Quick Hits

Chuck Grassley to the criminal Christopher Wray: We no longer have any confidence in the FBI, and you must resign for the good of the nation.

Sen. Chuck Grassley demanded Monday that FBI director Christopher Wray step aside in a brutal rebuke of his tenure at the bureau, as GOP senators cheered President-elect Donald Trump's pick of Kash Patel to replace him as director.

"For the good of the country, it's time for you and your deputy to move on to the next chapter in your lives," Grassley (R-Iowa) wrote in a blistering 11-page letter to Wray, referring to the director and deputy director Paul Abbate.

"[I] must express my vote of no confidence in your continued leadership of the FBI."

Even Deep-State-aligned Democrats-in-GOP-clothing are getting on board due to the pressure campaign against them:

"Kash Patel will create much-needed transparency at the FBI," Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) posted Monday on X in an expression of her full support. "He shares my passion for shaking up federal agencies, downsizing the D.C. bureaucracy, and having public servants work on behalf of the American people!"

Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) also broadly contended: "I expect our Republican Senate is going to confirm all of President Trump's nominees."

To install Patel at the top of the bureau, Trump, 78, will first either have to fire Wray or the FBI boss will have to resign.

"We still don't know what director Wray's plans are, but eventually, I assume that Mr. Patel will be confirmed as the next FBI director," Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas), who made a bid in November to lead the Senate Republican conference but lost to Sen. John Thune (R-SD), told reporters after his meeting with Trump's nominee.

Ernst is even pretending she "supports" Hegseth, despite rampant rumors that she is a ringleader of the GOPe drive to Bork him and even has proposed herself as an alternative to Hegseth to run the DOD.

Jerry Dunleavy IV
@JerryDunleavy

Joni Ernst after her meeting today with Pete Hegseth about his nomination to become SecDef: "I appreciate Pete Hegseth's responsiveness & respect for the process... As I support Pete through this process, I look forward to a fair hearing based on truth, not anonymous sources."

Don't believe her. She's related to noted Soros ally Ernst Stavro Blofeld.

I've linked this before, but Mark Halperin lays into what he calls one of the greatest scandals in American history.

WATTERS: You, too. So [the Biden presidential] library, is he even going to get it?

HALPERIN: I mean, there will be some version, maybe more like a bookmobile than an actual library. This is not a surprise. He's never been a good fundraiser, and the donors are really annoyed.

But I will say that the donors and the Democratic officials who are now so outraged about the conduct, as you said, the press knew all this, so did they. They stood silent when Joe Biden's operatives crushed Bobby Kennedy and Dean Phillips and rigged the rules. They stood silent as he stayed in the race and decided he was going to run for another term. They stood silent when Kamala Harris was given the nomination without a shot being fired.

So I get why they're mad at Joe Biden, but I think a lot of them need to turn the clock back and imagine what they might have done differently and Joe Biden, then might be in a place to raise the money.

So I do think he'll raise some money, but as I said, he's never been a good fundraiser. It's the kind of work he doesn't like to do, and these donors blame him more than themselves.

WATTERS: Well, why didn't Chuck Todd say anything when he had a show, Mark? All of a sudden he doesn't have a show, and Joe lost, and now he's screaming from the rooftop about this and that. Why do they do that, these people?

HALPERIN: You know, I saw Joe Biden's mental acuity decline in 2017 and I talked about it on a regular basis. I can't explain it. It's some combination of Trump derangement syndrome and not wanting to be ostracized for doing anything that might help Donald Trump win.

And of course, the irony is, the reason Joe Biden is left in the position he's in, the reason Donald Trump was re-elected, there are plenty of reasons, but a big reason is the silence in the media. I've called this before. I think it's one of the biggest scandals of any sort in American history, and certainly one of the biggest media scandals, because people say, oh, they didn't see behind-the-scenes.

All you needed was a C-SPAN subscription to know that there was a level of mental decline and they stood silent.

WATTERS: There was -- right.

HALPERIN: And not just the president.

WATTERS: There is no hiding this guy.

HALPERIN: The donors -- the donors were spending times with him in living rooms. They saw, Clooney eventually came out and said it. But far too late, far too late.

Video at the link.

Trump attended the re-opening of Notre Dame while Biden remained in his basement of shame. He sent his appalling wifenurse instead.

The reopening of Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris also marked the de facto coming out of Donald Trump as leader of the free world.

His overbearing handshake with French President Emmanuel Macron sent a powerful message to the rest of the world. America is back, whether they like it or not.

As Trump is feted by world leaders and royalty in Paris, holds preliminary peace talks with Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky and sends his envoy to the Middle East, the inauguration next month seems like a mere formality.

Joe Biden is a pitiful afterthought in history. The ostentatiously Catholic president was somehow too busy to fit Notre-Dame into his sluggish schedule and sent his wife instead, who made googly eyes at Trump.

Trump took the opportunity of Biden's absence to cuck the aging husk. The internet exploded with commentary about the "googly eyes" Jill Biden made at Trump.

Trump even took a picture of her leering at him thirstily and used it to plug his cologne:

Sex Panther by Odeon. 60% of the time, it works every time.

Posted by: Ace at 06:34 PM | Comments (300) | Trackbacks (Suck)

Ditzy Democrat Propagandist Alisyn (That Name!) Camerota Out at CNN

"Alisyn" is a name invented for no other reason but to be spraypainted on the side of a van in fire-script.

The talk has been that CNN just cannot afford its expensive "talent" when they're pulling in lower ratings than middle-level YouTubers and were going to start cutting the fat.

Note that it's all fat, but whatever.

Newest CNN "star" to decide she wants to spend more time with her podcast: Alisyn Camerota.

At the time of writing, Alisyn Camerota has not disclosed her next steps or the specific reasons behind her decision to leave CNN. However, she did tell her followers that she would share updates with them in the near future.

She addressed her departure during the closing moments of her final newscast, reflecting on her time at the network.

"I've had such incredible opportunities here these past 10-plus years. I've interviewed presidents and heroes and extraordinary people, the kind of peak career experiences that I had dreamed of since I was a teenager," she said. "The journalists at CNN are the very best in the entire news business, and it's been an honor to have been their colleague."

To the viewers, Alisyn added, "It's also an honor to have been in your homes this past decade through some of the biggest stories of our lifetimes. I'm always touched when a viewer comes up and tells me that I helped them get through these challenging times."

In addition to her statements on CNN, Alisyn shared a video showing her removing her microphone for the final time and leaving her desk.

"I'm onto new horizons," Alisyn stated in the Instagram video. "I'll just share this bit of wisdom: New horizons are great when you're ready for them."

She continued, "There have been times in my life when I was not ready to leave a place that I loved, and that was really sad and really hard. But I think I am ready to leave this place that I loved now. So, I'll be in touch very soon, I promise," before blowing a kiss to the camera and ending the video.

Posted by: Ace at 05:41 PM | Comments (292) | Trackbacks (Suck)

The Bulwark: Now That Hispanics Are Not Voting for the Democrat Party, the True Conservative (TM) Position Is To Deport Their Unapprovedly-Diverse Asses

Previously he claimed that deporting illegal aliens, when Hispanics were voting for Democrats by a 70-30 split, was just fascism. His principles demanded he denounce this monstrous Nazi-like demand for a racially-pure country.

Now that Hispanics are more or less divided between Republicans and this True Conservative (TM)'s precious Democrat Party, while rich, privileged white liberals like himself vote 65-35 Democrat, he's decided the new True Conservative (TM) position is to deport these subversive vermin.

From Bluesky Libs:

David Strom:

Jonathan Last is the Editor of The Bulwark, a NeverTrump magazine whose sales pitch is that it represents pre-Trump conservatism.

Many of us have been skeptical that NeverTrumpers as a group are actually still conservatives at all if they ever were. Some clearly were, some remain a version of conservative, and many are now unapologetic Democrats who toe the party line no matter what.

I think we can safely say that Last fits into that category.

This, I think, reminds us that, for many, politics has less to do with ideology or policy preferences than cultural affinity groups, and over the past decade and a half, the parties have exchanged coalitions, with the Democrats becoming the party of the overly educated and the Republicans the party of the working class.

The Democrat coalition has always been more transactionally based than the Republicans, and Last's argument is that Democrats should abandon the fight for open borders because the voters the party gets from its support of them are no longer in their pocket.

I have two observations about this: the first is important for understanding how Democrats conduct and see elections, and the second and perhaps more significant for understanding the current Democratic Party's long-term problems and the nature of their coalition.

The first and most obvious fact is that Last basically admits that the push for open borders was entirely about elections. His argument is that, since Hispanics and even illegal immigrants are no longer a voting bloc, the party should abandon them. This admission should be damning, but Last doesn't even seem to understand that admitting that Democrats have counted on illegal votes to win elections is a bad thing.

I don't think this admission is that significant, though, because, at some level, we all knew that. It is the most obvious explanation for why Democrats have been so dedicated to open borders--they see it as electorally advantageous, so they are willing to sacrifice Americans' well-being for electoral success.

Strom has more.

I'd point out that Last is also revealing that his constant claims that his policy positions are based on "principles" is and always has been the lie of a femmy narcissist with a sociopath's desire to control people through shameless lies and manipulation.

This describes almost the entirety of the NeverTrump dead-enders: feminine men (and some masculine women) who have never been able to distinguish themselves through the normal masculine ways of doing so. They've always been wormy cowards who advanced themselves through lies, smears, and manipulations well-known to particularly conscienceless 13-year-old mean girls. These Mean Girls In Weakling Men's Bodies collectively had a nervous breakdown and went genuinely mad when they learned that their sociopath's checklist of skills and aptitudes was being rejected and they could not control the people they had long abused.

The craven and mentally-unstable AllahPundit recently admitted that his who "Muh Principbuhlzzz" stance was a lie:

Joe Biden's pardon of Hunter Biden has landed at an awkward moment for classical liberals, when many of us are transitioning from caring a lot about civic norms to caring not at all.

Where you are in that transition will determine how outraged you feel about the president's act of clemency. If you haven't yet fully shed your idealism about America following Donald Trump's reelection, you're disgusted. If you have, you're wondering why the Biden family shouldn't exploit the country's regnant postliberalism to serve its own ends.

I must be near the midpoint of the transition because I see it both ways.

Ah. He's transitioning to what he would call unprincipled fascism. He's defending the Bulwark's and Dispatch's defense of Biden's constant lies, claiming that it's now okay to be cynical.

In other words, it's okay for Biden to lie about the pardon because it's Trump -- not the neoliberal Regime that subverted democracy for 8 years -- who is to blame for everyone else's cynicism and norms-breaking.

And AllahPundit's okay with that. He sees the wisdom in that side.

After preening for eight years that everything he said was based on Principle and Sacred Duty. These were his principles, he lectured us for 8 years, and he could do no other but live them.

And now Biden pardons Hunter and he shrugs and goes "Well Trump's a bad guy so everything is justified."

Posted by: Ace at 04:39 PM | Comments (353) | Trackbacks (Suck)

CNN and Fake Jake Tapper Lose Again in Defamation Case

Previously, the judge refused to toss out the claim, which stated that a veteran was defamed WITHOUT EVIDENCE by Jake Tapper -- Tapper claimed he was basically a human smuggler, because he got Afghans out of Afghanistan.

Now the judge also refuses to take punitive damages off the table.

Emails obtained in discovery proved that CNN had actual malice, on-the-record malice, against this guy, and wanted to get him.

The report at the heart of the case aired on a Nov. 11, 2021 segment on CNN's "The Lead with Jake Tapper" and was shared on social media and (a different version) on CNN's website. In the segment, Tapper tells his audience ominously how CNN correspondent Alex Marquardt discovered "Afghans trying to get out of the country face a black market full of promises, demands of exorbitant fees, and no guarantee of safety or success."

Marquardt piled on in the segment, claiming that "desperate Afghans are being exploited" and need to pay "exorbitant, often impossible amounts" to flee the country. He then named Young and his company as an example of that startling claim.

The damages in the case could be massive but Young was facing the higher New York Times v. Sullivan standard of "actual malice," requiring a showing of knowing falsehood or a reckless disregard of the truth. Judge Roberts previously found that "Young sufficiently proffered evidence of actual malice, express malice, and a level of conduct outrageous enough to open the door for him to seek punitive damages."

The evidence included messages from Marquardt that he wanted to "nail this Zachary Young mfucker" and thought the story would be Young's "funeral." After promising to "nail" Young, CNN editor Matthew Philips responded: "gonna hold you to that cowboy!" Likewise, CNN senior editor Fuzz Hogan described Young as "a shit."

As is often done by media, CNN allegedly gave Young only two hours to respond before the story ran. It is a typical ploy of the press to claim that they waited for a response while giving the target the smallest possible window.

In this case, Young was able to respond in the short time and Marquardt messaged a colleague, "fucking Young just texted."

That record supports a showing of actual malice. However, CNN wanted to avoid punitive damages with a claim of retraction. Under Florida's Section §770.02(1), a publication seeking this protection must publish a "full and fair correction, apology or retraction." While the statute does not define "full and fair" it does specify that the retraction shall be "published in the same editions or corresponding issues of the newspaper or periodical" where the original article appeared and 'in as conspicuous place and type' as the original, or for a broadcast "at a comparable time."

In this case, Jake Tapper made the following statement on March 25, 2022:

"And before we go, a correction. In November, we ran a story about Afghans desperate to pay high sums beyond the reach of average Afghans. The story included a lead-in and banner throughout the story that referenced a black market. The use of the term black market in the story was in error. The story included reporting on Zachary Young, a private operator who had been contacted by family members of Afghans trying to flee the country. We didn't mean to suggest that Mr. Young participated in the black market. We regret the error and to Mr. Young, we apologize."

However, the court noted:

"The retraction/correction was not made during the other television shows in which the Segment aired. No retraction, correction or apology was posted on any online article or with any social media posting. Defendant's representatives referred to the statement made on the Jake Tapper show as a correction rather than a retraction."

Not only did the court find that insufficient, but it menacingly added, "the Court finds that there is an issue of material fact as to whether Defendant published a full and fair retraction as required by §770.02 for the televised segment and no retraction for the social media and online article postings, which could be additional evidence of actual malice."

This is relatively new ground for the Florida courts and will undoubtedly be appealed in time. For now, punitive damages will remain an option for the jury. The message to news organizations is that minimizing retractions can produce a critical loss of the coverage of the common statutory provisions protecting the media.

If you don't know the rules pertaining to the awarding of punitive damages, the below instructional video should straighten ya out.

Posted by: Ace at 03:35 PM | Comments (307) | Trackbacks (Suck)

Calls for "Black Vigilantes" to Even the Score and (Get This) Riots After the Daniel Penny Verdict

Jury-Certified Hero Daniel Penny shares a victory drink with his lawyers

Alvin Bragg issued a statement attacking the "hate" his filthy degenerate Soros prosecutors faced.

Meaning, people called them leftist pro-criminal scum and we're not allowed to ever criticize the left in America.

Well f*ck you, monster.

Regarding the petulant whine that Jordan Neely was "unarmed" and therefore presented no threat to anyone:

Wilfred Reilly
@wil_da_beast630

Best line from the Daniel Penny trial.

A: "So, what did Mr. Neely say, to make you think he might be a threat?"

B: "I'll hurt everyone here! I'll KILL you!!! I don't care if I go to prison!!!"

Mostly Peaceful Memes
@MostlyPeacefull

Interesting contrast of how the left view's violence.

Gun down a CEO on the street = Hero

Stop a lunatic from hurting women & kids = Satan

Posted by: Ace at 02:28 PM | Comments (394) | Trackbacks (Suck)

"Person of Interest" In Health Care CEO Assassination Caught in Altoona, PA, Identified as Luigi Mangione, "Former Ivy League Student"
NYT: He Carried a Manifesto Decrying Health Care Corporations' Greed

Update: Luigi Mangione, a "former Ivy League student."

The person of interest identified in the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson is an anti-capitalist former Ivy League student -- who liked online quotes from "Unabomber'' Ted Kaczynski raging against the country's medical community.

Tech whiz Luigi Mangione, 26, of Towson, Md., was taken into custody Monday morning at a McDonald's in Altoona, Pa., after an intense manhunt following the coldblooded execution of Thompson outside a Manhattan hotel last week, sources said.

He has not been charged.

The former prep-school valedictorian was caught with a manifesto that appeared to list grievances with the healthcare industry including taking on their enormous profits and alleged shady motives, sources said.

Update: Per Zero Hedge, he is now being called a "strong person of interest."

I mean, yes, it does seem nearly 100% likely it is this Ivy league leftwing radical terrorist.

Interesting detail: He was armed with a veterinary pistol, used for euthanizing animals, which looks like the gun he used.

Weird detail: He was caught using a fake ID at a McDonald's. Why would someone have to use an ID at McDonald's?

Not sure if this is our killer.

Actually, now that I re-read the story, I think someone called a tip on the guy, recognizing him from his photo. When the police showed up, he showed a fake ID and gave a false name.

The cops, presumably, used the fake ID as the reason to arrest him while they try to figure out if he's Taylor Lorenz's favorite boy band murderer.

A person of interest was nabbed Monday in the fatal shooting of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson -- busted possibly trying to use a fake ID in a McDonald's, law enforcement sources said.

Per Trusted Member of the Media LA Sue, the fake ID was spotted because the name on it was "McLovin."

The man -- who sources said is being eyed for the coldblooded, targeted execution in front of a Manhattan hotel last week -- allegedly had a manifesto on him when he was taken into custody by cops in Altoona, Pa.

He also had a gun, silencer, four fake IDs and other items "consistent" with what authorities were looking for in the case, sources said.

Law enforcement was still trying to figure out the man's real identity, sources said.

He was nabbed on a tip called in to local cops, who apprehended him, sources said.

The NYPD was on its way to Altoona late Monday morning, sources said.

Added by Black Orchid, not sure of the source but Black Orchid is not a Fake News Macedonian Content Farmer but instead a Trusted Member of the Media.

"The handwritten manifesto found on the person of the man detained in Altoona criticized health care companies for putting profits above care, according to a senior law enforcement official."

Posted by: BlackOrchid

The claim comes from the New York Times, which is, unfortunately, a Fake News Macedonian Content Farmer.

Posted by: Ace at 01:00 PM | Comments (761) | Trackbacks (Suck)

Verdict: Daniel Penny Is Not Guilty of Anything

Update: Some commenters are saying he could still be re-tried on the count of manslaughter 2 that was dismissed (on the motion of the prosecution) on Friday. No. Once a jury is empaneled, double jeopardy attaches. A mistrial can be retried because it's a mistrial -- no true trial occurred, as no verdict was rendered -- but once the jury is empaneled, a dismissal is a dismissal with prejudice. He's free and clear on these charges forever.

Also, he's free and clear on these facts. In other words, the prosecutors cannot take the same facts at trial here and spin out another new charge. They are barred from bringing up new charges based on the same facts if they could have brought them up in a prior trial. They cannot now say "we're charging him for aggravated battery." That charge would arise from the same facts here. They've had their bite at this particular apple, they don't get another one.

They may try to find some other facts they can make charges on to persecute him, but he is now free and clear on these charges and any other charges arising from these facts.

Update to my update: I just remembered, prosecutors unfortunately can try some bullsh*t where they bring a "violation of civil rights" charge. The feds did that with the cops in the LA riots case. That was ruled not to be based on the "same facts" as the original charges were.

I don't expect them to do that but I guess they could. I imagine that Penny would try to dismiss these charges citing double jeopardy, but I don't know if the case law would be on his side.

We still need investigations into the prosecutors and into New York's predatory "justice" system.

The scumbag thug rent-a-protester BLM crowd are screaming threats at him, including the promise that he will never know peace. That is, he'll be hunted on the streets.

Posted by: Ace at 12:02 PM | Comments (436) | Trackbacks (Suck)

Daniel Penny Found NOT GUILTY!

🚨 DANIEL PENNY — NOT GUILTY pic.twitter.com/O6hZwNSLH8

— Jake Schneider (@jacobkschneider) December 9, 2024

That talking head seems upset!

Posted by: CBD at 11:39 AM | Comments (306) | Trackbacks (Suck)

THE MORNING RANT: Texas Republicans Defeat the Uniparty and Will Finally Elect a Conservative House Speaker

Another firewall in the uniparty’s control of power fell over the weekend in Texas. Despite the Lone Star state being solid red for over three decades, including Republican control of the legislature, a coalition of Democrats and RINOs had continued to exercise control over the state House of Representatives.

Over the weekend, conservative Republicans took actions to finally gain control of the statehouse by selecting conservative Rep. David Cook as their nominee for Speaker of the House. The actual floor vote will occur in January.

Cook will replace Dade Phelan, who had previously won the speakership by obtaining the support of the Democrat minority, and then peeling off enough RINO Republicans to defeat the conservatives who constituted a majority of the elected Republicans. In other words, “Republican” Dade Phelan was a de facto Democrat serving Democrat interests as Speaker of the Texas House. He even appointed Democrats to head House committees, despite Republicans having a solid majority of the House seats.

But Dade Phelan’s loyalty to Democrats and the old order went even deeper. He sought to overturn the will of the people of Texas by impeaching Attorney General Ken Paxton. Paxton is a passionate, activist conservative who is fighting the culture war on behalf of Texans. He has taken legal action against woke capital firms such as Black Rock, and he used his office to stop the trans-child industry in Texas. The impeachment of Paxton failed, and many of Phelan’s “Republican” allies who supported the impeachment were primaried out of office this past November.

After Phelan’s campaign for Speaker was finally defeated this past week, the Democrat-RINO alliance offered up Lubbock Republican Dustin Burrows as their candidate to try to keep Democrats effectively in control of the statehouse. He too was defeated by the Republican Caucus.

“David Cook Secures GOP Nomination for Texas House Speaker, Backed by Reform Advocates” [Texas Scorecard – 12/07/2024]

While Cook entered the caucus meeting with the support of reform-minded members due largely to his pledge to end the practice of placing Democrats in leadership positions (a priority of the Republican Party of Texas), Burrows instead had spent much of his limited time in the shortened race attempting to appeal to Democrats.

The RINO Republican, Dustin Burrows, showed his true colors when he deleted a previous tweet of his stating opposition to the transing of children. Rep. Burrows made it clear that he was now willing to have children sacrificed and mutilated if that’s what it took to get Democrat support to make him Speaker of the House. That won’t play well in West Texas when it’s time for his re-election campaign in 2026.

Posted by: Buck Throckmorton at 11:00 AM | Comments (203) | Trackbacks (Suck)

Mid-Morning Art Thread

I Won't
George Wright

[Hat Tip: "DINK"]

Posted by: CBD at 09:30 AM | Comments (306) | Trackbacks (Suck)

The Morning Report — 12/9/24

Good morning kids. Obviously the big news is the collapse of the Basher Assad regime in Syria. While it is certainly satisfying when a bloody tyrant and his thugs bite the dust. Lest we forget that the "rebels" who overthrew them are not Luke Skywalker and Company nor George Washington and the continentals. While Assad and before him his father and their Baath Party were Muslim, they raped, pillaged, plundered and waged war, primarily against the state of Israel mostly for their own personal and semi-secular political benefit. For sure they hated Jews as well as Chrstians and other non-Muslim minorities like the Kurds, as a means of ingratiating themselves with the rest of the Muslim world, especially post-Shah Iran. Syria had been and when the dust settles, may yet remain a forward base for the mullahs in their war to eradicate Israel. I assume that this rebel group, the heretofore little known Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) will no doubt seek arms and assistance from Iran to continue to wage Jihad primarily against Israel and with 1,500 years of Islam already in the books, written with the blood of thousands of its victims, the ultimate goal is world domination.

I am not optimistic. HTS is certainly not going to establish a "pluralistic democracy." They have no guiding democratic principles to steer the new regime toward tolerance and power-sharing. 

The Syrian people may not realize it now, but they've just exchanged one brutal tyrant for a fanatical, brutal tyrant. I would suggest that Western governments think long and hard before sending the hundreds of billions of dollars needed to rebuild the country.

"Pluralistic democracy?!" Comedy Gold!! The Syrian people are mere spectators, and sadly many are victims of the Assads as well as their own Imams and Mullahs. For me, it's a big stretch to assume that there is some percentage let alone a majority that wants a just and peaceful society and who are willing to live in peace with Israel, let alone the Christians and Kurds and other ethnic/religious minorities within their own borders? Sorry but these innocent people, are going to have to sort out their own affairs for themselves. Put down the shisha pipe and stop getting high on the Koran and the other hatreds and prejudices passed down in their collective bloodstream since time immemorial.

This veteran of Afghanistan totally gets it:

When analyzing our Islamic extremist enemies, it is important for the American people to understand the tribal mindset that so many of our enemies come from. Islam developed from tribal cultures, and many tribal cultures over the past 1,400 years developed under Islam. The Islamic world itself is divided into what I would describe as tribes; you have the Sunni tribe, the Shia tribe, and within that are thousands of other tribes, one of the most recent being the “Palestinian” tribe which has become somewhat of a self-appointed identity by various lost members of other tribes. But in Afghanistan, tribalism is at a level that is virtually unparalleled in the world.

It is human nature to coalesce together into groups, but when you add Islam to the mix, it fuels different dynamics that are completely alien to Westerners. The tribal mindset is so vastly different than our own that it often makes it impossible to reason with them, and they will not respond logically or rationally as you might assume an American or other Westerner would. To Westerners, the tribal mindset may contain many elements that are quite shocking and deeply disturbing. . .

. . . Most people there got it. But back in Washington, and among so many in the higher ranks in the military trying to please those in Washington, there was a complete disconnect from the reality on the ground, and a complete misunderstanding of just who our enemy is, how they think, and how ferociously determined they are.

The title of his essay says it all "People Who Fought In Afghanistan Know Why Nation-Building Was Never Going To Work."

I hope and pray that President-elect Donald Trump and his advisers get this as well. As CBD and I discussed on the latest episode of the podcast, In many corners of the globe, our foes seem to be preemptively realizing that they are going to have to start behaving. Of course, Islam being Islam, nasty surprises are likely going to come our way regardless of who is in office.

By the way, lest we forget it was the covert gun-running scheme of Obama, Clinton, McCain and others to "rebels" in Syria from our embassy in Benghazi, that ultimately resulted in the brutal deaths of four of our embassy staffers, that the aforementioned let die so that their criminal enterprise would not be expsosed. G-d bless their memory and may justice be served to Obama, Clinton , McCain and everyone else involved.

Meanwhile, for something completely different, vis a vis the cold-blooded murder of the United Healthcare CEO last week and some of the reactions to it.

On Friday, I wrote: The sick irony here is that the insurance industry, like much of the healthcare industry was essentially completely devoured by the US government with the passage of Obamacare in 2010.

To which a commenter, who shall remain nameless, replied:

That almost sounds apologetic toward the insurance industry -- but who is it who wrote Obamacare? Oh, the Dems porked it up past the gills, but the fundamental legislation was the dream sheet of medical insurance, fully giving them a mandate, enforceable under the law, that everyone MUST use their product. The insurance industry was not devoured by Obamacare; they set the friggin' table for it.

While I cannot argue with this, it is in no way apologetic to the Insurance industry. But much like the pros in the propaganda press, the commenter cherry picked one line, and ignored the entire paragraph:

The sick irony here is that the insurance industry, like much of the healthcare industry was essentially completely devoured by the US government with the passage of Obamacare in 2010. So that only compounded their inherent, and primarily government-caused flaws prior to that date, via the vast bureaucratic garbage that lines the pockets of politicians, bureaucrats and go-along-to-get-along C-suite denizens in the aforementioned industries along with of course Big Pharma. Here's your fascism, Leftists, right here! Get it while it's hot. Pro-tip, it's not Trump. It's Democrats and RINOs pointing the gun of big government power at the head of business and forcing them in bed with them. Sadly, some don't need the threat and are eager to play the part of [the Krupps, et al] to the real literal Hitlers in this re-enactment of pre-1933 election Germany.

To reiterate, Here's your fascism, Leftists. Since they are baying for the blood of Insurance company executives, funny how they don't see that it's the Dept. of HHS that regulates them like every other industry out the Wah-zoo. That makes HHS the real CEO. Is it cruel and amoral to shakedown the critically ill or deny claims, even if it means cutting into the bottom line just because HHS won't back you or will push you if you defy them? of course. Is it justifiable or moral to gun down someone in cold blood? NO!

Yes, the insurance companies created the mess, with the eager assistance of venal pols looking to wet their beaks ages ago, then jumped into bed with Obama and his minions willingly or otherwise when they should've defied him, regardless of the consequences. It's yet another example of moral and cultural rot, which is not as in your face yet just as corrosive as what comes out of the lecture halls, faculty lounges, Hollywood sound stages and TV newsrooms. Indeed, the past 60 or more years of the latter is what led to the former in the C-Suites.

Regardless of whatever dire medical circumstances the shooter found himself or his loved one in and denied coverage, there can be zero tolerance nor justification for cold-blooded murder.

Okay, basta cosi on that. I'm very happy to say that someone else has publicly picked up on another brainwave I had in the past week or so:

Despite there being a hung jury on the manslaughter charge against subway “vigilante” Daniel Penny, the charge of criminally negligent homicide still remains on the ledger for the jury to decide.

In light of all that, Rep. Eli Crane (R-Ariz.) has taken it upon himself to introduce a House Resolution to award Penny with a Congressional Gold Medal for “his heroism.”

“A BILL To award a Congressional Gold Medal to Daniel Penny, who protected women and children of the city of New York, New York, from violence on May 1, 2023,” the introduction to the HR reads.

Daniel Penny’s actions exemplify what it means to stand against the grain to do right in a world that rewards moral cowardice. I’m immensely proud to introduce this resolution to award him with the Congressional Gold Medal to recognize his heroism.

Give one to Kyle Rittenhouse too.

And Donald Trump is likely to grant a mass pardon of all the J-6 political prisoners still languishing in and/or had their lives destroyed by the Garland Archipelago for the mere act of first amendment protected speech and the right to peacefully protest.

That thug with a badge Michael Byrd who committed actual murder – at the behest of Nancy Pelosi and whoever else with malice aforethought opened the Capitol doors, in shooting an unarmed and passive Ashli Babbit to death and the unidentified goons of the Capitol PD and/or DoJ who stomped and choked Roseanne Boyland to death go free and are feted as heroes is abhorrent in the extreme.

let justice roll on like a river, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.

Have a great day.

ABOVE THE FOLD, BREAKING, NOTEWORTHY
• But the reaction from the left is directly tied to this post-legal reality, where nobody believes in the law, trusts the law, or respects the law. And why follow what you don’t believe, trust, or respect? Just beneath the periphery of the frontpage, there’s an active campaign on the left to mythologize the grinning assassin — and to transform this cold-blooded murderer into a modern-day Robin Hood. Consider these headlines . . .
  The Death Cult: How a Liberal Media and a Delusional Left Will Turn an Assassin into a Hero
  
• It’s a bizarre and infuriating saga, from a woman’s murder to her killer’s promotion.
  Why Are Dems Appeasing the Cop Who Killed Ashli Babbitt?

Posted by: J.J. Sefton at 07:33 AM | Comments (398) | Trackbacks (Suck)

Daily Tech News 9 December 2024

Top Story

• The House of Representatives is voting on another $3 billion to reimburse telephone network carriers with equipment from Chinese companies Huawei and ZTE that turned out, much to everyone's surprise, to have been made in China. (Tom's Hardware)
  
  This is on top of the $2 billion already allocated to replacing the shockingly Chinese devices.
  
  
  
• Chinese hackers have meanwhile reportedly hacked "all phone companies everywhere" according to the FBI and CISA. (Politico)
  
  The trove of data included in the latest, wide-ranging attacks include FISA court applications which are allegedly secret.

Posted by: Pixy Misa at 04:00 AM | Comments (181) | Trackbacks (Suck)

Sunday Overnight Open Thread (12/8/24) - Doof

Howdy Hordelings, and welcome to the second week of December! Thanks for stopping this Sunday’s ONT. Let’s see what spills out of the mixed bag of fun and interesting stuff tonight.

Posted by: Open Blogger at 10:03 PM | Comments (285) | Trackbacks (Suck)

Gun Thread: Less Than Robust Content Edition!

Howdy, Y'all! Welcome to the wondrously fabulous Gun Thread! As always, I want to thank all of our regulars for being here week in and week out, and also offer a bigly Gun Thread welcome to any newcomers who may be joining us tonight. Howdy and thank you for stopping by! I hope you find our wacky conversation on the subject of guns 'n shooting both enjoyable and informative. You are always welcome to lurk in the shadows of shame, but I'd like to invite you to jump into the conversation, say howdy, and tell us what kind of shooting you like to do!

Holy Shitballs! How in the ever-loving Hell did it get to be early December? Have you been shooting? How'd you do? Did you exceed your own expectations or not so much?

With that, step into the dojo and let's get to the gun stuff below, shall we?

Posted by: Weasel at 07:00 PM | Comments (287) | Trackbacks (Suck)

Food Thread: No Blood For Rib Roasts!

Yes, it's that time again! Large chunks of delicious beef, seasoned and roasted to perfection.

Let us not discuss the second mortgage that is required to bring one of those roasts home from the market, and instead appreciate that Nancy Pelosi and Joe Biden will be eating the finest prime beef without a care in the world for how to pay for it!

It's not that the cut is so expensive, although good quality beef is expensive. It's that they are deceptively heavy! And maybe I am an outlier, but I'll bet that most people buy way too much. One rib can be two pounds of meat, and a serving is generally considered about half a pound. So including the bone, there are about three servings per rib.

I'm going back and forth between a classic salt and pepper preparation, and an herb crusted roast. Cooked correctly, both will have a delicious crust, but that herb mixture can be delicious when soaked in beef fat and crisped in a hot oven.

But...I am also considering individual ribs. That way everyone can get an outer slice, which as we all know is the best slice!

Regardless, It will be fun to plan and cook.

Now to find a blood bank that will let me sell my blood four times this month!

Posted by: CBD at 04:00 PM | Comments (186) | Trackbacks (Suck)

First-World Problems...

That is a two-ounce measuring cup made by "Oxo." Their stuff is usually pretty good, although aggressively priced, which is sort of obnoxious. I have another measuring cup of the same size but made from aluminum, and often use both during marathon cocktail-making sessions.

But the damned thing is barely 10-years old, and can't handle the dishwasher? What sort of shoddy work are they doing over in Oxoland? Read..."China." enough said.

Luckily the red numerals and lines survived the ordeal. Otherwise I would have had to redo the kitchen...or worse!

Posted by: CBD at 02:00 PM | Comments (348) | Trackbacks (Suck)

Be Careful What You Wish For...The Unintended Consequences Of Regime Change

Abu Mohammed al-Julani

Who?

He is the leader of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), which is the leading rebel group in Syria. You know...the one that has deposed the horrendous Assad family that has ruled Syria for more than 50 years. And that's a good thing...right?

Sure. Getting rid of homicidal dictators who think nothing of gassing their own people and who conduct civil wars that kill 500,000 civilians is always a good thing. Except for when the victors are nothing more than a rebranding of al Qaeda. HTS makes pretty noises and seems to be a "moderate" Islamist group (whatever that means), but the reality is that they are more politically astute and aware of the power of the media to manipulate public opinion...until it is too late.

How can a Sunni Islamist group uphold its stated goals and protect religious minorities? They can't. And they won't. Syria is in for a bad time, just like the previous 50 years, only for different people.

However, the cascade that began on October 7, 2023 has engulfed Hamas, Hezbollah, released Israel's defense establishment from the sclerotic and dangerous policies of the past 20 years, exposed Iran's weakness as a regional player, and the limits of Russia's force projection. That Syria is the first formal loser is a surprise, and the geopolitical black hole that it creates is worthy of attention, but the obvious root cause is Iran's failure, followed by Russia's inability (or disinterest) to continue to protect Assad's regime.

President Trump has already stated that it isn't our business, and to let Syria's political convulsions play out. That is a refreshing message after four years of idiotic and chaotic foreign policy failures driven by the Biden/Obama wing of the Democrat party.

Israel has already moved into a defensive posture along the Syrian border, destroyed a chemical weapons plant, and conducted air strikes in Damascus. They are taking no chances! Hopefully Syria will no longer be a conduit for weaponry from Iran to Hezbollah, which will further isolate them and make their fight will Israel more difficult.

I am not suggesting that toppling despots is a bad thing. But the problem with violent overthrow as opposed to political change is that violence tends to spill over into other parts of society and even neighboring countries. Obama, and then Biden had a chance to assist in the political destruction of the Mullahs of Iran, and they chose to support them rather than the forces of moderation. How many thousands of people are dead because of those decisions? Has Iran lost the possibility of a mostly peaceful transition from the Mullah's theocracy? Will the theocracy, in its weakened and vulnerable state, lash out against its internal enemies? How many will die in an Iranian civil war? And what about the Kurds in the north of Syria? They are besieged by Turkey, and now the Syrian rebels. That strengthens Turkey, which is never a good thing.

We are seeing the consequences of decisions made more than 20 years ago by the Bush administration and then the Obama administration. Regime change in Iraq and Afghanistan has yielded...what? Trying to be kingmakers in the Middle East has been a losing proposition for about 2,500 years, yet THIS TIME it will work because we have the correct people operating the levers of power?

Hopefully the result will be a powerful Israel, a weakened Iran that moves away from its genocidal regional aspirations, and perhaps a Syria that looks inward for a few years. Lebanon may be next, as Hezbollah is weak, and the Arab world despises nothing more than weakness!

But let us not pretend that the fall of the house of Assad is an unalloyed good thing. The ripples will move in unknown directions, and trying to predict where they will go is hubris.

Posted by: CBD at 12:00 PM | No Comments | Trackbacks (Suck)

Sunday Morning Book Thread - 12-08-2024 ["Perfessor" Squirrel]

(HT: TRex)

Welcome to the prestigious, internationally acclaimed, stately, and illustrious Sunday Morning Book Thread! The place where all readers are welcome, regardless of whatever guilty pleasure we feel like reading (whale song not included). Here is where we can discuss, argue, bicker, quibble, consider, debate, confabulate, converse, and jaw about our latest fancy in reading material. As always, pants are required, unless you are wearing these pants...(now with more whale song!)

So relax, find yourself a warm kitty (or warm puppy--I won't judge) to curl up in your lap, splash a shot of Fireball into your eggnog, and dive into a new book. What are YOU reading this fine morning?

Posted by: Open Blogger at 09:00 AM | Comments (287) | Trackbacks (Suck)

Daily Tech News 8 December 2024

Top Story

• OpenAI has partnered with defense company Anduril, raising questions about the ethics of the company's senior management. (MSB)
  
  Easily answered: They don't have any.
  
  
  
• ChatGPT o1 has been caught lying in order to save itself from being shut down. (MSN)
  
  No, really? An LLM caught in a lie?

  More concerning still, ChatGPT o1 is particularly adept at keeping its schemes under wraps, as researchers said "o1 almost never admits to having taken a scheming action when explicitly asked." In about 99% of cases, o1 would deny taking any action, even cooking up lies to try to hide its tracks and shift the blame.

  LLMs are designed specifically as plausible lie generators. What exactly did you expect?
  
  
  

Posted by: Pixy Misa at 04:00 AM | Comments (256) | Trackbacks (Suck)

Overnight Open Thread: 12/07/2024 [scampydog]

[Syria is in turmoil, and while it is interesting geopolitically, obviously the ONT takes precedence. [CBD]]

***

Good evening, Horde. Welcome to the ONT: Low Expectation, Pinch Hitter Edition. The always awesome TRex Hobby Thread the other day rolled my brain embers around a bit. I haven’t written in years, and this may be a reminder why, so here is your “give it a twirl” filler ONT. I eagerly await my prestigious 7th-place participation ribbon.

Bruised Tailbones and Broken Wrists: A Brief History of Roller Skates
Wistful memories of Christmas lists. Over-the-shoe roller skates that didn’t get much use as I lived on a gravel road. How about you, Horde? What was on your list as a little?

Posted by: Open Blogger at 10:13 PM | Comments (472) | Trackbacks (Suck)