The Left Is Nothing More Than A Temper-Tantrum-Throwing Child
—CBD
An obstinate refusal to accept reality is the hallmark of children. And that's perfectly okay, because they have half-formed brains and they are learning to navigate the complex logical rules that govern life. In fact, sometimes it's loads of fun, as the parents reading this post can attest.
I noticed in this morning's NYT an article about how complex flood zone mapping can be, because a difference of a few feet has profound financial implications for those involved, including the taxpayer. But embedded in the article was a typical NYT throwaway line about Global-WarmingTM.
New York will be the first major metropolis to be remapped taking into account the realities of climate change, like rising sea levels and increasingly powerful storms.
Except...climate change is far from reality, and the NYT refuses to entertain the notion that it is not settled science. Completely and totally. It simply rejects the idea that maybe, just maybe it isn't a fait accompli.
For the purposes of discussion I would even grant that the hair-on-fire projections of the alarmists are a possibility, and that the maps should recognize a range of future sea levels and storm strength. But any scientist, or for that matter any rational human being would intuitively, immediately understand that we should look at both sides of a far-from-settled scientific issue.
Yet the NYT stamps its feet and holds its breath and insists that in spite of no data that support its supposition, it is nonetheless true. Just like a five-year-old.
The only problem is that we can't send the NYT to its room without dinner. Or smack it on its spoiled, entitled, lily-White ass.
Judge Dismisses Charges Against Clive Bundy and His Sons With Prejudice, Citing "Outrageous" Prosecutorial Conduct
—Ace
A sharp rebuke to how government agents were operating under Obama, and still are.
Nevada rancher Cliven Bundy, his two sons and a militia member will not face a retrial on charges that they led an armed rebellion against federal agents in 2014.A federal judge Monday said the federal prosecutors' conduct was "outrageous" and "violated due process rights" of the defendants.
U.S. District Judge Gloria Navarro said a new trial would not be sufficient to address the problems in the case and would provide the prosecution with an unfair advantage going forward. She dismissed the charges against the four men "with prejudice," meaning they cannot face trial again.
As the courtroom doors opened after Navarro's ruling, a huge cheer went up from the crowd of spectators gathered outside.
Gabe was writing about this on Twitter. If I followed his claims correctly, Bundy and his sons had offered a defense that they had only armed up because they feared the government was surveilling them and had snipers posted around them. The evidence the prosecutors deliberately withheld from them was that, indeed, the government had been surveilling them and had snipers posted around them.
New Method for Determining Historical Earth Temperature Finds That Earth Warmed... Only 0.1 Degree Celsius Over Past 50 Years
—Ace
Ocean temperatures have risen only 0.1 degree Celsius over the last five decades, according to a landmark study some scientists argue could change the way researchers measure the ocean's temperature levels.
Each layer of water in the ocean has vastly different temperatures, so determining the average temperature is nearly impossible without glossing over important data. Researchers at the University of California, San Diego decided on a different model – they measured the ratio of noble gases in the atmosphere, which are in direct relation to the ocean's temperature.
Geoscientist Jeff Severinghaus, an academic at Scripps Institution of Oceanography, measured values of the noble gases argon, krypton, and xenon in air bubbles captured inside ice cores in Antarctica. Krypton and xenon are released into the atmosphere in known quantities as the ocean warms, according to the study, which was published Thursday in Nature Journal
"This method is a radically new way to measure change in total ocean heat," Severinghaus said in a post on the Scripps website. "It takes advantage of the fact that the atmosphere is well-mixed, so a single measurement anywhere in the world can give you the answer."
Severinghaus measured values of the noble gases argon, krypton, and xenon in air bubbles captured inside ice cores in Antarctica. Krypton and xenon, which are remarkably stable regardless external factors, are released into the atmosphere in known quantities as the ocean warms.
Assuming that they're right that the concentration of these trace gasses is directly proportional to atmospheric heat, this seems to be, for once, an actually accurate method of discovering historical global climate changes.
Huma Abedin Backed Up Classified Emails to Anthony Weiner's Computer, Despite Telling the FBI She Had Not Done So
—Ace
EXCLUSIVE: Huma Abedin backed up her emails to Anthony Weiner's laptop after leaving the State Department – even though she said on oath and to FBI agents that she did no such thingAn examination of emails released by the State Department shows that backup copies were created in the dates after Clinton left the State Department in 2013
The messages were archived from 'BBB Backup' and 'LoaderBackup' from a BlackBerry Bold 9700
The FBI discovered the emails on Anthony Weiner's laptop after it was seized just weeks before the 2016 election
At least five messages released this week were marked 'Classified' which included discussions on Israel and other Middle Eastern issues from 2010 - 2012
Huma Abedin had told FBI that she did not have a method of preserving the emails she exchanged on a private server with her boss
She also claimed to have lost most of them as a result of the transition from the State Department - which she left on January 20, 2013
By Alana Goodman For Dailymail.com
PUBLISHED: 10:42 EST
Huma Abedin backed up copies of her emails with Hillary Clinton to her pervert husband Anthony Weiner's laptop, DailyMail.com can disclose - conflicting with her account to the FBI and in court that she did not preserve the conversations.An examination by DailyMail.com of emails released by the State Department shows that backup copies of many of Abedin's work-related messages with Clinton were created in the dates after Clinton left the State Department in early 2013.
The emails, released at the end of December, show that they had been put on Weiner's laptop by a BlackBerry archiving program.
A tech expert told Dailymail.com that Abedin would have to have activated the backup program and may well have plugged her device into the laptop - raising further questions over her testimony to the FBI.
...
Like Clinton, she was cleared by then FBI director James Comey in the wake of the investigation into the former Secretary of State and her staff's handling of classified material.
#SalonHot25 Comin' Atcha
—Ace
Oprah.#ImWithHer
— Bill Kristol (@BillKristol) January 8, 2018
Just in case you think he's kidding, nope:
Oprah: Pro-regime change in Iraq (see her Oct. 9, 2002 show).#ImWithHer
— Bill Kristol (@BillKristol) January 8, 2018
Oprah: Sounder on economics than Bernie Sanders, understands Middle America better than Elizabeth Warren, less touchy-feely than Joe Biden, more pleasant than Andrew Cuomo, more charismatic than John Hickenlooper.#ImWithHer
— Bill Kristol (@BillKristol) January 8, 2018
And, of course: Oprah came from infinitely more challenging circumstances than Trump, is wealthier than Trump, has read more books than Trump, is more stable than Trump, and isn't under investigation by the Justice Department unlike Trump.
— Bill Kristol (@BillKristol) January 8, 2018
These TruCons certainly are strong conservative voices for conservatism and America.
I'm gonna get in on the sweet, sweet #NeverTrump #TruCon™ gravy train. Rolling out a new magazine aimed at the Smart Set® ... #TruConBeat pic.twitter.com/dKxyLeCzMx
— Notorious Augusto P (@GenAugustoP) January 6, 2018
PS: I'm under the weather and I'm going to be posting even lamer than usual today.
Oprah's Running for President and the MSM Couldn't Be More Moist
—Ace
Oprah Winfrey is "actively thinking" about running for president in 2020 after her stirring Golden Globes speech that addressed race and the #MeToo movement brought the crowd to its feet and raised speculation the media mogul would launch a White House bid, CNN reported on Monday.
Ed Driscoll wonders if Harvey Weinstein will be her running mate.
The Morning Rant: J.V. Edition
—CBD
When they put mirrors in the enclosure some of the stupider monkeys look at themselves for a short while, but then get bored with it and go back to doing important work, like grooming each other and throwing poo at the tourists.
The latest innovation to pique our attention is the ‘selfieccino,’ which is created at The Tea Terrace in House of Fraser department store on Oxford Street in London. It allows customers to have an image of themselves or a message “printed” in the foam of a cup of coffee, and the results are truly eye-catching.
You can literally drink your face off with this 'selfieccino' in London
Yes..."eye-catching," if you are a self-absorbed, narcissistic millenial whose attention span is measured in milliseconds and whose only coherent thoughts revolve around pleasure and self.
Id. Ego. Super ego. Come on folks, try to move up the ladder a bit.
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The Morning Report 1/8/18
—J.J. Sefton
Good morning kids. First full work week of the new year begins, and mercifully we're seemingly past the brutal cold snap; supposed to hit 50 here in NYC by the end of the week, if you can believe it.
On to the latest news. Protests continue in Iran, but because of the Regime's media blackout, very little firsthand information is coming out of the country. And the tyrants in Iran are being effectively aided and abetted by the American anti-American propaganda machine here at home, which has spent infinitely more time on this Michael Wolff book, most of it fictional, since it deflects from the reality that President Trump has arguably had the most effective and consequential (in a positive way) first year than perhaps any president in recent memory. I have several links that give you the numbers in black and white, which you can add to the boom in the stock market, consumer and business confidence and a whole host of other signposts foreign and domestic, tangible and intangible, that America is finally on the rise or at least clawing it's way back from two decades lost in the wilderness.
And yet, bereft of any sort of legitimate policy differences, saddled with a 50-100-year record of demonstrable pain, suffering and failure inflicted on the nation as a result of the full implementation of their policies as intended, and day by day, with their media/cultural/academic complex exposed to growing numbers of Americans for the threat to their lives that it is, the Democrat-Left have nothing. Nothing but shrill, shrieking madness as they cling to a desperate gambit to paint this President as the one who's mad - based on nothing more than an infantile tome chock full of half-truths, innuendo and outright fabrication that the author himself has copped to. You want madness? There's your madness. And of course last night's Golden Globe Award spectacle, featuring Mrs. Steadman. BUT... I digress.
Back to Iran, as Nikki Haley blasted the Iranian regime at the UN the Mullahs nabbed old Mahmoud Ahmedinejad for supposedly inciting the protestors. Frankly, I don't see that Maynard Krebs-looking stooge who loves him some sharia being against an Islamic theocracy. Could be a phony diversion to appease the protesters or just plain old score-settling under cover of the protests. Meanwhile, an Iranian tanker collided with a freighter off the Chinese coast. Probably means nothing, but still, all things considered, maybe there was a school of Mossad laser-guided Joo-sharks nearby.
Did any of you know that PDT signed another executive order that opens the door to interstate sale of health insurance? I didn't. Interesting and encouraging piece by health policy wonk David Catron at American Spectator on this crucial issue.
From hither and yon, PDT seems to be unyielding on the Amnesty issue and will force the Democrats' hand vis a vis a government shutdown. Still, with his new BFF Lindsay Grahamnesty by his side, I'm more than a bit nervous about some sort of "deal" that would go against the base. I hope he stands firm on this because he'll be one and done if DACAns get a path to citizenship. The other big item on the legislative agenda will be welfare reform. With the tax bill passed and the "collusion" scam crumbling, hopefully the GOP has steel in their spine to get this done. That said, Mitch McConnell has had a national reciprocity bill on his desk for 44 weeks and has done nothing with it. Get off your flabby ass and pass the friggin' thing in the Senate already.
Stephen Miller totally pwn3d Fake Flapper over the weekend, causing him to pull a Don Lemon maneuver. When you have someone who not only doesn't accept your phony premises but also calls you out on them on camera, you know you're in trouble. Lastly, I give you the rotting carcass of a beached whale oozing ambergris, putrefaction and several thousand cubic meters of flatus.
Anyway, links from around the world, across the nation and up your street. Have a better one and remain blessed.
- Democrat's Unyielding on Immigration Demands Draw Government Closer to Shutdown
- Nikki Haley Slams Iran at UN: "The World Will Be Watching What You Do"
- Ex-Iran Prexy Mahmoud Ahmedinijad "Arrested for Inciting Unrest Against the Governmnet"
- 32 Missing After Iranian Tanker Collides with Cargo Ship off Chi-Com Coast
- Major Networks Covering More About Trump Gossip-fest Than Iran Protests
- Greenfield: Who's Crazy - Trump or the Anti-Trump Shrinks
- Scott Adams: Trump's "Very Stable Genius" Tweet Was "Absolutely Genius"
- Trump Crazy? Like a Fox
- PDT Drives Another Nail into Obamacare's Coffin
- Trump Effect 1: Unemployment Dropped in 2017 for Workers of All Educational Levels
- Trump Effect 2: Federal Government Cut 16,000 Jobs in 2017
- Trump Effect 3: 196,000 Manufacturing Jobs Added in 2017
- Don't Look Now, But Minority Unemployment Is At Record Lows Under PDT
- McConnell Ignores National Concealed Carry Reciprocity for 44 Consecutive Weeks
- Fed Investigators Quit Attempting to Illegally Buy Guns from Legit Internet Dealers After 72 Attempts
- Stephen Miller Slams Fake Flapper During CNN Interview
- Hellzapoppin: FBI, DoJ and Clinton Share the Hot Seat
- Steele Boasted of His "Professional" Work on Russia-Trump "Dossier"
- Can GOP Tackle Welfare Reform in 2018
- Construction Company Says It Can Build 700-Mile Border Wall for $12.2 Billion
- Members Flee Modern Language Association for Refusing to Join Israel Boycott
- Slim's Slimes' Selective Outrage About Murder Victims Will Sicken You
- Reason Celebrates Little Mogadishu
- Man Killed Outside Stockholm Subway Station After Picking Up Possible Live Grenade
- What Anti-Gentrifiers Overlook
- Krispy Kreosote: "I'd Be President if Trump Hadn't Run"
- For Those Keen on Self Abuse, Watch Oprah's Bid for the 2020 Democrat Nomination, Other Vile Meshugas at the Golden Globes
Sunday Overnight Open Thread (1/7/18 )
—Misanthropic Humanitarian
Quote I
The pessimist complains about the wind; the optimist expects it to change; the realist adjusts the sails. William Arthur Ward
Quote II
Let us remember that revolutions do not always establish freedom. Our own free institutions were not the offspring of our Revolution. They existed before. Millard Fillmore
Quote III
Democracy is the art and science of running the circus from the monkey cage. H. L. Mencken
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Weekend Gun Thread
—Misanthropic Humanitarian
As you can imagine I surf the internet quite a bit for my Cob duties. I came across today's Weekend Gun Thread photo. Can't remember where I found it. But, it is quite a gun locker.
So before the tragic canoe accidents where did you store your firearms? If you had a chance to rebuild your collection what you do for storage?
Speaking of purchases. The Top 5 selling handguns of 2017.
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Food Thread: Technique Trumps Ingredients...Or Is It The Other Way Around?
—CBD
I have no idea who Laurie Colwin was. Apparently, at least according to The New York Times, she was a great food writer. Since they are never wrong, I must be an ignorant food savage. Anyway, they featured one of her recipes recently, and since it was a technique I had never tried, i gave it a shot.
Laurie Colwin's Baked Mustard Chicken worked very, very well, but I should never have ignored the whispers in the back of my mind that were saying, "don't use cinnamon you idiot!" They were right, and a fine technique was, if not ruined, certainly marred by the discordant flavor of not even as much cinnamon as they called for.
Luckily the technique survived the NYT's rewriting of her recipe, and I will be trying it again this coming week. It's really quite simple, and I think very forgiving, since the crispy crust seems to keep the chicken moist and tender, even after two hours of cooking at moderate heat. My guess is that the mustard and herb rub helps too, and combines with the bread crumbs to build an impenetrable layer to keep the moisture in.
Or I could be wrong, which has happened before and will happen again. Whatever the reason. the end result was very good (ignoring the cinnamon imbroglio). One modification though; I put the chicken on a rack instead of directly onto the pan. I think that the bottoms of the chicken pieces would have gotten soggy had I followed the recipe even more slavishly than I did.
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Get Yer Petards...Petards For Sale!
—CBD
Street artist Sabo takes credit for 'She knew' posters targeting Meryl Streep
According to the article, Sabo is "right wing," presumably because he has the balls to criticize Hollywood royalty.
What stuns me is how gullible Streep and company must think we are. Do they really think that any sentient being accepts the obvious bullshit that they didn't know all about Weinstein and others like him?
And then this rancid retard has the gall to criticize the Trump women for not being sufficiently "woke" and speaking out on sexual harassment.
Chutzpah: killing your parents then begging the judge for mercy on the grounds that you are an orphan.
Mid-Day Open Thread And Vitriol Throwing
—CBD
Most vets were never even near combat and end up costing the country far more than they ever contributed. It’s a welfare program for Appalachia. Not the officers, obviously, some fine intellectuals come out of the officer ranks. But most troops are just simpletons.
— Grant Chuntley (@RepChuntley) January 7, 2018
Charming.
[Addendum] He is clearly not a Missouri representative, but I think it is a real person expressing his beliefs, which are, shall we say, rather odd. And twisted.
Sunday Morning Book Thread: 01/07/2018
—CBD
This is the weekend to snuggle up with a good book, a warm blanket, a glass of something warming, and contemplate nature from the inside (hopefully not of a tauntaun)!
And if you haven't read Jack London's wonderful short story, "To Build A Fire," you should. Immediately! Here's the full text, and it's even in a nice readable font. So no excuses.
Day had broken cold and grey, exceedingly cold and grey, when the man turned aside from the main Yukon trail and climbed the high earth-bank, where a dim and little-traveled trail led eastward through the fat spruce timberland. It was a steep bank, and he paused for breath at the top, excusing the act to himself by looking at his watch. It was nine o'clock. There was no sun nor hint of sun, though there was not a cloud in the sky. It was a clear day, and yet there seemed an intangible pall over the face of things, a subtle gloom that made the day dark, and that was due to the absence of sun. This fact did not worry the man. He was used to the lack of sun. It had been days since he had seen the sun, and he knew that a few more days must pass before that cheerful orb, due south, would just peep above the sky-line and dip immediately from view.
In my youth I loved Jack London, and discovered during college that he had bought land just an hour or so away from school, and had built a huge home he called -- of course -- Wolf House, now part of Jack London State Park. It burned down just before it was completed, and he died soon after...too young I think. But, much of his writing is flavored by an insane mix of socialism and social Darwinism, and some of it is simply unreadable.
Yet...his short stories are wonderful, and some of his long form work is a delight, especially for the YA readers in the house. "White Fang" and "The Call Of The Wild" are great fun; they certainly introduced me to a strange new world. "The Sea Wolf" may be his best book, although it too is clouded by London's odd view of the world. Regardless, it is good reading.
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EMT 1/7/18
—krakatoa
Lots of wood to cut today. If you don't hear from me in a week, know that I went out doing what I hate.
Saturday Overnight Open Thread (1/6/18 ) No Smiley Edition
—Misanthropic Humanitarian
Fortunately, I have never lived in HOA. And hopefully I never will. Nothing like living in a little Cuba or North Korea.
Marine Corps veteran and his wife are fighting their Texas homeowners association after the group refused to allow them to fly their American and Marine Corps flags outside their home.Cpl. Michael Pereira, who served three tours in Iraq from 2002 to 2009, moved into a Kingdom Heights subdivision in Rosenberg, Texas ,about two months ago with his wife.
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Saturday Evening Movie Thread 01-06-2018 [Hosted By: TheJamesMadison]
—OregonMuse
Going Downhill, Fast
A phenomenon has always fascinated me about franchise movies: their inexorable fall into mediocrity and eventually awfulness. You have an original film that may or may not have had sequels in mind when they made it. It’s usually some level of box office success that leads to the sequels, so the original film’s quality isn’t really that important to the business decision. I’m never surprised that a terrible first film begets terrible sequels. What fascinates me is the series that begin with a good, maybe even a great film, and quickly descend into terribleness.
I think we can all bring to mind some example of a great movie that never should have had a sequel, but did anyway because it made so much money and the studio needed to try and take advantage of that zeitgeist. Jaws is the film that comes to mind first, for me. No one really cares about the sequels, and most consider the original to be one of the great American films, but the first sequel isn’t really terrible. Still, a fall from greatness to mediocrity is pretty precipitous.
Thinking this way, a while ago I started wondering about what series started out at the highest point and fell the furthest fastest. It was just an idle thought until I watched Death Wish 2.
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Mini Chess Thread 01-06-2018
—OregonMuse
"Coming Up Next On the Gorilla Channel..."
Of course, this is an open thread, so there is no such thing as being off topic.
Easier Problem - Black To Play (568 )
Hint: Unobstruct the f-file with a timely check
4r1k1/1p3q2/p1pQ4/2P1R1p1/5n2/2B5/PP5P/6K1 b - - 0 1
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Is This Something? Maybe, But It Is Unrest Amongst The Ruling Class, And That Sounds Like It Is Something
—CBD
Report: Ex-Iranian president Ahmadinejad arrested for inciting unrest: "According to Arab paper, former leader's comments against Rouhani government amid rallies have led authorities to seek to place him under house arrest"
The newspaper said that Ahmadinejad, during a visit to the western city of Bushehr on December 28, said, "Some of the current leaders live detached from the problems and concerns of the people, and do not know anything about the reality of society."He supposedly added that Iran was suffering from "mismanagement" and that the government of President Hassan Rouhani "believes that they own the land and that the people are an ignorant society."
Oops! That's gonna leave a mark, and maybe earn him a bullet in the head. But anytime the rulers of a dictatorship squabble amongst themselves it is a very good thing.
And...Open Thread until something else turns up.
Ace of Spades Pet Thread
—Misanthropic Humanitarian
Welcome to the almost world famous Ace of Spades Pet Thread. Odds are you are in the midst of snow and/or cold. Throw that pet on you as a blanket and enjoy the world of animals.
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It's Not Pretty Plants, But At Least There's No Ottoman!
—CBD
KT is taking a bit of a breather this week. Don't worry, she'll be back. But in the meantime, enjoy an open thread...
BEST STORY OF THE DAY: South Dallas middle school started a “Breakfast with Dads” program but many dads couldn’t make it and several students didn't have father figures. The school posted a Facebook request for 50 volunteer fathers... 600 fathers from all backgrounds showed up... pic.twitter.com/y7W9R3qFcs
— Jerica Phillips (@Jerica_Phillips) January 4, 2018
Weird News Dump
—Misanthropic Humanitarian
The first Saturday of the year. It looks like the New Year continues to be as weird as the last year.
Take a look.
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EMT 1/6/18 A Country Song New Year edition
—krakatoa
So, last Sunday my dog died.
Tuesday as a consequence of my company's "merger" (read: hostile takeover that my old CEO got completely rolled on and that our company very literally paid for before the new BOD voted him out) I got laid off from a job I managed to hold for 12 years.
I should really try to drum up some depression.
But you know what? Fuck it, that's what.
I've got a screamin' economy and a good severance package which will allow me to look for a better paying job in said screamin' economy without needing to dip into cash reserves for several months.
I'm good at what I do. I'll abide.
I do miss that dog something awful though.
Friday's ONT Will Be Coming 'Round The Mountain When It Comes
—WeirdDave
Welcome to the first Friday ONT of the year! How is your year going so far? Better than this guy's, I hope:
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Early Weekend Open Thread
—Ace
This is the best thing you'll see all day. 😍🐕
— Chris Strider (@stridinstrider) January 4, 2018
This Dog figures out how to carry his sled up the hill in order to sled for hours & hours & hours. #snow #sledding #dogs #blizzard2018 #cyclonebomb #philly #dog pic.twitter.com/7qhZ3Km9jw
Over 100 Companies Giving Out "Trump Bonuses" After Tax Reform Passage
—Ace
The number of companies offering employee bonuses, pay hikes, and increases in benefits in reaction to President Trump's December tax reform victory is now over 100, with thousands of workers impacted and charities too.Less than a day after Americans for Tax Reform put out an initial list of 40, it jumped to 52 as more company plans poured in.
And by the end of today, ATR's John Kartch told Secrets that the list will hit over 100. "Small businesses from across the country are sending me news of their tax-cut bonuses, wage hikes, and charitable donations. Many of these were only announced internally. There is a broad and deep tsunami building," added Kartch, ATR's vice president of communications.
Judge Denies Fusion GPS' Motion to Block Congress From Seeing Its Financial Records; Fusion GPS Files Emergency Motion to Appeals Court, Hoping for Reversal
—Ace
Boy, the Democrats' favorite smear-shop really doesn't want Congress to know who's paying it or who they're paying.
A federal judge has ruled against Fusion GPS in the Trump dossier firm's quest to block the release of its bank records to the House Intelligence Committee.Judge Richard Leon shot down all four of Fusion's arguments against the release of 70 records of transactions involving some of its clients as well as journalists and researchers it has paid since Sept. 2015.
Fusion sued its bank, TD Bank, in October, to prevent it from complying with a subpoena issued by the House Intelligence Committee, which has been looking into Fusion’s role in putting together the dossier.
Mollie Hemingway goes through the judge's ruling, which she says "obliterates" Fusion GPS' arguments.
Before getting to that, she quotes Charles Grassley's response to the Fusion GPS op-ed, in which the company's founders claimed they wanted to be transparent, but Republicans in Congress just wouldn't let them be transparent:
A spokesman for Sen. Chuck Grassley of the Senate Judiciary Committee reminded Fusion GPS that the firm and its principals routinely fought the committee. Spokesman Taylor Foy said, "Senator Grassley provided Fusion GPS an opportunity for transparency six months ago when he invited the firm to publicly testify at an open committee hearing. Mr. Simpson declined. When faced with a subpoena from the Chairman and Ranking Member, Mr. Simpson refused to provide public testimony, using his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination to negotiate for a closed-door interview. Despite his public statements, Mr. Simpson and his attorney demanded during the interview that the transcript be kept confidential. Mr. Simpson has refused to answer dozens of questions voluntarily, and has failed to provide the Committee with documents and responses to follow-up questions after the interview."
Fusion GPS is so determined to be transparent with Congress they just filed this emergency appeal to try to keep their financial records hidden:
If Fusion GPS so desperately wants transparency, why did it just seek an emergency stay of a ruling to open the firm's books to federal investigators? pic.twitter.com/hAXSY42huN
— Sean Davis (@seanmdav) January 5, 2018
NFL Ratings Fall at Faster Pace in 2017 Than in 2016
—Ace
At Instapundit, an excerpt from a WSJ article about the once mighty league's fall.
The 2016 season's ratings fell 8% from 2015's. But 2017's ratings fell almost 10%, 9.7%, from 2016's already-lower ratings.
As Instapundit says, "Get woke, go broke."
DOJ Will Take a Second Look at How DOJ and FBI Handled Clinton Email Investigation
—Ace
Because it wasn't really investigated before, was it?
Classified documents among newly released Huma emails found on Weiner's laptop The Trump administration is launching another probe into Hillary Clinton’s use of a private email server when she was secretary of state, a new report said Thursday.Attorney General Jeff Sessions hopes to uncover new details on how Clinton and her aides handled classified material, The Daily Beast reported, citing a source close to the former Alabama senator.
"It's wrong and dangerous to weaponize the DOJ into a political weapon," now shriek the people who got the FBI to pay Russians for a bogus dossier and then contrived a special prosecutor for a political opponent.
And that's not all -- apparently Sessions has also ordered another look (really the first look, again) into pay-for-play allegations about the Clinton Foundation and Uranium One.
The Justice Department has launched a new inquiry into whether the Clinton Foundation engaged in any pay-to-play politics or other illegal activities while Hillary Clinton served as secretary of State, law enforcement officials and a witness tells The Hill.FBI agents from Little Rock, Ark., where the foundation was started, have taken the lead in the investigation and have interviewed at least one witness in the last month, and law enforcement officials said additional activities are expected in the coming weeks.
The officials, who spoke only on condition of anonymity, said the probe is examining whether the Clintons promised or performed any policy favors in return for largesse to their charitable efforts or whether donors made commitments of donations in hopes of securing government outcomes.
The probe may also examine whether any tax-exempt assets were converted for personal or political use and whether the foundation complied with applicable tax laws, the officials said.One witness recently interviewed by the FBI described the session to The Hill as "extremely professional and unquestionably thorough" and focused on questions about whether donors to Clinton charitable efforts received any favorable treatment from the Obama administration on a policy decision previously highlighted in media reports.
Oh, and of course this was going on as this news came out:
Looks like the Clinton Foundation is updating its records. pic.twitter.com/67vVsO1IBi
— Rep. Steven Smith (@RepStevenSmith) January 3, 2018
EXCLUSIVE: Live look-in on Chappaqua where the home of Bill & Hillary Clinton is currently on fire. 🔥 pic.twitter.com/R6gqZA8rDn
— Bradley Brewer (@Brad_S_Brewer) January 3, 2018
US Suspends Close to a Billion Dollars of Aid to Pakistan
—Ace
Well, it's at least nine hundred million; they haven't figured out the final tally to be suspended. So it could be close to a billion. Or even a bit more.
The United States said on Thursday it was suspending at least $900 million in security assistance to Pakistan until it takes action against the Afghan Taliban and the Haqqani network militant groups.The U.S. State Department announced the decision, saying it reflected the Trump administration's frustration that Pakistan has not done more against the two groups that Washington says use sanctuaries in Pakistan to launch attacks in neighboring Afghanistan that have killed U.S., Afghan and other forces.
The department declined to say exactly how much aid would be suspended, saying the numbers were still being calculated and included funding from both the State and Defense departments.
Guy Prints Up Hilarious Parody "Quote" From Michael Wolff Book; A Blue Checkmarker Falls For It
—Ace
Okay, at what point do you officially disbelieve this quote?
Wow, this extract from Wolff’s book is a shocking insight into Trump’s mind: pic.twitter.com/1ZecclggSa
— pixelated boat (@pixelatedboat) January 5, 2018
Well, this guy -- your Intellectual Better -- thinks it's real.
Oh, Scott pic.twitter.com/EwkSdtCfLq
— Alex Griswold (@HashtagGriswold) January 5, 2018
Scott Dworkin's twitter bio reads:
Co-Founder @TheDemCoalition. #AMJoy on MSNBC Contributor. I help lead #TheResistance. Obama Alum.
So, there you go.
Smart they are not.
Update: Noted expert about the nation of Peruvia, Toure, also fell for it. At least he thought it was really from the Wolff book, though he doubted the story, recounted by Wolff, was true:
.@Toure is a verifiable dumbass. pic.twitter.com/gA73PbmDk2
— Jerry Dunleavy 🎄🎅🏽 (@JerryDunleavy) January 5, 2018
Another one: This guy's an "Atlantic magazine contributor."
This is my favorite part of Wolff's book so far. Amazing for what it says about this administration! (It's worse than you think!!). So amazing, I can barely even believe it. It's *literally* incredible@Pixelatedboat caught it first (he's a quicker reader than I). Reproducing: pic.twitter.com/qtOaNDxnx2
— Shadi Hamid (@shadihamid) January 5, 2018
Update: People point out that this guy said the quote was "*literally* incredible" -- he seems to have been in on the prank, and was just sharing it so that others could enjoy it.
The Morning Rant: J.V. Edition
—CBD
"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. That, to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed. That, whenever any form of government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new government, laying its foundation on such principles, and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their safety and happiness."
That's so quaint! I think those folks really believed, and even fought a war to defend its principles. They shouldn't have bothered. Just throw poo, it's cheaper and more fun, and doesn't require any principles at all.
CBS Diversity Comedy Showcase Has Its 2018 Cast
I'm actually pretty fvcking offended by the name of this show. Ignoring the fact that it is off-putting, and immediately alienates a significant portion of its possible audience, what am I to take away from its title? That my status as a White man is in some way invalid, that I am to be marginalized in deference to others whose skin color and hyphenated surnames are more in tune with current thought?
These people are doubling down on division. They WANT the country to be unalterably divided, because they think that identity politics and a third world aesthetic is ascendent in America. Maybe it is, but before we get there these folks will have to some heavy lifting, and I don't think they are up to the task. As usual, their sweetness-and-light message will be co-opted by those with a more sanguine and realistic outlook on how to change societies. And those people are called communists, or in today's vernacular, community organizers and progressives.
Continue reading
Mid-Morning Open Thread
—CBD
Attack At Dawn
Jacek Yerka
Nobody said anything about "high art." If you want the masters, kick in for a Platinum MembershipTM. They are in Florence for a private showing of "David."
The Morning Report 1/5/18
—J.J. Sefton
Good morning kids. The weekend is here and so let's dive in to an abundance of linkages to keep you busy, informed and the blood boiling, at least with some of these.
First up, let's start with the Insurrection front. The big story emerging with several of the links is the now very public collapse of the entire phony "collusion" meme meant to destroy the President and/or his presidency. It has done neither, as we have witnessed with all the winning over the past year. Despite the media's attempt to now ignore and minimize the very "dossier" they thought would bring PDT down and shift the blame to Papadopoulos, Fusion GPS is now going to have to hand over all its bank records and so much will be revealed. Unless of course, the records were kept in Hillary's upstairs guest room in Chappaqua.
In the wake of all of this dreck, two GOP stalwarts, Mark Meadows and Jim Jordan are now calling for Jeff Sessions to wake the hell up and get the hell out. Like all of us, they've had enough of his incompetence. While many of us are clinging to the Steiner-will-come belief that indictments will be handed down and that Sessions is just playing 11-dimenson possum, I think the writing is on the wall; he's got to go and now. Even if Mueller were to resign and admit defeat, he cannot stay as Attorney General. There will be crucial policy decisions in the next three to seven years that demand someone in this position who has the political will and savvy to back up the administration, the rule of law and the American people to the hilt. Based on everything we have seen since he was sworn in, Jeff Sessions, is not that man.
Moving right along, no real news that I can find about the situation on the ground in Iran. Are the protests fizzling? Is there a complete blackout, aside from the one the American media is instituting? No matter; the administration is signaling it may reinstate sanctions against the Mullahs while the President himself has signaled other actions, as yet unspecified, that might be taken to help the protesters.
Interesting piece in the Federalist about the difference between American interests and American values when it comes to foreign policy. On the whole, it makes some cogent points.
On the fall of Bannon, honestly there are more important things going on and I view it as a distraction. The serial Soros troller attempted to shame me for "burying" it, to which I would say, if I wanted to do that I would not have linked to it, Average Joker. My feeling is I never heard of Steve Bannon before last year. I admired and agreed with his positions on opposing the establishment. In the end, though, he's just a regular person prone to the same foibles, insecurities and desire for elevation as everyone in that town. He made some seriously horrible decisions vis a vis his statements against PDT and his family. It's a shame because I thought we had someone on our side committed to the cause, but whose ego got in the way of his judgement. Meh. Let's forget him and move on.
I posted in the sidebar yesterday and I have linked below that David Yancey has won the tied race in the Virginia House by an arcane process of drawing lots. Of course, the Democrat won't concede despite naturally agreeing to the process ahead of time. Insert your Nelson Muntz laugh here. Seriously, it's a crucial win all things considered so I'll take it any way I can get it.
From hither and yon, mercurial Senator Ron Johnson is calling for an investigation into how Obama flunky Leandra English "burrowed" her way into the CFPB. It's a good idea; even better would be to abolish the absolutely unconstitutional and illegal politburo completely. Surprise! WikiLeaks has revealed the Clinton campaign covered up charges of sexual harassment leveled at one of their key staffers, and lastly a few interesting and feel-good stories about the effects of the President's dismantling of the regulatory state from the Obama Reign of Error and before, including Nancy Palsi's insane reaction to the President's drill-baby-drill announcement yesterday.
Anyway, links from around the world, across the nation and up your street. Have a better one and remain blessed.
- Immigration Expert: PDT Wants "to End Chain Migration" and "Visa Lottery Program"
- Rush: "Your Host Walks You Back From the Ledge on Immigration"
- Under Trump, Opposing Chain Migration is Even Bigger Than Amnesty
- Federal Judge Deals HUGE Blow to Fusion GPS in Bank Records Battle
- Mark Meadows & Jim Jordan: It's Time for a New Attorney General
- Greenfield: 7-Month Long $7 Million Trump Collusion Conspiracy Theory Falls Apart
- Democrats' Dishonest Scramble to Disown the Trump "Dossier"
- PDT Mulls Restoring Iran Nuclear Sanctions to Support Protesters
- Trump Taunts Tehran: Punishment is Coming for Iranian Officials Who Crush Protests
- Iranian Theocracy on the Brink?
- Aid to the Palestinians is Counterproductive to Peace
- US Suspends Military Exercises with Seoul in Wake of Latest NorK/RoK Rapprochement
- We Should Prioritize Our Interests Above Our Values in Foreign Policy
- Heh, Nancy Palsi's Eyes Bug Out Over PDT Offshore Drilling: "He's Looting the Planet!"
- Tu-Ca Slams Keith "X" Ellison for Long History of Abhorrent Views
- Billionaire Funders of Bannon, Breaitbart Nuke Bannon from Orbit: "No Financial Support"
- WikiLeaks: Clinton Campaign Covered Up Sexual Harassment by Staffer
- Ron Johnson Presses for Investigation of "Burrowing" by CFPB Deep State Employee
- Choom On, Choom Off: Billion-Dollar Pot Industry Dazed and Confused by DoJ's Reversal of Obama-Era Memos
- Don't Wait for the Trump Boom - It's Already Here
- Can the Trump Deregulatory Boom Save the GOP in 2018?
- One of the Nation's Most Populous Counties Threatened with Lawsuit for Concealing Non-Citizen Voter Records
- Levin Rips "Airhead" Cory Gardner for Threatening to Hold Up Trump DoJ Nominees
- Virginia House Retains GOP Majority as David Yancey Wins by Casting of Lots...
- ...Of Course, the Democrat Refuses to Concede
- Cuomo: Governor See-No-Evil
- Government Won't Fix Healthcare - Only the Private Sector Can
- NY Times Proves It Hates Religious Americans with This One Neat Obituary
- This Should Get Interesting: SC Lawmakers Push to Erect Statue Honoring Black Confederate Soldiers
- Trumps Unnoticed Great First-Year Accomplshment
- American Cardinal: Homosexuality is "Abnormal," No Need to Apologize "For Teaching the Truth"
The Penis Whitier: Thai Men Paying $650 to Have Their Dicks Lasered Until They're Whiter
—Ace
My extensive research on PornHub tells me they're doing it wrong.
"These days a lot of people are asking about it. We get around 100 clients a month, three to four clients a day," Bunthita Wattanasiri, a manager for the Skin and Laser department at Lelux Hospital told AFP.The procedure, which uses laser whitening, got wide play on Thai television and social media on Thursday (Jan 4) after the hospital released images of a man undergoing the treatment.
"We have to be careful because it's a sensitive part of the body," Bunthita said, adding most clients were aged between 22 and 55-years-old with many from Thailand's LGBT community.
I think every man, if he's being honest, wants his dick to look like a bald Robert Smith of The Cure.
Steve Bannon Out at Breitbart?
—Ace
Drudge, a Bannon foe, blares:
Welp. pic.twitter.com/3zCA9m47zu
— Larry O'Connor (@LarryOConnor) January 4, 2018
The article doesn't say he's out, but they report that board members of Breitbart.com are considering pushing him out.
The big problem is that Bannon directed Breitbart.com to be all-in on Trump -- and now he's at war with Trump, and the White House is even saying Breitbart should "consider" firing him.
President Donald Trump’s growing feud with Steve Bannon is threatening the former White House strategist’s leadership of the conservative Breitbart News website...
Mr. Bannon's longtime benefactors, billionaires Robert Mercer and his daughter Rebekah Mercer, are actively distancing from him even before the expected release of Michael Wolff's book...
They and other Breitbart News Network LLC board members on Thursday were debating whether to oust Mr. Bannon as chairman, with many supportive of the move, according to a person familiar with the exchanges. Among the considerations are Breitbart's contractual relationships with other entities, including Sirius XM radio, that involve Mr. Bannon....
Asked Thursday whether Breitbart should oust Mr. Bannon, White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said: "I certainly think that it's something they should look at and consider."
For his part, Bannon recently did some fence mending by stating that he still "supports" Trump and considers him a "great man." But he hit Trump in two ways Trump will be unlikely to forgive: he added to the Russian Collusion narrative, so that Jake Tapper (and others) can now say "even Steve Bannon says this was treasonous," and Trump is very, very pissed off about this whole ginned-up Deep State strike.
And he also knocked Trump's kids, allegedly, who are probably among the few people Trump really cares about.
Philip Morris: Our New Years Resolution is to Stop Making Cigarettes
Also: New Years Resolution Thread
—Ace
Philip Morris has been getting more into the smoke-free e-cig market for some time. I don't expect them to follow through on this "resolution." It seems just to be a publicity-generating statement.
Philip Morris International has made a dramatic New Year's resolution: "We're trying to give up cigarettes."What?
The maker of such cigarette brands as Marlboro, L&M, Parliament and Chesterfield took out full-page ads in several newspapers in the United Kingdom that said its new ambition in 2018 is to build a smoke-free future and eventually stop selling cigarettes.
The manifesto, as described on the company's web site, is to help people quit smoking traditional cigarettes and to one day replace them all with smoke-free alternatives like e-cigarettes and heated tobacco products.
The company claims the alternatives are less harmful and that "we can achieve a significant public-health benefit only when a large number of these smokers switch from cigarettes to better products."
The Philip Morris ad states: "No cigarette company has done anything like this before. You might wonder if we really mean it."
If anyone's interested in quitting smoking for the New Year, e-cigs are a good way to do it. I had quit cold-turkey for a while, then went on to e-cigs on doctor's advice.
No really. I had complained of a lack of focus and a cardiologist said, "Well I can't officially suggest this as a doctor, but you could try an e-cig..."
Since then, I've reduced the nicotine level I was getting from 0.18, to 0.12, to 0.06, to 0.03, and just ten or so days ago, 0.015. I'm looking to go down to 0.01 or even 0.005 and then just quit entirely. It's not that it's a very dangerous habit; it's just an unnecessary one, and it's a contributing factor to my high blood pressure.
Which isn't really that high any more. So maybe if I stopped with the nicotine, I could ditch the HBP medicine. That would be a win.
The e-cig still has some of the pain-in-the-ass factor of smoking. Sure, you can get away with puffing an e-cig in a lot of places, but you can't puff in all places, and you still have to do a little bit of annoying nicotine-dosing planning. One advantage of the e-cig is that there is no time commitment to taking a hit -- with a cigarette, you're kind of committed to the full five minutes of smoking when you light one up. With an e-cig, you can take two quick puffs and you haven't wasted any product.
So there's less time devoted to the addiction than with cigarettes, but there's still some. Heading out into the cold during a meal, for example, just to take three power puffs, for example.
I'd like to reclaim that small amount of time I'm still wasting on nursing the nicotine addiction.
The e-cig's pain-in-the-ass factor is an order of magnitude less than cigarettes' time-wasting factor. When I quit smoking, I was very surprised at how much extra time I had -- time I had previously spent going outside to smoke, etc. I would guess I suddenly had 90 extra minutes each day, maybe more.
90+ extra minutes a day? Pretty damn great. At first, I felt a little agitated about it. It felt like there was something I was meant to be doing, but wasn't. Almost as if I was skipping out on work and felt guilty about it. But that passes in a week or so. And it just gives you more time for masturbating.
But even with the e-cig, you're still going to have some smaller amount of time that you waste for nicotine breaks.
As I've also suggested before, The Easy Way to Quit Smoking by Allen Carr is a must for the psychological side of tobacco dependency. Even with an e-cig, where you're getting as much or more nicotine than you get with a real cigarette, your addiction is going to make up excuses as to why this slightly different nicotine ingestion experience is so unsatisfying that you must begin smoking real cigarettes again.
The Easy Way to Quit Smoking is a good defense against the lies the brain parasite we call addiction is going to tell you to keep itself alive.
BTW, there is one true noticeable chemical difference between the e-cig and a real cigarette, as far as effect on the brain: e-cigarettes do not deliver the poison called carbon monoxide. I think it's the carbon monoxide that gives you the slightly goofy, dizzy feeling when you over-smoke. It's absent in e-cigs, and your addiction will probably notice that and try to convince you that carbon monoxide is a non-negotiable necessity of the nicotine ingestion habit. In reality, it's just a byproduct with no real upside (which nicotine does have, obviously) and with additional downsides.
Anyway, if Philip Morris is thinking about quitting the cigarette habit, eh, maybe give it a shot. With the e-cig, it's now as painless a process as it ever will be, though, I have to stress, your addiction will constantly be telling you that every minor, trivial difference between the e-cig and real cigarettes is hugely important and so you should go right back to cigs.
Okay, enough of my nagging.
New Years Resolutions Part of Post.
Have you made any New Years Resolutions?
I have a bunch:
1. Be up at at 'em by 9am every morning. I know this sounds stupid, but yeah, this would be my version of "early rising."
2. Have my exercise done by 10:30 am. Currently I put it off and off and it winds up squashing the whole day because it's always out in front of me instead of done and forgotten. And on this one, I really need to finally start doing mobility/stretching/yoga type stuff on my non-weightlifting days, instead of just being tight and sore all the time.
3. Fix the damn Sonobi and cellphone hijacks going on on the site.
4. Stop watching so much TV. I've watched less TV, but not as little as I'd like. Also, I've largely just replaced TV with YouTube stuff, which I have to ratchet down. Maybe I should set a one hour or 90 minute per day hard limit. Which would get me to...
5. Read more.
6. Phase 3 of the shelves. Yeah I haven't started Phase 3. I just have the shelves.
7. Clean everything up and be neater and semi-organized for once.
8. Learn how to lockpick. I got this cool set of pics and practice locks (with see-through bodies so you can see yourself manipulating the pins) from Amazon. Haven't tried them yet, though.
9. Finally learn Italian and Spanish. Which I started trying to do a year and a half ago but didn't go very far with.
10. Become a Real Expert like Tom Nichols or all the other geniuses on Twitter.
Well that's a big list. I've heard that Bullet Journaling is helpful for getting through goals, but that seems like a whole new entry in the resolution list. I don't know if I could actually do that.
Does anyone do that? And-- does anyone do that who was not already a pretty organized and future-planning person, like me? Has anyone used this technique (or any other technique, actually) to successfully gender transition from disorganized to at least somewhat organized?
Below, a video of that What I've Learned guy on creating habits and increasing willpower.
Continue reading
Shocker: Keith Ellison Promotes Group the Department of Homeland Security Designates as a Domestic Terrorist Operation
—Ace
Yes, they're "domestic terrorists," officially.
And the DNC's number two is a big fan.
At @MoonPalaceBooks and I just found the book that strike fear in the heart of @realDonaldTrump pic.twitter.com/r81nYoeqpL
— Rep. Keith Ellison (@keithellison) January 3, 2018
This is by no means the first time Keith Ellison has declared his gender to be terror-curious.
Ellison has been tied to the Nation of Islam, and once supported its virulently anti-Semitic founder, Louis Farrakhan. CNN found that Ellison was involved in the Nation of Islam for about a decade between the 80s and 90s. During that time, while in law school, Ellison aligned with anti-Semitic campaigners and Holocaust deniers, often taking to the press to defend them....In 2007, he described former President George W. Bush as a Hitler-like figure, suspecting that 9/11 was an inside job...
From 2009 up until present day, Ellison has engaged with several figures who are close to the Palestinian terrorist organization Hamas.
In 2009, he met with a man described by the FBI as a fundraiser for Hamas.
Throughout the years, Ellison often has spoken at fundraisers hosted by the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), which has been profiled by the Department of Justice as a Hamas-related organization. Additionally, CAIR was listed as an unindicted co-conspirator in the largest terror-financing trial in American history, and is banned as a terror group in the United Arab Emirates.
A group connected with the terrorist organization the Muslim Brotherhood paid for Keith Ellison's visit to Mecca.
Once a terrorist supporter, always a terrorist supporter.
Note the DNC's number two is indulged his many connections to terror-linked groups while the farcical media is on the lookout for GOPers flashing the "Okay" hand-sign, which they claim is a Secret Code for "White Power."
Somehow, they overlook all the Democrats who flash the "okay" sign.
