Gardening, Puttering and Adventure Thread, July 6

Happy Independence Day Weekend, everyone! And thanks to Misanthropic Humanitarian for filling in last week. He inspired the photo above, and some below the fold.

I was inspired by the Misanthropic Humanitarian's post about the state flower of Wisconsin, the wood violet, to send some images of the Pennsylvania state flower, the mountain laurel (Kalmia latifolia). I took these pictures a few weeks ago when the flowers were blooming in the local mountains.
Just for fun, I am also sending a picture or two of the flowers of the pitcher plants that grow in the nearby bog.

Enjoy!

Ladyhobbit

Here in the South-Central San Joaquin, it has gotten considerably hotter since I last wrote here. They have lowered the forecast from 114 to 113. In contrast, the forcast for Oxnard, where The Mister fishes occassionally, is 74 degrees. The early settlers used to bundle the women and children off to the coast in the summer, leaving the men to work in the heat. Male privilege!

Posted by: K.T. at 01:24 PM | Comments (75) | Trackbacks (Suck)

Who failed to position Kamala Harris for success? George Floyd!

Remember 2020?

Can Kamala Harris become unburdened from what has been?

The Babylon Bee suggests that the timing is right.

In contrast, a social media friend in Japan writes about a piece in Slate,

Was reading this for a little perspective from the left, finding myself amazed and bemused at the semantic gap.

Posted by: K.T. at 11:02 AM | Comments (307) | Trackbacks (Suck)

The Classical Saturday Morning Coffee Break & Prayer Revival

*****

Good morning Horde, I hope that you an enjoyable Independence Day celebration. If not we can pray for your recovery from fireworks gone wrong.

Posted by: Misanthropic Humanitarian at 08:42 AM | Comments (458) | Trackbacks (Suck)

Daily Tech News 6 July 2024

Top Story

• OpenAI got hacked, but definitely not by Chinese spies. (New York Times) (archive site)
  
  In April. 2023.
  
  And they didn't report it until now. In fact, they didn't report it at all. One of their employees alluded to the event on a podcast, and was fired for his trouble.

  Mr. Aschenbrenner said OpenAI had fired him this spring for leaking other information outside the company and argued that his dismissal had been politically motivated. He alluded to the breach on a recent podcast, but details of the incident have not been previously reported. He said OpenAI's security wasn't strong enough to protect against the theft of key secrets if foreign actors were to infiltrate the company.

  OpenAI denies this - well, not the hack, nor the firing, nor the fact that Aschenbrenner leaked the information, but the causal connection, in an announcement apparently written by a special release of ChatGPT trained exclusively on modified limited hangouts:

  "We appreciate the concerns Leopold raised while at OpenAI, and this did not lead to his separation," an OpenAI spokeswoman, Liz Bourgeois, said.

  Liz Bourgeois? Obviously a made up name.

  Referring to the company's efforts to build artificial general intelligence, a machine that can do anything the human brain can do, she added, "While we share his commitment to building safe A.G.I., we disagree with many of the claims he has since made about our work. This includes his characterizations of our security, notably this incident, which we addressed and shared with our board before he joined the company."

  OpenAI is making no efforts to build AGI, safe or otherwise. OpenAI's focus is building something and then redefining the term AGI to claim they have achieved it.
  
  
  
  

Posted by: Pixy Misa at 04:00 AM | Comments (309) | Trackbacks (Suck)

Being Necessary To The Security Of A Free ONT, The Right Of The People To Keep And Bear Memes Shall Not Be Infringed

Welcome to Friday night! Today's question: Are memes a modern version of pamphlets from colonial times, and are they an effective way to persuade people?

Posted by: WeirdDave at 10:00 PM | Comments (451) | Trackbacks (Suck)

Biden "Interview"

In progress.

I heard they got his Medical Grade Cocaine Solution levels titrated well, so he's doing okay. Which is good for us.

Andrew Weissmann (weissmann11 on Threads)
@AWeissmann_

If Biden withdraws, how about a ticket of Kamala Harris and Liz Cheney to show this election is about our democracy? Country over party.

Replying to @AWeissmann_
LouiseMensch
@LouiseMensch

God yes please

It's a Howard Stern Wack Pack of ugly, stupid hangers-on.

Yasssss:

Will Chamberlain
@willchamberlain
This interview is great
Biden's doing well enough to help fight off calls for him to drop out, but not well enough to actually alleviate the public's concerns
5:12 PM * Jul 5, 2024

Ari Fleischer
@AriFleischer
Biden is doing great. The Ds should keep him.
I see no reason for the Ds to replace Biden. None. None at all.
This interview was the worst of all worlds for the Ds.
Biden committed no real flubs. He didn't do anything to force himself out of the race. But he appears old, weak, tentative and he's losing to Trump.
So Biden will dig in and stay. The Ds are stuck.
5:09 PM * Jul 5, 2024

Posted by: AlphaChad4Ever

Posted by: Disinformation Expert Ace at 09:36 PM | Comments (454) | Trackbacks (Suck)

That's a Hellofant Elephant Cafe

Caption:

Nature is Amazing
@AMAZlNGNATURE

The animal handlers at the Oregon Zoo took Elephant around to meet some other animals. The sea lions were her favorite.

Update: Viva Frei is hosting a watch party for Joe Biden's " " " interview " " " by Democrat propagandist George Stephanopolous. The "interview" will be aired at 8pm

Elephant gives birth to a calf, and then the whole troop surrounds them protectively.

Elephant crossing.

Getting a dog a new toy.

Casually stretching out to kissing range.

Following the leader isn't smart if you've got a dumb leader.

He gets a little frisky but his lady just isn't in the mood.

Baby lion practices his big roar.

Saving a drowning fawn.

Ben-Fur.

Luncheon with a moose.

I'm telling you, we have to keep young females away from social media.

Posted by: Disinformation Expert Ace at 07:28 PM | Comments (400) | Trackbacks (Suck)

Sea Cruise Open Thread

Posted by: Disinformation Expert Ace at 06:30 PM | Comments (229) | Trackbacks (Suck)

Helping Humans Open Thread

An injured fox cried for help from humans.

Humans responded.

Posted by: Disinformation Expert Ace at 05:15 PM | Comments (250) | Trackbacks (Suck)

The Blue Wall Open Thread

Posted by: Disinformation Expert Ace at 04:00 PM | Comments (234) | Trackbacks (Suck)

Disney Drag Queen and Chief of "Creative Marketing:" "I'd Love to Get a Drag Queen at Disneyland"

You and Bob Iger both, dude.

Posted by: Disinformation Expert Ace at 02:40 PM | Comments (414) | Trackbacks (Suck)

Mentally-Ill-Fluencer Open Thread

Ryan Long -- I mean, "Brian Dong" -- wonders which mental illness he should choose to pretend he has, in order to increase his clout and follower count (and thus his income).

Note that all the headlines that flash on the screen promoting mental illness are real media headlines. Well, by "real media," I include outlets like Vice, but what's the difference between Vice and CNN now?

Posted by: Disinformation Expert Ace at 01:27 PM | Comments (317) | Trackbacks (Suck)

Spuds McKenzie Fan Club Open Thread

Posted by: Disinformation Expert Ace at 12:10 PM | Comments (341) | Trackbacks (Suck)

THE MORNING RANT: Supreme Court Overturns the Ninth Circuit's Ruling Establishing a Right to Engage in Vagrancy

The Supreme Court had several blockbuster rulings in the past few days. The two most prominent ones were 1) The ruling regarding presidential immunity, which should help to tame the lawfare against Donald Trump; and 2) The ruling reversing the Chevron deference, which might start to tame the unaccountable federal bureaucracy.

But there was a third blockbuster ruling, one that will finally allow cities in the western US to clear their streets of homeless encampments. The Ninth Circuit Court had decreed that sleeping on city streets was a constitutional right throughout its jurisdiction, bringing San Francisco-style street pathologies to even the reddest of towns in the American West. The city of Grants Pass, Oregon sought relief at the Supreme Court and was victorious.

Mark Pulliam from the Misrule of Law blog just wrote an excellent piece about Grants Pass v Johnson and the prior maladministration of justice that made the Grants Pass ruling necessary.

“Common Sense and Public Order Are Restored to America’s Cities” [Mark Pulliam - The American Conservative – 7/02/2024]

I’ll start by quoting a line from the middle of Pulliam’s piece, which should bring a smile to so many Americans who have seen their cities trashed under the Ninth Circuit’s destructive imposition of criminal vagrancy on otherwise orderly cities. ”There is no constitutional right to vagrancy, and sleeping outside is not an ‘involuntary’ act immune from criminal prosecution, the Court held.”

This ruling probably won’t have much impact on cities with Pol Pot mayors and Soros District Attorneys, e.g. those who welcome vagrancy and the destruction of civilizational order. But in cities like Grants Pass, it’s a chance to reclaim their streets.

In Martin v. Boise, the Ninth Circuit struck down—in the entire western United States—all laws and ordinances forbidding “camping” in public areas on the grounds that punishing vagrants for sleeping in parks, on sidewalks, under overpasses, etc. amounted to “cruel and unusual punishment” in violation of the Eighth Amendment because homelessness is ostensibly a status, not conduct. Unless cities provide adequate shelter beds for all vagrants seeking free lodging, the Ninth Circuit opined, bums, drunks, addicts, and the mentally ill have “no choice” except to sleep outdoors.

Unsurprisingly, homeless camps took root in cities from Arizona to Montana, and all points further west, with local governments powerless to take any corrective actions other than offering up free housing. The Grants Pass ruling reversed “Martin vs Boise.”

Cities and states are free to manage homeless encampments and the accompanying crime, drug abuse, and public health consequences, as they see fit. The jurisprudential nightmare unleashed by the Ninth Circuit is over.

Pulliam also delivers a little intellectual mockery of the modern Supreme Court’s dissenting liberals, after first pointing out that the late Thurgood Marshall, a liberal champion during his Supreme Court tenure, wrote a prominent opinion (“Powell v Texas” stating that public drunkenness was not a protected “status” under the Constitution, even if the person was an alcoholic. The current Supreme Court referenced and affirmed Powell v Texas in the Grant’s Pass decision, asserting that a ban on sleeping in public is no different than a ban on being drunk in public.

Despite this simple and irrefutable logic, the three left-wing dissenters in Grants Pass wrote 30 pages of overheated nonsense defending the Ninth Circuit’s execrable decision in Martin v. Boise. Justice Sotomayor’s paean to judicial activism begins with this drivel: “Sleep is a biological necessity, not a crime.” This is how divided the Court is in 2024. The three remaining Democrat appointees comprise a bloc of hard-left ideological zealots willing to embrace far-fetched theories that even Thurgood Marshall slapped down as silly during the heyday of “living Constitution” judicial activism during the 1960s.

I’ve appropriated just about enough from Pulliam’s piece. Please give it a click and read the whole thing, which finishes with the following:

Posted by: Buck Throckmorton at 11:00 AM | Comments (227) | Trackbacks (Suck)

Mid-Morning Art Thread

The Reluctant Bride
Auguste Toulmouche

Posted by: CBD at 09:30 AM | Comments (436) | Trackbacks (Suck)

The Morning Report — 7/5/24

Good Morning Kids. Hope you all had a happy and festive Independence Day. It's natural as we get to be of a certain age, to look back on our younger days and of happier times. For me, I came of age in the late 60s and early70s and so the Bicentennial was one of those events that I can distinctly remember, as it was both smack dab in the middle of my high school years and then about a week later, a memorable road trip with my dad to visit relatives in Chicago.

Despite the rampant commercialization of the day that was ever-present and almost inescapable wherever you turned since even before New Year's eve '76, there was still a definite sense that people were sick and tired of the 60s, ready to move beyond Vietnam and had a general distaste for the hippie generation. And yet, 48 years later look who the hell is running the country, and steering society and culture. Along with the bicentennial, the other seminal event that occurred four years later was the US Olympic hockey team winning gold in 1980 by defeating finland after first gaining a huge win against the much feared and vaunted Soviets. And then came Ronald Reagan and what should have been a complete rejection of the failures of Leftism. But still, look where we are.

And two years from now The American revolution will be 250 years in the past. How will it be celebrated, or the question is in fact will it even be celebrated? Given the fact that we have academics and politicians who believe that this nation is both illegitimate and evil and ditto its founding.

On this Fourth of July, we are in another civil war (dubbed by me more than a decade ago as the Cold Civil War), this one a duel to the death between the Nation and the State. Here, and all across Europe, the Nation must win, regain control over the State and, if necessary, dissolve it. As history shows, it's easier to disestablish a form of government -- the French are on their Fifth Republic in the same amount of time that America has had only one -- than it is to kill a nation. But make no mistake: that's the goal the International Left has set for itself since Lenin was a pup. The tide is now running in our favor; celebrate our national birthday by acting accordingly.

YEs, as my dear friend and friend of the blog Michael Walsh underscores in yet another fine essay is that much of the Western world and even here in America have woken up to abject failures and intentional destruction of society. Yet the election results in both France and the UK and even in places like Poland and Hungary seem to fly in the face of that observation. Will Biden's corpse or whoever it is that replaces him also defy what most seem to feel will be a stinging rejection of institutional leftists come November?

Another miracle happened on July 4th of 1976 which had us glued to our TV sets and still echoes today, 48 years later.

For those of a certain age, the word Entebbe is instantly recognizable.

We all know about July 4 and the amazing miracle that happened on this date 248 years ago in Philadelphia. Bur some of us are old enough to remember another July 4 miracle that happened not in 1776, but in 1976. It was not in Pennsylvania but in Uganda, and it's something we should all be aware of in this world of hostages today. . .

. . . The entire operation lasted 53 minutes.  All seven hijackers present at the airport, and between 45 and 45 Ugandan soldiers, were killed.  Of the 106 hostages, three were killed, one was left in Uganda (a woman who had been taken from the airport to a hospital on June 29), and ten were wounded.
 On July 9, the United Nations convened to condemn Israel for the attack. But thanks to the strength of Britain and the United States, no official resolution was passed.  Europe and America were unified in condemning the terrorists, and effusively praised Israel for her strong actions, swift and decisive response, and for not surrendering to terrorists.
 But as we have seen since Oct 7, that Western support for decisive action agsinst evil that existed in 1976 has been replaced with a sympathy for the terrorists today.  Praise for Israel as a defender of freedom has been transformed over the last 48 years into an overt anti-Israel hatred of Jews worldwide.  Commitment has been replaced by capitulation.
 America's Founding Fathers courageously acted on their faith and dedication to freedom 248 years ago with the Declaration of Independence.  Israelis acted with that same commitment to protect freedom 48 years ago today in Entebbe.  We all need to emulate their courage and commitment in every aspect of our lives by being and acting as proud Americans every day.

Have a great weekend.

TIP JAR : Your support helps keep the lights on and is truly appreciated.

And many thanks as always.

ABOVE THE FOLD, BREAKING, NOTEWORTHY
• Michael Walsh:What this all boils down to is simple: across the Western world, there is an ongoing war not only between Left and Right, but more fundamentally between those who believe in the power of the State versus those who defend and cherish the rights and prerogatives and histories of their Nation. For countries begin not as political entities -- political entities called States -- but as Nations, rising up from a people united by blood, faith, languages, culture, and philosophy. Some leftists refer to America as a "notional" nation, but that is historically untrue: the United States was founded in principle and practice almost exclusively by white Protestant men from the British Isles, sons of the Enlightenment who cherished right reason, Christianity, English culture, and who spoke the English language.
  'A Tide in the Affairs of Men'
  
• Lloyd Billingsley: Where jihad is “a holy struggle in pursuit of a moral goal” and CIA bosses share information with Communist regimes.
  Collaborator Intelligence Agency
  
• Once downloaded, Temu can access almost anything on your phone — the camera, internet, audio recordings, and more — according to one study.
  Why Communist China-Connected Temu Is Worse Than TikTok
  
• Fred Fleitz: Whether Biden remains in office for the remainder of his term or lets Harris take over, our country is facing a leadership crisis that puts U.S. national security at serious risk.
  Americans Want to Know Who is Really in Charge in the White House

Posted by: J.J. Sefton at 06:23 AM | Comments (549) | Trackbacks (Suck)

Daily Tech News 5 July 2024

Top Story

• To the surprise of absolutely no-one, Glaze, a tool that claimed to protect digital artwork from being used to train image-generating AI systems, has been bypassed. (Ars Technica)
  
  The idea was that it introduced subtle noise that would confuse an AI while remaining invisible to humans.
  
  This is like creating an antibiotic that is deadly to germs but harmless to humans, when the germs in question are at least as smart as you, know exactly what you are doing, and have billions of dollars in funding.
  
  So it lasted about a day.
  
  
  

Posted by: Pixy Misa at 04:08 AM | Comments (108) | Trackbacks (Suck)

Star-Spangled ONT!

Happy Independence Day!

Posted by: WeirdDave at 10:00 PM | Comments (597) | Trackbacks (Suck)

Fourth of July Cafe

Caption:

Nature is Amazing
@AMAZlNGNATURE

The sheer size difference between this Bald Eagle and Coyote, the Bald Eagle is warding the Coyote away from a Deer carcass. These images are from a trail cam in Pennsylvania.

Happy Birthday, America!

Happy Fourth to everyone!

You think you've got it bad? Think about Hillary Clinton's ob/gyn!

In Soviet Russia, rodeo goes to you.

Baby cockatiel growing up over 41 days.

Guardian dog babysitting the baby goats.

Panda relaxing.

Dog enjoying a nice Bidennap.

German shepherd wants to play ball with a baby but the baby's not there yet.

Star Wars was good once. Do you remember that? I barely do.

Here's something for guys who like guitar and boobs.

And for the ladies, here's a cute video about a pittie who barks like a seal when he wants to go to the beach. And his owner is a male model.

Posted by: Disinformation Expert Ace at 07:00 PM | Comments (340) | Trackbacks (Suck)

Paragliding Dog Open Thread
Plus: The Fake Conservative Party, UK Branch, Gets Rekt In Elections

Polling just closed in the UK. They're going to announce the exit polls any minute. I'll post a link when they do.

Ooof-- Labor expected to take 410 seats. The Fake Conservatives, who went into the election with 350 seats, will fall to 130.

Reform is only projected to pick up 13 seats.

Scotland's SNP, which used to be the party of Scottish independence but was transformed by Nicola Sturgeon and her racist Muslim successor into the party of shaming white people and trans extremism, will drop to 10 seats. It had had 43 seats, and the great majority of the 59 Scottish seats.

I heard that the Fake Conservative Party promised that immigration would drop to 10,000 or so per year. Last year: 600,000.

This had to be done. They had to be destroyed.

From andycanuck: Time to say goodbye.

Posted by: Disinformation Expert Ace at 05:02 PM | Comments (344) | Trackbacks (Suck)