What are you hobbying?

As per usual Hobby Thread etiquette, keep this thread limited to hobbying. All (legal) hobbying is welcome. I understand that some people pay attention to military hardware, tactics and strategy as a hobby. Discussion of current events permitted but must be made in the form of hobby commentary. Pants are optional. As always, puns are welcome and encouraged.

Play nice and do not be rude. Do not be a troll and do not feed the trolls.

Calligraphy? Yes, fancy writing.

Your dino host has a small brain and short arms and dreadful handwriting, so calligraphy is beyond my reach. Need your contributions in the gray boxes for help.

Book of Kells history:

Cursive is not the same as calligraphy. Calligraphy assembles several specific shapes and pen strokes.

Handwriting quality has nothing to do with calligraphy? Explain how.

"The Happy Ever After Crafter" is a clever name for a YT channel.

Flex nib fountain pens are a long way from a BIC ballpoint pen, but here we are.

Japanese calligraphy ink making. Wow.

Rosetta stone is not calligraphy but is a historically significant part of writing and language:

Cursive is a close sibling to calligraphy:

Hat tip: Perfessor Squirrel

Our first daffodils bloomed only to get snowed under a day later... The snow is gone and more blooms are emerging though.

Marble carving is off-topic but this video is impressive and amusing:

NOTICE: Next week the theme will be cartography. We'll be talking about maps. Find your way back and enjoy the fun.

Did you miss the Hobby Thread last week? We did an paper cutting theme. The comments may be closed, but you can re-live the content.

Words of wisdom:

"Because despite all our troubles, when things are grim out in that wide round world of ours, that's when it's really important to have a good hobby." Posted by: tankascribe at June 22, 2024 07:41 PM (HWxAD).

If you have trouble finding something in the content or comments that resonates with you, contribute your own. Send thoughts, suggestions and photos of your hobbying to moronhobbies at protonmail dot com. Do mighty things but don't run with scissors.

Courtesy David Thompson:

Cats in Medieval Manuscripts & Paintings

Renaissance artist Albrecht Dürer (1471–1528) never saw a rhino himself, but by relying on eyewitness descriptions of the one King Manuel I of Portugal intended as a gift to the Pope, he managed to render a fairly realistic one, all things considered.

Medieval artists’ renderings of cats so often fell short of the mark, Youtuber Art Deco wonders if any of them had seen a cat before.

Point taken, but cats were well integrated into medieval society.

Much more information on the death penalty connected with cats and so forth at the link above.

Tutti Fruitti was in his wicker house, turns 18 in April; Henrietta Hot Paws keeping me company while I sew, in the sun, at almost 14…

Nan in AZ

What lovely companions! Thanks for sharing their photos.

Hi,

I know it's a bit late.  This is moron Dark Litigator.  I was the co-owner (3%) of cat Maceo ("MAYseeoh") who I occasionally mentioned over the years.  His mama (97% owner) had him for nearly 6 years.  He was a special needs rescue cat from the mean streets of Fresno but he blossomed into the coolest, little dude.  A few weeks ago he developed late-stage heart and kidney disease so we sadly had to euthanize him at 2pm on 2/22.  Here are a couple of pics from his better days, if you could put one or both up. 

Thanks.

So sorry you have lost Maceo - - such a cool cat. Thanks for rescuing him. Keep in touch.

Thank you for sharing your pets and animal photos and stories with us today.

If you would like to send pet and/or animal stories, links, etc. for the Ace of Spades Pet Thread, the address is:

petmorons at protonmail dot com

Remember to include the nic or name by which you wish to be known when you comment at AoSHQ, or let us know if you want to remain a lurker.

Until next Saturday, have a great week!

If you start feeling nostalgic, here a link to last week's Pet Thread, the Ace of Spades Pet Thread, March 7

I closed the comments on that post so you wouldn't get banned for commenting on a week-old post, but don't try it anyway. There was a discussion of pine cat litter in the comments last week. Anyone else try it this week?

Edible Gardening/Putting Things By

Last week, WeeKreekFarmGirl shared some information with us about an herb most of us had never heard of, Sculpit. Famous in some parts of Europe, we learned. It is available from Terroir Seeds, a company in Arizona.

Here is one of their summer squashes, Tatume.

It is a firm, round zucchini-type squash known for its heat tolerance. I have grown it before. I tend to prefer the more tender varieties, but this one has the advantage of surviving where others may not.

Here is a little video on another of their offerings,
Cucamelons:

If you are wondering what to do with all of your tiny cucamelons, use them in a salad! They add a delicious cucumber crunch like nothing else.

Ah, Nature

">*

Adventure

From a friend:

Hiked 6.66 miles today on the Sonoran Preserve. It was so beautiful and pictures will never show all that beauty. We saw so many gorgeous saguaros and other cacti, two snakes (harmless Sonoran garter snakes), many birds, many butterflies, and wild flowers dropping a splash of color in the desert landscape. We akso saw some Christmas cactus. The highlight was a gorgeous crested saguaro. There are only 17 in Arizona, so it's quite an anomaly. I felt privileged to witness this miracle of nature. . . It was a good day.

That crested cactus is amazing.

Gardens of The Horde

Anything going on in your garden, neighborhood or region?

Hope everyone has a nice weekend.

If you would like to send photos, stories, links, etc. for the Saturday Gardening Thread, the address is:

Remember to include the nic or name by which you wish to be known at AoSHQ, or let us know if you want to remain a lurker.

Week in Review

What has changed since last week's thread? Gardening, Home and Nature Thread, March 7

I closed the comments on that post so you wouldn't get banned for commenting on a week-old post, but don't try it anyway.

.@JeffcoSchoolsCo allegedly has 61 males on the girl’s sports team

SIXTY ONE

Wtf pic.twitter.com/Gotdin5TqX

— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) March 13, 2026

Come to think of it, there was a lot of Social Justice stuff in the Old Testament. How dare you question Talarico for talking about Social Justice in a religious way?

Best not to interact with these bots, I think. But there's an election coming up.

Partial Review of the Talarico Story

Back before the primaries in Texas, Ace reported that Stephen Colbert lied when he accused CBS of censoring him because he was interviewing James Talarico, a candidate for the upcoming senatorial Democratic primary race in Texas.

Talarico kept the lie going, blaming Trump for trying to silence him. The real story was that the Democrats for trying to silence his primary opponent, Jasmine Crockett.

Anyway, this ploy seems to have been successful, garnering lots of contributions for this guy. In addition, he was interviewed by Joe Rogan, who suggested that he should run for president in 2028. And then there was a long interview by Ezra Klein, included in this report by Mary Rooke: Rising Star James Talarico's Soothing Voice Will Lead Lambs To Slaughter

Good article.

Democratic Texas Senate candidate James Talarico presents himself as a Christian who prays, quotes Jesus Christ extensively, and grounds his politics in faith. However, on several defining moral issues, he does not submit his political ideology to scripture; instead, he reinterprets or ignores scripture to genuflect to his true “god”: far-left orthodoxy.

Talarico, a Texas state representative and self-proclaimed Presbyterian, discussed his supposed Christian faith in a New York Times interview with Ezra Klein released on Tuesday. During which he spoke reverently about God, scripture, and his prayer life. Overall, he defined his faith as trust and acts of love. But there’s an argument to be made that Talarico is not truly Christian but rather a devout practitioner of radical left ideology wrapped in Christian symbolism. . .

Talarico’s interview makes it clear that he doesn’t believe that Christianity is a faith that transforms ideology, but rather that an ideology can selectively reinterpret or override scripture and Christian dogma to remain unchanged. This suggests that his operative authority is not Christ, scripture, or doctrine, but leftist ideology, which is then clothed in Christian language. In this way, he becomes the wolf in sheep’s clothing, leading others to follow down this treacherous path. . .

Probably the most insidious example of this is when Talarico explains his political views on abortion using the Blessed Mary. In the interview, Klein plays a clip from Talarico’s appearance on the “Joe Rogan Experience.”

Talarico cites Mary’s consent at the Annunciation, when she exclaims, “Let it be done to me according to your word,” as a biblical foundation for so-called reproductive freedom and a woman’s absolute autonomy over her body. . .

And Klein thought that this would be a fine example, too, I guess.

Talarico’s public presentation of Christianity exposes that his true faith is in human autonomy, sexual liberation, and state-mediated economic equality, with Jesus recast as a mascot for those causes rather than the Lord who demands repentance and transformation.

His calm voice and boyish face aid in this endeavor. They are powerful rhetorical assets that make his presentation of far-left positions feel disarming, sincere, and authentically Christian rather than ideological or confrontational. This makes listeners less likely to categorize him as a partisan activist and more likely to see him as a sincere young believer simply sharing his faith. . .

More at the link.

Here's an interesting re-interpretation of scripture: "Don't tell me what you believe. Show me how you treat other people and I'll tell you what you believe."

I thought that judging people's hearts was God's job.

One of his public prayers included: "the Quran calls you Peace, the Gita calls you Destroyer, the Dharma calls you Truth"

There's some traditional, Bible-Belt Christianity that most people would recognize.

Some of the people who like Talarico are sincere

I ran across excerpts from a post by a Christian guy who had opened up a dialogue with progressive Christians who took Talarico seriously.

Tyson Zahner: "My last post about James Talarico's progressive Christian theology generated hundreds of conversations. The most interesting ones were with progressive Christians themselves… sincere, thoughtful people who love Jesus and genuinely believe they're following Him more faithfully than the traditional church has.

After engaging in several of these conversations, I noticed a pattern underneath every progressive argument…
I'll start with their core move…
Every conversation came back to some version of this: "Jesus summarized everything as love God and love your neighbor, and that overrides the harder moral teachings."

But I see two problems here.

One is simply a breakdown in what we mean by "love". Progressive Christians tend to hear that word and translate it into merely compassion, empathy, and understanding… which then becomes affirmation, tolerance, and acceptance. By that definition, any moral boundary starts to feel unloving.

But that's not the biblical definition. Thomas Aquinas defined love (agape) not as mere emotion, but as a conscious decision to "will the good of the other" which sometimes means saying the hard thing, not the comfortable thing. . . .

And here's why it's so hard to argue with progressive Christianity… In my previous post I mentioned Jonathan Haidt (a social psychologist who is not religious, not conservative, and has described his own political leanings as liberal). Haidt wrote The Righteous Mind about why good people are divided by politics. His research isn't about theology. But it explains why progressive Christianity is so effective and so persuasive to so many.

His core finding was this: conservatives draw from a broader moral palette including care, fairness, loyalty, authority, sanctity, and liberty. Progressives weight care and fairness far above the others.

In chapter 12, Haidt himself wrote: "When I speak to liberal audiences about the three 'binding' foundations — Loyalty, Authority, and Sanctity — I find that many in the audience don't just fail to resonate; they actively reject these concerns as immoral. Loyalty to a group shrinks the moral circle; it is the basis of racism and exclusion, they say. Authority is oppression. Sanctity is religious mumbo-jumbo whose only function is to suppress female sexuality and justify homophobia."

Progressive Christianity does the same thing theologically. It elevates the care and fairness dimensions of Jesus's teaching above everything else… then treats anyone who draws from the other moral foundations as a Pharisee.

The result sounds like pure love. But it's a narrowed moral vision that has quietly set aside half the palette and declared the remaining half to be the whole gospel.

In one of my conversations, a self-described progressive Christian told me plainly: "The vast majority of progressive Christians aren't against border enforcement, traditional marriage, or institutional order. The difference is we don't see those as moral issues."

That's not underweighting those foundations. That's removing them from the moral category entirely which is exactly the pattern Haidt describes. . .

Do you know anyone who follows the progressive Christian pattern?

Christian Nationalism

James Talarico is really against "Christian Nationalism" as defined by the left at any given moment, but he doesn't hate the people:

James Talarico on building a coalition with white nationalists:

“What if we found the courage and the vulnerability to do the difficult work of building a movement based on radical love that could create solidarity between latinx…a movement so powerful it could even liberate… pic.twitter.com/0DpWj8yUvC

— José (@josecanyousee) February 23, 2026

Question: Are these people "Christion Nationalists"? Taxpayers pay for their theological positions.

Remember when Southwest Key, Catholic Charities USA, and Endeavors, all non profit organizations, received about $5.6 billion of tax payer money under Biden from 2021-2024 to help facilitate illegal immigration?

Their CEOs made millions of dollars in salaries and most of their… https://t.co/Mhe59wUZfF

— Green Beret Nap Time (@GBNT1952) March 11, 2026

Weekend

The Week in Pictures: Schroedinger’s Ayatollah
Is he alive or is he dead? When it comes to the new ayatollah, the answer is ultimately Yes. If he is alive, it won’t be for long. Who wants to tell him?

Sadly, I don’t have any memes yet for Judge Lawrence VanDyke’s amazing dissent at the 9th Circuit Friday. (If you haven’t heard about this, see the third item here.)

Hope you have something nice planned for this weekend.

This is the Thread before the Gardening Thread.

Last week's thread, These Mullahs are serious!

Comments are closed so you won't ban yourself by trying to comment on a week-old thread. But don't try it anyway.

AoSHQ Weekly Prayer List

Please submit any prayer requests to me, “Annie’s Stew” at apaslo at-sign hotmail dot com. Prayer requests are generally removed after four weeks unless we receive an update.

Prayer Requests:

1/24 – Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd posted some updates and requests. In the blessings department: blood glucose has continued to fall, well within normal range. BP is good. The hole where his molar used to be is coming along nicely. The youngest has jaw surgery coming up in February. This is many years in the making and should correct her bite and ease the pain in her jaw and ears. She’s not looking forward to the liquid diet, but is looking forward to the pain relief. Prayers are always appreciated, and based on what they have been through, he knows they are efficacious.
2/14 Update – His daughter’s jaw surgery seems to be fully successful, thanks be to God. She is recuperating rapidly, the swelling is sharply down, and she’s counting the days to getting off the liquid diet.

1/31 – George V asked for prayers for his wife. She needs a heart valve replacement but first needs a heart cath to assess the valve and determine the replacement procedure and perhaps put stents in the coronary arteries that may be partially blocked. Also, the preliminary CT scan of her heart showed spots on her lungs that may be cancerous.
2/21 Update – The prayers are working. Thanks be to God and everyone who prayed. The heart cath showed no blockages in her arteries. The heart valve procedure will be in about 4 weeks. The pulmonologist said the lung spots have a very low chance of being cancerous, but a second scan will tell for sure. So far good news, and thanks to all who prayed for her.

2/14 – Vmom deport deport deport asks for prayers on behalf of her husband, as his employer is expected to file for Chapter 11. They are hoping for a decent severance.

2/14 – TCN in Alaska asked for advice. She is currently allowing her son, his girlfriend, and their infant to live in a condo she owns, and they are providing a terrible environment for the baby: pot-smoking, booze, no food, no formula. TCN in Alaska asked for advice about how to handle the situation. Prayers would help.

2/14 – L gave an update on her brother Ron. He has been in declining health for the last 6+ months, and has been transferred to a nice facility for hospice. They had been discussing this possibility for months. He would make improvements, then relapse, each time ending up more disabled. The best part is that he is at peace with the decision. He is aware enough to assist with the final plans and is enjoying parceling out his remaining possessions to family and friends. L’s daughter’s cardiac recovery continues. L says she cannot thank all sufficiently for the many prayers.

2/19 – mindful webworker requested prayers for his wife. Milady Jo will be having surgery on 2/26. It should be outpatient, and then a couple of weeks of recovery. Prayers are welcome for her, her surgeon, and her hapless husband while she’s down.
2/26 Update – The surgery is for Respiratory Epithelial Adenomatoid Hamartomak (REAH) – basically a blocked up nose. It’s relatively rare. It took a while to find an ENT whose diagnosis and surgical recommendation gave confidence. The surgery should improve her life greatly. It is scheduled for 1 pm.
2/28 Update – Thanks for the good thoughts and prayers for MiladyJo’s surgery. It took about 4 hours and seems to have been completely successful. There has been a great improvement in breathing and even appearance. She said that, after years of waiting, it seems like a dream, and that she knows with family, friends, and Morons and ‘Ettes, she is much loved.

2/20 – Gouveneur Morris requested prayers for herself as she has surgery scheduled for 2/27 for spondylolisthesis.
3/5 Update - Gouveneur Morris’ surgery was successful – every prayer and thought directed her way is appreciated.

2/21 - Skip asked for prayers for his sister and her two children, as they grieve their husband/father. The memorial service was on 2/21.

2/21 – Vmom deport deport deport asked for prayers for Gerry and Cathy, the elderly parents of her co-worker, B. Gerry and Cathy are in failing health, and B is bravely trying to keep them cared for and independent while also being a mom to her own kids.

2/21 – San Franpsycho requested a prayer for complete and immediate healing for PS, his oldest living relative, who is back in the hospital due to post-surgery fever and possible pneumonia.

2/21 – Sock Monkey asked for prayers of comfort and peace for Rickb223, who recently lost his wife to cancer. It was apparently a long battle and he was her primary caregiver. He is struggling. Please pray for him.

2/25 – LinusVanPelt posted a request for prayers for himself. He had a health scare and it’s freaking him out a bit. He had a real thing happen, and then received a clean bill of health, but has 2 more doctors to see. He can’t stop irrationally worrying that they’re going to say bad stuff (despite the real reason for the visits is to adjust medication levels).
2/28 Update – He woke up in a hospital ICU recently. Everything checked out, and it was a stress-induced incident, but that means he needs to make changes in his professional life. He is looking for the Lord’s guidance.

2/25 – Teresa in Fort Worth posted that she might need some prayers. Her PET scan was less than encouraging. She will have more information on 2/26.
2/26 Update – There were 2 new spots on her liver and a couple of weird things in the transverse colon. But the oncologist says he is not worried by anything he saw on the PET scan.
2/27 Update – The newest chemo protocol appears to be working. Her cancer markers are below the “cancerous” range. So for now they will continue with 2 weeks of continuous medication delivered directly into the Hepatic Artery and 2 weeks off. Unfortunately, one of the meds is a low dose of steroids, so her appetite and her Zepbound are currently duking it out.

2/25 – Robert posted that he needed an ‘Ette to kindly bash his brains in. He is suffering yet another massive gout flare up, and needs someone to end it all for him. He asks for an ‘Ette because he knows women are capable of inflicting great violence with only love in their hearts.

2/26 – Farmer could use some prayers. A biopsy is scheduled soon. The dentist said he found a couple of suspect spots. After having had prostate cancer, anything like this really alarms him.

2/26 – Bluebell passed along news from grammie winger: “Tomorrow (2/27) I go in for an all day marathon of tests and consultations. Then Monday (3/2) they will attempt the surgery. It is quite complex and they are not exactly sure they can do it. If they can, it will be a ten hour procedure. I confess to being a little apprehensive. The Rev is a little overwhelmed poor soul. Fortunately my two kids have me covered. My daughter the nurse for the medical side, and my son for the spiritual side. He has been a rock.”
3/10 Update – GrammieWinger’s son said she wanted us to know that she had surgery last Monday, and they were able to get most of the cancer, but they had to remove her colon. It’ll be a long recovery time, but she’s in good spirits and good hands. Grammie’s daughter has been at the hospital every day. Grammie Winger is very thankful for all of your prayers and she looks forward to talking with us soon!

2/27 – turambar posted that his/her mom had surgery for a broken left hip. Lots of pins and a rod were required to fix her up. She is in recovery now and doing okay, but she has a long road ahead since she is 86 years old. Thanks for your prayers; turambar appreciated them so much.

2/28 – 2009Refugee asked for prayers for an older sister who was scheduled for brain surgery on 3/4.

2/28 – no one of any consequence requested prayers for the repose of his oldest friend, who died on 2/22. His friend had returned to the church in recent years. No one of any consequence will be giving the eulogy at his memorial mass.

2/28 – San Franpsycho asked for prayers for P’nina Bat Surel, who remains hospitalized and still is not stabilized.

2/28 – Fenelon Spoke asked for prayers for a friend, P, who is dealing with a pinched nerve and has to have surgery in a week or so. She also has a daughter, K, who just got out of the hospital having had major mental health problems.

2/28 – LinusVanPelt requested prayers for our troops, President Trump, and for Israel’s government and the IDF as well.

2/28 – Sock Monkey requests prayers for Mrs. Sock. She crashed and burned pretty hard while skiing Thursday. She went to work very sore and using a cane.

2/28 – JJ posted that his wife was discharged from her rehab facility and her prognosis post shunt surgery to regain strength and physical abilities is excellent.

3/2 – RickZ posted that he received bad news. He went to the ER with muscle pain and came out with a cancer diagnosis. He could use prayers for an extremely capable oncological team of cancer specialists, and that God guides their hands and minds as they work to rid Rick of cancer. And also that God would provide him peace and calm, and to help sustain him through this trial.

3/5 – Inogame posted the good news that baby #5 arrived! Baby was overdue by 12 days. Mom and baby are doing well. Baby was 9 pounds 8 ounces, and 21.5 inches long.

3/5 – IrishEI has learned that she needs major surgery on 3/16, and she would really appreciate prayers.

3/7 – Uncle Slayton posted the good news that his son-in-law, Kenny, is almost 3 years cancer-free. He beat lymphoma and leukemia, and Uncle Slayton wanted to thank everyone who prayed for him.

3/7 – Joe Kidd sent an update on a previous prayer, for a young girl named Jasmine. She is the adopted daughter of a friend of a friend. She had been rescued from abuse, but was withdrawn, etc. The friend took the family on an RV trip, and with lots of TLC for Jasmine, things have improved. It appears that God has surrounded this young girl with an army of angels, and your prayers for her are being heard. May those listed here and whispered elsewhere receive similar affirmation.

3/7 – vmom deport deport deport requested prayers for GB, the husband of her friend; he just had a quadruple bypass a couple of days ago, following a heart attack.

3/10 – Warai-otoko asked for prayers for a sister-in-law with some respiratory issues, who just took a hard turn for the worse. Thanks to everyone, even if you just take a fraction of a second for it.

3/10 – Update on Susan, who we have been praying for as she battles cancer. She is hospitalized again with an infection in her colon that quickly turned bad. The doctor says the signs are sepsis but they are running tests to make sure. The good news is that the pancreatic cancer was and is responding to the chemo and her cancer numbers are going down. God bless and thank you!

3/11 – Bulg sends a prayer of thanks. He called his formerly estranged sister on her birthday, and they had a wonderful conversation. It was their second conversation since February, and there was no animosity at all.

3/11 – Doof sent his appreciation for the Horde’s prayers for his mom, who has been in post-hospitalization rehab since mid-January. She has recovered from her illnesses, but her body seems to be increasingly giving up on her. PT has become too painful and exhausting for her. She is also having increased brain fog and is rapidly losing the ability to do things like answer her phone or send texts. Continued prayers requested for her, as she is very sad, and also for Doof and his sister as they figure out what’s next.

For submission guidelines and other relevant info, please contact Annie's Stew, who is managing the prayer list. You can contact her at apaslo at-sign hotmail dot com. If you see a prayer request posted in a thread comment, feel free to copy and paste it and e-mail it to Annie's Stew. She tries to keep up with the requests in the threads, but she's not here all of the time, so she may not see it unless you e-mail it to her. Please note: Prayer requests are generally removed after four weeks or so unless we receive an update.

2 Corinthians 4:8-9
We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair, persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed.

Tech News

• The CEO of Adobe will be stepping down after 18 years of delighting investors and pissing off customers. (CNBC)
  
  Mostly because lately he's been pissing off customers and investors in equal measure.
  
  
  
• Italian prosecutors want to proceed to trial against Amazon on charges of tax evasion even after the company settled with the Italian revenue agency. (Reuters)
  
  Tread carefully. Amazon does have space lasers, even if not quite so many as Twitter.
  
  
  
• No, you can't phone a friend. (BBC)
  
  Not when you're a witness in a case in Britain's High Court.
  
  And not when you claim that the number called by the smart glasses you were wearing at the time was for a taxi driver.
  
  
  
• Before quantum computing arrives, this startup wants enterprises already running on it. (Tech Crunch)
  
  Congratulations, Tech Crunch. This level of incoherence is worthy of The Verge.
  
  
  
• A study conducted by a studio creating a game with AI-powered NPCs claims 96% of players enjoy AI-powered NPCs. (WCCFTech)
  
  Well, first, Mandy Rice Davies applies.
  
  And second, NPCs are AI-powered by definition.
  
  
  
• Nvide claims future GPUs will bring a million-fold performance increase in path-tracing. (WCCFTech)
  
  Mostly by not performing path tracing. And the comparison is against ten year old hardware that also didn't perform path tracing.
  
  
  

Fido Friday: Fooled ya!

Carrot

Sorry, Maverick

Grab a few beers

I need a copy of this

Socialism

Whoopin' his ass

Anybody got to go?

The French are helping!

Ski-W-I

Well, that's useless

I'm ashamed I laughed

The female mind can't comprehend this

Cauliflower

Feel good story of the day

This gves me an idea...

How to prune trees

Iran is kicking our ass

Prom season is coming

Tonight's ONT has been brought to you by dinner:

Thanks to Comrade Arthur.

It's all completely normal -- it's perfectly natural and normal that adult males should constantly share their kinks with little children.

As we celebrate the firing of Colbert and Kimmel, we must always remember, it doesn't matter, because no one is watching anyway.

Late night's 11:35 p.m. ratings race delivered another split decision the week of March 1, with CBS' The Late Show with Stephen Colbert topping the hour in total viewers, while ABC's Jimmy Kimmel Live! led among younger viewers.

This is misleading: Gutfeld topped them both by +50%.

But he's not specifically on at 11:35 -- a time they're insisting is the only real "late night show" starting time to fence out the competition that beats them every single night.

According to Nielsen Live+3 ratings data, The Late Show averaged 2.43 million total viewers for the week (+1 percent), enough to lead the broadcast field. Jimmy Kimmel Live! finished second with 2.28 million viewers (+5 percent) but led the hour among adults 18--49, drawing 263,000 viewers (+17 percent) to Colbert's 219,000 (+5 percent).

2.43 million in a nation of 350 million, huh?

And how about those in-the-demo numbers -- 219,000.

Wow.

NBC's Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon also saw growth last week, averaging 1.35 million total viewers (+10 percent) and 191,000 adults 18--49 (+29 percent) across four original episodes and one repeat.

And they're only seeing "growth," if you can call it that, because deranged lefties for whom network propaganda TV is their church and pulpit are tuning in to hear how terribly the Iran war is going.

On cable, Fox News' Gutfeld! again drew the largest overall audience among the shows we track, averaging 3.73 million total viewers (+10 percent) and 315,000 adults 18--49 (+38 percent) across four new episodes. The show was preempted Monday night by Fox News' Iran war coverage but benefited from the broader surge in cable news viewership tied to the conflict.

Weird that this outfit claims that Gutfeld benefited from the Iran war, but pretends the lefty propagandists did not.

Amidst all this #Winning, I have some sad news to add:

Buzzfeed is broke and there is "substantial doubt" it can remain in business.

Buzzfeed, the digital media company that took the mid-2010s by storm, said on Thursday it has "substantial doubt" about its ability to continue as a business.

In an earnings report released Thursday, Buzzfeed said it has engaged in "strategic conversations" about relieving its liquidity issues.

...

The company was $165 million in debt three years ago; that's been slashed by more than 65%, Buzzfeed said. But Matt Omer, Buzzfeed's chief financial officer, said the company is still burdened by legacy commitments. Alongside its namesake, Buzzfeed also owns news site Huffpost and online food network Tasty.

"Burdened" by HuffPo, huh?

...

In 2025, Buzzfeed had a net loss of $57.3 million, according to its earning report. The company noted it did not have enough resources to fund its cash obligations for the next year.

For those of you who are visual learners: If you imagine a pie graph, Buzzfeed lost $57.3 million of pie. Also, the pie was made of ratshit and hobo jizz.

BTW, that story is from CNN. Another company for which there is substantial doubt about its ability to remain in business. Also made of ratshit and hobo jizz.

Trump doesn't even need to send in Delta Force. The coming Fuel Riots should provide Cuba's leaders with a certain amount of realism about their situation.

And when they start killing protester -- drones and missiles should help even the odds.

David Strom offers big praise for Trump's very firm, very steady, and very focused leadership of the world, whether it wants to be lead or not.

For decades, our elites have been obsessed with regime change by color revolution, trying to create a world where everybody owns nothing and is unhappy. Western governments have surrendered to soft communism and self-destruction.

Donald Trump is remaking the world, not through color revolutions, but bold leadership and the surgical application of force and maximum pressure on our adversaries.

During his first term, I strongly believed that Trump's foreign policy was his best achievement. He had yet to learn how to defang the Deep State, and despite listening too often to establishment figures, he did a great job with what he had.

Now, with the Rubio, Hegseth, and negotiating teams he has deployed, he is masterful.

He notes that Germany is having a long-overdue attitude adjustment as well. Germany's Merz and the Female Super-Villain Leader of the EU now admit that ending all nuclear power generation was a bit of an oopsie!, but Merz also says he won't do anything to reverse this mistake. I saw someone point out that he could undo it, but he's in partnership with leftwing groups to keep AfD out of power, and if he moved to save German's future, his government would collapse and AfD would (rightfully) take power.

Georg Pazderski
@Georg_Pazderski

Translated from German
MERZ sells citizens for stupid❗️

Because previous governments had decided on the nuclear phase-out, it could no longer be reversed.

When it came to the debt brake, he couldn't care less what the previous governments had decided.

PLAIN TALK: He's too cowardly to take on the fight with the SPD.

Via Ed Morrissey, quoting Politico 4 Kidz Axios, Trump informed the feckless cunts of the G7 that Iran is about to surrender and also you're welcome, faggots.

President Trump told G7 leaders in a virtual meeting Wednesday that Iran is "about to surrender," according to three officials from G7 countries briefed on the contents of the call.

24 hours later, Iran's new supreme leader issued his first public statement vowing to keep fighting. ...

That's egregious propaganda. There is no proof the "leader" issued a statement -- a written statement was read by someone else by a regime propagandist. There is no evidence the Supine Leader released anything besides pus, and Axios knows this. There are confirmed reports that he is in a coma. (And is "likely disfigured," added Pete Hegseth.)

But Axios pretends it knows better and uses its own authority to claim the Supine Leader "issued a statement."

Behind the scenes: Trump boasted about the results of Operation Epic Fury on the G7 call Wednesday morning, telling allies, "I got rid of a cancer that was threatening us all."

While claiming Iran was about to surrender, he also suggested there were no officials left alive in Tehran with the power to make that decision.

Of course, as the Islamic Republic of Iran falls, the Islamic Republic of Britain rises to take its place.

The Conservative Woman:

IN A recent speech given in the House of Lords to the Cambridge University Conservative Association, Dr Gavin Ashenden, for ten years a chaplain to the Queen, spoke of a 'respected' imam with whom he had worked 'for quite a long time' while running inter-faith seminars at the university where he was employed.

At the conclusion of one of these events, Dr Ashenden relates, this man confided in him as follows: 'I've been doing this for an awfully long time, but my task is complete. I arrived in the 1970s with the aim of inaugurating an Islamic republic of Great Britain, and I've done it. This country is going to be an Islamic republic or, at least, a partitioned portion of it, in the time of my grandchildren.'

In fact, he continued, things were going so well that it could happen even within the lifetime of his children.

Dr Ashenden records this incident as occurring 'long before Angela Merkel opened the border to the millions' in 2015. Most of the under-16s who, according to the imam, comprised the majority of the Muslims in Britain a dozen or more years ago, have now gained access to the polling booths, allowing a combination of demography and a democratic system designed to cater for a non-sectarian population to 'achieve what agitation would take longer to do'.

I find it fascinating that supposed "American Firsters" like Tucker Carlson have completely stopped questioning our alliance with the Islamic states of Europe -- who we have explicitly promised to use nuclear weapons to defend, which of course makes us targets of a nuclear attack.

There's only one, ONE, actual ally they're fighting to break ties with and declare enemy. And it just so happens to be the one ally with the capability of, and desire to, fight the Islamic conquerors that are keeping Tucker Carlson in luxurious bowties.

Nazi Crone and Granny Aryan Me-Again Kelly couldn't wait to get dem Groyper Clicks:

Stephen L. Miller
@redsteeze

19h

It's an entirely new rulebook. They used to just downplay Islamic terror, but just as they did with Charlie Kirk, they now spring into action and immediatly blame the act on the right.

They mention Nick Fuentes, an online influencer, and ignore institutionalized antisemitism on the left, in Congress (The Squad), candidates with nazi tattoos, in Academia, and in their own media circles.

You know, of course, the NYT's eternal claim that "The motive may never be known" when bearded Tusken Raiders are shouting "Allahu Akbar" and shaking their gaffi sticks.

The NYT now modifies that tactic: Now they will admit that maybe they know the motive, so long as they also communicate The motive is a justifiable one because Muslims are mad that Israel exists.

The NYT is now also following CNN in the "these were just typical All-American boys who somehow found themselves caught up in some mischievous Islamic terrorism."

Abby Phillip indignantly demands to know what you mean when you say all of these Muslim terrorist attacks were perpetrated by Muslims.

Hello everyone! Happy Friday!

I know that last Friday I said I was just going to do quick posts to take an early day but that didn't really happen. I'm going to try again today. I also expect it not to happen this time.

To be fair, the investors were naive to entrust their money to Larry Fink in a fund that allows you to invest, but not necessarily withdraw your funds. They were seduced into investing in “exclusive” funds that are perceived to be the prestigious investment vehicle of the rich and savvy. Like hedge funds, these private credit funds are fairly illiquid. The effect for investors is that they get statements showing how much their investment is worth, but they are prohibited from withdrawing it all.

Much like a bank run, investors recently started pulling out of BlackRock’s private credit funds, causing a stampede of other investors wanting to get their money out too. BlackRock was forced to tell panicked investors, “No,” they could not pull all their money out of the freefalling fund.

“BlackRock Won’t Let Billionaires Cash Out of Its $26B Fund - That Should Worry Everyone” [24/7 Wall St – 3/09/2026]

BlackRock is blocking investors from fully exiting its $26 billion HPS Corporate Lending Fund after redemption requests hit 9.3% of shares in Q1, well above the fund’s 5% quarterly cap. It marks the first time withdrawal requests have exceeded that limit, and the market is reacting accordingly.

The contagion risk is real. Private credit funds are structurally illiquid by design, and when one high-profile name restricts exits, investors in similar vehicles tend to rush for the door simultaneously. Blackstone, Apollo, and KKR are now under heightened scrutiny as a result.

BlackRock stock is down 15% in the past three weeks, and down about 25% from its high point earlier this year. It may be time for Larry Fink to retire and spend more time with his legal defense team family and let someone without such a tarnished reputation steer BlackRock out of the mess that Mr. Fink put it in.

Other Stuff I’m Writing About

My latest piece at the The American Spectator has been published. “Shipping Interruption in Persian Gulf Is Yet Another Reminder of the Risks of Offshoring” discusses how the major shipping chokepoints (Panama Canal, Suez Canal, Strait of Hormuz) have all had major stoppages or slow-downs in recent years, and how completely reckless it was of the United States to become so dependent on imports.

The utopian ideal of one peaceful, global market does not exist and cannot exist. The various chokepoints that keep getting choked off prove the recklessness of having the U.S. so dependent on foreign imports. This recent shipping interruption in the Strait of Hormuz is another reminder of why economic independence is so necessary. We’d be in a perilous situation if the U.S. hadn’t become energy independent. There is no excuse for the United States to be dependent on anything that can be sourced or manufactured domestically.

This piece is not behind a paywall. I’d be honored if you’d give it a read.

[buck.throckmorton at protonmail dot com]

AMERICA & ISRAEL STRIKE IRAN!
• President Donald Trump issued a new threat online to Iran, writing: “Watch what happens to these deranged scumbags today.”
  Trump issues new threat about Iran: ‘Watch what happens to these deranged scumbags today’

• Israeli Air Forces targets regime’s Basij Forces, deployed to suppress protests in Tehran.
  Iran’s New ‘Supreme Leader’ Says Strait of Hormuz Must Remain Closed as ‘Tool to Pressure Enemy’
  
• Hezbollah said the assault marked the start of a new military campaign dubbed “Operation Eaten Straw.” The name references Surah Al-Fil (“The Elephant") in the Quran, which recounts the destruction of an invading army that attempted to attack the Kaaba holy site in Mecca and was ultimately left “like eaten straw” after divine intervention. Israel responded within minutes. The Israel Defense Forces said it launched a wide-scale wave of strikes across Lebanon, targeting rocket launchers, command centers, and other Hezbollah infrastructure.
  Hezbollah Launches Front on Israel in Joint IRGC Strike — ‘Serious Escalation Ahead’
  
• Oil prices have surged back above $100 a barrel as Iranian attacks on energy infrastructure and ships across the Middle East have intensified.
  Drone Attacks Injure U.S. Troops on British-American Base.
  
• Authorities have launched rescue efforts for the crew of the lost plane while the second aircraft safely touched down, according to CENTCOM. Officials said the incident took place in airspace friendly to the U.S. and was not caused by hostile or friendly fire.
  US Aircraft Crashes Amid Iran War And Prompts Rescue Efforts, CENTCOM Says
  
• Who’s minding the store in Tehran?
  Iran’s President vs. The Revolutionary Guards
  
• Douglas Murray: After all, a future US president might not have the resolve to stop the Mullah’s and their ambitions. Some day we’ll get another Jimmy Carter or Joe Biden. Trump rightly started this historic mission. And he’s the only person who will also be able to finish it. But on America’s terms.
  Trump’s decision to fight Iran is historic — but he needs to finish the job
  
• Fred Fleitz: Trump’s Iran campaign follows the America First formula: crush the nuclear threat, keep U.S. troops out, finish the mission quickly, and end the war before it becomes another endless quagmire.
  Trump’s Iran War Strategy: Precision Strikes, Clear Objectives, and a Swift Return to Peace
  * * * * *

• Iran has built a network of heavily armed drug gangs across Europe.
  Muslim Drug Gangs Bombed U.S. Embassy in Norway
  
• How the Obama White House sold a dangerous fantasy about Tehran.
  The Great Iran Deal Deception

  
  WE-ALL-SLAM-FOR-I-SLAM

• Another 2 last week. Total of 4 attacks this month.
  2 Islamic Terrorist Attacks in 1 Day
  
• Not sure about you, but I’m noticing a pattern, and the groupings of violent attacks by date are getting closer and closer together, and more violent. Something tells me this won’t end on its own.  The worse it gets, and the more obvious the pattern, the harder the left is working to make “Islamophobia” the issue, not the fact that radical Islamists are a very real threat to Americans on our soil right now. 
  Who Was Brandon Shah, the Patriot Killed by a Radical Islamist at Old Dominion?

• . . .a vehicle was driven into the building and then gunfire was exchanged between synagogue security and “at least one person.”
  Gunfire Exchanged After Vehicle Crashes into Michigan Synagogue
  
• No staff or students inside the preschool were injured in the incident, although a security guard was struck by the vehicle and was taken to the hospital for treatment, Bouchard said.
  Security Guard Mows Down Active Shooter Who Rammed Explosives-Packed Car Into Synagogue
  
• Miraculously, no students or staff members were harmed in the attack and were swiftly evacuated from the building.
  Michigan maniac ID'd Temple Israel wannabe car bomber who rammed into preschool ID’d as Lebanese American granted citizenship under Obama
  
• Authorities say 36-year-old Mohamed Jalloh entered a classroom on the Virginia campus and asked whether it was an ROTC class before opening fire, killing an instructor and wounding two students. Investigators say the unidentified cadet rushed the gunman and stabbed him, ending the attack before it could escalate further, according to the New York Post.
  Hero ROTC Cadet Stabbed ISIS-Inspired Shooter To Death, Saving Lives
  
• Jalloh, who also served in the National Guard, was out of prison for only 15 months before this attack.
  Mohamed Jalloh, Once Convicted of Supporting ISIS, Identified as Old Dominion Shooter

• Societal transformation without representation.
  We the People Never Voted for Mass Islamic Immigration
  
• The essay was published in an offshoot of Slow Factory, a nonprofit that shared pro-Oct. 7 posts that Rama Duwaji liked
  Zohran Mamdani’s Wife Provided Illustration for Essay by Author Who Called Oct 7 ‘Spectacular’ and Attacked ‘Jewish Supremacist Vampires'

  CIVIL WAR 2.0, LEFTIST PERSECUTIONS, DEMOCRAT PUTSCH, AMERICAN DISSOLUTION

• "Could it be, potentially, the rise of radical Islam? Could it be, perhaps, the threat where we had an ISIS attack in New York City just a couple of days ago?"
  Radical Islam, leftist violence, and open borders are America's greatest threats
  
• The city’s revived “Dream Keeper” initiative is spending millions on groups that have offered an all-black drag show, “ancient Egyptian” healing, and free doulas for “Black birthing people”—potentially in violation of federal law.
  Inside San Francisco’s Racialist Slush Fund

  "DEMOCRAT/LEFTIST/GLOBALIST BORDER BLOODBATH," AMNESTY, IMMIGRATION, BORDER SECURITY

• “Bairon Posada-Herandez is a serial criminal, and four-time deported illegal alien from Honduras who should never have been able to walk our streets and harm innocent Americans,” the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Lauren Bis said...
  Sanctuary NYC: 4-Time Deported Illegal Alien Leaves 83-Year-Old Veteran on Life Support After Allegedly Shoving Him Onto Subway Tracks
  
• “Yesterday, ICE arrested criminal illegal alien attempted murderers, sexual assailants, kidnappers, and a criminal who assaulted a pregnant woman,” the Department of Homeland Security’s Lauren Bis said in a statement.
  ICE Agents Arrest Illegal Aliens Convicted of Attempted Murder, Kidnapping, Sexual Assault
  
• In a win for the Trump administration, a federal appeals court temporarily blocked a lower court ruling on Wednesday that sought to hinder the government’s deportation operations.
  1st Circuit Halts Rogue Judge’s Bid To Stop Trump’s ‘Third Country’ Deportations
  
• The Republican-controlled West Virginia Senate Judiciary Committee is moving to water down an E-Verify bill to excuse more businesses from being required to use the system for hiring migrants.
  West Virginia GOP Guts Migration Reform to Help CEOs Using Migrants

  THE GREAT SOMALIAN SIMOLEON SWINDLE

• Omar’s elder sister, Sahra Noor, states on her LinkedIn profile that she was the CEO of People’s Center Clinics & Services from July 2014 to April 2018. In January 2017, Omar began her two-year term as a member of the Minnesota House of Representatives. 
  Exposed: BRO-FO Omar’s Ties to Sister’s Minneapolis Health Clinic, Somali Health Company, and Alleged Brother-Husband

  
  DOMESTIC AFFAIRS, THE COURTS, WASTE/FRAUD/ABUSE

• The stalemate has left DHS unfunded, impacting agencies like TSA and FEMA, while exposing divisions over immigration enforcement and ICE funding.
  Democrats Block DHS Funding Despite Airport Delays, Rising Iranian Threat.

• Muslim accountant sent money to his second wife in "Palestine."
  Did Islamic Polygamy Lead to Record $14M PPP Fraud?
  
• The convictions bring an end to a long-running fraud investigation brought by the U.S. Department of Justice and the Eastern District of Pennsylvania into the Savani Group of dental facilities across multiple states.
  Indian Migrants Guilty of Multistate Taxpayer, Visa, Healthcare Fraud
  
• The Senate overwhelmingly passed a housing legislation package closely aligned with President Donald Trump’s agenda despite some GOP lawmakers’ concerns over a digital currency provision. The chamber voted 89-10 with nine Republican senators and one Democrat voting against the bipartisan “21st Century ROAD to Housing Act” over a provision they believe does not go far enough in restraining the Federal Reserve from issuing a central bank digital currency.
  Nine Republicans Vote Against Housing Policies Trump Champions Over Fed Provision
  
• Federal lawyers cannot be held hostage by a lawfare apparatus that threatens their destruction for daring to represent GOP administrations.
  Trump DOJ Is Finally Taking On The Corrupt DC Bar Association
  
• Democrats are doing everything they can to destroy the Supreme Court’s credibility because it’s one of the few institutions they don’t control.
  Here’s How Leftists Weaponize Their Anti-Trump Judicial Coup To Attack SCOTUS

  
  SHAMPEACHMENTS, 2016 CLINTON/OBAMA COUP, CONGRESSIONAL PERSECUTION, SPYGATE, DEEP STATE, MUELLER DECEPTION

• “The attorneys noted that Cohen’s testimony ‘is at the heart of the NYAG’s case’ and ‘prompted’ James’ office to launch the ‘politically charged’ investigation of Trump, his family and their businesses.”
  Trump Wants Letitia James to Hand Over Communications With Michael Cohen
  
• The scandal is not limited to investigative overreach. It gets worse.
  So much for oversight: The FBI’s ‘ghost files’

  
  THE ECONOMY, STUPID

• 'No. 1 priority,' says teachers' union leader
  Democrats Head Into Elections Pushing $1.5 Trillion Tax Increase
  
• The measure faces challenges in the House, with critics claiming the investor cap could harm the rental housing market and reduce housing supply.
  Senate Passes Trump-Backed Bill Barring Corporations From Buying Up Family Homes.
  
• Today’s politicians are literally mortgaging away our children’s financial futures so they can try to win another election.
  We Could Completely Get Rid Of Social Security, And It Still Wouldn’t Balance The U.S. Budget
  
• Sure, events in the Middle East play a part. But there are more important factors much closer to home.
  Don’t Blame Iran for High Oil Prices
  
• With Gulf production largely offline, the door is open for the United States to assert leadership. Last year, Trump set up the National Energy Dominance Council to “expand all forms of reliable and affordable energy production.”
  How Iran’s forced oil crisis is Trump’s energy opportunity

  CRIME & PUNISHMENT, NON-DOSTOYEVSKY

• The United States Treasury Department has imposed new sanctions on fake charities that funnel money to a genocidal Islamic terrorist group and on North Korean assets who engage in schemes to defraud American businesses and fund foreign weapons programs.
  U.S. Treasury Sanctions Hamas ‘Charities,’ North Korean Scammers

• Meanwhile, the Daily Signal reported one of the Colorado lawmakers, a Democrat, was abandoning his own bill to shield those involved in prostitution from having to testify.
  Colorado: Democrat Bill to Decriminalize Prostitution Dies amid Opposition and Lack of Support (Should only be the fate of the Democrat Party itself - jjs)

  RED-GREENS, CLIMATE CHANGE HOAX, DEMOCRAT-LEFT WAR ON FOSSIL FUELS,

• Still, better than building EVs nobody wants to buy. The company said the EVs had to go to avoid future losses, complaining about the “current business environment where the demand for EVs is declining significantly.”
  Honda Just Lost Billions on EVs It Can't Sell

  EDUCATION, AND WHAT PASSES FOR IT

• Trump is a “Pedophile Liar” and our military deliberately bombed a girls’ school.
  Ohio HS Teacher Delivers Bonkers Anti-Trump Rant in Class
  
• The soft bigotry of low expectations only betrays the people it claims to help.
  The kindness that kills

  
  ABORTION

• Their goal was simple: to put a Planned Parenthood in every mailbox in America.
  The Abortion Industry Simply Changed Tactics. Now Congress Must Act.

  THE 2020 and SUBSEQUENT ELECTION HEISTS , SHENANIGANS/FRAUD and AFTERMATH

• The Democrats want the country to believe they're protecting female voters, but their Messianic figure disqualified women on his way to the top.
  When Obama And His Party Need To Suppress The Vote, It’s OK
  
• The SAVE America Act remains popular among the American public, but faces resistance from Congressional Democrats, highlighting a disconnect between public opinion and legislative action.
  DATA: SAVE America Act Wildly Popular Amongst Americans. Which Means Democrats Hate It, Obviously.
  
• The SAVE America Act includes several safeguards that would address many of the aforementioned vulnerabilities with mass mail-in voting.
  4 Reasons Vote-By-Mail Is Insecure, And How The SAVE Act Would Fix It
  
• Maine’s Democrat Attorney General Aaron Frey filed a brief in the Maine Supreme Court arguing the expansion does not align with the state’s constitution.
  ‘Statutory Wordsmithing’: Dem AG Says Maine’s Ranked-Choice Voting Expansion Violates State Constitution

  DEMOCRAT/LEFTIST AND RINO SCANDALS, MESHUGAS, CHUTZPOCRISY, INSANITY

• While legal, the governor's solicitation of donations to the California Partners Project raises ethical questions, allowing Siebel Newsom to collect a substantial salary.
  Inside Siebel Newsom's nonprofit that funds... herself
  
• Did anyone think California would have a gubernatorial candidate who has fled the state, too?
  So Swalwell has fled California, too, but still wants to be its governor?

  POLITICS

• Trump bashed Massie as “the worst person,” and proceeded to underscore that he opposed the One Big Beautiful Bill and all of the tax cuts it brought Americans.
  Trump Eviscerates Massie During Kentucky Visit, Expresses Disappointment with Senate over ‘Hard Time’ with SAVE America Act
  
• The permanence of this ad buy — which Ramaswamy’s campaign can and obviously will add to throughout the year — is essentially unprecedented. The general election is more than 230 days away at this point.Exclusive — Vivek Ramaswamy Launching Massive $10M Ad Buy in Ohio Governor’s Race, Will Stay on TV Until November
  
• Matt Mackowiak, who serves as the Cornyn campaign’s communications director, wrote on Twitter (now X): “It’s time to defrock Breitbart from the conservative movement. Treat them like Infowars. Pressure their advertisers. Ignore them.”
  Top Cornyn Staffer Egged on Destructive Ad Boycott of MAGA Media.
  
• The GOP should stick with Trump’s strategy — not capitulate to fringe activists like the Left did.
  How (Not) To Win In 2028

  FOREIGN AFFAIRS, INTERNATIONAL

• Expect to hear a lot more out of Ecuador in the news in the near future. It's quickly becoming one of the United States' greatest partners and allies in the Western Hemisphere, especially when it comes to security matters.  
  FBI Opens Office in Ecuador Amid Warnings of Hamas, Hezbollah, and IRGC Presence
  
• Old hatreds, new propaganda from Beijing.
  China’s ‘Antisemitic Wave’

  
  DEFENSE, MILITARY, SECURITY AFFAIRS

• Sting is low-cost to produce but labor-intensive to operate. Once we solve that problem, which ought to be easy enough to do, we have an anti-drone drone that can be put in large numbers on any flat surface, just waiting for the GO! command to do its thing.
  I Have Seen the Future of Anti-Drone Warfare, and It's Dirt-Cheap (Really!)

  HEALTH AND HEALTH CARE

• Raw Egg Nationalist: RFK Jr.'s latest proposal might be his most quietly radical yet.
  Let the Man Cook

  ACTUAL SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY

• Using data from a number of orbiting space telescopes, astronomers think they have detected the collision of two exoplanets, producing debris that for about 200 days variably blocked the light from the system’s star.
  Have astronomers spotted the collision of two exoplanets around a Sunlike star? (George Pal was prescient? - jjs)
  
• The question astronomers will try to answer with this telescope is whether the solar activity on these stars is high enough to prevent life from forming in the star’s habitable zone. Because these stars are dim and small, the habitable zone is quite close to the star, which means solar activity has a higher impact on the planet. We don’t yet have sufficient data to determine the normal activity of such stars. Sparcs will provide a good first survey.
  Cubesat ultraviolet space telescope achieves first light

  FEMINAZISM, TRANSGENDER PSYCHOSIS, HOMOSEXUALIZATION, WAR ON MASCULINITY/NORMALCY

• “And shame on you for using lesbian politics as a front for your transphobia because this lesbian has had plenty of girlfriends with penises”
  Chaos Descends on California State U. Board Meeting Over Males in Female Sports

  CULTURE WARS, NATIONAL SUICIDE

• All the smug fury was based on a news item — from noted military-journalism site TMZ! — about the Defense Department spending $22 million on lobster and ribeye steak in a single month. If they’d bothered to check the (transparently idiotic!) assumption that all the eats were for the top brass, they’d have learned that a “surf & turf” fete is a longstanding military tradition, a treat for troops headed to a deployment or stuck on an extended tour, with all the gastrointestinal joy that a diet of MREs can deliver.
  ‘Lobstergate’ again exposes the ignorant bias of TV’s ‘best and brightest’
  
• Christian Toto: 'Parks & Rec' alum worked with Hollywood legend before publicly attacking him
  Nick Offerman Calls Dennis Quaid ‘Crazy’ for Trump Support
  
• This is part of a broader cultural trend, a broader cultural normalization of polyamory. (Any relation to Cleveland Amory? - jjs)
  ‘Hotwifing’ Is Being Sold As A Marriage Booster — Yes, Really
  
• Younger generations may resent the boomers’ good fortune, but Dave Barry’s memoir suggests their real edge was simpler: laugh often, stay social, and remain curious about the world.
  Boomer Wisdom

  HITHER & YON

• A grim tour of preindustrial New York
  Think the Present Is Tough? Try the Past
  
• A landmark new study of the Vatican in the age of Hitler.
  The Pope at War: Pius XII, Hitler, and the Enigma of Silence

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Tech News

• Why cats always land on their feet. (New York Times)
  
  Because landing on someone else's feet would be gauche.
  
  
  
• Perplexity AI has announced Perplexity Computer, a service where you pay $200 per month to run AI tasks on your own hardware. (Perplexity)
  
  It's not a bubble.
  
  It's worse.
  
  
  
• Crimson Desert is a new single-player computer game that... Might not suck? (WCCFTech)
  
  People who were in on the early tests are raving about it, and the recommended specs are a welcome return to normalcy. You do need 150GB of storage - SSD mandatory - but apart from that a five year old Ryzen 5 5600, 16GB of RAM, and a mid-range Radeon 6700 XT should be fine. And that's the recommended hardware; the minimum spec lists a Ryzen 2600X processor from 2018, and a Radeon 5500 XT, a low-end graphics card from 2019.
  
  Nice change from games like Borderlands 4 which perform poorly even with a 9800 X3D and an RTX 5090.
  
  It's also coming to the PlayStation 5 but there's a small problem there: It's a 150GB game and the maximum capacity of the BDXL disks the PlayStation uses is 100GB. There's a 48GB day-one download you need to install before it will run.

Gordie Howe Bridge tolls - beauty, eh?

Gordie Howe Bridge announces toll prices significantly lower than Ambassador Bridge, Detroit-Windsor Tunnel

The Windsor-Detroit Bridge Authority has announced toll prices for the upcoming Gordie Howe International Bridge.

The new bridge connects I-75 in Detroit to Highway 401 in Ontario. The Detroit Regional Chamber called it “the most consequential infrastructure project in the state.”

The Gordie Howe Bridge is owned by Michigan and Canada, but is being paid for almost entirely by Canada. While the bridge does not have an official opening date, it is still expected to open to traffic this spring.

On Wednesday, March 11, the Windsor-Detroit Bridge Authority announced both the toll prices and Breakaway, a toll discount program that allows vehicles to pass through toll lanes without having to stop and pay.

With Breakaway, the toll for passenger vehicles is less than half the current price to cross the Ambassador Bridge and the Detroit-Windsor Tunnel, both of which raised their tolls this year.

-----

AI is asshoe

Sam Altman admits AI is killing the labor-capital balance—and says nobody knows what to do about it

Speaking at the BlackRock Infrastructure Summit, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman tackled the growing public skepticism surrounding artificial intelligence, acknowledging the warning from President Donald Trump that AI is facing a major public relations problem. Moreover, the tech executive validated widespread anxieties about the future of employment, admitting that the traditional balance between labor and capital is shifting drastically.

Addressing the current backlash, Altman noted that AI has become a widespread scapegoat for corporate downsizing and rising utility costs. “Data centers are getting blamed for electricity prices hikes. Almost every company that does layoffs is blaming AI, whether or not it really is about AI,” Altman explained, recalling his recent warning that some companies were engaging in what’s called “AI washing,” in blaming layoffs on new tech regardless if that was the reason for those layoffs in the first place. However, while some of the immediate blame might be misplaced, Altman confirmed that the underlying threat to traditional employment is grounded in reality.

New research shows over 90% of gamers find playing with AI-powered NPCs to be "enjoyable and rewarding"

New research conducted by the University of Bristol and developer Meaning Machine shows that gamers enjoy playing with AI-powered non-playable characters.

The study comprised 68 people – 31 male, 31 female, seven non-binary – playing the studio's murder mystery game Dead Meat, in which users are tasked with interrogating suepects. The investigation showed that 95% of study participants found the experience enjoyable, while 97% found playing the game to be rewarding.

75% found that Dead Meat allowed them to "express themselves or make meaningful choices". University of Bristol researchers say that all the above sentiments remained true across the different types of games that were in the study.

One sentiment expressed by participants was how the AI-powered NPCs in Dead Meat allowed for freedom of expression.

-----

Why? Just - WHY?!?

-----

Berserker - have you tried this??

-----

This would have been nice to learn MANY years ago!

-----

No way!

DJ Doof - SDL Edition
(Stuff Doof Likes)

Tonight's ONT brought to you by Friday the 13th

Doof Enterprises, LLC is sorta proud of tonight's ONT. Not very.

Your feedback may or may not be very important to Doof Enterprises. Follow Mr. Doof on X @doof2112 or do the email thing – doof2112 at proton dot me.

Earlier I mentioned Toto. Here's "Africa," but with all the lyrics changed to the countries of Africa. So like if you're going on Jeopardy, this is useful.