Ace: aceofspadeshq at gee mail.com
Buck: buck.throckmorton at protonmail.com
CBD: cbd at cutjibnewsletter.com
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MisHum: petmorons at gee mail.com
J.J. Sefton: sefton at cutjibnewsletter.com
A site for members of the Horde to post their stories seeking beta readers, editing help, brainstorming, and story ideas. Also to share links to potential publishing outlets, writing help sites, and videos posting tips to get published.
Contact OrangeEnt for info: maildrop62 at proton dot me
Kentucky Republican Sen. Rand Paul has given the public another reason to doubt the efforts of COVID czar Anthony Fauci were benevolent, as the former director of the National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Diseases repeatedly told recipients of his emails to delete them after reading.
In late July, Fauci appeared before the Senate Homeland Security Committee, which Paul chairs. Here, he repeatedly asserted his Fifth Amendment rights despite being a once-proud health official who loved the spotlight, making numerous media appearances.
While Fauci has been held in contempt of Congress, Just The News reported Sunday that Paul has released evidence showing the doctor told officials with whom he was in correspondence to delete emails on at least five occasions.
The emails date as far back as September 2009.
One email from Fauci concerning the AIDS vaccine research and smallpox vaccine told NIAID deputy Greg Folkers to "please delete this email after you had read it."
...
In another email about a "doomsday virus," Dr. Cliff Lane was instructed to "please delete this email and then delete from the deleted file."
Perhaps less surprisingly, correspondence also showed Fauci trying to mislead the CIA and Director of National Intelligence's office, stressing that they should contract individuals associated with studies proving the virus occurred naturally.
That particular email is dated to July 2021.
Just The News noted that the Federal Records Act requires the preservation of documents relating to officials' work including emails.
Former President Joe Biden's pardon of Fauci dates to Jan. 1, 2014. In the case of the Folkers email, it was dated to 2009.
Could there be a way to prosecute Fauci for violating the Federal Records Act?
I did a quick search, and it appears that the statute of limitations for illegally deleting official federal records is just five years. So, no, not based on that email.
Despite the Biden pardon, states like Florida -- through the work of Attorney General James Uthmeier -- have subpoenaed Fauci over his diary entries released by Paul.
"Government officials have a certain level of immunity in their official capacities, but if Fauci personally profited off of the 'guidance' he issued, that very well could have broken Florida law," Uthmeier said.
Hans Mahncke
@HansMahncke
41m
Over the weekend, Rand Paul released the latest batch of Fauci documents, this time concerning Fauci's efforts to delete federal records, his instructions to others to delete federal records, and his interactions with the CIA.
The most outrageous document in the batch, in my view, is the email below. It proves once and for all that Fauci himself unleashed the Proximal Origin fraudsters on the intelligence community. These were the very same scientists whose work he funded, whom he had enlisted to produce the fraudulent Proximal Origin paper to bury the Wuhan lab leak, and whom he later rewarded with enormous grants.
The depth of the cover up knows no bounds. It was not enough for Fauci to get the fraudulent paper published and use it to manufacture a false scientific consensus. He then also actively pushed his handpicked phony scientists into the intelligence community to sell the same deception there too.
And, of course, the intelligence community knew that these guys were total frauds. Yet rather than expose what was happening, it helped Fauci perpetuate the fake narrative.
Over the weekend, Rand Paul released the latest batch of Fauci documents, this time concerning Fauci’s efforts to delete federal records, his instructions to others to delete federal records, and his interactions with the CIA.
Grifter Narcissist Milo Yiannopolis Deported by Homeland Security for Illegally Overstaying His Visa
—Disinformation Expert Ace
He's to be deported. Good.
Not only is he a self-promoting grifter who tried to set Trump up by inviting the Nazi Nick Fuentes to a dinner with Trump, he's also a loud and proud degenerate.
And frankly, this is good counterpoint for when the left claims Trump is only deporting Black and Brown Folx.
Homeland Security
@DHSgov
On August 27, ICE arrested Milo Yiannopoulos, an illegal alien from the United Kingdom, at the Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport (MSY) in Kenner, Louisiana. Yiannopoulos legally entered the country on May 14, 2019, through New York City, New York. He chose to overstay his welcome in violation of our nation's laws.
Yiannopoulos was issued a final order of removal by an Immigration Judge on July 22, after failing to show up for his immigration hearing. He will remain in ICE custody pending removal.
Being in detention is a choice. We encourage all illegal aliens to take control of their departure with the CBP Home App. The United States is offering illegal aliens $3,000 and a free flight to self-deport now. We encourage every person here illegally to take advantage of this offer and reserve the chance to come back to the U.S. the right legal way to live the American dream. If not, you will be arrested and deported without a chance to return.
Yiannopolis is a loud, fake grifter advocate of deporting illegals. He champions whatever people will pay him money to champion.
Currently he's working to advance the "political" interests of mentally-ill moron Kanye West.
International Airport in Louisiana and detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
"DHS reversed the horrendous Biden-era policy that allowed aliens in our country illegally to jet around our country. Under President Trump, DHS will no longer tolerate this," the DHS spokesperson said in a statement. "This administration is working diligently to ensure that aliens in our country illegally can no longer fly unless it is out of our country to self-deport."
Reports indicated that Yiannopoulos was in New Orleans ahead of a concert by the formerly known as Kanye West. Yiannopoulos has done work for the political and corporate ambitions of West, who's now known as Ye.
...
He has also been a supporter of ICE's immigration enforcement efforts in the past.
"California needs ICE checkpoints at supermarket entrances, gas stations, strip malls, intersections and government buildings, with on the spot deportation for anyone who can't prove they are in the US legally," he posted on social media in June 2025.
British right-wing political commentator Milo Yiannopoulos has been deported from the United States after being detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
Yiannopoulos, 41, a former editor of Breitbart News and one time political aide to rapper Kanye West, was deported on Friday, according to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
Yiannopoulos, "an illegal alien from the United Kingdom" had been sent "back to his home country", a DHS spokesperson said in a statement given to the BBC.
A Biden judge just ruled that the US cannot deport foreigners who advocate for Islamism. Which in turn justifies terrorism and murder against Americans.
Eric Daugherty
@EricLDaugh
🚨 UPDATE: ONE BIDEN JUDGE just stepped in and ruled AGAINST Sec. Marco Rubio having noncitizen students deported if they advocate for Islamism and other anti-American ideology
Judge Noël Wise just said those students have to stay here under the 1st Amendment.
BREAKING: Biden-appointed judge Noel Wise just ruled that the Trump admin CANNOT deport foreigners who express support for terrorist organizations pic.twitter.com/3XGqklfzqH
🚨 UPDATE: ONE BIDEN JUDGE just stepped in and ruled AGAINST Sec. Marco Rubio having noncitizen students deported if they advocate for Islamism and other anti-American ideology
Judge Noël Wise just said those students have to stay here under the 1st Amendment.
I can't find any sources to confirm the below reports, but people are sharing video of what is claimed to be Muslim men moving guns into a mosque in Tallaght, Ireland.
A few months ago an Irish man contacted me about Muslims in Ireland attaining and stockpiling guns. His friend's Irish daughter unfortunately got entangled with an abusive muslim man who was supposedly doing this. But there was no visible proof. No videos. Nothing to go on. Only… pic.twitter.com/U69I4uDe7Q
The fact that Treason Media hasn't rushed to "debunk" this suggests to me they can't debunk it.
This is going to be a slow day for me. I've got a bad rotator cuff strain from sleeping wrong a week ago. Every night I flap my arms around like Steven Seagal running and re-aggravate the injury. And I wind up getting little sleep because I keep waking up.
So expect posts to be brief and sporadic. Please amuse yourselves and provide content in the comments more than usual.
Whistleblower: NY AG and Gigantic Hag "Tish" James Commanded Her Underlings to Find (or Contrive) Criminal Charges Against Trump -- and His Friends and Allies
—Disinformation Expert Ace
This is abuse of office. A prosecutor is supposed to investigate a crime and find the guilty party, not investigate a person to discover crimes (or, in this case, "crimes").
Prosecutor in NY AG Letitia James' office says he was ordered to dig up dirt on Trump allies: report
A veteran prosecutor in state Attorney General Letitia James' office claims he was ordered to dig up dirt on people and groups "affiliated with Donald Trump," according to a bombshell report.
Daniel Wiesenfeld, a former Brooklyn prosecutor who now works in James' Investor Protection Bureau, said his boss instructed him "to find and pursue crimes" committed by Trump allies, according to a since-deleted email obtained by the Times-Union.
Wiesenfeld alleged in his email on Friday that Bureau Chief Shamiso Maswoswe specifically directed him to target "Trump himself, Truth Social, Hewlett Packard (DOJ approved merger)... without having a credible reason for targeting the organizations and individuals," the outlet reported.
...
"If you believe Trump is using the [Department of Justice] attorneys to prosecute his enemies and further his political interests, you should find it equally troubling that Tish [James] is doing exactly the same thing," Wiesenfeld allegedly wrote in the message, which went to some 2,000 staffers before being yanked.
"I ask you that you not serve as Tish's personal attorneys by targeting her political enemies," he allegedly wrote. "Instead, I hope you choose to prosecute crimes and find the individuals accountable, rather than targeting individuals and then finding crimes."
Weisenfeld asked that colleagues focus on prosecuting "rampant nonprofit homeless shelter fraud and antisemitic crimes in and around synagogues," and accused James of wasting "significant public taxpayer dollars to target convenient public enemies," Times-Union reported.
...
During her 2018 campaign, James vowed to "prosecute the president for crimes committed in New York state" if she was elected -- and kept her word after taking over the office.
...
Ex-Gov. Andrew Cuomo's former aide Melissa DeRosa ripped James on X Sunday.
"@TishJames has been abusing her office for political gain for years.
"Don't criticize Trump's use of DOJ if you're not going to call out hers -/ it's wrong when either side does it."
I don't think Trump is doing this at all. He's prosecuting the people who wrongfully prosecuted him -- and if, as they say, "no one is above the law," then they have endorsed their own prosecutions.
Remember, Trump talked about throwing Hillary in jail but as soon as he was elected he ditched that entirely, implicitly conceding it was just campaign fodder.
His first-hand knowledge doesn't directly implicate James: He alleges only that his direct superior, Investor Protection Bureau Chief Shamiso Maswoswe, told him to target "Trump himself, Truth Social, Hewlett Packard (DOJ approved merger)" without bothering to first find "a credible reason for targeting the organizations and individuals."
But he (understandably) believes Maswoswe was following orders from James, who after all ran for the office vowing to target Trump.
The AG's office of course denies everything, immediately put Wiesenfeld on leave and no doubt will seek to crucify him.
After all, this is highly credible testimony that could easily be the final nail in tossing James' civil-case victory over Trump and quite possibly cost her this fall's election -- and even, should investigators find enough other testimony or hard evidence, put her in serious criminal jeopardy.
...
Tish James prefers to prosecute cops and her political enemies; let's hope she's soon out of government, if not in prison.
Is the bad ad gone? I only noticed it a couple of weeks ago and wrongly assumed that whatever company was paying for the ad would just stop paying for it and it would go away. I didn't expect them to camp on the site forever.
Hampton Prescott on “The Curley Effect” – Municipal Mismanagement that Perpetuates Political Power by Driving Away Responsible Opposition
—Buck Throckmorton
[I needed backup for today’s Morning Rant, so friend-of-the-blog Hampton Prescott kindly offered up another of his excellent essays on the need for a revival of “municipal conservatism” to rescue failing cities. Specifically, I asked Hampton if he would discuss the subject of productive citizens fleeing cities - why it’s happening, the business community’s indifference to it, and what can be done to reverse the problem. I always assumed that the flight of law-abiding, tax-paying residents was a consequence of liberal mismanagement, but as Hampton explains, there is actually a term, “The Curley Effect,” for destructive municipal governance that benefits those in power by driving away responsible citizens who might otherwise vote incumbents out of office. Mr. Prescott’s essay is below the fold. – Buck]
Being a student of history is indispensable, in that it equips you with the capacity to cut through the “we are living through unprecedented times” noise. It also helps tremendously in spotting past parallels to current social, political and economic dynamics.
One aspect of history that is of particular interest is the political career of James Michael Curley, four-time mayor of Boston and governor of Massachusetts in the early-to-mid 20th Century. Curley’s influence persists to this day through what is known as “The Curley Effect,” defined as a political strategy and economic model where targeted, inefficient, or divisive public policies are intentionally leveraged to drive political opponents out. By encouraging wealthier or opposing demographics to flee, the politician employing The Curley Effect alters the local voter base to secure permanent power, even if the strategy causes long-term economic decline. The impact on Boston and Massachusetts in general was disastrous, as Curley’s tenure coincided with Boston suffering from economic stagnation that took until the "Massachusetts Miracle" in the 1980’s to truly shake off.
I can’t help but think of The Curley Effect when I see the abysmal governance of our major cities today. Specifically, it came to mind when I saw a clip of Seattle’s newly elected Mayor Katie Wilson respond to the outflow of the private sector from the City with a vapid response of (verbatim) “To the ones that leave, like bye! Hahaha!”
You don’t have to squint hard to see the connection between the high property taxes and spending policies in Boston that drove out the private sector and the anemic response to crime, vagrancy and other quality of life matters in Seattle that is driving away stalwart institutions like Starbucks and Amazon. No shortage of ink has been spilled on the rise of the far left in major cities over the past decade. What is missing from much of this commentary is the idea that this incompetence could be intentional in order to lock in long-term political power.
The good news is that the Curley Effect is not an immutable law of urban physics (contrary to the opinion of many commentators.) It thrives in environments of low accountability and general apathy. The solutions are there for those serious about reclaiming the cultural and economic beacons that are our cities.
First, business communities nationwide need to shake off the apathy and ineffectiveness that has defined their “activities” in the past decade and re-assert the influence that they once had in their respective cities. Two destructive causes of this unfortunate development:
1) Short-sighted libertarianism that puts a mask on lack of interest in the hard work of fostering on-the-ground relationships; or
2) ESG-type grifting which outsourced much of the work out of “community involvement” for executives.
Other major causes include corporate consolidation that removed many institutional pillars from many major cities and increasing financialization of the real estate sectors. The major real estate owners who had breakfast with city council member once a week were displaced by faceless institutions lacking long-term interest in the viability of the cities they purchased property in.
Sun Belt cities have always been held back due to the lack of a healthy urban core (this has arguably kept them from reaching the prominence of a New York or San Francisco, despite predictions to the contrary stretching back to the 50s), so a scenario where cities like Seattle emulate this structure is one that will make for a less productive and sadder country. The business community needs to get out from behind the Zoom call taken from Palm Beach and take action.
Second (covering the nuts and bolts of policy solutions here) there is a need to impose hard fiscal and governance constraints. Strict balanced-budget requirements, supermajority thresholds for tax increases, and independent performance audits make it harder to fund patronage networks or soft-on-crime experiments indefinitely. Term limits for mayors and city councils reduce the payoff from long-term demographic engineering. Recall mechanisms and robust citizen-initiative processes give remaining residents tools to reverse course before decline becomes terminal. Beyond formal reforms, people concerned with The Curley Effect taking over their hometowns can utilize their social media accounts to hold governance to account. There are many excellent accounts in Atlanta who draw attention to shortcomings in things ranging from mass transit experience to permitting timelines. Social media can be a very valuable tool in this regard.
Third, prioritize the basic public goods that keep productive people in place: competent policing, clean streets, functional schools, and predictable property rights. Cities that restore order and reverse the visible decay of public spaces reverse the outbound migration of the tax base. These are not ideological luxuries; they are the minimum conditions for retaining the human capital that funds everything else. In my experience, my posts on restoring law and order and urban beautification get likes across the wide political spectrum, so the idea that these issues are firmly partisan is a highly questionable one.
History shows that the Curley Effect can be broken. Boston eventually recovered once policy shifted toward growth and competence under Governor Dukakis in the 1980’s. Today’s cities face the same choice. The politicians who wave goodbye to departing employers and residents are not invincible; they are simply betting that voters and institutions will remain passive. Raising the price of that bet, through aggressive counteraction, constraints, and competence, is the practical path out.
More than 20 actors from the Marvel universe — including Mark Ruffalo, Benedict Cumberbatch, Ian McKellen, Cate Blanchett and Tilda Swinton — have joined a campaign calling for the release of Marwan Barghouti. . . . This is what happens when Hollywood’s woke celebrity club substitutes ideology for facts. . . Barghouti, the convicted head of the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, is not in an Israeli prison because Israel disagrees with his politics or because he wrote an anti-Israel manifesto; he was charged with five murders, attempted murder and membership in a terrorist organization. He received a fair trial in an Israeli civilian court and was convicted, receiving five life sentences. . .
. . . Perhaps that is the problem with the Marvel campaign. These are limousine liberals at their most comfortable: wealthy, privileged and insulated from the consequences of the causes they champion. They have spent their careers playing superheroes, but appear to know remarkably little about the history they are now trying to rewrite. They sit comfortably in their movie studio trailers and pronounce moral judgments on a bitter conflict in which they have no personal stake and, judging by this campaign, very little understanding. . . A man convicted of murdering five people, including an American citizen, cannot be transformed into a symbol of peace because the red carpet revolutionaries have decided to make him one.
Numbers from the following Brandeis report, American Undergraduates and the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict, show 18% support for Hamas among college students and 15% favorability for Israel.. . … this isn’t just about Israel. Or America. Colleges have normalized degrees of extremism on campus that reflect something like the Weathermen and Al Qaeda wrapped in a bow.
University campuses are notorious for promoting “safe spaces” where dissenting opinions are labeled as “violence.” Yet within the cushioned walls of the Ivory Tower, professors are increasingly using their lecterns to encourage literal violence in pursuit of radical agendas.
In 2025, Texas passed a law that mandated a financial literacy course requirement for students in grades 9 through 12: HB 27 modifies Section 28.025 of the Texas Education Code to expand and strengthen personal financial literacy instruction for high school students. Under the bill, students will be required to complete a dedicated one-half credit in personal financial literacy as part of their social studies coursework to graduate. This requirement separates financial literacy from the previously combined economics and financial literacy course structure, allowing for more focused and practical instruction in managing money, budgeting, savings, credit, loans, and other real-life financial concepts. . . .NGPF repeatedly champions the notion that people must be made equal through government action––a foundational premise of both socialism and woke ideology. Students taking this curriculum are explicitly asked to find a relationship between justice and reparations. In fact, NGPF utilizes an entire section to promote reparations through biased history lessons that assert that reparations are merely “one step on the path toward racial justice.”
A curriculum being pushed on every Texas public high school — and maybe every state by 2030 — teaches students that equal treatment is unjust and equalized outcomes are "justice."
That is socialism.
You can bet your sweet ass that poison like this is happening as far back as kindergarten if not pre-school. Unless and until we utterly retake academia, we are finished as a nation and society. But never fear, our would-be Islamic overlords will one day be running our schools and they'll all be sharia-compliant.
CIVIL WAR 2.0, LEFTIST PERSECUTIONS, DEMOCRAT PUTSCH, AMERICAN DISSOLUTION
While we were spared another one of those ironically dubbed, ”summers of love,” the lawfare war continues, and with some interesting developments. Summertime and Antifa was Uneasy
The harm done by ordinary criminals, murderers, gangsters, and thieves is negligible in comparison with the agony inflicted upon human beings by the professional do-gooders. The ‘Smartening’ of America
AMERICA AND THE WORLD IMPRISONED: CHINESE CORONAVIRUS FICTIONS AND FACTS
The revelations raise serious questions about Fauci’s compliance with federal transparency laws and his role in promoting gain-of-function research despite its risks. The controversy also intersects with ongoing debates about the origins of COVID-19, as Fauci and other virologists worked to downplay the possibility of a lab leak. Fauci Accused of Attempting to Destroy Gain-of-Function Research Email.
There’s something big the mainstream media don’t want to tell you about these disruptive and dangeorus events. The Big Secret about Teen Takeovers
The mayor’s new judicial panel reveals the radical direction in which New York’s criminal and family courts may be headed. Mamdani’s Abolitionist Bench
Academia, as it is currently constituted, is incompatible with the societal need for civics and humanities “education.” Why Higher Education Is Likely Doomed
The Department of Justice (DOJ) plans to appeal the ruling, potentially escalating the case to the Supreme Court. This legal battle could influence mail-in voting procedures and broader debates over election security ahead of the midterms. Critics argue that the decision undermines efforts to safeguard electoral integrity. Obama Judge Blocks Trump’s Mail-In Voting Reforms Again.
DEMOCRAT/LEFTIST AND RINO SCANDALS, MESHUGAS, CHUTZPOCRISY, INSANITY
Trump uses to advantage his ability to become the embodiment of his opponents’ greatest fears, but our enemies have figured out how to exploit this. The Manifester In Chief
Roger Kimball: Suffering from an acute, and possibly terminal, case of Trump Derangement Syndrome, the Democrats have been assiduous in shredding their credibility since the 2024 election. Sciolistic and Treadless: The Democrats’ Rough 2026
Trump is overturning the American political establishment’s negativity and bad ideas, and as promised, actually Making America Great Again. The Trump Revolution is Real
“I’m focused on winning the midterms. I’m running for Congress right now,” Ocasio-Cortez said. “I haven’t ruled out the possibility..and I’m very humbled..” AOC Staff Shake-Up Fuels New 2028 Speculation
“We’ve tried this, where we’ve got one amazing candidate that’s running at the top of the ticket,” Crockett said. “Beto is a very good example of this…” Jasmine Crockett Abandons James Talarico in Texas
The venerable Dick Morris this week revealed that the manipulation of polling data goes even deeper than many of us thought. How the polls inflate the Dems
Nobody in leadership notices who is holding the machinery until someone tries to take it back and finds the locks changed. Three Rings, One Tent, No Ringmaster
Well, well, well — look what the cat dragged in. Or should I say, look what the Delcy Rodríguez regime dragged in. I suppose it needed a distraction for the hardline Chavistas who are up in arms while she's wheeling and dealing with Donald Trump and Marco Rubio over Venezuelan oil. But more on that in a moment. New Maduro Jail Pictures Just Dropped. The Timing Was No Accident.
The outbreak is among the largest foodborne outbreaks in recent U.S. history. As a result of the outbreak, sales of leafy greens, such as lettuce, have fallen by as much as 30 percent. Vegetable sales also took a hit, declining roughly 16 to 17 percent. Fruit sales have also reportedly declined since the start of the outbreak. ‘Explosive Diarrhea’ Lettuce Parasite Spreads to Three More States.
If the main drivers of the need for statins are overweight, inactivity, and unhealthy eating habits, shouldn’t the medical establishment prioritize lifestyle changes as a national health priority? Who should go on statins?
his represents the first major step towards establishing a U.S. Space Academy. This policy represents a continuation of space-related policies implemented during President Trump’s first term, such as spearheading the creation of the U.S. Space Force and establishing the Artemis program to return American astronauts to the Moon. Trump Signs Order Establishing U.S. Space Academy.
Roman is in many ways a cross between the Hubble and Webbspace telescopes. Its mirror is as large as Hubble’s, but its instruments will observe in the infrared like Webb. SpaceX launches the Roman Space Telescope
A society grounded in reality -- with an intact sense of morality -- recoils from insanity and the first and most necessary step to recovering sanity is forthrightly and unashamedly call out insanity. Mind Viruses and America’s Irrational Obsessions
ALSO: The Morning Report cross-posts at CutJibNewsletter.com usually within an hour or so of posting here, if you want to continue the conversation all day.
Play Deep Rock Galactic - a fun but not graphically challenging game - on an RTX 3080 - an older but still powerful card - drops frame rates from 138 fps to 4.
Apparently their Eight Queens Hold'em site wasn't bringing in the views.
Oops. My language blew its budget; compiler, runtime, and standard libraries now come to 7.5MB or 2.5MB compressed, making it 8% the size of Python. The two culprits were TLS (a.k.a SSL, the encryption used by every website), and regular expressions across Unicode, each contributing 20% of the total. For embedded use it automatically drops those and clocks in at a far smaller size.
Also landed today: A full "math" library (those funny buttons on a scientific calculator), alongside autovectorising vector and matrix functions (vectors 100x faster and matrices 1000x faster than native), and a more general linear algebra library built on those, hashing, cryptography, passwords, HTTP client and server modules, and a curl / Python Requests style library.
Claude has actually impressed me; it's a brand new programming language with precisely zero training data, and it's writing working code in it. Yes, it has specs; yes, it has access to the compiler and runtime internals; but the former is up to the developer and the latter will be open source.
Musical Interlude
Disclaimer: 996 is one thing, but 7117 is quite another.
Howdy Hordelings! Welcome to the Sunday ONT. Glad you could stop by! Open thread, as always. Fashion and music, as always. What's on YOUR mind tonight?
The BWI Thurgood Marshall Airport community gathered to honor and welcome home U.S. Army Air Forces 1st Lt. Walter Bateman on Friday evening, a Maryland native and American aviator killed during World War II.
Bateman piloted a B-24D Liberator bomber that was shot down Aug. 16, 1943, during a bombing mission against enemy airfields at Foggia, Italy.
Bateman was 22, and there were no survivors among the 10 crew members.
After more than 80 years, U.S. Army Air Forces 1st Lt. Walter R. Bateman is finally coming home.
Lt. Bateman was serving as a pilot with the 67th Bombardment Squadron, 44th Bombardment Group when his B-24D Liberator failed to return from a mission over Italy on August 16, 1943. He and nine fellow airmen were listed as missing in action, and for decades, his and his crew's remains were unidentified. He was 22 years old.
On May 29, 2026, the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency confirmed Lt. Bateman's identity using modern forensic technology. Tonight, after more than eight decades, he will return home to Maryland...where his story first began.
Thank you for your service and sacrifice, Lieutenant.
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I find this very clever and kinda kewl. What say you?
Flock has a partnership with Dish Network. Interesting.
Dish Network is about to be extremely unpopular
Dish Network technician confirms they are the ones doing the majority of the Flock Safety Camera installs across America
Dish Network is installing the Flock mass surveillance network
Dish was picked as a partner to do the installs because Dish has a large national force of outdoor technicians experienced in pole mounting, cabling and similar work with satellite TV installs. Flock’s own materials say they use third party for installs. Looks like we found who
It’s time to Bud Light Dish Network
Dish Network is about to be extremely unpopular
Dish Network technician confirms they are the ones doing the majority of the Flock Safety Camera installs across America
Dish Network is installing the Flock mass surveillance network
The first thing to know about this gas station is that it is not a gas station.
There are no pumps. No convenience store. No windshield squeegees. And, despite what one might reasonably expect, there is no requirement that anyone actually purchase gas.
It is a designated corner of an Atlanta elementary school classroom where students can go when they need to pass ... gas.
***
“I have a very weak stomach, so I cannot take it,” she tells TODAY.com. “And so I was like, OK, I’m just gonna create this little area over here, and you just get up, you go over there, do your business, come back, and that’s just it.”
Video of the teacher explaining this at the link.
***
'Ette Couture (Courtesy of Piper)
It's that time of the week - when we turn the ONT over to our good friend Piper for a bit. Here's this week's fashion pr0n.
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The (tacky) Glamour of Dolly Parton
The teased hair. The cinched waist. The rhinestones. The sky-high heels. That look was a decision Dolly Parton made young, and she would not give it up, not when the labels asked her to tone it down, not ever. “It costs a lot of money to look this cheap,” she’d joke.
So in honor of the true star and humanitarian, let’s walk through a few outfits that epitomize Dolly.
The coat that started it
Before the sequins, there was scrap fabric. Coat of Many Colors is a song about a patchwork coat her mama sewed from leftover rags. The kids laughed. Dolly wore it like a crown. This story is the key to her fashion; she never hid where she came from. She just added rhinestones.
Decades later she translated the coat into red-carpet language, a satin patchwork shirt-dress in orange, pink, yellow, and blue for the Coat of Many Colors premiere. Country memory. Hollywood cut.
The Jolene jumpsuit, 1974
Nashville seamstress Lucy Adams made the blue-and-white striped jumpsuit with the white puffed jacket that became the Jolene album cover. Dolly later said she chose it because it moved. She had to sit, squat, and pose on the floor. Those puffy sleeves were a personal favorite.
Jumpsuits mattered for another reason. Onstage they let her work, and, as she once noted, they kept the front row from getting a free show. See? She was practical.
Rhinestones as a work uniform
By the mid-1970s the silhouette was locked: tiny waist, plunging neckline, pointy elbows, sequins, crystals, and later those Nudie embroidery insets. And the hair — extensions, wigs, pieces — teased into another stratosphere. That was not a costume. That was the uniform.
The Playboy cover, 1978
Dolly became the first country star on the cover of Playboy. She wore the bunny kit: bodysuit, ears, cuffs, bow tie. And she refused to pose nude. That was just her style. Take a mainstream shock magazine and walk in on your own terms.
In 2021 she recreated the look for her husband Carl Dean’s birthday. She was 75. She said he still thought she was a hot chick. I love that so much.
Bob Mackie’s butterfly
For the 1979 TV special Dolly & Carol in Nashville, Bob Mackie built her a wing-like “Butterfly” gown. Butterflies were her motif. “They don’t sting, they don’t bite, and they are so beautiful,” she said. Mackie dressed her for other television spectaculars too. His sketches still look like they were drawn for a cartoon goddess who also had to hit her mark.
Pink for 9 to 5, 1980
For the premiere, Dolly asked Ann Roth — the film’s costume designer — what a girl was supposed to wear to a thing like that. She arrived in a pink lace-and-satin gown with a matching fur stole. She later told Vogue it may have been the first time she felt fashionable rather than just “Dolly.”
Miami, NYE 2022
Miley’s New Year’s Eve Party. Opening number: “I Love Rock ’n’ Roll.” Dolly owned the stage in a black leopard jumpsuit — studs down the seams, mesh cutouts at the legs, hoops, platforms, crimped hair. Miley matched her in a black Gucci mini and leopard gloves. Godmother and goddaughter, one silhouette.
When Miley called it Dolly’s rock look, Dolly shot back, “Well, you dressed me.”
Halftime Show, Thanksgiving 2023
Dolly took the Cowboys’ Salvation Army halftime show in a customized cheerleader uniform: blue crop, white star vest, tiny white shorts, rhinestone mesh, and a crystal star over her navel. Manager Danny Nozell said even the inner circle didn’t see it until she left the dressing room.
Seventy-seven years old. Ninety thousand people. She said if it landed it would be cute, and if it didn’t they could call it an old woman doing a stupid thing. I saw it in real time. It landed. She also said she did it partly for her husband, who loved that squad. Of course she did.
In the end, Dolly has left us a simple instruction: if you’re going to show up, show up shining.
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Thanks, Piper!
The rest of you - Don't forget to check out Piper's X page.
Howdy, Y'all! Welcome to the wondrously fabulous Gun Thread! As always, I want to thank all of our regulars for being here week in and week out, and also offer a bigly Gun Thread welcome to any newcomers who may be joining us tonight. Howdy and thank you for stopping by! I hope you find our wacky conversation on the subject of guns 'n shooting both enjoyable and informative. You are always welcome to lurk in the shadows of shame, but I'd like to invite you to jump into the conversation, say howdy, and tell us what kind of shooting you like to do!
Holy Shitballs! How in the ever-loving Hell did it get to be the Final August Edition? That came quickly, don't you think? As promised, next week we begin the ever-popular September editions!
With that, step into the dojo and let's get to the gun stuff below, shall we?
The time has come to begin the discussion of the upcoming TXMoMe in Corsicana, TX on October 16-17. This is the eleventh annual TXMoMe, or Conservative Burning Man as it's popularly known, and it promises to be a doozy. A double-doozy even. A bigly double-doozy! If you're in either the Northern or Southern Hemisphere of the Planet of the Earth, contact Ben Had for details on attending. The dates and email links for all MoMes are always helpfully included on the blog's main page, left sidebar.
What started years ago as a small get-together and informal plinking session lasting a couple of hours has matured into a full scale jamboree-hootenanny including a program of shooting activities for both handguns and rifles over two days. I have to thank Ben Had, Cow Horse Queen and RancherBob for making this whole thing happen and providing the opportunity for the shooting to comprise such a significant portion of the event.
But wait! There's more! Combine that with world class food and drink, and the even world classier company of your fellow Morons, and you have a weekend that legends are made of. For those not inclined to shoot (?), there are non-stop opportunities to relax in the shade of the carport or under a handy nearby tree with a beverage and visit with your online pals to your hearts content, which is really what the whole damn thing is about in the first place..
Allow me to be serious for a minute. I have said this probably two hundred and eighty-three times now. These gatherings are a really good time, and I know of no one who expresses regret after having attended one. Actually it goes beyond that. It's not just a weekend of laughs, it's an opportunity to connect with lots of like-minded people and create lasting friendships and priceless memories. No kidding. Think that's hyperbole? It snot. Would your ol' pal Weasel lie to you? Well, yes he would, but not about this. TXMoMe veterans will attest to the funness and completely laid-back nature of the event. Don't be a dork, do yourself a favor and get yo' ass to Texas!
Specifics of the Friday/Saturday schedule of activities will be posted here in the coming weeks, so stay tuned.
TXMoMe veterans: please jump into the comments to encourage the scairdy-cats to join in the fun! What was your first MoMe like? What were you expecting? Were you surprised? Did you have a great time?
Call for Volunteers
Help! As I mentioned above, the shooting program in Texas continues to grow, and we wouldn't be able to do it without a lot of help. If you're interested in lending a hand in some capacity, please drop me a note at gunthread at protonmail dot com indicating your date and time of arrival and we'll be in touch. Thank You!
RSOs from prior years: Expect an email from me soon.
If you are attending the TXMoMe this year, and all the cool kids are, please keep an eye on this section for important information and updates in the coming weeks! I also want to reiterate the TXMoMe is not a gun thing with some socializing attached, but rather is a social thing with some shooting attached. If you aren't a shooter, I guarantee you will not feel out of place and will have a great time. No fooling!
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NOTE TO ALL: This is a private event, held on private property, and is open by invitation only. If you have not contacted Ben Had, and received a personal invitation with directions, you are, how do I say, not among the invited. Attendees: Do not share the location of the event with anyone or risk losing your own TXMoMe privileges.
So with that piece of serious business out of the way, are all y'all getting excited? Weasel are!!
Q: Weasel, what is the best gun for grizzly bears?
A: Ha! Good one!
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Our Pal Bennies And Goofballs
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Highway Patrol!
This week's episode: Auto Press
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Flash Gordon: Zydereen Of Neptune!
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Here are some different online cigar vendors. You will find they not only carry different brands and different lines from those brands, but also varying selections of vitolas (sizes/shapes) of given lines. It's good to have options, especially if you're looking for a specific cigar.
A note about sources. The brick & mortar/online divide exists with cigars, as with guns, and most consumer products, with respect to price. As with guns - since both are "persecuted industries", basically - I make a conscious effort to source at least some of my cigars from my local store(s). It's a small thing, but the brick & mortar segment for both guns and tobacco are precious, and worth supporting where you can. And if you're lucky enough to have a good cigar store/lounge available, they're often a good social event with many dangerous people of the sort who own scary gunz, or read smart military blogs like this one. -rhomboid
Anyone have others to include? Perhaps a small local roller who makes a cigar you like? Send me your recommendation and a link to the site!
Please note the new and improved protonmail account gunthread at protonmail dot com. An informal Gun Thread archive can be found HERE. Future expansion plans are in the works for the site Weasel Gun Thread. If you have a question you would like to ask Gun Thread Staff offline, just send us a note and we'll do our best to answer. If you care to share the story of your favorite firearm, send a picture with your nic and tell us what you sadly lost in the tragic canoe accident. If you would like to remain completely anonymous, just say so. Lurkers are always welcome!
That's it for this week - have you been to the range?
Food Thread: Filet Mignon With Ramen? Sure...Why Not?
—CBD
[Of course I wanted to embed a song by "Korn," but they are awful!]
New Jersey corn is pretty good, mostly because the supply chain is short and it arrives within a day or so of harvest. But supermarkets add a day or two to the mix, so it is difficult to get really fresh corn without driving to good farm stands.
But...damn! It's worth it. A few weeks ago we picked up a few ears of freshly picked corn and ate it that day. I shucked them, popped them into 185 degree water, and simmered for 10 minutes.
That's it. No salt. No butter! They were incredibly sweet and tender and absolutely delicious.
So why not go back to the well? And we did, but the later season corn...just two weeks later...wasn't as good. Still solid, and a pleasure to eat, but not incredible.
There are a few dishes that come to mind when I think of foods that are best with complex sauces or lots of spiciness or in the case of snails...butter and garlic and parsley. Chicken breast is a perfect food for a cook to let his freak fly, because no matter what he does, he isn't masking the flavor of the breast, because there isn't much there to begin with. And I know some of you are put off by the idea of snails, but they really don't taste like much; they are a vehicle for those three delicious ingredients!
But you know what another one is? Filet Mignon, or tenderloin, or whatever you want to call it. Beef (or pork) tenderloin is very mildly flavored, and lends itself to great buttery, creamy pan sauces, or an au Poivre sauce. Filet on its own is nice, but nothing special.
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I went to Costco recently, which is often an unimaginable pain in the ass, but I went very early, before the proles showed up, and the place was actually tolerable. I bought one of their $4.99 roasted chickens, because I wanted to experiment and make chicken stock out of it.
But...it looked so good that I tasted it, and yup! It was mighty tasty for a mass-market chicken that is a loss-leader. Sure, it was salty, and had some other spices that I couldn't figure out, but for a quick meal while standing over the sink, it delivered!
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I know this dish sounds weird, and I can't vouch for it because I haven't made it...yet. But it does sound interesting, and I really love the combination of spicy and sweet Blackberry Fire Chicken might be a dud, but the idea is a good one!
But for f*ck's sake! Stop with the "boneless-skinless" nonsense. Chicken thighs are great with the bone in and the skin intact. Is it some lunatic diet thing? Skin does have a bit of fat, and of course it does! Because it tastes good, and fat is flavor.
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Homesick Texan is one of the better food blogs around. Why? Well, she knows how to write, so reading her stuff is not an unpleasant chore until one gets to the recipe. And she doesn't have much of an ego when it comes to cooking, so she doesn't come of as a pompous know-it-all.
Here is something that won't win any awards, but sounds like it is mighty tasty. Brisket macaroni and cheese! And she adds pickled jalapeñoslices on the side because why the hell not?
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In my youth I was quite inventive with a pack of ramen noodles and some vegetables and maybe some tofu, or even ground pork if I was flush!
I haven't had homemade in a very long time...just the fancy (and delicious) stuff at Ramen restaurants. But I am intrigued about trying it again, so the next time I go to my sort-of-local Japanese market I am going to pick up some and see what I can do with it! It'll be fun, and it might even be tasty!
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The great garlic experiment of 2025-2026 was a resounding...meh. Send all of your excellent home-grown garlic to: cbd dot aoshq at gmail dot com.
About the Bourbon Bubble...I think it has burst, but the category is also suffering from the inflation that affected everything else (Thanks Biden!). I think the sweet spot is still $40-$60 for excellent and interesting bottles, and bumping that to $100 gets you an incremental improvement in quality, but nothing mind-blowing. More than that and I think you are paying for hype and rarity, which may look good in your liquor cabinet, but doesn't translate to more quality in the bottle.
The problem...or the solution...is to buy lots of bourbon, take tasting notes, and eventually arrive at your favorites! It should take forty or fifty years, but it is worth it!
Wow...that really is a First World Problem! We have the leisure time to examine our pasts and try to learn as much about our ancestors as we can.
And because we live in an information cornucopia, we expect that everything will eventually appear.
But...that isn't the case!
That's my great uncle...and I know nothing about him! Nor will I ever. Whatever information there was describing his life has been lost. It is simply impossible to recreate, which in the grand scheme of things is fine. But I sure would have liked to have known what happened!
Warrantless Surveillance Is An Unalloyed Evil, And Cannot Be Justified By Claiming A Reduction In Crime
—CBD
This is an absolutely moronic take on a massive degradation of our civil liberties. It's difficult to underestimate the stupidity of this author, who seems to think that there is some balanced equation between our God-given, natural rights, and the destruction of those rights on the altar of safety.
It’s been a tough summer for automatic license plate readers (ALPRs). Earlier this month, the Washington Post reported that at least 50 police officers have been charged with or accused of misusing plate-reader networks, including for stalking wives, ex-girlfriends, and other women. One small-town Georgia police chief ran his ex-girlfriend’s plates roughly 600 times. California legislators took up the technology in hearings titled “Don’t Flock me,” a jab at Flock, the Atlanta company whose ALPRs now scan roads in more than 6,000 American communities. A backlash that began among left-leaning civil libertarians has spread to the populist Right, and city councils now face packed hearings on whether to keep the cameras.
The debate has become more heat than light. Both sides fixate on anecdotes, with supporters pointing to abducted children recovered after a timely plate hit, while critics list stories of rogue officers and plate data shared far beyond the agencies that collected this information. Neither answers a question that policymakers face: Does the technology produce enough public safety to justify its costs, in dollars and in privacy?
I don't give a sh*t that Flock and other unconstitutional searches may decrease crime. So will sending SWAT teams into every house in America to look for drugs or "illegal" weapons, or taking the medical records of every American and analyzing them for possible illegality. Or sending forensic accountants into every business in America and checking their books. Or....
The list is long how we can make ourselves "safer." But as some very wise men understood, safety is a temporary condition that leads inexorably to totalitarianism.
Does that sound histrionic? Maybe, but provide a counter example please!
If ye love wealth better than liberty, the tranquility of servitude than the animated contest of freedom - go home from us in peace. We ask not your counsels or arms. Crouch down and lick the hands which feed you. May your chains sit lightly upon you, and may posterity forget that you were our countrymen!
-- Samuel Adams
Those who would give up essential liberty, to purchase a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety.
-- Benjamin Franklin
Government is fundamentally evil, and the expansion of its surveillance capacity simply makes it worse, and gives it more power over us. If anyone thinks that government is expanding its surveillance capacity because it will make us safer, then I have a bridge to sell you. They expand it, and all of its power, for one reason: control over the people.
We have to push back whenever we can, and Flock cameras are an excellent place to take a stand. And it's easy! Agitate against them in every public forum, starting with your local government council. And if you ever end up on a jury for a trial of someone who destroyed a Flock camera or any other onerous surveillance technology...you know what to do.
Good morning, ‘rons and ‘ronettes. It’s time once again for the monthly MP4-hosted Sunday Book Thread. Dress for men, as always, is country club casual. Women, however, are encouraged to cater to my own particular tastes:
So ask the barman for a cocktail, covfefe or tea and let’s get started!
‘AI, ay, ay!’
A while back, an offer popped up on my Facebook feed.* It was an AI program that, if you gave it some prompts, would shoot you back a plot for a book. I was curious, so offered it a basic line of ‘what would happen if a 1915 NJ movie studio had a murder to keep it from moving to Hollywood?’
A few minutes later, the program gave me a full plotline. As one might expect from this woke age, the main character was a spunky female reporter trying to make her way in a male-dominated world. I liked what I saw, but decided that I didn’t need it and wiped it out.
But, having thought about it, I wondered why I shouldn’t use it for my next book? After all, the late Clive Cussler paid people to come up with plots for his Dirk Pitt novels. And James Patterson ‘collaborates’ with unknown authors, takes their plots, adds his ‘unique viewpoint’ and pushes them out on the marketplace.
So let’s presume I asked an AI program for a plot. Am I cheating? Suppose I didn’t follow it slavishly, but used the plot as a jumping off point for my own thoughts. Is my book compromised because I began with an AI plot?
Incidentally, the same program would, if you asked it, take the plot it generated and then spit out an entire book. But why would anyone even within whispering distance of calling themselves an author do such a thing? Oh, I know it happens (and, as I joke, because Amazon will print just about anything up to and including Bigfoot-themed erotica, ‘author’ is practically a worthless word), but beyond the lure of money and the simple ease of the shortcut, why do such a thing to yourself?
This is a subject more for the authors of the Horde, but what about you? If you knew that an author used AI to create a plot, but not the content of the book itself, would that drive you away?
*I hate Facebook. I am only there to be part of the ‘Theda Bara Fan Club.’ I hate the rest of it.
Following that track record, we likely won't see 60 FPS support on consoles till the PS7, while PC will enjoy unlocked frame rates once its port drops down the line.
GTA VI will not be available on PC at launch, and there's no indication as to when that might happen.
Not really an issue for me, personally. I don't even own GTA V and I picked up GTA IV in a bundle somewhere but have never played it. So I can keep running Hytale at 60Hz on my 9070 XT... Needing about 10% of its available performance.
Continuing work on my programming language, which last I checked weighed in at 3.4MB uncompressed and 1.2MB compressed - compiler and standard library included. Working on extending the standard library now.
It's implemented in Rust, is stricter than Rust, inherits Rust's semantics otherwise, and compiles a couple of orders of magnitude faster than Rust precisely because of that strictness - but borrows syntax from Ruby so it doesn't feel like Rust.
And for once not in a bad way. OpenAI (which owns ChatGPT) cancelled its partnership with coding tool Cursor, now owned by SpaceX. Anthropic took the opportunity to put the boot in, not against Cursor or SpaceX but against OpenAI.
I do not like OpenAI. I have Grok because it's useful for search and image generation, Claude because it's useful for coding, and Gemini because... It comes with my Google account, really. ChatGPT I tried and canceled.
A health problem I don't have. At the last checkup my doctor asked if I was on medication for cholesterol because my numbers were on the low side of normal. Nope, just luck of the genetic lottery.
And now the unlucky can snip the bad genes out rather than having to take a daily pill for the rest of their lives.
Which I do, but for other reasons.
Musical Interlude
Disclaimer: 1.0 < 2.00 evaluates as false? I'd mark that as an oops.
Saturday Night Club ONT - August 29, 2026 [Disco & Dino]
—Open Blogger
Welcome to Club ONT - a whelming collaboration of The Disco and The Dino.
Open thread - bar is open, too. Come in in, grab a drink or 2. Or 3. Keep it light and friendly. The moose is feeling blue tonight, so stop and say hello before entering.
I took my 79-year-old uncle to the mall to buy new shoes.
Afterward we sat in the food court. A teenage girl with spiked hair in every color—red, green, blue, and orange—sat next to us. My uncle kept staring.
Finally she snapped, “What’s your problem, old man? Never done anything wild in your life?”
My uncle calmly replied, “Once I got high and slept with a peacock. I was just wondering… you might be my daughter.”
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A Republican, a Libertarian, and a Democrat are captured by a cannibal tribe in a dense jungle. The tribe chief gives them a final chance to save their lives:
“Go into the jungle and bring back ten pieces of any single fruit you can find.”
The Republican returns first with ten apples.
The chief says: “Now, if you can shove all ten apples up your ass without making any sound or expression on your face, we won’t eat you.”
The Republican manages one, but at the second apple, he winces in pain. The tribe eats him.
The Libertarian returns next with ten tiny berries.
The chief gives him the same rule.
The Libertarian gets to the ninth berry with complete silence… but suddenly, right before the tenth one, he bursts out laughing hysterically! The tribe eats him too.
In heaven, the Republican meets the Libertarian and asks: “Dude, you were so close! Why on earth did you laugh on the last berry?”
The Libertarian replies: “I couldn’t help it… I saw the Democrat coming back with ten watermelons!”
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Drink of the Night
Liquid Marijuana (also known as "Mountain Smoke" in some places)
Ingredients
1/2 oz. Captain Morgan's Spiced Rum
1/2 oz. Malibu Rum
1/2 oz. Blue Curacao
3/4 oz. Midori
2 1/2 oz. Pineapple Juice
2 oz. Sweet and Sour Mix
Instructions - Combine over ice cubes in a highball glass.
Despite the name, it contains no cannabis.
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Club ONT Department of AI, but Waiting for Some Town to do this
Towns and cities could get a lot more support for municipal projects if they had a little more imagination.
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Club ONT Department of Opportunity
Does opportunity knock or does it sometimes call?
In unrelated news, be on the lookout for a stolen truck full of PBR near Montclair, California (east of LA, near Claremont and Pomona and Ontario). A truck can hold over 50,000 cans of beer worth about $45,000.
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Club ONT Department of Vanity Products
Dino has gone too far trying to get attention at the Club Snack Bar!
Happy Saturday evening friends! Welcome to the music thread! (or is this the Hobby Thread afterparty? or maybe the Club ONT pre-party?)
Please adjust your treble and bass and get your woofers and tweeters in order.
Tonight's music thread theme is writing. Yes, music can be about singing but how do singers know what to say? This may come as a shock to some of you, so I'll say it gently: in some cases, other people write the words. What? Yep.
All the chatter over the past few days about Dolly Parton writing "I Will Always Love You" - later was made famous by Whitney Houston - got us thinking.
What great songs were written by people other than those that recorded/sang them? What great writers warrant more recognition in the history books?
Many songs you recognize were not written by the recording/performing artist. No, Garth Brooks did not write "Friends in low places" - Earl Bud Lee and Dewayne Blackwell wrote it. "What's Love Got to Do with It" was recorded by Tina Turner but written by Terry Britten and Graham Lyle. "...Baby One More Time" made Britney Spears famous but it was written by Max Martin and first offered to TLC.
The list below came from poking around the interwebs which means it may or may not be accurate.
Prince wrote "Manic Monday" for The Bangles, "Nothing Compares 2 U" for Sinéad O'Connor, and "I Feel for You" for Chaka Khan.
Carole King co-wrote "Will You Love Me Tomorrow" for The Shirelles, "The Loco-Motion" for Little Eva, and "(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman" for Aretha Franklin.
Neil Diamond wrote "I'm a Believer" and "A Little Bit Me, A Little Bit You" for The Monkees.
Willie Nelson wrote "Crazy," which became Patsy Cline's signature hit, "Hello Walls" sung by Faron Young, "Pretty Paper" sung by Roy Orbison, and "Pretend I Never Happened" by Waylon Jennings
The Bee Gees wrote "Islands in the Stream" for Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton, and "Woman in Love" for Barbra Streisand.
Paul McCartney wrote and produced "Come and Get It" for Badfinger.
Lionel Richie wrote and produced "Lady" for Kenny Rogers.
Sia wrote "Diamonds" for Rihanna and "Pretty Hurts" for Beyoncé.
Pharrell Williams co-wrote "Hot in Herre" for Nelly.
Paul Anka adapted and wrote the English lyrics for "My Way," which Frank Sinatra made famous.
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Country music has a tradition of understanding that singers and songwriters are two often two different people.
Professional songwriters are a backbone of country music but less recognized by name. Here are a few:
Harlan Howard wrote or co-wrote "I Fall to Pieces" (Patsy Cline), "Busted" (Johnny Cash / Ray Charles), "Heartaches by the Number," and "Why Not Me."
Cindy Walker's writing credits include "You Don't Know Me," "Dream Baby," "Bubbles in My Beer," and songs for Bob Wills, Eddy Arnold, and Roy Orbison.
Felice and Boudleaux Bryant wrote a huge catalog for the Everly Brothers (
"Bye Bye Love," "All I Have to Do Is Dream," "Wake Up Little Susie") plus hits for others.
Bob McDill's songwriting hits include "Good Ole Boys Like Me," "Gone Country," and "Song of the South."
Billy Sherrill was better known as a producer, but co-wrote "Stand by Your Man," "The Most Beautiful Girl."
Ashley Gorley is a modern songwriter with dozens of top hits written for Luke Bryan, Morgan Wallen, Carrie Underwood, and others. His most well known hits include "Last Night" by Morgan Wallen, "That's My Kind of Night" and "Play it Again" by Luke Bryan, and "You're Gonna Miss This" by Trace Adkins.
Welcome hobbyists! Pull up a chair and sit a spell with the Horde in this little corner of the interweb. This is the mighty, mighty officially sanctioned Ace of Spades Hobby Thread. For this week, the Wheel of Hobbies (TM) is feeling lucky and decided on a YouTubeing theme for this Hobby Thread.
A what? A YouTube theme? Warning: there may be modest math involved.
This Hobby Thread started with a question after watching many, many YouTube channels as research for thread content: "Do these channels earn money? If so, how does it work?"
The notes below are my findings. Full disclosure: I am a dinosaur with short arms and a small brain. I am not a YouTube creator and have little first-hand knowledge. I have not included every nuance or detail and there are likely unknowing errors.
For many, YouTube is a hobby. For others, it is a career. I continue to be fascinated by the idea that the interweb has allowed people with many different niche interests to find each other. (Who knew there was such a deep audience for videos about heavy equipment recovery and restoration? Millions of views - mine included.)
YouTube provides a platform and an incentive to create content. Of course, not all content is good content and not all channels speak to all people but we don't have to click on anything and the "off" button is always an option.
I have opinions about the good, bad and ugly of YouTube and social media but the objective for today is to better understand the facts and not trash particular creators or channel types. The purpose of this post is not to act as a YouTube content critic - just to understand how it works.
Interested in knowledge and questions from the Horde. Have you tried YouTubing (either for profit or just for fun)? Do you know how it works? If not, are you curious? What would you like to know? What have I missed in the outline below? What surprising YouTube niches exist? We'll learn together.
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What are you hobbying?
YouTube may not be everyone's favorite but give the content a chance before you judge. The thread is not limited to to the theme. Anything (legal) you are hobbying is welcome. Even if the theme does not speak to you, you might learn something or be entertained. If not, offer something else relating to hobbying. If all of that fails, just check in and say hello.
As per usual Hobby Thread etiquette, keep this thread limited to hobbying. Leave politics and religion to threads elsewhere (unless your hobby is building or restoring churches). Pants? Nope. 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.
***
Charlie Munger famously said "Show me the incentive and I'll show you the outcome." Charlie was a wise man.
Things I learned about how YouTube creators earn money:
1) A creator makes money through YouTube in five primary ways.
a. splitting ad revenue that YouTube charges advertisers
b. earning a share of pooled YouTube Premium revenue
c. memberships
d. sponsorships (either cash or barter)
e. using YouTube as a funnel to personal business lines outside of YouTube.
2) Channels do not automatically qualify for monetization. A channel must meet minimum criteria for subscribers and watch hours. The current requirement is 1,000 subscribers, and either 4,000 watch hours in the last 12 months or 10 million Shorts views in the last 90 days. New rules in Feb 2027 double the required watch hours or Shorts views. (There is a lower tier that unlocks access to some features, but no ad revenue.) Once monetized, a channel must post periodically to remain monetized.
3) Ad revenue:
a. Creators split revenue with YouTube for long-form videos 55/45. Earnings are measured by revenue per thousand views. Shorts pay, but a lot lower because ads run between short videos and revenue is pooled.
b. Advertisers can directly choose individual YouTube channels (or even specific videos) where their ads will appear. They can also pay for exposure to viewer characteristics and let YouTube place the ads.
c. Ad revenue varies widely by niche, audience location/desirability (e.g., US finance viewers pay far more than gaming viewers in lower-tier countries), watch time/retention (longer videos serve more ads), and seasonality (such as holidays). The result is that different channels with the same number of views can earn very different ad revenue.
d. Revenue is only earned if viewers watch the ads.
4) Some YouTube viewers pay a fee to watch without ads through the YouTube Premium. 60% of the net revenue is pooled and split among creators based on view activity of Premium members.
5) Channel memberships give viewers perks such as members-only content or early access, etc. The revenue split is 70% to the creator, 30% to YouTube.
6) Sponsorships are direct deals between the creator and brands. Pricing is negotiated and can be a flat fee, based on views or a mix. Creators can also barter exposure for other goods or services. Sponsorships that are integrated seamlessly into the video and promoted by the creator are more desirable because they are more credible and less prone to be skipped. YouTube takes no share of revenue earned from deals made directly with sponsors but creators need to get comfortable with pitching products.
7) Creator-organized business lines such as branded merchandise, building plans, books, courses, etc. involve no split with YouTube. Some primarily use YouTube channel as a funnel for other business ventures rather than looking at YouTube as the primary business. Since YouTube takes no share, there is a strong incentive to earn from other business lines.
8 ) Which channel niches earn the most? Personal finance, investing, insurance, legal, real estate, and B2B software.
9) Which channel niches earn the least? Gaming, entertainment, reactions, music, and kids content.
10) Ten to thirty minute videos with strong retention are ideal. This partially explains why some videos that could be done in five minutes seem like they're stretched to 10 or 15 minutes. The short attention spans of most viewers is an ongoing challenge.
11) Only about 2-4% of channels (roughly 2-3 million) reach the thresholds to become fully monetized for ads.
12) Most monetized channels earn very little from ads - often under $100-$200 per month. Only 10-25% of monetized channels earn $1,000 plus or minus. Only 5-12% of monetized channels earn $4000 per month (less than 1% of all active YouTube channels).
13) Ad earnings per thousand views from long videos vary. Low demand channels earn $0.50 to $2 - and most channels are low demand. The median for all channels is estimated at $2.30. Medium channels earn $3-8. High value channels are rarer but can be $8-$15+.
14) Channels can earn indefinitely, in many cases for years after posting. A video about an annual event, for example, can see viewership spikes each year around the time of the event.
15) Subscriptions and likes do not directly drive ad revenue but they are data points that can help with sponsorships. They modestly help the algorithm that determines what videos to show viewers for recommendations.
16) Click through rate (volume of viewers that click on a thumbnail) is a strong signal for the algorithm. The importance of the click through makes thumbnail design crucial and explains why many thumbnail visuals and wording feels overhyped, even if the content itself is not. Creators often compare different thumbnails for the same video to measure effectiveness (YouTube even has a "test and compare" tool). Viewer retention is the other big driver for the algorithm.
17) Sponsorship fees vary widely but are typically a fee per video based on the volume of expected views based on recent channel activity. Channels with between 100K and 500K subscribers average between $1,500 and $10,000 with a median of about $2,500 for a sponsorship pitch that is incorporated into the content. Top channels with desirable viewers and good retention can earn ten times that.
18 ) Not all YouTube content is eligible for monetization. Content must be original, non-repetitive, and avoid vulgarity, violence and other similar material. Copyright and intellectual property rights also must be honored (which is why videos using copyrighted music are excluded).
19) Many creators think of YouTube monetization within a larger ecosystem of revenue opportunities. They combine YouTube with platforms like Patreon to build diversified and stable revenue streams.
20) Ultimately, profit is only what remains from revenue after expenses. Controlling the expense side of the ledger is critical. Even if there is a profit, each creator needs to account for the value of their own time invested.
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Take-aways:
Most YouTube revenue goes to a small number of active channels with the most desirable viewer demographics and creators that know how to optimize their content.
YouTube content is essentially advertising. The challenge for a creator is to make the content engaging enough to keep your eyeballs. Not all advertising opportunities are compelling for advertisers, so not all creators earn the same revenue.
The laws of supply and demand apply. It is difficult to attract and retain an audience with indistinct content. Storytelling is usually the common link and good creators know how to do it. Narrative arcs don't have to be complicated. For example, here is a problem or a project, here is an illustration of the solution and steps along the way, and here is the result.
With lots of supply, it is difficult to stand out. Want to get rich making travel videos with top 10 national parks or travel tips for Paris? Good luck. It is also difficult to retain relevance with a continued stream of compelling, original content. The solution for many creators is continually trying to outdo themselves and others with more and more extreme adventures, projects and storylines (which becomes a self-reinforcing loop).
Authenticity is the other secret weapon. Generic content is easy to produce and AI lowers the cost to produce a lot of content. Lower barriers to entry mean more slop and garbage and authenticity cuts through the noise for most viewers. AI will challenge what feels sufficiently authentic in the future but credibility via authenticity will remain the secret weapon for most successful creators.
"Monetization" means different things to different creators. For many, it is a hobby with a little money to offset expenses. For a smaller group, YouTube revenue is part of a strategy to make creating content a full time job. For an even smaller group, YouTube is mostly a means to funnel attention to other commercial opportunities.
Some aspects of the YouTube platform encourage overhyped thumbnails or content. The algorithm decides what to recommend or show viewers, so it matters for growth. Retention, however, drives revenue. Clickbait videos that don't keep viewers will not earn much revenue and different channels have different approaches to maximize time spent viewing their content.
Economies of scale apply. Wonder why some YouTubers create second channels or collaborate with other creators? More monetized content at lower cost of production = more profit.
It is possible for niche creators on YouTube can find a dedicated and loyal audience and earn a living but there more involved than "film and post my life and get rich." Successful creators make a steady stream of unique and original content with their own style that resonates with an audience, builds credibility, and is difficult to replicate.
Professional YouTubers do not think of YouTube as a hobby. They hire professional videographers and editors, plan and regularly produce content, track metrics, and manage the business side with sponsors and agents. That part of their operation may or may not be obvious in their videos. YouTube is also typically part of a broader business strategy.
There are a ridiculous number of YouTube channels dedicated to telling you how to make money on YouTube, how to get monetized on YouTube, and how YouTube changed people's lives. If it is that easy, why doesn't everyone do it? Buyer beware.
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Did you miss the Hobby Thread last week? We did a radio control theme. The comments may be closed, but you can re-live the content.
Notable comment from last week:
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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).
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Reminder: if you put links in the comments, use a URL shortener and describe what you're linking to. Failing to do either or both makes you barrel-eligible. Don't make people click to find out what you're linking.
Send thoughts, suggestions and photos of your hobbying to moronhobbies at protonmail dot com. Or just email to say hello. Do mighty things.
Crows are incredibly clever. This one figured out how to turn a tap on to get water and even remembered to turn it off afterwards. Their ability to learn, remember, and repeat useful behaviours is amazing pic.twitter.com/fgFi9QzaYR
Courtesy Powerline Week in Pictures and Misanthropic Humanitarian
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I don't know that I've seen this breed of horse before:
This majestic Celtic horse breed, distinguished by its magnificent mane and the thick feathering on its legs, is known as the Gypsy Vanner; here, we see one alongside its young, proud foal, taking its first steps. pic.twitter.com/VTmYZWU2z7
The Andalusian, aka pura raza española, has been recognized as a distinct breed since the XV century. It has been known for its prowess as a war horse and kings across Europe rode them for centuries
On March 11, 889, a 22-year-old Japanese emperor wrote in his diary about a new black cat he had recently acquired…
“On the 6th Day of the 2nd Month of the First Year of the Kampo era. Taking a moment of my free time, I wish to express my joy of the cat. It arrived by boat as a… pic.twitter.com/fVDuDlwiFV
Mom’s old Cocker Spaniel loves to watch her cook, so Mom puts her on the seat at the island. She usually gets a treat as a bonus. When Mom finished, she left Birdy in the chair. Later, she heard snoring. Birdy sleeps a lot.
:-) Rider In The Sky
Love to Birdy. Great photo.
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It's a bit early for Halloween, but here's Della in her spider costume. Unfortunately, she refuses to scurry while she's wearing it. She just lies down and rolls onto her back.
Miley
I would not have recognized her.
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Hi KT,
This is Bunny, watching Della eat her breakfast and waiting to be served herself.
Miley
So patient! Love Bunny.
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PetMoron Adjacent Animals
Encountered by Members of The Horde
Here’s a Cooper’s hawk outside my guest room window last week. Beautiful bird. Crows were keeping a close eye on him.
Later, saw an osprey with a fish in his talons fly across the street.
Raptors galore! Nurse r
Fun to see. Thanks for sharing!
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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.
My crazy 6 ft tall tomato plant is overloaded with tomatoes. The picture below is two days haul and there are many more to come.
The jalapeños at the top are the two different varieties I mentioned last week. The small one is a normal jalapeño and the big one is called Giant Jalapeño. Three jars of pickled japaenos so far and maybe one or two more.There are half dozen poblanos almost ready.
Going to roast the tomatoes because there is no way I can eat all of them.
Sharon(willow's apprentice)
The cherry tomatoes look great. What do you do with them after roasting?
The peppers also sound good.
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Tomatoes and peppers seem to be the favorite veggies for members of The Horde to grow. And they make nice photos for social media, too! Enjoy life!
Fabulous few days looking after grandson, almost 2, whilst his mum & dad went to a wedding. An absolute joy, but boy are we exhausted! My birthday yesterday passed in a blur of playing in the park, baking biscuits, reading & picking tomatoes. Quiet at home now. Have a good day. pic.twitter.com/eEE7rGTHXJ
Maybe this will remind CBD to plan for a garden next year:
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A confusing vegetable name. Have you ever grown these? I have eaten them. They remind me of a sort of sweet Jicama when raw.
Gm. Jerusalem artichoke (Helianthus tuberosus), a native North American sunflower, is not a type of artichoke (it’s a root vegetable), and its Jerusalem moniker is a mispronunciation of “girasole,” the Italian word for sunflower. pic.twitter.com/gHuGx1Q9ZF
Located in County Meath, Ireland, this stunning 300-year-old Yew Tree Tunnel at Gormanston Castle is a living architectural marvel.
Planted in the late 17th century by the Preston family, generations of meticulous training have caused the branches of these ancient trees to… pic.twitter.com/sKVYEIQnqA
Bern has a quirky summer tradition: instead of driving home, some locals jump into the Aare River after work, pack their clothes in waterproof bags, and float with the current all the way home pic.twitter.com/Iu9gXeidBz
Have you ever seen a display of radioactivity in a cloud chamber? My Dad used to set them up with radioactive needles at my elementary school. You could always see some stray trails coming from space though.
This is a reminder that the first "GMO Plants" were created by blasting seeds with X-rays and other forms of radioactivity to randomly induce mutations. When you wonder if some of our grains are not as healthy as grains of old, random procedures like this could have possibly been one reason.
This is a radioactive mineral inside a cloud chamber which allows you to see condensation trails cause by radioactive decay particles shooting through a supersaturated alcohol vapor cloud, mainly alpha particles. pic.twitter.com/M9n2DsWZYO
The Los Feliz Neighborhood Council alerted our office in late 2025 to the need for a crosswalk at Sunset Dr. and Bates St., which has just been completed!
Thank you to our incredible CD4 Field Team for continuing to problem-solve, push for solutions, and make our streets safer.
Once cities like San Francisco and Los Angeles do this—once you essentially look the other way for the homeless, junkies, illegal immigrants, criminals, or whoever it is, while shining a spotlight on taxpayers with over-regulation, over-permitting, and trying to manage every grain of their lives, versus saying to illegal immigrants, ‘Go do whatever you want,’ or to the homeless, ‘Go shoot up wherever you want or sleep wherever you want’—then you’ve lost it. L.A.’s there. San Francisco’s there.
Sleep wherever you want and don't worry about setting fires . . .
How's that high-speed rail coming along?
Yesterday we drove over a fancy new overpass which is intended to allow cars and trucks to easily make their way over the future high-speed rail tracks. It looks a lot like a smaller version of a similar overpass over a highway a few miles to the north.
Traffic crossing the nearby existing freight and Amtrak rails must still stop the old-fashioned way. The new overpass does not look particularly safe for pedestrians or bicyclists. Perhaps some new local bus routes between neighborhoods and country towns are planned for the future.
Some neighborhoods no longer exist, having fallen victim to eminent domain.
There won't be a high-speed train station nearby. So the promise of "local jobs" was kinda temporary.
The pretty new overpass does keep people from getting lost like they did for months on the previous very confusing detours which changed periodically. And some cars fell into ditches during the many months of detours and degraded roads, as well. So, in one small part of the future high-speed rail route, some progress has apparently been made.
I wouldn't be surprised if traffic over the newly finished infrastructure is restricted when work on the rails begins. If it does.
Shafter Shafts plans for high-speed rail
This is not too far to the south of the pretty new overpass:
California’s high-speed rail boondoggle, which is already a $128 billion joke that has been decades in the making with not a single mile of track carrying a single paying passenger, has managed to find a brand-new way to embarrass the state’s “visionary” political leadership.
This time, it’s not federal funding cuts or blown deadlines doing the damage, but a Central Valley city and a major homebuilder simply refusing to get out of the way, greenlighting 1,200 new homes smack in the middle of the rail authority’s approved route.
California’s beleaguered, over-budget high-speed rail line now has one more thing to worry about: A city and housing developer wants to build homes right in the train’s projected path.
Shafter, a city near Bakersfield, and developer Lennar Homes are plowing ahead with 1,200 homes in the same area off Highway 99 where the state’s rail authority plans to build tracks. . .
Well. This seems rather late in the game to be changing the route on the already truncated high-speed rail line. See more details at the link.
New California High Speed Rail video for you. Based on a new report by the CAHSR Office of the Inspector General and developments in the city of Shafter, the project is at serious risk of not being able to open an Initial Operating Segment. At all.
So confusing!
Call Shafter’s move poetic justice for a project that has spent over a decade steamrolling farmers and small property owners with eminent domain and political entitlement.
Sacramento’s fantasy train may get ” shafted” by the plucky citizens of a small town that California bureaucrats chose to ignore. . .
As an added bonus, given the state’s “housing shortage,” it’s going to be very hard to make Lennar homes a villain in this story.
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You've likely heard that Newsom's wife has ties to California energy interests. Another reason to watch the politics around data centers and such:
Chew on this:
Your power in Reno and my power in SLT Calif both come from the same source -- NV Energy.
My electricity bill is routinely over $500 a month in the summer time, and it's rarely over 85 degrees during the daytime. https://t.co/DorJbqPaxf
And in current news, California lawmakers block Gov. Newsom's push to limit wildfire liability for utilities. The stock at PG&E, the special friends of Newsom's wife, has gone down.
* * * * *
WEEKEND
THE MOST WOKE SENTENCE EVER?
"Real" papers that are indistinguishable from this are published almost daily. https://t.co/Q8ec0kcNRL
In this week's Grumpy Economist Rant, @JohnHCochrane revisits Alexander Hamilton's approach to the large public debt left by the Revolutionary War and explains how honoring contracts built America's financial reputation.
Dolly Parton’s music was never my taste, but somehow I always had only favorable impressions of her when she came into public view over the last 50 years. And just now I recall that a big Broadway play of my youth was “Hello, Dolly!” The film version would have been so much better with Dolly Parton instead of Barbra “Strident” Streisand. And so just now we need to improvise “Goodbye, Dolly.” Is it true that she’s the last figure in the country that everyone loved? Maybe. But let’s not overlook Tim Curry while we’re at it. And let’s salute America’s newest Great Lake!
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Music
Think everybody listens to the same music all the time?
Comments are closed so you won't ban yourself by trying to comment on a week-old thread. But don't try it anyway.
Update:
Worst of all, by far, is "autoethnography"
It’s hard to convey to people who haven’t seen this stuff just how rife it is in the humanities and social sciences today. I remember going to Cambridge to study anthropology and thinking I would be asking big questions about human nature and bizarre rituals and customs, but all… https://t.co/zSVBEIBJ2b
Podcast: Dolly Parton...an American classic, Michigan's El Sayed is part of our future destruction, More Global Warming nonsense, mail-in balloting restrictions, Darline Graham? Get rid of family dynasties...and more!
1977 interview shows that Barbara Walters has always been a seaward and Dolly Parton always had "country class" Walters actually asks Dolly Parton if she knows that people think she's a joke. This because Walters can't get over the fact that a show-woman has 1, big breasts, and 2, dresses a bit outrageously because, get this, she's an entertainer. A stage performer. You know, someone people pay money to see live and expect them to put on a show. She never would attack Liberace for wearing glitter-tuxedos. But she's mad that Dolly Parton makes Barbara Walters look bad through association (by being a woman). Babs, you wish people associated the two of you. Believe me, we can tell the difference.
Dude trolls a city council meeting about permitting yet another mosque by promising the mosque will destroy the Constitution "All women who are overweight or obese will have to wear burka. 10,000 steps per day, low carb."
Podcast: Will Cuba fall without a fight? More Iran confusion, gun rights for felons isn't a crazy idea, wetbacks are voting! And are data centers of the devil? Nope!
Months ago, I reported that the final Zodiac cypher had been cracked and the name of the killer revealed. And the name of the killer turned out to be someone suspected in the unsolved Black Dahlia murder. The general tone of my mention of this was "serious you guys, this is real."
Well, it's not real. It's total bullshit.
Sorry about that. I did two things: 1, I bought into something, a conspiracy theory really, because it was new and exciting. And 2, I allowed a self-declared "expert" to snow me over with his "expert" claims about solving ciphers, an alleged expertise I could not challenge because I know practically nothing about codebreaking. I remember being similarly swindled by self-declared "experts" babbling about "chromatic aberrations." (Although I didn't really buy into that, but I found it "interesting" and I wasn't strongly skeptical about it. Hey they said they're "experts," they must know that they're talking about, right?)
I screwed up. It won't be the last time, I'm sure.
Podcast: In Wisconsin, the Dems steal an election from themselves, abortion is cheered in Massachusetts, Spain gets what it voted for, the economy is humming, and more!
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