enormous responsibility of leading the Greatest Nation in History. The challenges Jimmy faced as President came at a pivotal time for our country and he did everything in his power to improve the lives of all Americans. For that, we all owe him a debt of gratitude. Melania and I are thinking warmly of the Carter Family and their loved ones during this difficult time. We urge everyone to keep them in their hearts and prayers.
Joe Biden has always been a nasty stupid graceless grasping liar.
In stark contrast to this, Biden made his statement about Carter all about two people who weren't necessary to involve at all: himself and Donald Trump. Even when he praised Carter and echoed the general exaggerated praise for the late president's fundamental decency, Biden couldn't help but be self-aggrandizing and indulge his longstanding habit of putting himself in the center of every situation with yet another tall tale. Speaking from St. Croix, where he is (you guessed it) once again on vacation, Old Joe said: "I'll always be proud to say that -- he used to kid me about it -- that I was the first national figure to endorse him in 1976 when he ran for president. And there was an overwhelming reason for it: his character." Was Biden really the first national figure to endorse Carter for president? Maybe, but this story sounds suspiciously like so many others in which Old Joe puts himself in the middle of history: he has lied about getting arrested agitating for civil rights, getting arrested trying to visit Nelson Mandela in prison, and so very much more. And Biden wasn't finished. He couldn't resist the opportunity to take a jab at Trump, saying: "Decency, decency, decency... Can you imagine Jimmy Carter walking by someone who needed something and just keep [sic] walking? Can you imagine Jimmy Carter referring to someone by the way they look or the way they talk?" Coming from a man who used his son as a bag man in selling influence and access to foreign entities, and who weaponized the justice system against his opponent, calls for decency ring more than a little bit hollow.
Liberal rag The Hill calls for an insurrection.
Congress has the power to block Trump from taking office, but lawmakers must act now by Evan A. Davis and David M. Schulte, opinion contributors - 12/26/24 8:00 AM ET
The Constitution provides that an oath-breaking insurrectionist is ineligible to be president. This is the plain wording of Section 3 of the 14th Amendment to the Constitution. "No person shall ... hold any office, civil or military, under the United States, or under any state, who, having previously taken an oath ... to support the Constitution of the United States, shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof." This disability can be removed by a two-thirds vote in each House. Disqualification is based on insurrection against the Constitution and not the government. The evidence of Donald Trump's engaging in such insurrection is overwhelming. The matter has been decided in three separate forums, two of which were fully contested with the active participation of Trump's counsel. ... Finally, there is the bipartisan inquiry of the House Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th attack on the United States Capitol. More than half of the witnesses whose testimony was displayed at its nine public hearings were Republicans, including members of the Trump administration. The inescapable conclusion of this evidence is that Trump engaged in insurrection against the Constitution. In particular, Trump unlawfully demanded that his vice president, Mike Pence, throw out votes in the Electoral College for political opponent Joe Biden, a power he did not have. While the riot was in progress, Trump used Pence's rejection of his demand to further enflame the crowd and cause them to chant "Hang Mike Pence!" Some will argue that the Supreme Court decision in the Colorado case, Trump v. Anderson, precludes Congress from rejecting electoral votes when they convene on Jan. 6, on the basis of 14th Amendment disqualification. This view lacks merit for three reasons.
BonchieWhat a thing to say out loud.
@bonchieredstate
In which Matt Yglesias admits he was incapable of assessing and investigating Biden’s condition on his own and needed "insiders" to feed him talking points so he could function as a "journalist."
Posted by: Ace at 06:15 PM | Comments (258) | Trackbacks (Suck)
"The Twilight of the Liberal Left:" A Liberal Bemoans the Catastrophic Failure of the Anti-Trump "Resistance"
I'm just here for the gloating.
Via Ed Morrissey, the liberal progressive Wall Street Journal declares that the global progressivism movement is over.
These are dark times for the liberal-left--for its media organs, politicians, writers, and thought leaders. Eight years ago, Trump could be dismissed as an aberration. The anti-fascist industry boomed. It was easy, since Trump did not win the popular vote, to call him illegitimate.... Why didn't they listen? This is the anguished cry of the liberal media critic who was sure the New York Times, despite its anti-Trump alignment, had perniciously normalized Orange Man. This is the cry, too, of the Times opinion page, of elite academia, of the Atlantic set, of the staffers at the Washington Post who longed for a Kamala Harris endorsement, and the many ponderous New Yorker writers with their grayish, interchangeable prose. This is the cry of a Democratic National Committee so sure, after the 2022 midterms, there was nothing more to do than call Trump a fascist ten thousand additional times--if only then, those dolts in Bucks County would listen....
The fading reality TV star he once mocked at that Washington dinner will be, barring a health crisis, a two term American president. Whereas Obama, eight years on, has plainly left little to the Democratic Party, Trump has thoroughly immolated and rebuilt the Republicans in his image. He is as consequential as Reagan and Nixon, and he might loom in American life just as long. The Trump era began when he descended the golden escalator in the middle of 2015 and it might not end until 2028. The next Republican to run for president will not be able to do it without Trump's firm endorsement. His is a cult that is now far too large to be called one. Now, for the Democrats, it is all wide open. There will be no one anointed in 2028. Instead, there will be a long, bloody fight for the nomination, and that is democracy. The liberal-left resistance, meanwhile, will have to stagger into a future they failed, over and over again, to head off. No movement, perhaps, has accomplished less. No movement has done so little to reach what was supposed to be an existential goal. Trump, eight years into the resistance, is at his apogee. The editorial boards and NGO bosses and magazine writers and braying congressmen and MSNBC panelists must contend with this bare, inarguable fact. The electoral map ran blood-red. How? Why? It was the racism of an Arab majority city voting for Trump, the white supremacy of the Bronx, New York's poorest borough, deciding Trump needed more of its vote than ever before. Pundits prattle about misinformation, as if all the voters were toddlers who needed to be bolted down and told why Brat Summer was so vital for the future of the republic. There are calls now for a feminist Joe Rogan, as if the actual Rogan did not already endorse a Democratic presidential candidate in 2020. The liberal-left reaps what it sows. It was not merely Trump that was chosen. It was the not-Democrat, the option that wasn't in power. A vote is a middle finger aimed to the sky. In the heat of all this, the liberal-left will have to recalibrate or dissolve. Radical chic is fading. The Hitler analogies are played out. So are the speech wars. They will have to, somehow, consider material conditions. This is never easy if you've never lived anything close to a precarious life. Harder, still, if you've allowed condescension and indignation to become the pillars of a worldview. The smug never inherit the Earth. If only the Bible printed this, or someone took it to cable television in time. Much grief could have been saved.
This past year showed that the progressive politics that dominated most industrialized countries over the past two decades or more is shifting to the right, fueled by working-class anxieties over the economy and immigration, and growing fatigue with issues from climate change to identity politics. ... Part of the shift is the normal pendulum of politics swinging back and forth between established parties on the left and right. The difference this time is a strong strain of populism and a growing rejection of traditional parties. In country after country, many working-class voters--especially those outside the biggest cities--are signaling the same thing: They mistrust the establishment--from academics to bankers to traditional politicians--and feel these elites are out of touch and don't care about people like them. Years of increased migration and trade, coupled with low economic growth, have led to a backlash and a rise in nationalism, where people want more of a sense of control, political analysts say. The rise of social media has exacerbated divisions and led to an upsurge in antiestablishment parties.That's not really true. Marxism is Dracula; you can stake it in the heart, but it will always arise from the grave again. I'm suspicious of voices on the left claiming that the insane authoritarianism of the past ten years is "over." I think they want you to believe it's over. But what they intended to do is distance themselves from it, but then simply change the wording and drop the most egregious 10% and ram the other 90% of it down your throat via a quickie rebrand.
Posted by: Ace at 05:15 PM | Comments (179) | Trackbacks (Suck)
Trump Gives Mike Johnson His "Complete and Total Endorsement" to Remain Speaker
I guess it's the expected action.
The "heroes" of the Freedom Caucus are getting on my last nerve -- their refusal to vote for Mike Johnson as Speaker (even though they have not put forward any candidate who could get 218 votes) means that Trump and Vance will not be able to take the offices of president and vice president. That'll show the left, huh? The insurrection will come right from the allegedly "conservative" Freedom Caucus.
President-elect Donald Trump on Monday reaffirmed his support for Speaker Mike Johnson to continue leading the House of Representatives, framing Johnson as a pivotal figure in addressing the challenges inherited from the Biden administration. In his post on Truth Social, Trump underscored the Republican Party's resounding 2024 victory, stating, "We are the Party of COMMON SENSE, a primary reason that we WON, in a landslide, the magnificent and historic Presidential Election of 2024." The president-elect contrasted the GOP's disciplined campaign with what he labeled the Democrats' financial wastefulness and questionable tactics. "Democrats are being excoriated for their effort, having wasted 2.5 Billion Dollars, much of it unaccounted for," he said, alleging endorsements were improperly purchased from celebrities like Beyoncé and Oprah Winfrey. Trump's endorsement of Johnson carried significant weight, with the president-elect declaring, "Speaker Mike Johnson is a good, hard-working, religious man. He will do the right thing, and we will continue to WIN. Mike has my Complete & Total Endorsement." By urging Republicans to seize the moment, Trump conveyed urgency, warning, "LETS NOT BLOW THIS GREAT OPPORTUNITY WHICH WE HAVE BEEN GIVEN."
But there are only two weeks between January 6 and January 20. If the House can't find a Speaker in time to get the election certified, President-elect Donald Trump and Vice President-elect JD Vance cannot take office even though President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris will leave their posts. With a non-functioning House, Trump, Vance and the House Speaker are out of the chain-of-command, which puts the Senate pro tempore in as acting president. On January 20, 2025, that will be Republican Senator Chuck Grassley.I'm getting very tired of these narcissists grandstanding every five minutes so we can all admire their Purity. Note to the "heroes" of the Freedom Caucus: If you block Trump from being sworn in as President on January 20th at precisely 12 o'clock noon sharp, we are coming for you.
Posted by: Ace at 04:15 PM | Comments (159) | Trackbacks (Suck)
Elon Musk and Vivek Appear to Step Back From Foreigner Triumphalism im Fight Over Immigration
David Marcus has the same reaction to the MAGA fight over immigration that I did: At least we're finally able to discuss policies that impact our lives.
Lee Smith tells MAGA: don't give in to bullying from hustlers claiming to be MAGA.
There are two pieces of very good news that have come out of the infighting over H-1B visas for foreign skilled workers in Trump World this week. The first happy accident is that tensions are already easing, much to the chagrin of liberals who hoped they were witnessing a permanent schism. The second, even better development, is that both sides of the admittedly zesty debate have listened, compromised, and arrived at a better and clearer set of positions for the Republican Party moving forward. In the red corner, we had the twin heads of the Department of Government Efficiency, Vivek Ramaswamy and Elon Musk who appeared at first to call for expansion of the H-1B visa program that allows employers to use foreign labor when they cannot find qualified Americans. In the other red corner, we had Steve Bannon and a host of prominent America Firsters all but calling for an end of the skilled foreign worker program, a policy that would no doubt cause considerable chaos and disruption. On Saturday, President-elect Trump weighed in, sort of, telling the New York Post that he likes the visa program and uses it himself, but not endorsing any expansion. And this is of course the same Trump who fired board members of the Tennessee Valley Authority for using foreign workers over Americans. By Sunday morning, as parents quietly sipped coffee and spied the news on their phones, the kids getting a little more sleep before church, things had calmed down considerably in this impromptu intramural immigration debate. ... Meanwhile, Musk arguably moved even further to the center of the issue, posting late Saturday night that the excesses of the H-1B visa program are "easily fixed by raising the minimum salary significantly and adding a yearly cost for maintaining the H-1B, making it materially more expensive to hire from overseas than domestically." Or as Musk ally and head of Trump's office of Artificial Intelligence David Sacks put it, 'Elon has said that H1B should be overhauled, that it should focus on exceptional talent in high-value areas, and that the scams and low-pay jobs should end. This is not to say there aren't still differences but less than it first appeared. Time to move forward as one team.' ...
Meanwhile, the Bannonistas, who have been by Trump's side from the very beginning a decade ago, are easing their attacks on newcomers Ramaswamy and Musk, and appreciating that they are all on the same team.
Elon Musk made a very bad reference to immigration restrictionists, speaking positively of pushing these "contemptible" people out of the party. Obviously, "contemptible" is a kissing cousin of... "deplorable."
Lee Smith
@LeeSmithDC Don't be lulled by fake MAGA truce: H1B issue is indeed consequential. When Dems & GOP offshored mfg (NAFTA, WTO), rationale was that Americans would get great "tech service" jobs--but H1B showed they wouldn't get those jobs either. 1/ And there's nothing you can do about it, said Dems and GOP alike. You want those jobs back? Where's your magic wand? And besides, you deserve the pain, clinging to your guns and God -- you're racist, homophobic, etc. you're deplorables 2/ This is what Trump was elected to fight, but according to Vivek: In fact, the things that have caused you pain are your fault. Your culture prizes mediocrity, your parents raised you poorly. Then Elon: Fight me on a thing that has hurt you, and I will crush you. 3/ Vivek continues to double down: instead of walking back or even just modifying his public rebuke of American families, he characterizes it as one of his "hard truths" -- as other MAGA influencers have jumped to his defense: 4/ 'In fact nothing bad happened, it was simply a conversation, and it's the left who is trying to divide us!' But to tell people long targeted by an elite demoralization campaign that they shouldn't believe what they heard with their own ears and blame it on others is predatory. 5/ So, yes H1B matters because it's an effect of the core issue -- indeed the reason DJT is POTUS -- a political and corporate establishment that has waged a half-century long campaign to destroy the American middle class. End
Posted by: Ace at 03:20 PM | Comments (293) | Trackbacks (Suck)
Washington Post: Biden and Democrats Blame Election Loss on Merrick Garland, Believing He Wasn't Partisan Enough In His Lawfare Against Trump
David Strom:
Mollie Hemingway had a reason for championing Trump over any of his primary rivals: We had to show that the left's lawfare and politics of personal destruction would not be allowed to work. The left had to be repudiated in the worst way possible, and for the left, that meant the re-election of Trump.
The left, meanwhile, grumbles that what they really needed was MOAR LAWFARE.David Strom:
It may seem odd to normal people that anybody could think that Garland was anything but a political hack over the past four years, but seen through the eyes of Democratic Party operatives, you can see how such an absurd idea seems normal.So another Conspiracy Theory turns out to have been 100% accurate. Interesting take from Jester Politics, via Hot Air: While Democrats moan that Biden dropped out of the race too late, the truth is the opposite.[Washington Post:] Biden was persuaded, and some Democrats believe the decision had devastating results. Had the Justice Department moved faster to prosecute Trump for allegedly seeking to overturn the 2020 election and mishandling classified documents, they say, the former president might have faced a politically damaging trial before the election. (Others blame the Supreme Court and a Trump-appointed judge in Florida for repeatedly siding with the former president and delaying the cases; the Justice Department declined to comment.)... What sticks out about this tidbit, though, is not Biden's regret but the reason for it: his strategy for defeating Donald Trump depended upon using the Justice Department to prosecute Trump to tie him up during the campaign and use allegations to undermine Trump. On the one hand, you could say, "That's obviously true," but on the other, this amounts to an admission that Biden's election strategy was to weaponize the Justice Department.
One of the most amazing excuses floated so far is that Biden pulled out of the race too late leaving Harris to little time to run an effective campaign. Nonsense. That's like saying the reason the plane crashed was because the ground was too close. With the concerted help of the old press Harris was initially able to hide from the voters. For a significant part of her campaign she gave no interviews, held no press conferences, and had no unscripted interaction with voters. When she was eventually forced to do interviews she limited them to friendly venues -- like the Call Her Daddy podcast, The View, and 60 minutes. Even though every one of her interviews were at friendly venues, every one of them were still a disaster. As it turned out, the more people saw of Harris, the less they liked her. If she had a month less to campaign, she would've been better off...in other words, Biden didn't drop out too late, he dropped out too soon!
Posted by: Ace at 02:10 PM | Comments (270) | Trackbacks (Suck)
Javi Milei Defunds the Bureaucrats Tasked with Reducing Violence Against Women and Yet the Murder Rate of Women Somehow Drops 10% Anyway
You probably call him "Javier," but I'm on a nickname basis with Javi.
As you probably know, Javi was deemed a "far-right" figure by the far-left media. But then he moved Argentina's economy out of a deep recession, and CNN stopped calling him "far right" so as not to give credit to any "far right" figures. Now he's "libertarian." The key to this Unexpected Growth was Javi's slashing of the inflation rate largely by cutting government spending, of course:Posted by: Ace at 01:00 PM | Comments (326) | Trackbacks (Suck)
America's Worst Previous President, Jimmy Carter, Dead at 100
America's current president is the worst. Jimmy Carter's passing opens an easy lane for Biden's entry into the Hall of Shame on the first ballot.
"Jimmy Carter is a good Christian man" is a lie I've heard my whole life. He wasn't. He was a Terrorist Simp. And he was an election denier and dangerous disinformation peddler:Posted by: Ace at 12:00 PM | Comments (397) | Trackbacks (Suck)
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