Quick Sh*t

A leftwing New York judge assigned to Trump's "fraud" case -- is there any other kind of judge assigned to Trump cases in NY? the system is rigged -- has imposed another gag order on Trump, forbidding him from pointing out that the judge's daughter works with a political group dedicated to defeating Trump and to supporting anti-Trump lunatics and liars like Adam Schiff.

The judge refuses to recuse himself. To make the issue go away, he declares that Trump just isn't allowed to talk about it.

The judge in Donald Trump's upcoming Manhattan trial harbors a contempt for the rule of law that is sadly typical these days of liberal jurists.

Inflamed by Trump's public salvos about the unfairness of the case against him, Judge Juan Merchan imposed a gag order preventing the former president from criticizing court staff and members of their families, including his honor's adult daughter.

Let's begin with the basics. Gag orders are almost always a prior restraint on speech and presumptively unconstitutional. Silencing a defendant violates his or her First Amendment rights....

Anyone accused of a crime has a constitutionally-protected right to defend himself in a court of law, as well as the court of public opinion. That includes justified criticism of the trial judge who has a noted history of liberal bias. Merchan donated to Trump's opponent, Joe Biden, and also gave money to an anti-Trump cause, although the amount was small.

But the judge's daughter is also fair game for criticism. Loren Merchan is a public figure who runs a prominent progressive political consulting firm that handles outspoken Trump opponents like Adam Schiff, who was infamously censured by his own colleagues in Congress for peddling endless lies about Trump and the notorious Russia Hoax.

Significantly, Merchan's daughter has a financial or economic interest in her father's case. She and her clients raised some $93 million in campaign donations by citing the Trump prosecution in their solicitation mailings, according to reporting by The New York Post.

On this basis alone, Judge Merchan was obligated to recuse himself because a member of his family --which is identified a child under strict ethical guidelines-- has a private, vested interest in the outcome of the case. Yet, he refuses to step aside despite the glaring conflict of interest. Meaning, the fix is in.

There's no exemption under the First Amendment protecting the family members of judges. Merchan's gag order is as wrongful as his decision not to disqualify himself in favor of a different judge who has no such conflict and might actually be objective and neutral. The appearance of impropriety, by itself, is sufficient for recusal under Section 100.2 of the Code of Judicial Conduct in New York.

...

Is it any wonder that many Americans have lost confidence in courts of law?

The Bee:

Ex-NFL player arranges helicopter airlift of American citizens caught in the gangster maelstrom of Haiti.

More than 60 Americans have been evacuated from Haiti in a private operation led by former New York Giant Jack Brewer as the Caribbean nation plunges into chaos and gang violence.

The Brewer Foundation collaborated with several organizations to help track down and evacuate Americans through what were often extremely dangerous conditions.

This effort involved more than half a dozen helicopter transfers costing between $15,000 and $80,000, and numerous volunteers working on co-ordination as well as ground efforts.

"As I was busy evacuating others, the area where my family and I reside was attacked by gangs. My partner and his neighbor's house were overrun," one rescued American who was granted anonymity for safety reasons, recounted to The Post.

"There were at least five children, all of whom were US citizens holed up in both that individual's and their neighbor's homes. Ultimately they were evacuated in the rescue effort."

The Texas native and his foundation have worked to support three orphanages in Haiti for well over a decade, and Brewer knows many of the people his team has helped bring to safety.

The ex-safety formally began shipping people out of Haiti late last month and is aiming to rescue up to 300 people.

Don't call it a shithole country, though. That might hurt "Barbecue's" feelings. Please refer to it as "the quaint island paradise of diverse and vibrant cultures from which people must be rescued by a helicopter flotilla."

The markings from Biden's CPAP mask were again visible on his face.

Now, these fade after, what, ten to fifteen minutes? Let's say it takes the marks a half hour to fade for Biden, owing to his thinner skin.

So every time you see this marks on Biden's face, you know they just roused him out of bed less than a half hour ago.

What time did he get up?

CPAP machine strap lines were visible on President Biden's face Wednesday during an afternoon health care event with Sen. Bernie Sanders at the White House Wednesday.

Biden has been utilizing a CPAP machine to treat sleep apnea, a potentially serious ailment in which one's breathing restarts during sleep, the White House confirmed last year.

That confirmation came after the president was seen with mysterious marks on his face during a stroll across the White House lawn, which sparked an internet frenzy, during the event that was slated to begin at 11 a.m. but didn't get underway until the president arrived around noon.

CPAP machines deploy higher levels of airwave pressure to ensure a patient attains sufficient airflow and oxygen during sleep.

...

The White House previously explained that "Since 2008, the president has disclosed his history with sleep apnea in thorough medical reports."

Representative Lauren Bobert has just had emergency surgery for a blood clot in her leg.

Colorado Rep. Lauren Boebert underwent emergency surgery to remove a blood clot and was diagnosed with May-Thurner syndrome, she announced Tuesday evening.

The Republican congresswoman, 37, was admitted to UCHealth Medical Center of the Rockies in Loveland after she experienced swelling in her upper left leg.

"After undergoing a CT Scan, doctors found an acute blood clot and diagnosed her with May-Thurner Syndrome, which is a rare condition that disrupts blood flow," a statement on Facebook from her campaign read.

Doctors scheduled and performed surgery on Boebert on Tuesday morning to remove the blood clot and add a stent to address her symptoms.

May-Thurner syndrome is a rare vascular condition in which an artery compresses the left iliac vein in the pelvis, blocking off blood flow from the leg back to the heart, according to UPMC.

...

"We successfully performed surgery on the Congresswoman this morning and expect her to make a full recovery," said Bade, a hospitalist at UCHealth.

Posted by: Disinformation Expert Ace at 06:25 PM | Comments (189) | Trackbacks (Suck)

Animals: Fascist Democrat Party and Propaganda Media Run Another Psyop Against the American Public

Trump called Laken Riley's killer an animal. Speaking broadly about illegal alien killers, he said Nancy Pelosi told him "please don't call these people 'animals,'" and Trump says he said he'd call them that because that's what they are.

The Biden-Harris campaign began a gaslighting "fine people on both sides" propaganda campaign, clipping the tape so it sounded like Trump was talking about all illegal aliens, and then charging him with Nazi rhetoric.

Posted by: Disinformation Expert Ace at 05:27 PM | Comments (246) | Trackbacks (Suck)

Disney's Inept Partisan Management Wins Proxy Fight;
Stock Value Immediately Falls

Evil wins.

A new report claims that The Walt Disney Company and its board defeated Nelson Peltz and his Trian Fund Management following a heated and contentious proxy battle.

Reuters' Svea Herbst-Bayliss and Greg Roumeliotis report, "Walt Disney Co. has secured enough shareholder votes to defeat a challenge against its board mounted by Nelson Peltz's hedge fund Trian Fund Management, people familiar with the matter said on Tuesday."

The duo added, "Enough votes had been cast as of Tuesday evening to put Disney's board directors safely ahead of Trian's two challengers, Peltz and former Disney chief financial officer Jay Rasulo, the sources said."

So they started leaking this last night.

They had also leaked that they were ahead in voting on Tuesday, leading mega-investor Bill Ackman to accuse them of attempting to manipulate the vote. His claim is that these leaks were intended to get big institutional shareholders to vote for Iger, subtly putting out the idea that Iger was going to win anyway so if you want him to return your phone calls in the future, you'd better vote for the terrible status quo.

Bill Ackman
@BillAckman

There have been a few recent articles in the press about @Disney 'winning' its proxy contest with Nelson Peltz based on early election returns that have been leaked to the media. We don't have an investment in Disney, but I thought it useful to point out the inappropriateness of these leaks to the press.

Only the company and its advisors have access to how shareholders have voted before the day of the annual meeting. My understanding is that it is illegal to release the outcome of the vote prior to it being finalized as it has the effect of manipulating the outcome. Here, the company and/or its advisors have leaked that Disney is winning the contest. It is really inappropriate that they have done so.

And how does one know that it is Disney and/or its advisors that are the source of the leak?

If Peltz were 'winning,' there would be no leaks to the press.

The reason why the progress of an election for directors must be kept confidential until the results are final is that leaking the results can affect the ultimate outcome.

Institutional shareholders worry about offending management by voting with an activist. They are concerned that if management learns that they have voted against the incumbent directors, they may lose 'access' to management going forward. In other words, Bob Iger is less likely to come visit and/or take a call with a shareholder if the shareholder voted with the dissident.

This is clearly a close election. Institutions don't want to risk voting against the incumbent board if it is clear that the activist will lose. They want to be on the winning side of the election.

Here, the company and/or its advisors have leaked the early results in order to tip more institutions and other shareholders to vote for the incumbent board, unfairly tipping the scale in the incumbent board's favor. In other words, an institution may think: if Peltz is going to lose, it is not worth taking the risk of offending management by voting for him.

This is unfortunately not an uncommon practice. Years ago, in our proxy contest with ADP, the company and/or its advisors did the same thing.

The @SECGov should do a thorough investigation of this proxy contest and appropriately punish whoever is responsible for this miscarriage of shareholder governance and justice.

Companies of the caliber of Disney and/or its advisors should not behave this way.

Lastly but importantly, I think highly of Nelson Peltz. I am sure he would be greatly additive as a member of the Disney board. Ask yourself, why is the company fighting so hard to keep him off? The fact that the company leaked the early returns to the media is further evidence that an activist of Nelson's caliber deserves to be on this board for all shareholders benefit.

Based on my knowledge of Nelson's capabilities and the dirty tricks implemented by the company and its advisors, I strongly recommend that shareholders vote for Nelson Peltz for the Disney board.

Institutions who have already voted still have time to change their vote. It is time that we make an example of Disney here so that this bad practice does not continue to poison shareholder democracy.

The stock price began falling as Disney leaked out that Iger's continued misrule was locked in:

Disney was hit by bad news this week. Same as every other week, then. Forbes got the British tax filings for the Indiana Joan movie and confirmed it lost more than $100 million.

While entertainment financial analyst Valliant Renegade has previously talked about how badly Indiana Jones 5 failed at the box office, Forbes' incredible journalist, Caroline Reid, has managed to confirm prior reporting by VR using just-released UK tax documents that finally put an end to speculation.

Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny failed to cover its costs at the box office according to financial statements released on Friday which show that Disney spent $134.2m more on making the movie than it is understood to have received in ticket sales.

-- Caroline Reid, Forbes

But it gets worse.

Because Forbes is only accounting for the production costs, the number that Indiana Jones lost only grows when one considers marketing costs. Because marketing costs are not calculated by the UK tax documents, we can't know for sure exactly how much all of it cost when combined. However, it is safe to say that Disney likely paid at least $120M in advertising. When added together, this puts the total at probably at least $234M. That's not far off from prior projections made by That Park Place last year.

Disney just got hit with another lawsuit -- this one alleging that they had a financial relationship with a hedge fund called ValueAct, and failed to disclose it as required by SEC rules.

Blackwells Capital upped the pressure on Walt Disney in a long-running boardroom battle, suing the entertainment giant on Thursday for information that may point to possible disclosure violations in dealings with hedge fund ValueAct Capital.

...

Disney called the claims "baseless" and said the lawsuit is a "desperate attempt to gain attention for their slate of director candidates."

...

Blackwells' suit centers around a relationship between the entertainment company and ValueAct Capital and an information-sharing agreement the two signed earlier this year. The suit said Blackwells wants to inspect books and records to "investigate its credible suspicion of wrongdoing regarding Disney's dealings and disclosures related to ValueAct."

ValueAct was managing Disney's pension funds, and then turned around and acted as a White Knight for Bob Iger. Thus people might have been swayed by ValueAct, without Disney or ValueAct disclosing the big financial incentive to spin for Iger.

I'm very depressed so I will console myself with video of Sydney Sweeney at DisneyWorld.

Posted by: Disinformation Expert Ace at 04:24 PM | Comments (183) | Trackbacks (Suck)

WSJ Poll: Trump Leads Biden in 6 of 7 Swing States.
Actually, He Leads in the Last One, Too, in a Five-Way Race.

The N'SCOMAF -- the Non- Stuttering Clusterf*ck of a Miserable Failure -- is failing.

Former President Donald Trump is leading President Joe Biden in six key swing states, according to a recent Wall Street Journal poll. The survey suggests that Trump's lead is based on dissatisfaction with the economy and questions over Biden's age.

Trump leads in Michigan, Pennsylvania, Georgia, Nevada, and Arizona, while Biden leads in Wisconsin.

Third party and independent candidates could play a crucial role, with around 15% of the vote going to this group across all states.

On key issues, Trump holds an advantage on the economy, the border, and inflation, while Biden leads on abortion rights.

Diving Deeper:

The survey indicates that to win reelection, Biden will need to retain the "blue wall" of states -- Wisconsin, Michigan, and Pennsylvania -- he flipped in 2020. However, Trump holds a 2-point lead in Michigan and a 3-point lead in Pennsylvania, with a significant portion of voters still undecided. Biden also carried Georgia, Nevada, and Arizona in the last election, all of which now show stronger Trump support.

In Wisconsin, it's a tie when polled as a two-man race, which the actual race will not be. When respondents are asked about their choices in a five-way race, Trump pulls ahead by 3.M.

Jill Biden (DOCTOR) was asked why her feebleminded husband/turnip is behind in the battleground states, and she snapped "No he's not."

CBS host Tony Dokoupil began asking the first lady about the polling results before she cut him off to say "no, he's not losing."

"No, he's not losing in all the battleground states. He's coming up," she said before the host could finish asking the question.

"He's even or doing better," Jill added. "You know what, once people start to focus in, and they see their two choices, it's obvious that Joe will win this election."

The first lady was also asked if she was at all worried about President Biden's re-election efforts, responding "no, no, no. I feel that Joe will be re-elected."

Is she just lying as usual?

Well, maybe. All she does is lie and eat breakfast tacos.

But last week, a Bloomberg/Morning Consult poll showing Biden gaining a little ground in the same swing states.

Except Georgia, where Trump extended his lead up to +7.

President Joe Biden has gained ground against Republican Donald Trump in six of seven key swing states, and significantly so in at least two of them. The results make for the Democrat's strongest position yet in a monthly Bloomberg News/Morning Consult poll.

...

The shift was significant in Wisconsin, where Biden leads Trump by one point after trailing him by four points in February, and in Pennsylvania, where the candidates are tied after Trump held a six-point lead last month. They are also tied in Michigan.

A lot of these gains are of just of a couple of points, though there are a couple of +4 gains.

I notice that the liberal propaganda outlet Bloomberg and the Democrat run Morning Consult poll choose to ask about a hypothetical two-way race -- which is better for Biden, as most of the third-party candidates draw more from Biden than Trump.

Chris Queen writes that Biden committed political sin after political sin all of Holy Week.

Let's start by looking at Thursday when the Biden campaign took to Rockefeller Center for a tony fundraising event that featured Barack Obama and Bill Clinton and included Stephen Colbert as host. (Side note: I don't know who is more insufferable, Colbert or Condescender-in-Chief Obama.) That same day, Donald Trump visited a funeral home on Long Island to pay his respects to slain NYPD officer Jonathan Diller, while the White House never acknowledged Diller's death -- an omission that even Al Sharpton pointed out.

Between Good Friday and Easter Sunday, Biden, who loves to make much of his supposedly faithful Catholicism, managed to pay lip service to the resurrection of Jesus while highlighting "Transgender Day of Visibility." As I wrote on Monday, "The White House statement on Easter was only 94 words, while the proclamation of 'Transgender Day of Visibility' clocked in at a whopping 635 words. On the president's X/Twitter account, the 'Transgender Day of Visibility' tweet was twice as long (45 words) as the Easter tweet (20 words)."

It shouldn't come as a surprise that the Archbishop of the District of Columbia Cardinal Wilton Gregory called Biden a "cafeteria Catholic" on Sunday. The president picks and chooses doctrines to show off, but he also chooses when to flex his faith (you know, when it's convenient for him.

The White House also forbade painting any religious symbols on Easter eggs, despite the fact that Easter is the holiest day of the Christian calendar, and remains mostly uncolonized by corporate secularism, as Christmas has been.

The White House thinks it's low-class to advertise one's Christian faith -- even on Easter!

And of course for a top-off, he proclaimed that Easter was now just Oyster Bunny Day.

Posted by: Disinformation Expert Ace at 03:20 PM | Comments (379) | Trackbacks (Suck)

Illegtimate Tyrant Biden Further Weaponizes the Federal Government By Sending 90% of Secret Illegal Alien Flights to Florida and Texas

So what you're saying is that the people have no part in the federal government, and that the federal government is a hostile occupying force.

Karen Townsend:

The Biden administration is secretly using migrant flights to dump illegal aliens into the United States. It turns out that most of them are being flown into Florida and Texas.

Hmm. Is it a coincidence that two red states that are being vigilant in securing their borders are receiving 90% of the migrant flights? I don't think so.

The Center for Immigration Studies analyzed available public information on U.S. Customs and Border Protection's (CBP) website. It's difficult to know the full picture since the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) refuses to publicly identify the dozens of international airports it has approved for direct flights from abroad for some inadmissible aliens.

At least 386,000 migrants, as of February, have been allowed to fly into the U.S. airports as part of President Biden's admissions program launched in October 2022. The rationale for the program is to reduce the number of illegal border crossings. They are flown in and then released on parole.

The Center for Immigration Studies (CIS) analysis of available public information shows the airports that might account for being used for landings from abroad, though not necessarily the final destinations. Early evidence shows that a majority of the flights carrying inadmissible aliens likely land at international airports in Florida.

Florida is the top landing and U.S. customs processing zone for the direct-flights parole-and-release program.

...

The focus on Florida and to a lesser extent, Texas, sure looks like payback...

The Biden administration refuses to cooperate with Florida and Texas. It is a national security issue and a public safety issue. Now it looks like he is retaliating. If not, why would Texas be chosen when it is already overwhelmed with illegal aliens?

Meanwhile, six illegal aliens -- one armed with an illegal gun -- were arrested in New York City as they squatted in someone else's home.

They were immediately released without bail.

Six out of eight migrants, arrested on gun and drug charges in a Bronx apartment, were released without bail last week. The group, suspected of squatting in the apartment for several months, were apprehended after police received a tip-off about a person with a gun.

Key Details:

The NYPD responded to a call about a person with a gun at the Hull Avenue home in Norwood.

Eight suspected migrants were arrested, including a 24-year-old man armed with a pistol.

A search of the home revealed more guns, ammunition, and cocaine.

The NYPD received the call just after 10 p.m. last Wednesday, leading to the arrest of the eight alleged squatters. The responding officers found a 24-year-old man armed with a pistol. A subsequent chase led them into the basement apartment where the man was arrested, along with seven other suspected migrants. One of the suspects, a 22-year-old man, attempted to flee with a weapon but was apprehended.

...

According to a complaint filed in court, a search of the home yielded additional guns, ammunition, and cocaine. Despite the severity of the charges, six of the eight arrested were released without bail, with four of them on supervised release. This decision has left neighbors feeling uneasy.

Posted by: Disinformation Expert Ace at 02:18 PM | Comments (290) | Trackbacks (Suck)

Sage Steele: ESPN Scripted and Dictated Every Word I Said In My "Interview" of Joe Biden in 2021

ESPN wanted to make sure Biden looked good, and didn't want the conservative-tilting Sage Steele getting any ideas about asking him difficult questions.

Former ESPN host Sage Steele said her bosses ordered her to go off a 'script' during her 2021 interview with President Biden.

Former ESPN host Sage Steele revealed that her 2021 interview with President Biden was "scripted" by network executives.

In an interview with Fox News Digital, Steele recalled the "structured" nature of the pre-taped interview, so much so that her ESPN bosses handed her a "script" to go off of.

"That was an interesting experience in its own right because it was so structured," Steele said. "And I was told, 'You will say every word that we write out, you will not deviate from the script and go.'"

Many of the questions Steele asked Biden in the March 2021 interview pertained to sports leagues attempting to restore normalcy during the COVID pandemic and vaccine hesitancy among athletes and fans. Her interview made headlines at the time when Biden supported the MLB's All-Star game boycott of Atlanta following the passage of Georgia's election reform law.

But everything Steele said to the president ultimately came from ESPN's c-suite.

"To the word. Every single question was scripted, gone over dozens of times by many editors and executives. Absolutely. I was on script and was told not to deviate," Steele told Fox News Digital. "It was very much 'This is what you will ask. This is how you will say it. No follow-ups, no follow-ups. Next.' ... This went up to the fourth floor, as we said, where all the bosses, the top executives, the decision makers are, the president of our company, the CEO, where they all worked."

Steele said she didn't know for certain whether ESPN sent the questions to the White House in advance of the interview but seemed confident that is "what happened."

ESPN declined to comment.

No matter how much you hate the media, it's not enough.

Posted by: Disinformation Expert Ace at 01:18 PM | Comments (328) | Trackbacks (Suck)

Scottish Speech Police Say They Will Not Arrest J.K. Rowling, Finding Her Speech "Not Criminal"

The only thing worse than a fascist is a fascist coward.

Her statements are criminal, according to their tyrannical new "law."

But they don't want to make a controversial law even more controversial by taking on the richest self-made woman in the world. So they're going to carve out a JK Rowling Exception -- while pressing charges against any Little People who say the same thing.

Police Scotland has announced that they will not charge author J.K. Rowling over her comments on transgender issues, despite reports from activists. This decision comes in the wake of Scotland's new Hate Crime and Public Order Act, which criminalizes "stirring up hatred" against protected groups.

Key Details

J.K. Rowling had dared the police to arrest her over her comments on transgender ideology, which were reported to Police Scotland by activists.

The Hate Crime and Public Order (Scotland) Act, which came into law on Monday, carries a prison sentence of up to seven years for "stirring up hatred" against protected groups.

Police Scotland stated that they will not take action against Rowling as her comments were "not assessed to be criminal."

Diving Deeper

Rowling's comments, which assert that transgender "women" are in reality still men, were reported to Police Scotland for potentially breaching the new speech codes. However, the police force has stated that they will not take action against the Harry Potter author, as her comments were not deemed to be criminal. This decision marks a significant victory for Rowling, who had publicly dared the police to arrest her over her comments.

...

Rowling responded to the decision on social media, stating, "I hope every woman in Scotland who wishes to speak up for the reality and importance of biological sex will be reassured by this announcement, and I trust that all women -- irrespective of profile or financial means -- will be treated equally under the law." She also vowed to stand by any other woman who runs afoul of the new speech codes.

They shouldn't be reassured. They will be prosecuted. Only Rowling is getting the special exemption because fascist cowards can't stand the glare of public scrutiny.

Meanwhile, Police Scotland also announced that First Minister Humza Yousaf, the driving force behind the hate speech law, will not face criminal charges over a 2020 speech in which he complained about the lack of diversity in the Scottish government. The police force stated that his comments were not "threatening, abusive or insulting" and showed no "malice or ill will" towards any person or group.

Despite criticism from all sides of the political divide, including from left-wing figures such as Rowling and liberals like comedian Joe Rogan, Yousaf has attempted to brand all opposition to the speech codes as "right-wing" attacks. He also suggested that allegedly racist graffiti found near his home justified the imposition of the restrictions on speech in Scotland.

Maybe it's time for you to GTFO, Yousaf.

Posted by: Disinformation Expert Ace at 12:14 PM | Comments (364) | Trackbacks (Suck)

Wednesday Morning Rant

Pass Through?

An increasingly common theme over the past several years has been the imposition of progressive policies on the business world. There is the normal alphabet soup of acronyms and terms associated with this. DEI and ESG are the most common, but there are also the old standbys of "climate conscious" and similar older phrases that have been displaced by the new DEI/ESG environment. The progression of DEI and ESG through the business world has many causes, but one cause is institutional demands.

It is pointed out endlessly that much of this profit-destroying - and more importantly, culture-destroying - activity is approved by institutional shareholders. When asking, "who owns Company X," the answer "the usual suspects" typically applies. Alphabet's top three shareholders are Vanguard, Blackrock and State Street. Ford's top three are ... Vanguard, Blackrock and State Street. Proctor and Gamble? Same. This is common. Look at any stock and the odds are good that several of a dozen or so companies make appearances in the top 5 shareholders.

Posted by: Joe Mannix at 11:00 AM | Comments (189) | Trackbacks (Suck)

Mid-Morning Art Thread

My Soul
Eyvind Earle

Posted by: CBD at 09:30 AM | Comments (343) | Trackbacks (Suck)

The Morning Report — 4/3/24

Good morning, kids. I can see already that it's going to be one of those days. No editorial but links below.

ABOVE THE FOLD, BREAKING, NOTEWORTHY
• "The quake, which rocked the island just before 8 a.m. local time, downed buildings in Taiwan’s eastern city of Hualien and caused a small tsunami on the coast of Japan’s Yonaguni island, officials said. The deaths were reported in Hualien, which was the epicenter of the earthquake — the strongest one to hit Taiwan in 25 years, according to the country’s fire department."
  Horrified commuters thrown around train, child rescued from collapsed building as 7.4-magnitude earthquake kills 7, injures 700 in Taiwan
  
• "Naïve FSA managers were dismayed that the independent-minded settlers did not adapt to communal life; 'economic democracy' was, after all, the ultimate goal of establishing a cooperative farm. To the New Deal architects of Casa Grande, enlightened communal living was a moral imperative." (Hat tip to Buck Throckmorton - jjs)
  Government Project: The Eternal Folly of Central Planning
  
• "Leftists are vowing to stay away from red states’ universities. Good." (Like they vow to leave the US the first time Trump won? I don't believe them. They're infiltrators and won't stop until we are conquered or dead - jjs)
  Do You Promise?
  
• "People who didn’t go to college could feel rightly aggrieved at the windfall the college debtors receive, but they—and indeed the whole country—could benefit from ending the college support scam."
  Donald Trump and Student Loans
  
• John Stossel: "How woke politicians are doing it – and very successfully."
  Protecting Squatters

Posted by: J.J. Sefton at 07:59 AM | Comments (388) | Trackbacks (Suck)

Daily Tech News 3 April 2024

Top Story

• Taiwan has been hit with its strongest earthquake in 25 years, with an estimated magnitude of 7.something. (MSN)
  
  The death toll currently stands at 7, with more than 700 injured. Fortunately the epicenter was on the less-populated eastern side of the island; in the densely populated north and west such a strong earthquake could have been devastating.
  
  
  
• Amazon is closing its automated grocery stores that delivered the magical experience of walking in, picking out whatever you needed, and walking out again, and then having an amount possibly even related to what you had taken deducted from your credit card. (Gizmodo)
  
  Automated.
  
  Well, as to that, all those cameras weren't hooked up to some carefully trained visual AI system, but to a warehouse full of people in India keeping track of your every move.
  
  Not sure if that's better or worse.

Posted by: Pixy Misa at 04:00 AM | Comments (124) | Trackbacks (Suck)

Tuesday Overnight Open Thread (4/2/24)

*****

The Quotes of The Day

Quote I

“When it comes to sweet food, whether we see it as an occasional treat or an everyday must, our personality traits are reflected not just in the taste of the food, but the appearance, the smell and that first bite melt-in-the-mouth moment.” Psychologist Jo Hemmings

Quote II

“This is a disaster waiting to happen. It’s already hard enough to vet people who come from places that use non-Roman alphabets. This ‘update’ will now enable people with nefarious intentions to add another layer of complexity to the vetting process by obscuring their sex.” Matt O’Brien, who served as chief of the national security division at USCIS and is now research director at the Immigration Reform Law Institute

Quote III

“Crisis is a good time to build culture. People will remember what you do for them in these moments.” Sara Blakely, Founder and CEO of Spanx

Posted by: Misanthropic Humanitarian at 09:59 PM | Comments (447) | Trackbacks (Suck)

Haunted Dolls and Monster Puppets Cafe

The Dolomites, looking particularly stabby
by Ryan Resatka

I omitted the link to this yesterday: "Haunted doll" pranks.

Here's a different macabre prank. Might be fake. I mean, every prank on the internet is 80% likely to be fake.

Cliffside temple-tombs at Kaunos, Turkey.

Cool diving video.

Dog wants to protect the children in Juraissic Park from the raptor.

On the other hand, this dog wants to be a raptor.

This cat missing her front two legs took inspiration from raptors and now just bounces around on her two back legs. You'd barely know she had a disability.

Fun with ropes. No, the other kind of fun with ropes.

I've been watching this over and over. I think it's probably some kind of trick, with a few frames of video cut out, but here, you deal with it. When does player number 23 pass the ball? I guess it's just a quick bounce pass which somehow happened so quickly the video didn't catch it. I think the Spanish title is "a glitch in the Matrix."

Shelter dog gets adopted and reaches out to shake one of the staffer's hand.

A cautious dog moves down the hill gingerly.

Peekaboo pupper.

Ding-dog doggo.

Doctor, doctor, I keep feeling something crawling all over me.

Posted by: Disinformation Expert Ace at 07:48 PM | Comments (247) | Trackbacks (Suck)

Quiz Tips

47% of voters under 40 are likely to vote for a third party candidate in November, says a Rasmusen poll.

More than a quarter of voters say they'll likely vote for a third-party presidential candidate in November, and younger Americans are especially keen on the idea, a poll shows.

Fully 28 percent of voters are considering a vote that steers away from Democratic President Joe Biden or his Republican rival Donald Trump, a Rasmussen Reports survey shows.

But that shoots up to 47 percent for voters aged under 40.

A Daily Mail poll now finds that Trump would likely beat hypothetical late-entrant candidate Michelle Obama.

Michelle Obama has never expressed any interest in running for president and this month her office made clear that was fully behind Joe Biden's run for reelection.

Yet the idea that the former first lady could be plotting to parachute in as an alternative to the 81-year-old president and rescue the Democratic Party won't die.

Perhaps until now.

An exclusive DailyMail.com/J.L. Partners poll shows she would do no better in a hypothetical match-up against Donald Trump than Biden would.

Our poll of 1000 likely voters found that she would lose to the former president by three points in a hypothetical match-up.

That is the same margin that Biden loses by.

'Some have been touting an emergency parachute for Biden for some time: Michelle Obama,' said pollster James Johnson, cofounder of J.L. Partners.

'But it turns out voters are no more keen to vote for Michelle over Trump than they are for Biden, with Trump beating her overall and even with Independents.

'It was never very realistic, but this poll puts paid to the idea she can be any kind of saving force for the Democrats.'

The Illegal Alien Griftfluencer who advised illegals to come to America, squirt out an anchor baby, and live forever on the welfare America will pay to raise that little "gold mine," and who then told illegals how to steal people's houses through squatting, has been arrested.

This is not part of some border enforcement initiative by Biden. Quite the opposite: To keep the borders open quietly, without the public getting alarmed by it, it is necessary sometimes to arrest the noisy ones drawing unwanted public attention to your criminal malfeasance.

Illegal 'migrant influencer' Leonel Moreno, who mocked America on social media in several viral videos, has been nabbed by federal immigration authorities.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) fugitive operations officers arrested Moreno in Columbus, Ohio, on Friday and he is currently being held at Geauga County Jail, according to ICE records.

The arrest comes after The Post exclusively reported how Moreno had skipped out on ICE soon after crossing the southern border into Texas illegally in 2022 and was now wanted by authorities.

In a statement to The Post, an ICE spokesperson said: "Leonel Moreno is an unlawfully present citizen of Venezuela, who illegally entered the country April 23, 2022.

"Moreno was placed into the Alternatives To Detention program by Border Patrol and was told to report to Enforcement and Removal Operations office within 60 days of arriving at his destination.

"Moreno did not report as required. On March 29, 2024, Moreno was arrested in Gahanna, Ohio by officers with ERO Detroit's Columbus office and is currently detained pending further immigration proceedings."

While in the US, Moreno used his various social media channels to encourage other migrants to invade the country and squat the homes of American citizens, all while waving around wads of cash and flaunting what he said were government handouts.

In one video, Moreno could be seen holding a social security card. He also frequently boasted of his earnings made from begging for cash.

"I didn't cross the Rio Grande to work like a slave," Moreno said in one Instagram clip. "I came to the US to mark my territory.

"You're hurt because I make more than you without much work while you work like slaves, understand?" Moreno said in another social media post.

"That's the difference between you and me. I'm always going to make lots of money without much work, and you're always going to be exploited and miserable and insignificant."

Illegal aliens: Not doing the jobs that Americans also just won't do.

Oregon has reversed course on legalizing all hard drugs.

You won't believe this, but after they decriminalized all hard drugs including heroin, fentanyl, and cocaine, overdoses rose 1,500%. That's fifteen times the number pre-legalization.

How did that happen? Sometimes life just doesn't make any sense!

Oregon, which had previously decriminalized hard drugs, is now reinstating criminal penalties for drug possession. This move comes after a surge in overdose deaths and disorder in Portland, leading to a reassessment of the state's drug policy.

Oregon's Governor, Tina Kotek, signed a law on Monday to restore criminal penalties for drug possession, ending a key part of the 2020 voter initiative known as Measure 110.

Portland's Mayor, Ted Wheeler, who has been dealing with a series of crises since taking office in 2016, supports the rollback.

The new law could see people caught with small amounts of drugs like fentanyl and methamphetamine facing up to 180 days in jail, although there are provisions for treatment instead of confinement in many cases.

...

Three years ago, Oregon embarked on a groundbreaking plan to decriminalize hard drugs, betting that a focus on treatment over punishment would create a new model for drug policy nationwide. However, the state has seen a flood of overdose deaths and frequent chaos in Portland's streets, prompting a reevaluation of this approach.

...

Mayor Ted Wheeler, who initially supported budget cuts to the police department, has been working to restore order in the city. He has fought in court to ban daytime camping and tried to establish mass shelter locations for those without housing. Wheeler has also pushed to increase the law enforcement presence in the city and to crack down on crime. He concluded that it was time to restore criminal penalties for hard drug possession.

Vote Democrat

We'll end the chaos that we caused the last time you morons voted for us, to be replaced with Brand New (and therefore better!) chaos.

A lawsuit alleges, and this is going to hit some of you hard, that Facebook, which we all assumed was an ethical straight-shooting company, took a $100 million payment from Netflix to read user's messages without their knowledge or consent.

Netflix paid Facebook over $100 million to access and read users' private messages, court documents allege

Netflix, the popular streaming service, allegedly paid Facebook over $100 million for access to private user messages according to claims made in an unsealed court document.

Key Details:

Netflix and Facebook allegedly exchanged user data, with Netflix gaining access to private messages and Facebook receiving user watch history.

The streaming platform reportedly paid over $100 million for this access.

The document suggests that Netflix began lobbying Congress in 2011 for permission to share data in the US, and by 2013, had entered into a series of "Facebook Extended API" agreements.

Diving Deeper:

According to the document, Netflix announced a Facebook integration in 2011, aiming to share user data on an international scale. The streaming giant then began lobbying Congress to allow for such data sharing within the United States. By 2013, Netflix had entered into a series of "Facebook Extended API" agreements, including an "Inbox API' agreement. This agreement allowed Netflix programmatic access to Facebook users' private message inboxes. In return, Netflix would provide Facebook with a written report every two weeks, detailing daily counts of recommendation sends and recipient clicks.

An American YouTuber was kidnapped in -- prepare yourselves -- Haiti, after attempting to meet criminal cult leader "Barbecue."

An American YouTube star has been kidnapped in Haiti by one of the gangs that have become its de facto rulers, as he was attempting to interview the nation's most notorious gang leader.

Addison Pierre Maalouf, known online as YourFellowArab or just "Arab," traveled from his home in Atlanta to interview Jimmy "Barbecue" Chérizier, the leader of the notorious G9 Family and Allies gang that has seized control of the government, according to Haiti 24.net.

But just 24 hours after he arrived in the country, Maalouf and a Haitian colleague were taken by members of the 400 Mawozo gang on March 14.

He is being held for a $600,000 ransom, and even though $40,000 has already been paid, the kidnappers are continuing to demand a large sum of money to secure Maalouf's release, the Haitian outlet reports.

Oh no!

Sure he's been kidnapped by criminal savages, but think about the week's worth of viral content he can generate when (if) he survives!!! That could be worth five or six grand!!!

Baltimore's racist mayor says that it's his job to make white people uncomfortable.

And, oh yeah -- demand that these white people you've made uncomfortable give you money.

Kind of like a subway mugger.

Posted by: Disinformation Expert Ace at 06:40 PM | Comments (204) | Trackbacks (Suck)

Kurt Schlichter: Bitter Dead-Ender NeverTrumpers Have Run Out of Grifting Runway

Scumbags.

Where the hell is Nikki Haley's Trump endorsement, anyway? She pledged -- she gave her word -- that she would support the nominee. I haven't seen it yet. Maybe it's coming, to be delivered in a big gathering with lots of hoopla. That would be good showmanship. But I think more likely she's just mad about her total humiliation and rejection.

I'm not surprised. All these paragons of virtue always take advantage of the Donald Trump Exception to norms and rules and doing what they promise to do. If it's Donald Trump, none of that applies. You get a free pass. It's so important to get rid of Donald Trump because he's dishonest and violates the norms that you are free to be dishonest and violate the norms. Oh, and we cross our heart and hope to die that we won't do this same stuff to the next conservative Republican politician we want to defeat.

...

Alyssa Farah's rise to mediocrity is based solely on her being the alleged Republican on "The View." It's weird how all these regime media Republicans hate everything that Republicans actually support. Now, I admire the sheer audacity of her grift, even though I wouldn't watch her show any more than I would watch "G-String Jell-O Wrestling With the Stars" featuring Chris Christie and Fani Willis.

...

Oh yeah, Bill Kristol. Now that Charlie Sykes has slunk away to spend more time with his families, Billy is the last of the old-school Never Trump OGs. Talk about a lesser son of a greater father. I love to include his fussy characterization of my amazing Kelly Turnbull "People's Republic" novels as "appalling" among the blurbs on my book covers. No one likes him. He's box office poison, the Amy Schumer of American politics. Is there a single person out there who wonders, "Say, I wonder what Kristol thinks?" Is he still even getting gigs on MSNBCNN? I mean, they have to be tired of him by now. You don't even need him anymore. You can just use Google AI and get the same dumb answer.

Posted by: Disinformation Expert Ace at 05:40 PM | Comments (193) | Trackbacks (Suck)

J.K. Rowling Posts April Fool's Jokes About Criminal "Women" and Dares the Scottish Thought Police to Come and Arrest Her

Rowling went on a tear yesterday.

Posted by: Disinformation Expert Ace at 04:44 PM | Comments (176) | Trackbacks (Suck)

Trump Posts Violent, Inciting Video So Dangerous and So Corrosive to Our System of Democratic Self-Rule That the Noble and Brave Firefighter Media (TM) Wisely Refuses to Show This Outrageous Dark MAGA Extremism

Trump's gone too far this time, all of the independent, free-thinking media philosophers agree.

Biden campaign spokesman Michael Tyler absurdly claimed in a statement that the video was yet another instance of Trump attempting to incite violence.

This image from Donald Trump is the type of crap you post when you're calling for a bloodbath or when you tell the Proud Boys to 'stand back and stand by.' Trump is regularly inciting political violence and it's time people take him seriously -- just ask the Capitol Police officers who were attacked protecting our democracy on January 6.

I don't know if it's "absurd." This is pretty grisly stuff.

Content warning. Not for anyone below the age of 26, after your brain has stopped being easily changed, and not for anyone with a heart condition or general nervous temperament.

Seriously: This is spiritually dark. This will stain your soul.

Posted by: Disinformation Expert Ace at 03:35 PM | Comments (295) | Trackbacks (Suck)

RFK Jr. Argues That Biden Is a Worse Threat to Democracy Than Trump

CNN's AWFL Anchor Erin Burnett doesn't know what to say when confronted with the truth.

Robert Kennedy Jr. skewers Biden as "a much worse threat to democracy" than former President Trump

...

Robert F Kennedy Jr is currently polling better than any independent candidate since Ross Perot in 1992.

Kennedy's comments were made in relation to the Supreme Court case Murthy vs. Missouri, which examines the extent to which the government can pressure social media companies to remove content.

When asked whether Biden was a supposed "equal" threat to democracy when compared to Trump, Kennedy Jr. responded: "Biden is a much worse threat to democracy...Biden is the first candidate in history, the first president in history that has used federal agencies to censor political speech."

Posted by: Disinformation Expert Ace at 02:40 PM | Comments (352) | Trackbacks (Suck)

Biden and the Media Gaslight the Nation (Again), Claiming Biden Didn't Proclaim Easter Sunday to be the "Trans Day of Visibility"

When asked about Speaker Johnson's correct and completely accurate statement that Biden proclaimed, using the president's power to proclaim, that Easter Sunday would be the Trans Day of Visibility, Biden just lied and said he hadn't.

And, you'll never guess -- the Gaslight Media is backing his lie to the utmost.

The media's Liesplanation of this lie is that the Trans Extremists had pushed the last Sunday of March as this Fake Trans Holiday for four years. And so Biden was just acknowledging that it was once again time to celebrate this entirely fake holiday for mentally ill people and their enablers.

But, they picked this timing knowing that within just a few years, it would fall on Easter. They planned this. Anyone with an almanac or calendar function on their phone could see this collision coming from a few years ago.

Also, they refused to change the date this year. I'm sure if "Trans Day of Visibility" fell on the Muslim holiday of Eid, they would have scrambled to Make Alternate Arrangements.

Finally, as Ed Morrissey points out, Biden did in fact officially "proclaim" the fake holiday using his presidential power to proclaim. He didn't merely acknowledge it. He proclaimed it, and used that word in his press release.

You know what holiday he did not proclaim, but merely acknowledged?

That's right, Easter Sunday itself. See the link for more on that.

Incredibly, a concert hall in Nashville -- where the "Trans Day of Vengeance" shooter killed six people, including three young children -- is celebrating the Trans Day of Vengeance.

Yesterday was the one-year anniversary of the mass shooting at The Covenant School in Nashville, Tennessee by transgender killer Audrey Hale. As one might expect, there are some memorials planned, including one in Tennessee on Easter Sunday. But it won't be a solemn event paying tribute to the slain Christian children from the school. The event doesn't even have anything to do with Easter. Instead, the Graveyard Gallery in Murfreesboro, Tennessee will be hosting a rock concert celebrating "Trans Day of Vengeance." March 31st was supposed to be the "Trans Day of Visibility," but apparently most of the activists in the community thought that "vengeance" was a better theme. Doing such a thing on Easter leads me to wonder if these people simply lack any sense of irony or if they're doing it to be deliberately provocative.

[The Daily Wire:]

A Tennessee music venue is hosting a "Trans Day of Vengeance" concert just days after the one-year anniversary of the deadly shooting at The Covenant School, in which a transgender-identifying woman killed three children and three adults, apparently out of ideological fury.

A flyer promoted by several bands says that the Graveyard Gallery in Murfreesboro is hosting the concert on March 31, and using it to raise money for a group that provides gender reassignment surgery. The shooting occurred on March 27, 2023, at the Christian school in Nashville, less than an hour away.

The party comes with Nashville schools in high alert because of the potential for violence on the anniversary of the shooting.

Oh, and you'll never guess -- Biden only advertised Easter being "Trans Day of Visibility" on the White House's English language site. He wanted to show his gay-crazy AWFL voters he totally supports their madwoman drive to cut off their sons' penises to spite their ex-husbands.

He omitted mention of his conversion of the holiest day on the Christian calendar on the White House's Spanish language site.

The Biden administration's White House social media accounts have been criticized for their inconsistent messaging on the "Transgender Day of Visibility", with the Spanish language account, "La Casa Blanca", failing to acknowledge the day. This discrepancy has raised questions about the administration's approach to its Hispanic audience.

Key Details

The English White House social media account acknowledged both Easter and the "Transgender Day of Visibility" on March 31, while the Spanish account only recognized Easter and Cesar Chavez.

Support for President Biden among Hispanic voters has reportedly dropped significantly since the 2020 election.

Catholicism is the predominant faith among the Hispanic community in the U.S., which may have influenced the administration's decision to avoid mentioning the "Transgender Day of Visibility" on the Spanish account.

Posted by: Disinformation Expert Ace at 01:32 PM | Comments (387) | Trackbacks (Suck)

Judge Cannon Seems Receptive to Trump's Arguments in Fake Classified Documents Prosecution; Trump Posts $175 Million Bond in Fake NY Fraud Prosecution

Via Jazz Shaw, Judge Cannon seems open to Trump's arguments in the (Florida) documents trial.

US judge receptive to Trump documents claims in warning sign for prosecutors

By Andrew Goudsward

WASHINGTON, April 1 (Reuters) - A federal judge overseeing the criminal case that accuses Donald Trump of mishandling classified documents has signaled an openness to the former U.S. president's defense claims, in a sign that prosecutors might face a difficult road ahead.

U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon, who was nominated to the bench by Trump, has asked Trump and prosecutors to propose jury instructions based on two legal scenarios that favor a claim from Trump that national security lawyers said have little relevance to the charges.

Trump and Special Counsel Jack Smith, who brought the case, face a Tuesday deadline to respond to the judge's order.

...

...

At issue in Cannon's recent order is Trump's claim that he treated the documents as personal under a 1978 law that allows former presidents to keep records that have no connection to their official responsibilities.

...

She later ordered dueling sets of proposed jury instructions, assuming either that the government would have to prove the records belong to the government, or that neither the judge nor the jury could question Trump's stance that they are personal.

...

Mark Zaid, a defense lawyer who has worked on cases involving classified information, said he is unaware of an instance when a document produced by a federal agency was declared a personal record by a president.

Allowing a jury to consider those claims would "give Trump a fighting chance in a jury trial that would never likely exist in another case," Zaid said.

Mark Zaid is a lefty who sides with the left in every case so of course he's the media's go-to guy for commentary.

...

Cannon ruled in Trump's favor in a legal challenge to the investigation filed before charges were brought, which was later reversed by a federal appeals court.

She has signaled support for some of Trump's other arguments, including his request for more records from the Biden administration to attempt to build a case that the investigation was politically motivated.

In a setback for Trump's defense, Cannon last month rejected an attempt to invalidate the central charge against him -- willfully retaining classified information. Cannon said Trump's lawyers could raise the issue later, noting it raised arguments "warranting serious consideration."

Matt Margolis at PJMedia thinks Jack Smith's case is "falling apart."

Jack Smith has transferred the evidence, such as it is, from his rogue grand jury investigation in DC to the Florida court.

But Judge Cannon may not be as receptive to tactics such as compelling a lawyer to violate lawyer-client confidentiality as the Banana Republic DC court was.

"Special Counsel Jack Smith could be blocked from using evidence against Donald Trump contained in grand jury investigation files, which were transferred to the former president's Florida classified documents case this week, a former prosecutor has suggested," reports Newsweek. "In 2023, a grand jury in Washington, D.C., heard evidence from witnesses--including Trump's attorney, Evan Corcoran--while considering whether charges should be brought against the former president and others for hoarding classified documents. However, Trump and his co-accused were later indicted in Florida and, under federal rules, the grand jury files were transferred on Monday to Trump-appointed judge, Aileen Cannon's court."

According to former prosecutor Bill Shipley, the transfer of the case from D.C. to Florida gives Judge Cannon control over what evidence can be included--especially testimony that may have violated attorney-client privilege.

@shipwreckedcrew
Yes but....

As I said at the time, because the case wasn't going to be prosecuted in DC, the rulings made as part of the grand jury investigation are not binding on Cannon.

She can exclude Corcoran as a witness by upholding the claim of privilege.

She can preclude SCO Smith from using any evidence she deems was obtained in an improper manner.

That's the risk that Smith ran by conducting the case in the fashion he did.

Finally, Trump has posted the $175 million bond in Tish James' rogue prosecution.

The case now goes through the appeals process -- and some court along the line is going to kill this travesty dead.

Eric Trump
@EricTrump

Bond filed. We look forward to vindicating our rights on appeal.

Even more finally: The Bee.

Posted by: Disinformation Expert Ace at 12:25 PM | Comments (287) | Trackbacks (Suck)