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December 19, 2024

Finger Lickin' Good ONT

Welcome to the Thursday ONT. I have a...strange urge to go into this building.

Posted by: WeirdDave at 10:00 PM | Comments (435) | Trackbacks (Suck)

Interplanetary Cafe

A sunset... on Mars

Earth, as seen from Mars.

Husky with an Italian accent.

This is why we can't have nice things.

The most beautiful and professional grade-school Christmas pageant ever.

Dog is not a fan of Frosty. Is anybody? I hated Frosty. Even as a kid, when I was willing to entertain the possibility of Santa, elves, and flying reindeer, I understood that Frosty was fake and made-up nonsense.

Out and about with your doog.

Mama dog is so happy and proud of her puppies.

Teaching cats to shake hands.

Cats want to be the bride at every wedding and the Savior in every manger.

Outstanding junior tree decorator.

To grandmother's house we go!

Undercover Boss: Farm Edition.

Settling in for a long winter's nap.

Enjoy life like this dog enjoys two open windows.

Posted by: Ace at 07:30 PM | Comments (347) | Trackbacks (Suck)

After Trump's Victory, Biden's Mentally Ill State Department Sent Out Memos Advising Employees to Seek Solace in "Reflection Rooms" and Oh Yeah All-Gender Bathrooms Too

Are you not reassured?

Do you not feel confident that strong, wise, mentally-healthy people are conducting diplomacy on your behalf?

Adam Kredo

Two weeks after President-elect Donald Trump's November election victory, the Biden-Harris State Department issued an internal diplomatic cable that touted sweeping diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives across the agency, including dedicated "reflection rooms" and "all-gender restrooms" at American embassies abroad.
The Nov. 19 cable, issued by outgoing secretary of state Antony Blinken and reviewed by the Washington Free Beacon, is part of a larger Biden administration bid to embed DEI initiatives within the federal government before Trump takes office next year.
In some cases, that's meant rebranding job titles "promoting Diversity, Equity and Inclusion" in an attempt to make them less noticeable to Trump, the Washington Post reported. The State Department's cable, however, is open in its embrace of DEI.
Titled, "Developing a More Inclusive and Accessible Work Environment," the internal message "outlines efforts the Department is taking, in both domestic and overseas locations, to create workplaces that are welcoming, inclusive, and accessible to all employees and visitors." It references Blinken's so-called Modernization Agenda, which it says "calls for a work environment that is resilient, agile, secure, and inclusive."
...
The cable also focuses on employee bathroom habits.
The State Department is "identifying more inclusive options for employees and visitors who would like more privacy," according to the message, which notes that "employees and family members and guests visiting Posts abroad can access men's or women's restrooms and single-use (all-gender) restrooms (as available) and other facilities that align with their gender identity."
"Most" of the agency's office buildings, the cable says, "include single-occupant restrooms." Such restrooms "may also benefit people of diverse faiths by providing a private place for ritual washing and a safe environment for a wide range of employees and visitors, including transgender and non-binary individuals."
...
Under President Joe Biden, the State Department has championed DEI initiatives overseas, pumping around $80 million into programs meant to advance "racial equity" and prevent "gender and sexuality discrimination." The agency has also held "internal staff sessions and meetings" on how to preserve DEI policies once Trump takes office, according to Simon Hankinson, a former Foreign Service officer who now serves as a senior research fellow at the Heritage Foundation.
"Some staff are concerned with how to preserve DEI, and there are suggestions that they could keep the essence of it by renaming and keeping the same dedicated staff with new titles," Hankinson said. "Some employees are not willing to let what they see as 'progress' go, even if the order comes down."

As Dirty Harry would say: "Swell."

Posted by: Ace at 06:30 PM | Comments (251) | Trackbacks (Suck)

WSJ, NYT Agree: Biden Was In Obvious Cognitive Decline Not Just at the End But For His Entire Term as Fake President

Yesterday, the New York Times -- which of course insisted that Biden was doing Chinese Human Pyramid Gymnastics when the cameras weren't on him up until his debate meltdown -- admitted that Biden was in a degraded mental condition for a long time.

Though they're very careful to say that while he couldn't possibly serve another term, his skill at doing Chinese Human Pyramid Gymnastics made him perfectly capable of serving out his current term.

A Weary Biden Heads for the Exit

Still stinging from the election, President Biden is pushing for his final priorities but has absented himself from the national conversation about Donald Trump after warning repeatedly that he was a threat to American democracy.

It was a long day in Angola. President Biden had already visited a port facility bracketed with cranes and toured a factory filled with conveyor belts. So by the time he sat down at a large wooden circular table in a warm, stuffy room with African leaders, he put his head in his hand and briefly closed his eyes as the speeches droned on.
Flying across the world would have tired even a president younger than 82. But the point, as he saw it, was that he came. He traveled thousands of miles to highlight a new U.S.-backed railway that could transform the economies of Africa and supply resources for America.

Of course it's always about trains with Joey Choo-Choo.

He came. He did not have to. He insisted on it and was proud to be the first president to come.
This is the twilight of Mr. Biden's presidency, the final days of the final chapter of an epic half-century political journey that has had more than its share of twists and turns. Time is catching up with Mr. Biden. He looks a little older and a little slower with each passing day.

It's incredible that the NYT thinks this is brave reporting.

Here comes the "aides say he's totally sharp" again:

Aides say he remains plenty sharp in the Situation Room, calling world leaders to broker a cease-fire in Lebanon or deal with the chaos of Syria's rebellion. But it is hard to imagine that he seriously thought he could do the world's most stressful job for another four years.

See, there you go: The media told you the truth both times. When it told you Biden was cognitively fit as a fiddle, it was telling you the truth. He can do the job of president right now.

But on January 20th, he will suddenly degrade precipitously. So they were also telling the truth when they said (after Democrat billionaire donors told them to say it) that Biden must not be the candidate in 2024.

They're always telling the truth, Bigots. You're the ones who always lie.

...
Determined to finish on a high note and shape his legacy as a consequential president, Mr. Biden wants to "sprint to the finish line" in these final weeks, as his chief of staff, Jeffrey D. Zients, put it. He is checking a few last boxes on his presidential bucket list. Angola? Check. A visit to the Amazon rainforest, another presidential first? Check.

The only way Biden could sprint to the finish line is if you drew the finish line on the street and dropped him to "sprint" from a 30 story building.

The biggest box left is a cease-fire in Gaza and if he manages that, it would be a validating triumph for a departing president.

LOL. Except everyone knows that would be due to Hamas wanting to placate the incoming president.

Otherwise, he is wrapping up his time in office by claiming credit for the healthy economy that he is turning over to his ungrateful successor and by getting money previously approved by Congress out the door for roads and bridges at home and arms for Ukraine abroad.

Inflation remains close to 3% and we just found out that almost all the jobs "created" over the past year were figments of the Bureau of Labor Statistics' very liberal imagination.

But it's a super healthy economy.

...
Mr. Biden has absented himself from the debate convulsing the country. After warning again and again that Mr. Trump posed an existential threat to American democracy, he has now gone silent on the matter and even aides decline to answer questions on whether the incoming president is still a danger. A traditionalist to his bones, Mr. Biden has opted for the grace and reticence he believes are befitting the departing president of a defeated party, even as the incoming president threatens to imprison opponents and tries to install conspiracy-minded acolytes in positions of power.

They just never acknowledge that Biden has been doing what they claim Trump is "threatening."

Even when pushing for his priorities, Mr. Biden has found it hard to break through. During his visit to the Amazon rainforest last month, his fragility appeared painfully clear to those traveling with him.

And all of this just happened. Before the NYT acknowledged this fragility, all videos showing him shuffling around in confusion were Cheapfakes.

After speaking for seven minutes on a day of draining humidity, a blue shirt hanging loosely over his frame, he turned to slowly shuffle away down a dirt path as several people in the audience not used to seeing him up close said they held their breath, worried that he would trip. (Aides said his gait was no more unsteady than usual.)
During an arrival ceremony on his trip to Angola this month, on the day after a long, tiring transoceanic flight that would have taxed any octogenarian, President João Lourenço suddenly clutched Mr. Biden's arm to help guide him up a step.
When Mr. Biden visited the National Museum of Slavery that afternoon, he did not actually enter the main building to view the exhibitions; instead, artifacts were brought outside to show him, which two people familiar with the planning attributed to fear that the steep stairs would be too much of a challenge. (The White House denied that the stairs were a concern and said he was not brought inside for scheduling and logistical reasons.)

So there, the NYT admits what we all saw on videotape.

Now, it's right back to insisting that when the cameras aren't on him, he's doing Chinese Human Pyramid Gymnastics routines.

In meetings at the White House, aides said, he is likewise still astute, still dictating specific actions and still editing speeches to suit his preferences. He made calls to other world leaders as part of a successful effort to broker a cease-fire to stop the war in Lebanon and again to consult on the aftermath of the fall of President Bashar al-Assad in Syria.
At a ceremony honoring the Special Olympics last week, he struck some guests as fully engaged. "He seemed fine," said Elaine Kamarck, a longtime Democratic National Committee member who attended. "To my amazement, he stayed through the whole dinner. We all thought maybe he would disappear, but no, he sat down, he ate with everybody, he stayed through all of dinner. And he seemed just fine."
Still, he grew emotional at one point during the ceremony. At this time of year, friends say, Mr. Biden can become a little seasonally depressed, remembering the 1972 car accident that killed his first wife and daughter shortly before Christmas.

Biden has Schrodinger's Senility -- he only is senile when he's being observed.

The Wall Street Journal reports that Biden has actually shown dementia and frailty since the days he emerged from his basement to pretend to be president.

I think the NYT heard that the WSJ was preparing this piece and so rushed out their own cover-up version of the story to consume all the oxygen in the room.

But here's the real story: The Biden White House frequently observed Biden "blanking out" during briefings and scripted even their cabinet meetings so that the Secretaries wouldn't see Biden showing obvious senility.

How the White House Functioned With a Diminished Biden in Charge

Aides kept meetings short and controlled access, top advisers acted as go-betweens and public interactions became more scripted. The administration denied Biden has declined.
During the 2020 presidential primary, Jill Biden campaigned so extensively across Iowa that she held events in more counties than her husband--a fact her press secretary at the time, Michael LaRosa, touted to a local reporter.
His superior in the Biden campaign quickly chided him. As the three rode in a minivan through the state's cornfields, Anthony Bernal, then a deputy campaign manager and chief of staff to Jill Biden, pressed LaRosa to contact the reporter again and play down any comparison in campaign appearances between Joe Biden, then 77, and his wife, who is eight years his junior. Her energetic schedule only highlighted her husband's more plodding pace, LaRosa recalls being told.
The message from Biden's team was clear. "The more you talk her up, the more you make him look bad," LaRosa said.
The small correction foreshadowed how Biden's closest aides and advisers would manage the limitations of the oldest president in U.S. history during his four years in office.

To adapt the White House around the needs of a diminished leader, they told visitors to keep meetings focused. Interactions with senior Democratic lawmakers and some cabinet members--including powerful secretaries such as Defense's Lloyd Austin and Treasury's Janet Yellen--were infrequent or grew less frequent. Some legislative leaders had a hard time getting the president's ear at key moments, including ahead of the U.S.'s disastrous pullout from Afghanistan.
Senior advisers were often put into roles that some administration officials and lawmakers thought Biden should occupy, with people such as National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan, senior counselor Steve Ricchetti and National Economic Council head Lael Brainard and her predecessor frequently in the position of being go-betweens for the president.
Press aides who compiled packages of news clips for Biden were told by senior staff to exclude negative stories about the president. The president wasn't talking to his own pollsters as surveys showed him trailing in the 2024 race.
Presidents always have gatekeepers. But in Biden's case, the walls around him were higher and the controls greater, according to Democratic lawmakers, donors and aides who worked for Biden and other administrations. There were limits over who Biden spoke with, limits on what they said to him and limits around the sources of information he consumed.
Throughout his presidency, a small group of aides stuck close to Biden to assist him, especially when traveling or speaking to the public. "They body him to such a high degree," a person who witnessed it said, adding that the "hand holding" is unlike anything other recent presidents have had.

The word "body" here is used to mean "stick to and support like a 'body man' in politics," who is an aide paid to stay close to the politician and push people out of his way if needed. Basically soft, unarmed versions of bodyguards.

This account of how the White House functioned with an aging leader at the top of its organizational chart is based on interviews with nearly 50 people, including those who participated in or had direct knowledge of the operations.
...
"Good Days, Bad Days"
The president's slide has been hard to overlook. While preparing last year for his interview with Robert K. Hur, the special counsel who investigated Biden's handling of classified documents, the president couldn't recall lines that his team discussed with him. At events, aides often repeated instructions to him, such as where to enter or exit a stage, that would be obvious to the average person. Biden's team tapped campaign co-chairman Jeffrey Katzenberg, a Hollywood mogul, to find a voice coach to improve the president's fading warble.
Biden, now 82, has long operated with a tightknit inner circle of advisers. The protective culture inside the White House was intensified because Biden started his presidency at the height of the Covid pandemic. His staff took great care to prevent him from catching the virus by limiting in-person interactions with him. But the shell constructed for the pandemic was never fully taken down, and his advanced age hardened it.
The structure was also designed to prevent Biden, an undisciplined public speaker throughout his half-century political career, from making gaffes or missteps that could damage his image, create political headaches or upset the world order.
The system put Biden at an unusual remove from cabinet secretaries, the chairs of congressional committees and other high-ranking officials. It also insulated him from the scrutiny of the American public.
The strategies to protect Biden largely worked--until June 27, when Biden stood on an Atlanta debate stage with Trump, searching for words and unable to complete his thoughts on live television. Much of the Democratic establishment had accepted the White House line that Biden was able to take the fight to Trump, even in the face of direct evidence to the contrary.
Biden, staffed with advisers since he became a senator at age 30, came to the White House with a small team of fiercely loyal, long-serving aides who knew him and Washington so well that they could be particularly effective proxies. They didn't tolerate criticism of Biden's performance or broader dissent within the Democratic Party, especially when it came to the president's decision to run for a second term.
Yet a sign that the bruising presidential schedule needed to be adjusted for Biden's advanced age had arisen early on--in just the first few months of his term.
Administration officials noticed that the president became tired if meetings went long and would make mistakes.
They issued a directive to some powerful lawmakers and allies seeking one-on-one time: The exchanges should be short and focused, according to people who received the message directly from White House aides.
Ideally, the meetings would start later in the day, since Biden has never been at his best first thing in the morning, some of the people said. His staff made these adjustments to limit potential missteps by Biden, the people said. The president, known for long and rambling sessions, at times pushed in the opposite direction, wanting or just taking more time.
The White House denied that his schedule has been altered due to his age.

If the president was having an off day, meetings could be scrapped altogether. On one such occasion, in the spring of 2021, a national security official explained to another aide why a meeting needed to be rescheduled. "He has good days and bad days, and today was a bad day so we're going to address this tomorrow," the former aide recalled the official saying.

The article notes that even high-ranking Congressmen taking a point position on something important to Biden -- like the FISA bill -- were not allowed to speak to Biden directly, but only spoke to his aides. This, of course, was to hide the (open) secret of the fake president's senility.

One lawmaker who did get one-on-one time with Biden noticed that the president lacked stamina and heavily relied on his staff: Sen. Joe Manchin, the West Virginia Democrat-turned-independent who held up chunks of Biden's legislative agenda during the first half of Biden's term. Manchin said the job required a level of energy that he wasn't sure Biden had been able to sustain.
"I just thought that maybe the president just lost that fight," Manchin said in an interview. "The ability to continue to stay on, just grind it, grind it, grind it."
Instead of Biden directing follow up, Manchin noticed that Biden's staff played a much bigger role driving his agenda than he had experienced in other administrations. Manchin referred to them as the "eager beavers"--a group that included then-White House Chief of Staff Ron Klain. "They were going, 'I'll take care of that,' " Manchin said.
...

Interactions between Biden and many of his cabinet members were relatively infrequent and often tightly scripted. At least one cabinet member stopped requesting calls with the president, because it was clear that such requests wouldn't be welcome, a former senior cabinet aide said.

It's a good article. Worth the read.

Chris Cillizza @ChrisCillizza 4h
An apology: As a journalist, I should have pushed harder on the very real questions about Joe Biden's physical and mental health as president.
I talked about it here:
youtube.com/watch?v=_WQKveT8...
Greg Price @greg_price11 1m
Instead of apologizing, it's easier to just say that journalists ran interference for Joe Biden's senility because journalists are liberals who root for Democrats to win and will run the same interference again the next time a Democrat is in the White House.
Sean Davis @seanmdav 1h
Interesting that these "apologies" only ever come when there's no longer any political cost to telling inconvenient truths about Democrats.
Posted by: andycanuck

Posted by: Ace at 05:30 PM | Comments (233) | Trackbacks (Suck)

Is Mike Johnson's Speakership in Danger?

Henry Rodgers at the Daily Caller suggests it might be.

Speaker of the House Mike Johnson is facing serious blowback from those in his own party for trying to push through a continuing resolution filled with unnecessary spending. Sources on Capitol Hill, including both lawmakers and their staff, told the Caller Johnson may have cost himself the Speaker's job with the poorly-received gambit right before Christmas.
"Mike Johnson spent a lot of time fundraising off of selfies with President Trump, and then betrayed him right before the inauguration. He'll have to answer for that in January," a senior House Republican staffer told the Caller.
The 1,574-page spending measure will receive votes from both Democrats and Republicans, but Johnson broke several promises in the process of putting forth the bill. Johnson said in September that he has "no intention of going back" to the "terrible tradition" of a Christmas omnibus.
A senior house aide told the Caller that House Republicans have lost trust in Johnson and that it will be hard to recover from.
"It's not a competence or leadership question for some folks now. It's a trust question. That's gonna be tough to come back from," the senior house aide said.
...
Johnson also promised that the spending bill would be written by committee leaders in an open process and members would have at least 72 hours to read it before voting, but in reality, the new CR was negotiated behind closed doors by leadership.
"On every important issue this majority has faced, the Speaker has shown himself to be inapt and outsmarted by Biden and Schumer and is too easily willing to surrender," one House Republican lawmaker told the Caller.
...
Kentucky Republican Rep. Thomas Massie was the first House Republican to say he would oppose Johnson's bid for Speaker, saying Wednesday: "I'll vote for somebody else." When asked who he would vote for instead he said: "I've got a few in mind. I'm not going to say yet."
"There's a cognitive disconnect among my colleagues who hated Speaker Johnson's CR, but still plan to vote for Speaker Johnson in 2 weeks. That 1557 page bill was a product of the swamp that uniparty Johnson was happy to facilitate. He couldn't understand why we didn't lap it up," Massie tweeted Thursday morning.

Ed Morrissey reports that Johnson has Trump's support.

IF.

Trump says that Johnson can "easily remain Speaker" "IF" he starts acting like a man and not the cringing weakling boy he seems to be.

If's a big word.

From Fox Digital:

President-elect Donald Trump told Fox News Digital that House Speaker Mike Johnson will "easily remain speaker" for the next Congress if he "acts decisively and tough" and eliminates "all of the traps being set by Democrats" in the spending package.
Fox News Digital spoke exclusively with the president-elect Thursday morning, just hours after the bipartisan deal to avoid a partial government shutdown was killed.
"Anybody that supports a bill that doesn't take care of the Democrat quicksand known as the debt ceiling should be primaried and disposed of as quickly as possible," Trump told Fox News Digital.

The liberal sellouts of the Republican Party are muttering in anger to themselves. Only their Democrat allies have the guts to complain on-the-record:

Posted by: Ace at 04:30 PM | Comments (378) | Trackbacks (Suck)

Another One Gone: Neil Cavuto, Censorious Propagandist for Anthony Fauci and Every Other Regime Operative, Announces He's Leaving Fox News After 28 Years (and At Least 12 Years Too Late)

Another one I'm happy to see the back of.

Maybe he'll join Chris Wallace in that podcast venture.

Longtime Fox News host Neil Cavuto announced Thursday that he is leaving the network after 28 years.
Cavuto, one of the original hosts on Fox News, has hosted his program, "Your World," since the network's launch in 1996 and also hosts "Cavuto Coast to Coast" on the Fox Business Network and "Cavuto Live" on Saturdays. The host's last day at the network is reportedly Thursday, which he intends to announce on his program later in the afternoon, Mediaite first reported.
...

Cavuto reportedly rejected the terms of a contract offered by Fox News and ultimately decided to depart the network, despite the network wanting him to stay, according to Mediaite.

That sounds like Fox would allow him to stay -- if he took a pay cut.

His old timeslot will have revolving hosts until Fox picks a replacement.

Below, one of Neil Cavuto's finest moments of Regime "Journalism."

Posted by: Ace at 03:29 PM | Comments (436) | Trackbacks (Suck)

Under Far Right Wing Leadership of Javier Milei, Argentina Finally Exits Recession With a Quarter of Growth

Recession, afeura!

CNN actually avoids calling him "far right wing" for once.

But that's because he's accomplished something good and important -- and CNN doesn't want to associate success with "the far right wing."

So for this article, and this story alone, he's "libertarian."

Argentina exits recession in win for libertarian president Milei

Argentina has come out of a deep recession in a major victory for the country's unorthodox President Javier Milei, who has spent the past year enacting sweeping -- and painful -- reforms in Latin America's third-largest economy.
Gross domestic product grew 3.9% in the July-to-September quarter compared with the previous three months, Argentina's statistics agency said Monday. The agriculture and mining sectors drove the expansion, with consumer spending also growing strongly. But manufacturing and construction suffered sharp declines in output.
The news of the economic rebound comes a year after Milei was elected on a ticket to tackle chronic hyperinflation and overhaul the long-suffering economy. He has slashed government spending, reducing sky-high inflation and helping repair the country's finances. But these measures have also pushed up unemployment and the poverty rate.

Doubt it.

You don't grow nearly 4% with rising unemployment. Nor are people more impoverished in a growing economy than in a failing one.

The economist has won praise from US President-elect Donald Trump, whose government efficiency tsars, Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy, appear keen to replicate his budget cuts in the United States.

Argentina's flagship Merval stock index, which tracks around two dozen of the country's most valuable listed companies, closed more than 7% higher Monday. So far this year, the index is up 174% as investors have welcomed Milei's radical reforms.
Milei inherited an economy in crisis, racked by hyperinflation that reached 211% last December and which was fueled by previous governments' money printing to fund spending. According to the International Monetary Fund, the country's biggest creditor, he has delivered "better-than-expected results."
The IMF, which approved a bailout for Argentina in 2018, the fund's biggest ever, sees the economy shrinking by 3.5% overall this year, following a 1.6% contraction last year. Projected growth of 5% next year will, in simple terms, just about reverse those declines.

LOL. What you're reading is the script they have prepared for Trump. When the economy finally starts growing for real again, and inflation finally cools off, CNN will gripe that Trump is merely filling in a hole, not building a mound.

Posted by: Ace at 02:22 PM | Comments (323) | Trackbacks (Suck)

George Stephanoplous Repeatedly Warned by Producers Not to Use Defamatory Word "Rape," Used It Ten Times Anyway;
Also "Humiliated" by Payout to Trump

He just kept saying the word his producers told him would have legal consequences.

Because he's not a journalist. He's the same nasty shrimp who smeared honest women reporting on Clinton's harassment as "nuts and sluts."

George Stephanopoulos was repeatedly told by his executive producer not to "use the word rape" before going on the air to discuss Donald Trump but the ABC News anchor ignored the warning -- a decision that cost the network $16 million, The Post has learned.
Parent company Disney's capitulation last week in the defamation lawsuit by Trump against ABC News and Stephanopoulos shocked media and legal experts, but the damning revelation could help explain why Mouse House CEO Bob Iger signed off on the settlement so quickly.
The "This Week" host uttered that Trump was "liable for rape" while discussing the civil lawsuit won by journalist E. Jean Carroll during an interview with Republican lawmaker Nancy Mace in March.
"'This Week' producer said 'don't use the word rape' before the segment started," a network source told The Post. "The EP [executive producer] said it so many times."
A second source at the show confirmed via a text message viewed by The Post that Stephanopoulos was warned "not to say rape."
Disney's chances of winning the lawsuit would be damaged if Stephanopoulos ignored his producer's warning, legal experts told The Post.
Often, when dealing with litigious subjects, the company's legal team may speak to producers ahead of time to advise on language so as to avoid lawsuits, which is customary in the media industry.
However, it is unclear whether ABC's legal team had been involved before Stephanopoulos went on the air.
ABC News declined to comment. Reps for Disney and Stephanopoulos did not return requests for comment.
Iger agreed to the deal late Friday -- hours after Florida Judge Cecilia Altonaga rejected a request to delay the case and ordered Trump and Stephanopoulos to sit for hours-long depositions just days before Christmas, the New York Times reported Wednesday.
The judge also demanded that Disney turn over emails and text messages sent by and to Stephanopoulos by Sunday -- which could have forced the media mogul's hand if the damning text messages surfaced, according to the Times.
Disney's top lawyer, Horacio Gutierrez, urged Iger to settle the suit rather than risk a civil trial in front of a jury in the president-elect's home state, people familiar with the matter told the Wall Street Journal.
...
A source said that ABC News employees are now calling Stephanopoulos "furious George" behind his back. They are also wondering how the star anchor can now cover the incoming Trump administration.
"Everyone seems to be asking that question except ABC brass," the source said.

More on the "humiliation" of "Furious George:"

ABC News anchor George Stephanopoulos is "apoplectic" and "humiliated" by the network's decision to pay $16 million to settle a defamation lawsuit brought by President-elect Donald Trump, The Post has learned.
Stephanopoulos, who claimed Trump had raped E. Jean Carroll during an interview with Republican lawmaker Nancy Mace, was particularly upset about being forced to apologize, a source with knowledge of the situation said.
Another source told The Post that "George is defiant."
A third source said Stephanopoulos "is a very guarded person. His circle of trust is so small, and a lot of them don't work [at ABC anymore]."
The first insider added that the host of "This Week" had recently signed a contract extension with Disney-owned ABC News -- though the source did not disclose the terms of the deal.

The former President Bill Clinton aide has kept a low profile since the settlement -- a $15 million donation to a presidential foundation and museum for Trump and another $1 million for Trump's attorney fees -- was announced Saturday.
He has deactivated his X account, where he had more than 2.3 million followers.
Some ABC News staffers fumed at management for keeping a tight lid on coverage of the settlement, the first source said.
It was "front page news everywhere yet ABC doesn't report on itself," the source lamented.

Three sources told The Post that morale is down after a series of layoffs in all departments.
The settlement "is another gut punch," one of the people said. "It's sheer level embarrassment. People are furious."
...
Stephanopoulos did not return multiple requests for comment.
Trump filed the defamation lawsuit against ABC News and Stephanopoulos after the newscaster incorrectly noted that the former president "has been found liable for rape by a jury."
The network and Stephanopoulos released a joint statement on Saturday.
"ABC News and George Stephanopoulos regret statements regarding President Donald J. Trump made during an interview by George Stephanopoulos with Rep. Nancy Mace on ABC's 'This Week' on March 10, 2024," the statement said.
Last year, a Manhattan jury hearing the civil case brought by Carroll, who has alleged she was raped by Trump decades ago, found the Republican liable for sexual battery and defamation -- but not rape.

Jacob Shamsian
@JayShams
The New York Times reports that Disney executives agreed to the $16 million settlement with Donald Trump because they feared a Florida jury, retribution from Trump, and the Supreme Court overturning landmark First Amendment law.

T. Becket Adams cracked:

T. Becket Adams
@BecketAdams
"ABC paid $15 million to save the First Amendment" is an all-timer in the history of PR spin.

Norman Ornstein
@NormOrnstein
I have known George Stephanopoulos since he was a junior staffer in the House of Representatives. He has had a remarkable career. I feel for him; Disney and ABC betrayed him. But if he stays in his position and does not resign, he is complicit in this blow to American democracy.

Mark Hemingway
@Heminator
Yes, Stephanopoulos must resign for the good of America!

Ed Morrissey wonders why our Bravest of Brave Fire-Fighters are all leaking about "Furious George's" anger over the settlement... anonymously.

Are you not all Brave Fire-Fighters and Fearless Truth-Tellers? Have I been misled?

CNN's ratings with the important "demo" fell to a fresh low.

New data has revealed that CNN has hit its lowest total day demo rating - a key category for cable news networks - in the outlet's history.
Among the coveted 24 to 54 viewer demographic - referred to as 'demo viewers' - CNN's daily audience dropped by one percent from last year. Last year, CNN's day total demo number was 94,000.
This year, it is reportedly 92,000, Mediaite reported based on to data from Nielsen Media Research.
The media outlet only accounted for 11 percent if cable news viewers during prime time last month after the election.
Since Donald Trump's presidential win, CNN's prime time viewership has slumped by 52 percent, according to Mediaite.
After the election, the prime time demo audience has shrunken to an average of 77,000.

CNN's overall ratings slightly increased since the election, but those increases represent their lifter, 55+ viewers remaining loyal to the network. Viewers 55 and older aren't valued by advertisers because their consumer habits are pretty much set by that age and advertising at them doesn't change those habits.

In other words, CNN's audience is old and aging. I remember how they used to snicker at the age of Fox's audience.

Posted by: Ace at 01:15 PM | Comments (356) | Trackbacks (Suck)

#Sweetdicked!: Perjurious Town Pump Fani Willis Disqualified from Trump Case

The Georgia Appeals Court #Sweetdicked Fani Willis.

Her ravening sexmaw tainted the office so much that the entire DA's office was disqualified as well.

A Georgia court of appeals disqualified Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis and her team from prosecuting President-elect Donald Trump in his election interference case on Thursday.
The court did not toss Trump's indictment entirely, but Willis and the assistant DAs working in her office now have "no authority to proceed."
"After carefully considering the trial court's findings in its order, we conclude that it erred by failing to disqualify DA Willis and her office," the filing states. "The remedy crafted by the trial court to prevent an ongoing appearance of impropriety did nothing to address the appearance of impropriety that existed at times when DA Willis was exercising her broad pretrial discretion about who to prosecute and what charges to bring."
The court said while it recognizes that "an appearance of impropriety generally is not enough to support disqualification, this is the rare case in which disqualification is mandated and no other remedy will suffice to restore public confidence in the integrity of these proceedings."

Well, she and her Sweetdick outrageously and overtly perjured themselves on the stand for multiple days. That's disqualifiable right there.

"Accordingly, we reverse the trial court's denial of the appellants' motion to disqualify DA Willis and her office," the filing states. "As we conclude that the elected district attorney is wholly disqualified from this case, 'the assistant district attorneys -- whose only power to prosecute a case is derived from the constitutional authority of the district attorney who appointed them -- have no authority to proceed,'" the filing states.
In an exclusive interview with Fox News Digital, Trump said the "whole case has been a disgrace to justice."
...
Trump told Fox News Digital that the case "should not be allowed to go any further."
...
"The case has to be thrown out because it was started corruptly by an incompetent prosecutor who received millions of dollars through her boyfriend--who received it from her--and then they went on cruises all the time," Trump said, referring to Willis' relationship with a former prosecutor on her team, Nathan Wade.
"Therefore, the case is entirely dead," Trump said. "Everybody should receive an apology, including those wonderful patriots who have been caught up in this for years."

Trump had more to say:

Posted by: Ace at 12:06 PM | Comments (396) | Trackbacks (Suck)

The Morning Rant: Minimalist Edition

The vastness of the stupidity on display with regard to the recent increase in drone sightings is a signal that many of us have lost all ability to think. That much of the stupidity is being spouted by our government officials and representatives may be even worse. In the absence of any data, they reassure us that there is no threat? Or they breathlessly tell us that they are Iranian drones being dispatched from a mother ship off our east coast? Or they are looking for radioactive material? Or they are being controlled by Russian sleeper agents?

It is entirely possible that all of these drone sightings are coincidence, much like those mythical clusters of disease that freak out people with an insufficient grasp of statistics and probability. With thousands of aircraft in the skies at all hours, particularly in the populated Northeast, seeing a bunch of lights in the sky at night is not odd. I live within 30 air miles of three major commercial airports and one very large general aviation airport. I can look at the night sky and see lots of slow and fast clusters of lights; the leap from "aircraft" to IRANIAN DRONE! is one that I am not prepared to take absent any data.

But... our government lies. It lies reflexively. It lies even when the truth is a better choice. It lies because it does not want us to know anything.

So when I read this sort of dribbling bullsh*t pouring from the mouths of our government spokesmen my immediate thought is: "what are they hiding?"

US has the tech to down Jersey drones -- but not the policy, officials say

Government officials have stressed that the drones reportedly sighted since mid-November pose no immediate threat, and do not appear to be part of any attack. One military official speaking on background said that if intelligence analysis had shown the aerial objects were foreign or military in nature, the military could bring sophisticated sensors and weapons to bear. In February, U.S. Northern Command dispatched an Air Force F-22 to down a Chinese spy balloon over the United States. But the FBI is in charge of the more recent incursions—suggesting that U.S. agencies suspect a domestic cause.

If there is no risk from these supposed drones, then why even discuss shooting them down? But on what data are you basing your claim that there is no risk?

The incredible fiasco of the Chinese spy balloon does not fill me with confidence that our military knows what the hell is going on. The damned thing flew (or drifted) across the entire country, and THEN they shot it down? Was that stupidity? By plan? Either one is damning.

But the reflexive nonsense is guaranteed to make most people just a little bit suspicious. "We have no idea what is going on, but we are confident that there is no threat." That tells me that A) the speaker is an idiot, or B) the speaker is lying. Of course this is the Biden administration, so it is entirely possible that both A and B hold true.

As for having the technology to down drones? Sure...maybe it works. Maybe it doesn't. The Russians seem to be having a tough time with Ukrainian drones, and that is a war! But if we really do have the technology, then why not trot it out around a few major airports that have issues with drones being flown too close. Shoot the f*ckers down. The excuse that Congress must authorize that sort of stuff is arrant nonsense. When was the last time our federal law enforcement services gave a rat's ass about the law?

And that makes me think that they really are hiding something!

[Crossposted at CutJibNewsletter]

Posted by: CBD at 11:00 AM | Comments (354) | Trackbacks (Suck)

Mid-Morning Art Thread

The Coppersmith
Edgar Melville Ward

Posted by: CBD at 09:30 AM | Comments (326) | Trackbacks (Suck)

The Morning Report — 12/19/24

Good morning kids. Well, evidently President-elect Trump, with the help of key allies like Elon Musk have seemingly (seemingly!) driven a stake into the heart of this radioactive pork-laden shakedown of the American people that was being spearheaded by GOP House Speaker Mike Johnson. It is one thing to continue to pimp the outrageous lie that if the Federal Government shuts down due to lack of a budget/funding, even for one nanosecond, life as we know it will come to an end, and Republican speakers (spielers perhaps more accurately) from shambling bipedal gin blossom Boehner, up to John Boehner to Frank Luntz's Cabana Boy Kevin McCarthy and now the one for whom he was removed, as supposedly fiscally responsible.

The bureaucracy and the Deep State and all its depredations, also known as the Swamp, are what propelled Trump to victory in three straight elections, (which is why the aforementioned were energized to steal 2020) and are now energized to redouble their efforts from his frst term to sabotage him at every turn. It would've been bad enough if merely the previous waste of money continued as it had before, but within this 1,500-plus page abomination are the very things that saved the bacon, pun-intended, of the GOP and allowed them to ride Trump's coattails back into power. Not the bill, but the promise to end these massive frauds and wastes disguised as budgets.

Most egregious include a massive pay raise for these criminals as well as money from your pocket to muzzle you after cutting your tongue out.

House Speaker Mike Johnson is, once again, handing Democrats a gift and the American people a defeat with a massive and irresponsible omnibus spending bill — which includes an extension on a censorship entity that was supposed to be dismantled this year. How can Republicans expect to win the next election if they keep doing the same thing that Democrats would do? Donald Trump has raised hopes by establishing a new Department of Government Efficiency to slash federal spending and activities, but he and DOGE could find that hard to do in 2025 if this continuing resolution is passed. Among the disturbing provisions of the 1,500-page legislation is a provision for extending the existence of the censorship-funding Global Engagement Center (GEC). The State Department had previously notified Congress that GEC was being dismantled, according to Washington Examiner reporter Gabe Kaminsky, but here comes Johnson to save the day for censors and bring GEC back from the dead. Do Republican leaders just let Democrats write legislation and sign off on whatever it is?

Umm, when they said Malig-Nancy Pelosi got a hip replacement, it wasn't meant to be Mike Johnson. About as hip as Bob Hope impersonating the Fonz. In the immortal words of Ace, the GOP can go fuck itself in the heart with a steak knife.

The pressure campaign trumped. The bloated Congressional funding bill that faced a mass Republican revolt aided by President-elect Donald Trump has been scrapped, House Majority Leader Steve Scalise confirmed Wednesday night. Scalise affirmed to reporters that the spending package — which would have funded the government until mid-March — is dead, leaving Congress scrambling to come up with a new agreement ahead of a looming government shutdown Saturday.
“There’s still a lot of negotiations and conversations going on,” Scalise said, noting there’s no agreement on how to proceed. A large contingent of House Republicans guffawed at the 1,547-page continuing resolution that Speaker Mike Johnson ed in a negotiation with Democrats, who would likely try to hold up the bill in the Senate if they didn’t get their measures in.
The revolt was spearheaded by Elon Musk, one of Trump’s closest advisers and co-chair of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), as he went on a tirade on X Wednesday against Republicans who supported the stopgap measure.
Trump and Vice President-elect JD Vance then weighed in on the GOP battle in a lengthy statement issued from the Ohio Senator’s X account, in which they called on Republicans to be “tough” and “smart” and not give into Democratic requests.

Well, to be honest, during Trump's first term there was precious little he did to try and curb the excesses of congress, and on top of it were the massive multi-trillion dollar COVID handouts. Hopefully this time around, he really is serious about cutting the heart out of the freedom and prosperity killing bureaucracy, the lifeblood of which are dollars directly stolen from the American people or their progeny via borrowing and the printing presses of the treasury department. That's the swamp, right there.

Over the past few weeks we have linked to though not extensively discussed how the Executive branch can indeed control if not cut the purse strings of the apparatchiks and Little Eichmanns of the Bureaucracy.

The password is IMPOUNDMENT

Most Americans are unfamiliar with impoundment, but that is likely to change as Trump and his allies set the Richard Nixon-era law in their sights. . . Impoundment is a power enumerated in in Article II of the Constitution permitting a president to decline to spend the full amount of funds that Congress appropriates – essentially, the founders intended congressionally appropriated funds to present a ceiling, not a floor. . . Russ Vought, Trump’s nominee to return to lead the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), has called restoring presidential impoundment authority “a necessary remedy to fix our fiscal brokenness.” Vought, who through his outside group the Center for Renewing America has advocated cutting trillions of dollars in federal spending, will be a central figure in the Trump administration’s fight against the spending status quo. . .
. . . “The Impoundment Control Act of 1974 has unjustly complicated the President’s constitutional impoundment authority for far too long,” Clyde said. “Every President from George Washington to Richard Nixon possessed this tool to cut wasteful spending until the ICA purported to divest the President of this critical power. In the fifty years since, America’s national debt and Washington’s spending habits have soared out of control. We must defend the presidential power of impoundment to get America’s fiscal house back in order.” Trump himself has argued for impoundment during his trademark rallies. He and his allies seem determined to use it.

Impound the shit out of the Deep State, Mr. President. Of course, the beast will not go quietly into that good night, as the shampeachments, law fare, mass insubordination, propaganda/smear campaigns in the media, a stolen 2020 election, hinky shenanigans in the '22 midterms as well as in '24 in several Senate and House races, as well as the assassination attempts have clearly demonstrated.

One of the handful of Republican politicians who I respect and trust to do the right thing is Louie Gohmert, who, in reacting to this recent drone hysteria made this observation:

Now citizens are asking whether the Biden junta would be willing to use a national emergency, whether contrived or authentic, arising out of these or other circumstances, to declare martial law and refuse to swear in the new President on January 20 as constitutionally required.
We have seen during the last sixteen years that Democrat leaders have quite often accused Republicans of engaging in exactly the sort of questionable or illegal conduct that the Democrats were in fact guilty of themselves. The whole Trump-Russia hoax, we eventually learned, was fabricated by a British former spy in collusion with, among others, the Hillary Clinton campaign and the DNC. Ultimately, Christopher Steele admitted that the people who provided the fabricated story for the dossier may well have been working for Putin.
President Trump was even charged by the Democrats through impeachment with using his official position to demand a quid pro quo from Ukraine. As it turns out, President Trump did not commit this offense, but Vice President Biden is on video bragging about his doing that very thing. . .Most Americans are well aware that the world has become a powder keg, and the United States is much worse off than it was four years ago. The last thing we need is for the Biden administration to hang around beyond noon on January 20th. Even if the D.C. leadership and the Biden junta have provoked the city and nation into turmoil, all we need is for President-elect Trump and Vice President-elect Vance to quietly meet the Chief Justice in an undisclosed location and be sworn in. President Trump will then have full authority to do what is necessary to bring about law, order, and a little peace beginning at noon on January 20, 2025.

He can start with abolishing the Democrat Party and all its tentacles such as the WFP, DFL, DSA et al. As what should have been done in 1865 when the curtain came down at Ford's Theatre.

Well, if this item from this abomination actually gets funded, it can go towards rope and lamp posts for the D.C. Federal Triangle. Those in the GOP who have their snouts in the trough should be included as well.

A “Feral Swine Eradication” program

Elsewhere, it looks like the Israelis are taking care of business and sending a very long distance message, especially about their capabilities to send long distance messages.

Israel conducted its third long-range airstrike on the terrorist Houthi militia in Yemen early Thursday morning, hours after the rebels fired a ballistic missile at Israel’s population centers that was intercepted outside Israeli airspace. The ballistic missile was the seventh fired at Israel by the Houthis in recent weeks, in addition to five drone launches. . . Israel’s Army Radio reported that Israel had struck targets in Sana’a, the capital city of Yemen, for the first time.

A quick look at a map shows Yemen's capital can only be reached by flying over the Red Sea or directly overflying Saudi Arabia, and no doubt would require aerial refueling if IDF aircraft are to deploy enough ordnance on target. Also, of note is that distance is about the same as between Israel and Iran. And for sure that would likely require either overflying Saudi Airspace or the Saudis and/or Emiratis allowing the IDF to preposition aircraft on their territory to fly directly over the Gulf to attack Iranian targets.

There is speculation that the Mullahs are on the ropes with the evisceration of their Hamas and Hezbollah allies as well as the collapse of the Assad regime (although with the installation of Islamic terrorists as their replacement, that is likely a temporary setback for the Iranians). A quick series of attacks by Israel could be enough to finally bring down the Ayatollahs. Especially if Israel knocks out their oil refining capacity, which would totally wreck their already faltering economy and cause a massive revolt by the people.

More alarming for the Israelis is the confirmation that Iran is now a red nether hair's breadth from a nuclear breakout and perhaps weaponization into bombs and warheads. Bibi has repeatedly declared he would never allow that to happen.

If the Mullahs are close enough to a bomb, they'd use it to save their asses with the added bonus of wiping out thousands of Jews all in one go.

Lastly, a shout-out and thank you for your continued support in hitting our tip jar. It's appreciated more than you can know. Have a great day.

ABOVE THE FOLD, BREAKING, NOTEWORTHY

Scalise confirmed the bill was dead and that Republicans did not have an agreement on how to move forward yet.
Bloated federal funding bill is scrapped after Trump-boosted revolt, Rep. Scalise confirms
A “Feral Swine Eradication” program (sound of Al Sharpton breathing a sigh of relief - jjs)
The Craziest Things Congress Snuck Into Its Pork-Packed Christmas Spending Spree
Trump is about to be handed a very difficult situation on January 20. And that, by the way, is an interference and an interruption with the peaceful transition of power.
The Democrats are sabotaging the peaceful transfer of power
Americans should be deeply concerned that our government and financial institutions are not only spying on us but also potentially abusing their power to target Americans for their political views.
Report: Your Bank Might Be Spying On You For The Feds
Louie Gohmert: A reflection on the last thing we need from the Biden regime.
Delay Inauguration? No Need and No Thank You
Victor Davis Hanson: Drone swarms over American cities spark frustration as a distrustful public suspects the Biden junta knows more than it admits.
Dronomania

Posted by: J.J. Sefton at 07:30 AM | Comments (423) | Trackbacks (Suck)

Daily Tech News 19 December 2024

Top Story

The US government has warned politicians and government officials to avoid the phone network. (Reuters)

It's full of Chinese hackers and nobody can say when - or if - it will be secure again.
The first recommendation: "Use only end-to-end encrypted communications."
Which they have been trying to ban.
Meanwhile in the world of digital license plates, the absolutely thinkable happened: They got hacked. (Wired) (archive site)

Digital license plates aren't supposed to let you change your license plate number.

But of course they do. There's a programming port on the license plate which is secured by a sticker. Peel off the sticker, plug in a programmer, and you can do anything.

Posted by: Pixy Misa at 04:00 AM | Comments (213) | Trackbacks (Suck)

December 18, 2024

Wednesday Overnight Open Thread - December 18, 2024 [TRex]

[Photo: Christmas Market in Braunschweig, Germany]

Good evening Horde. The time has come for mid-week shenanigans of the overnight variety.

This is the Wednesday night ONT.

***

Posted by: Open Blogger at 10:00 PM | Comments (362) | Trackbacks (Suck)

Good Boy Birthday Party Cafe

A bunch of adorable dogs in their Halloween costumes.

Hide and seek with a pupper.

Crow demands more grooming.

Dog is confused.

Rescuing a poor owl who got buried in manure and whose feathers were too filthy to fly. Now he's a clean and happy bird.

Going out to dinner with your big giant awkward dog.

Ginger Baker puppy.

So many cute dogs.

Otter pup makes its first squeak. Unfortunately it's an evil river otter and must therefore be euthanized.

She's a Two-Face, Jerry.

Dog can't wait to check out his new toy.

There must be a big racoon in this dumpster.

Mama donkey is proud of her newborn.

The cutest little luggage.

Inman:

Customer leaves store, then comes back in to deal with knifepoint robber. In NYC, he'd already be in Rikers.

Street justice compilation, which includes a surprise.

BLM activist steals phone from elderly victim then leads cops on high speed car chase. Of course she cries racism as she's arrested. MAJOR DISAPPOINTMENT as there is no Ludacris Cam despite the pit maneuver being used. Just want to brace you for that betrayal.

Also no Ludacris Cam here, but there should be.

They went after him 2-on-one. They should have brought more guys.

Bear f's around with a string and finds out.

Posted by: Ace at 07:30 PM | Comments (177) | Trackbacks (Suck)

Quick Hits

Deranged effeminate worm J.V. Last of the Pierre Omidyar-funded Bulwark is worried about whether his billionaire donor will continue putting a roof over his head, and attempts to attract a new constituency: Pro-Murder maniacs.

Politico: "Some" Democrats want Kamala to be the 2028 nominee.

Are Democrats coconut-pilled? Some want to see Kamala Harris run again.
Top officials gathered in Washington suggested an openness to backing the vice president again next time.

Senior Democrats aren't ruling out Kamala Harris as a presidential candidate for 2028. But not all of them are fully endorsing the idea, either.
For party leaders, it's a delicate balancing act. Some want to show respect for the outgoing vice president -- but also share a sense of skepticism about her future prospects. For others, they have genuine enthusiasm for her candidacy and believe she lost because President Joe Biden simply exited the race too late.
"I would be on board 100 percent with whatever she decides to do. I think she is a phenomenal person. I think she was a phenomenal candidate," said Yvette Lewis, a member of the Democratic National Committee's executive panel. "We were able to turn things around so quickly, and that's a testament to her."
At a confab of DNC members last week, no party officials outright dismissed the idea of another Harris campaign, and some said they were willing to back her if she ran again.
Shasti Conrad, chair of the Washington Democratic Party who was also at the event, said, "I certainly was so proud to support her and would love to do it again."
But, she added, the 2028 presidential primary will be "an open process," meaning that Harris would face competition if she ran again.
Outside the DNC gathering, some Democrats in battleground and red states are overtly panning the possibility.
"LOL. I don't think anyone is asking for a Harris third presidential campaign," said Pennsylvania-based Democratic strategist Tommy McDonald. "Democrats need to build a party that can play everywhere, and Harris couldn't win on a narrow map."

Christopher Steele delivered a huge endorsement to Tulsi Gabbard:

Christopher Steele
@Chris_D_Steele

Contra Musk, it's difficult to imagine anyone less qualified or suited to be US DNI than Tulsi Gabbard. Her public positions have been pro-Russia, Assad's Syria and arguably Iran. She would be in charge of liaison with allied intel services who would lack all confidence in her.

Chicago's Communist mayor Brandon Johnson threw his own constituents out of a city council meeting because they expressed their opposition to his use of more and more taxpayer money to put up illegal aliens in hotels.

From KFOX 14:

Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson on Monday ordered the removal of people from a city council meeting after protests over his actions on issues involving migrants.
The instruction followed the public comment period, during which some people wearing shirts reading "Chicago flips red."
"Sergeant at arms, please remove these individuals from the chambers," Mayor Johnson said.
Footage of the meeting does not show what any attendees were doing when the mayor ordered their removal.
One person wearing a "Chicago flips red" shirt, identified as Jessica Jackson, told Mayor Johnson he was going to be "held accountable" for directing money toward migrants, citing an executive order from last year establishing a deputy mayor for "immigrant, migrant and refugee rights."
"We gonna talk about this budget, about the strange things that's happening, because again, your name was on this executive order of May 2023, this executive order for immigration, migrants and refugee rights," Jackson said. "You caused all this money to go to illegal immigrants."

Townhall's Jeff Charles adds:

Another resident named Sharon Abbott slammed Johnson, accusing him of violating his constitutional duties. She argued that "No one appointed a monarch to rule over the people of Chicago" and said, "Your duty is to serve the public, and you are bound by the parameters of the Constitution only to act by the consent of the people."
Chicago has spent about $574.5 million on illegal immigrants and asylum seekers over recent years as the border crisis continues. One resident noted that the city is "$1.2 billion in the deficit because of this illegal immigration scam" and referred to it as a "Ponzi scheme."

Former Obama Bros rip Biden for essentially abdicating what remains of his fake presidency to Trump.

On their podcast "Pod Save America," the bros discussed Trump recently announcing a $100 billion investment from a Japanese multinational investment firm. Favreau kicked off the festivities with the following exclamation.

It was more or less a standard presidential policy announcement, the main difference being: Trump isn't president yet! A fact that's getting easier and easier to forget as Joe Biden seems to be disappearing from the public stage as his term comes to an end.
...
Joe Biden believes in tradition and institutions, and we should only have one president at a time, and I think it's a surprising choice to allow it to be Donald Trump.
He also admitted he knew that Biden was cognitively impaired, but lied about it to support him:

I'm trying to separate basically my frustration with Joe Biden in his final year, culminating in that debate and hanging on, and how much we paid for having somebody who just wasn't an articulate and comprehensive messenger, not just on behalf of his own presidency, but on behalf of progressivism, democracy -- and I am very angry about that, and I'm a little bit mad at myself for not being more honest about how I felt or not seeing it as plainly because we're obviously paying dearly for it.

The AP praises the new savior of the earth -- I guess Greta Thunberg is last year's news -- and you'll never guess, it's a drag queen with a mustache.

Obviously.

ressed in a sequin-laced, sleeveless top and puffy pink skirt, drag queen Pattie Gonia strides around the stage in white high-heeled boots that come up to the knees, telling the crowd that nature must be a woman.
"She is trying to kill us in the most passive-aggressive way possible," joked Gonia, lip-syncing audio from a routine by comedian Michelle Wolf. "It's not some sort of immediate fire or flood or a cool explosion. She's just like, 'What? I raised the temperature a little.'"
"Are you uncomfortable?" continued Gonia, who has a neatly trimmed mustache, long black eyelashes and a wig of long and flowing red hair. "Maybe I wouldn't have (raised the temperature) if you had taken out the recycling, like I asked!"

...
The show aims to inspire the audience to talk about climate change, caused by the burning of fuels like gasoline and coal, while making people laugh. The show combines disparate things to create absurdities, such as changing the lyrics of Katy Perry's "Fireworks" song to, "Baby, you are a plastic bag," while Gonia pulls plastic bags from her breasts.

"She" doesn't have breasts, and "she" is a man.

Click on the link to see what this mustachioed "woman" looks like.

Posted by: Ace at 06:30 PM | Comments (287) | Trackbacks (Suck)

Ana Paulina Luna: The "Current" Version of CR Is Being Withdrawn

Withdrawn? I only see her saying this. I keep searching to find confirmation, but I just have Luna's word for it.

Even if it is withdrawn, wait until you hear what Johnson and his Regime allies were scheming to do:

Because they saw that the bill was "bleeding" support, they considered bringing it to a quick vote -- one taken within an hour -- to see if the remaining Republicans could combine with all the Democrats to pass it:

I'd say Elon Musk's tweets helped a lot.

Also helping: Trump turned against it, bigly.

Great joint statement from Trump and Vance on the Cramnibus betrayal:

D Vance
@JDVance
A statement from President Donald J. Trump and Vice President-Elect JD Vance:
The most foolish and inept thing ever done by Congressional Republicans was allowing our country to hit the debt ceiling in 2025. It was a mistake and is now something that must be addressed.
Meanwhile, Congress is considering a spending bill that would give sweetheart provisions for government censors and for Liz Cheney. The bill would make it easier to hide the records of the corrupt January 6 committee--which accomplished nothing for the American people and hid security failures that happened that day. This bill would also give Congress a pay increase while many Americans are struggling this Christmas.

Increasing the debt ceiling is not great but we'd rather do it on Biden's watch. If Democrats won't cooperate on the debt ceiling now, what makes anyone think they would do it in June during our administration? Let's have this debate now. And we should pass a streamlined spending bill that doesn't give Chuck Schumer and the Democrats everything they want.

Republicans want to support our farmers, pay for disaster relief, and set our country up for success in 2025. The only way to do that is with a temporary funding bill WITHOUT DEMOCRAT GIVEAWAYS combined with an increase in the debt ceiling. Anything else is a betrayal of our country.

Republicans must GET SMART and TOUGH. If Democrats threaten to shut down the government unless we give them everything they want, then CALL THEIR BLUFF. It is Schumer and Biden who are holding up aid to our farmers and disaster relief.

THIS CHAOS WOULD NOT BE HAPPENING IF WE HAD A REAL PRESIDENT. WE WILL IN 32 DAYS!

John Ekdahl
@JohnEkdahl
Could make a case that this CR debacle is a good development. They tried business as usual right out of the gate and got obliterated.

OTOH:

Cory Genelin
@CoryGenelin
Prediction:
In the final hours, the most egregious parts of the CR are withdrawn, but the final price tag will remain about the same.
Theory:
The outrageous portions of the CR are there are purpose so they can say they passed an improved bill, not the one you're mad about.

Posted by: Ace at 05:38 PM | Comments (222) | Trackbacks (Suck)

Parents of Female Volleyball Player Left with "Serious" Brain Damage Due to Trans Player Spiking the Ball Into Her Head Call for Other Parents to Pull Their Girls Out of Leagues That Allow Boys to Compete With Girls

Finally they find their voice.

I hope others find their voices, before their own girls end up in comas or with permanent brain damage.

Or dead.

The parents of a volleyball player who was left with serious brain damage after she was knocked to the ground by a transgender opponent have broken their silence and have urged families to 'pull your kid' from sports games.

From all sports games, or the ones that allow boys to beat the shit out of girls?

Payton McNabb was 17 when a ball spiked by a trans opponent with force struck her in the face, threw her to the ground and left her unconscious while she played a volleyball match in September 2022.
Payton was left with brain damage and paralysis on her right side, which ended her dreams of getting a volleyball college scholarship and has made it difficult to walk without falling.
Now, in the hopes of raising awareness about the competitive advantage from biologically male transgender athletes can have, Payton and her parents are sharing their story in the new documentary 'Kill Shot: How Payton McNabb Turned Tragedy Into Triumph'.
In a preview of the film, Payton's parents Pamela and Daniel McNabb speak for the first time of the guilt and frustration they felt as a result of their daughter's life-altering incident.
Detailing the moment she received a call informing her of her daughter's injuries, Pamela said: 'My first thought was, is she going to be ok? And then honestly my second- I was mad. I was furious, because we all knew this was going to happen. Did I think it would happen to my child? No. But we all knew. Everybody talked about it. Everybody knew something was going to happen.'
'I would never, ever let her play today if I knew what I know now,' Pamela also said in the documentary.
'Pull your kid. Don't play. It is not worth what has happened to her to happen to anybody else's child.'
The film includes raw footage of the incident, as well as interviews with Payton, as well as her parents and sister, who have never spoken out before.
In April of 2023, Payton decided to testify at the North Carolina General Assembly in favor of the Fairness in Women's Sports Bill, sharing her story publicly for the first time.
'I may be the first to come before you with an injury, but if this doesn't pass, I won't be the last', she said at the time, calling for a bill preventing those born male from participating in female sporting contests.
...
Her mental acuity is also damaged, with Ms McNabb requiring hours of extra tutoring every month and extra time during tests because of the damage.
And she has struggled with much worse vision, anxiety and depression as she fights to recover from her injuries.

Well the important thing is that the mentally-ill boy "felt seen" when he maimed this girl for life.

MULawPoll
@MULawPoll
Nationwide, 76% favor requiring transgender athletes to play on teams that match the sex they were assigned at birth. #mulawpoll

"Assigned at birth."

The Washington Post attempts to put some distance between itself and the hard left lunacies it's pushed for fifteen years, and now admits, there's no science supporting transitioning children.

Multiple European health authorities have reviewed the available evidence and concluded that it was "very low certainty," "lacking" and "limited by methodological weaknesses." Last week, Britain banned the use of puberty blockers indefinitely due to safety concerns.
"Children's healthcare must always be evidence-led," British Health and Social Care Secretary Wes Streeting said in a press release. "The independent expert Commission on Human Medicines found that the current prescribing and care pathway for gender dysphoria and incongruence presents an unacceptable safety risk for children and young people."
The uncertainty is the result of scientists' failure to study these treatments slowly and systematically as they developed them. Early studies from a Dutch clinic seemed to show promising results, but the research started with only 70 patients (dropping to 55 in a follow-up study) and no control group. Treatment results that look impressive in small groups often vanish when larger groups are studied. That's why the Food and Drug Administration generally requires large, randomized controlled trials of drugs: to ensure that encouraging initial results aren't mere statistical noise.
...
Yet as other doctors began copying the Dutch, clinical practice outraced the research, especially as treatment protocols rapidly evolved. A British study attempting to replicate the Dutch researchers' success with puberty blockers "identified no changes in psychological function" among those treated.
Some clinicians appear reluctant to publish findings that don't show strong benefits. The British lackluster results were published nine years after the study began, after Britain's High Court ruled that children younger than 16 were unlikely to be able to form informed consent to such treatments. Internal communications from the World Professional Association for Transgender Health suggest that the group tried to interfere with a review commissioned from a team of researchers at Johns Hopkins University.
Johanna Olson-Kennedy, medical director of the Center for Transyouth Health and Development at Children's Hospital of Los Angeles, told the New York Times that a government-funded study of puberty blockers she helped conduct, which started in 2015, had not found mental health improvements, and those results hadn't been published because more time was needed to ensure the research wouldn't be "weaponized." Medical progress is impossible unless null or negative results are published as promptly as positive ones.

There's no scientific evidence supporting this, but the left went ahead anyway and championed the mutilation of children just to virtue signal on Twitter about what great "allies" they are and, of course, to Own the CHUDs.

Posted by: Ace at 04:36 PM | Comments (323) | Trackbacks (Suck)

Hero of Conservatives Speaker Mike Johnson Agreed with Democrats to Re-Authorize the Leftwing State Department's Censorship Program

Gabe Kaminsky
@gekaminsky
We have Exclusive details in @dcexaminer on the new Republican leadership-approved provision that would give a one-year lifeline to the State Department's Global Engagement Center -- the office our outlet reported worked to suppress speech in recent years w/ social media platforms and foreign NGOs.
-- Senior GOP staffers involved in "censorship" investigations into the Biden administration feel betrayed. Lawmakers on the House Judiciary Committee and Small Business Committee, in particular, worked over the last year to issue subpoenas and unearth documents on the GEC's activities showing it skirted its mandate to not act domestically; @FDRLST and @realDailyWire then sued the GEC with the help of @KenPaxtonTX.
--"This is literally tearing down the work and wins of Republican-led committees that investigated the GEC," a Republican aide close to GEC investigations told me. "Are we going to add the cost of that investigation to the total cost of this bill?"
--House Speaker Mike Johnson, now facing significant scrutiny from conservatives, defended the provision in a statement shared w/ me:
--"Speaker Johnson has killed multiple efforts to pass a 5-year reauthorization of the GEC during the past year, including as recently as the National Defense Authorization Act last week," a spokesperson for Johnson said. "This bill ensures the incoming Trump Administration has the maximum ability and authority to determine how to handle the office, its authorities, and funding."
--According to a congressional source familiar with the matter, the GEC provision was a private demand from Senate Democrats in exchange for Republicans getting a provision aiming to protect small businesses from certain fines approved by the Biden administration under a bill called the Corporate Transparency Act.