Daily Tech News 1 August 2025

—Pixy Misa

• Epic Games just won its lawsuit against Google. Again. (The Verge)
  
  Google plans to appeal - again - to either an en banc sitting of the 9th Circuit or the Supreme Court.
  
  But Google no longer has a stay on the lower court's ruling, and Epic plans to put its own app store inside the Google Play store as soon as tomorrow.
  
  
  

Look AT Me, I'm ONT

—WeirdDave

Welcome to the MLB trade deadline ONT. In case you missed it, earlier there were some pretty intense trade discussions between the Blue Jays and the Cardinals.

Well, That's Horrifying

Baby girl grows ‘micropenis’ after lying on her dad’s chest

A baby girl in Sweden reportedly sprouted a “micropenis” after lying on her father’s bare chest — turning a tender bonding moment into a bizarre biological blunder. And she’s not the only one. A Swedish doctor is sounding the alarm, warning she’s seen at least half a dozen similar cases in children.  Here’s what you need to know to make sure your child isn’t next.  Often referred to as “kangaroo care,” skin-to-skin contact is a common practice used to strengthen the bond between newborns and parents while supporting healthy early development. But in this case, that sweet ritual took a strange turn. After her birth, the Swedish baby girl was repeatedly placed on her father’s bare chest — the same area where he had applied testosterone gel.

The baby's skin absorbed the hormone, and her genitals began to change. Yikes!

No Nice Things

The Primary Reason People in Blue States Can't Have Nice Things

The late, great conservative humorist P.J. O'Rourke said of socialism, "To grasp the true meaning of socialism, imagine a world where everything is designed by the post office, even the sleaze."

P.J. hated socialism because no one was in charge of anything. The "government" rarely "governed" anything except that which could be manipulated into benefitting the governing elite. The rest was farmed out to the "non-profit/industrial complex," which doesn't care about maintaining what it's managing because there's no incentive to do so.
Think about Zohran Mamnani's "government-run grocery stores." Chicago "studied" the matter, paying a non-profit group that paid a for-profit consultant company, which determined it wouldn't work. 
The only "city-run" grocery store in the country is in Kansas City. The problem is that it's not run by the city. It's run by a for-profit subsidiary that needs gobs of cash from the city to stay open.

Hint: It's the lack of accountability.

Idiot Break

Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes! pic.twitter.com/2zGN2h9ic6

— ONT WTF (@OntWtf) August 1, 2025

News From The World Of Archaeology

A New Statue Suddenly Appeared on Easter Island.

Just when experts thought they knew every moai on Rapa Nui, otherwise known as Easter Island, a dried-up lakebed kept them on their toes. These statues—largely made of a stone formed from volcanic ash and dust called tuff—pepper the island, with more than 1,000 already found and logged.
Finding a new one came as a surprise. And a bit of a mystery.
“We think we know all the moai, but then a new one turns up, a new discovery, and in this case, in the lake, at the statue quarry,” Terry Hunt, professor of archeology at the University of Arizona, told Good Morning America. “There have been no moai found in the dry bed or in what was previously a lake, so this is a first.”

Huh. I would have thought they'd have found them all by now.

The Shopping Cart Question

Why Don't People Return Their Shopping Carts?

While some supermarkets are better than others, it's probably not unusual to find a few stray shopping carts littering the parking lot to the dismay of shoppers who may think that a parking spot is open, only to find that it's actually being used by a shopping cart. It seems like a basic courtesy to others: you get a cart at the supermarket, you use it to get your groceries and bring them to your vehicle, and then you return it for others to use. And yet, it's not uncommon for many people to ignore the cart receptacle entirely and leave their carts next to their cars or parked haphazardly on medians. During peak hours, it can mean bedlam. Where does this disregard come from? Some supermarkets have tried to make this relatively easy: they have cart receptacles throughout the parking lot, a cart attendant to bring the carts back to the store, and some may even rely on a cart "rental" system where you pay for the cart and are reimbursed when it's returned.

So, where do you fall? I always take my buggy to the buggy corral.

The Dumbest Thing You Will Read All Week

11 Habits That Are Normal In Working-Class Homes But Confuse Wealthy People

While the middle class itself may be shrinking, as a study from the Pew Research Center suggests, the habits, behaviors, and mentalities of adults who grew up in middle-class households are still prevalent. From the way they manage money to how they interact with others and even fill their free time, there are a number of habits that are normal in working-class homes but confuse wealthy people.
While the hobbies, habits,  and routines of the middle class may not be intrinsically associated with money, they are founded on something that’s impossible to untie from a person’s financial wellbeing: choice. When you have money, you have the choice to spend your free time and energy how you want, but in many cases, middle-class people must make compromises and develop their routines around non-negotiables.

At least, Jeeves told me it was dumb when he read it for me.

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

Close it up

Pudu Cafe

—Ace

The pudu -- the world's smallest deer species

Reuniting with a blind and deaf dog after an absence.

Are seals better than otters? An unbiased investigation.

In case you missed it: Two dogs in a pool talking about diving in to get the tennis ball.

Cats: Boy if we could get at that squirrel we'd teach him what's what.
Squirrel: Well I'm in your house now, tough guys, whatcha gonna do?

Thanks to the Patriarch Tree.

A scared and traumatized dog was abandoned by his "family" when they moved out. A kindly neighbor spent two full weeks sitting with the dog to gain its trust and get it to leave the abandoned property and come live with her.

This bird is cute but I bet after five minutes you'd put it in the oven.

Too much of a good thing.

Dog plays self-catch.

Baby elephant tests the tensile strength of his trunk.

Go team.

Ready for adventure!

Woman takes some risks rescuing a dog from a bridge support.

I suspect this is AI but what are you gonna do. I got fooled by an embarrassingly amateurish Hulk Hogan hoax. Looks good, though!

Christmas in July.

Candace Owens: A National Concern

—Ace

Candace Owens is being sued by Emmanuel Macron and his wife Brigitte, and, I can't believe this, I'm on the Macrons' side.

Owens is a devoted conspiracy theorist (and antisemitic crusader) and has repeatedly claimed, without, seriously, any evidence, that Macron's wife is really a man, baby.

There is controversy over the term "woke right." I don't use the term myself.

But one attribute of the woke left has been to simply defame anyone they don't like. (While simultaneously demanding repressive censorship for anyone they don't like.)

Candace Owens certainly seems to enjoy this aspect of online wokism.

I don't like Macron and while I know nothing about his wife, her association with Macron, and the, um, interesting circumstances of their May (or early April)-December romance, suggest to me I wouldn't like her if I knew much about her.

But you can't just claim that someone was born the opposite sex because the bad chemicals in your head told you are a Diva Genius and that you deserve some Internet Attention today.

It's defamatory. Clearly. And it's a statement of fact, not opinion, so it can in fact be legally defamatory.

First, she doubled down on her slander and claimed that she would fund-raise her defense and use her position to harass the Macrons through discovery.

Owens needs to talk to a lawyer because discovery will only be permitted on the question of Brigitte Macron's birth sex. "Discovery" is not a license to demand any and all documents that you might want to use to embarrass your opponent. You can only discover documents germane to the actual case.

School-Choice Advocate Corey D'Angelis Exposes the NEA's Radical, Antisemitic Political Manifesto as the NEA Races to Erase It From the Internet; He Renews His Demand to De-Certify This Communist, Anti-Student "Union"

—Ace

I'm inclined to agree already but let's read some of his exposé.

Actually, he isn't interested in de-certifying the NEA so much as crippling its true role as a Democrat grifter organization. He wants the STUDENT Act passed.

The National Education Association (NEA) tried scrubbing its radical 2025 handbook from the internet after I leaked its contents on X, but I saved a copy of their 434-page manifesto. This document, meant to guide America's largest teachers' union, exposes a radical agenda: erasing Jews from the Holocaust, blaming "white supremacy culture" for systemic racism, pushing illegal racial quotas, calling for "educational reparations," and attacking homeschooling while ignoring their own failing schools.

The NEA, armed with a unique 1906 federal charter, has become a money-laundering operation for the Democratic Party, funneling over 99% of its 2022 political contributions to Democrats. Its president, Becky Pringle, an at-large Democratic National Committee member, engages in histrionics to rally this partisan machine.

The "Stopping Teachers Unions from Damaging Education Needs Today (STUDENT) Act," introduced last week by Senator Cynthia Lummis and Representative Scott Fitzgerald, would gut this cartel by banning lobbying, political activity, and racial quotas, mandating transparency, and stopping strikes that shutter schools. Congress must pass this bill to leverage the NEA's charter, force it back to education, or make it beg to lose its special privilege.

The NEA's handbook is a blueprint for extremism, not education. It downplays the Holocaust's targeting of Jews, framing it as a generic tragedy while emphasizing other groups, effectively erasing Jewish suffering from history. It declares that "educators must acknowledge the existence of white supremacy culture as a primary root cause of institutional racism, structural racism, and white privilege," vowing to push "strategies fostering the eradication of institutional racism and white privilege perpetuated by white supremacy culture." It demands school districts provide training in "cultural competence, implicit bias, restorative practices, and racial justice." Worse, it calls for illegal racial quotas, stating, "The National Education Association believes that at every phase of governance and on all decision-making levels of the Association there should be minority participation at least proportionate to the identified ethnic-minority population of that geographic level." These quotas prioritize identity over merit, dividing teachers and distracting from student needs. The handbook even attacks homeschooling, claiming "home schooling programs based on parental choice cannot provide the student with a comprehensive education experience"--ironic, given that only about a quarter of public school eighth graders are proficient in math despite $20,000 per student in annual spending.
placeholder

The NEA's federal charter, a privilege no other union enjoys, was meant to advance teaching and learning, not fuel a partisan agenda. With nearly $400 million in annual revenue from teacher dues, the NEA bankrolls Democratic campaigns while neglecting classrooms. Pringle's DNC ties and histrionic convention speeches ensure the NEA serves progressive politics, not educators. The union's 2025 convention in Portland, Oregon, doubled down this month. Ashlie Crosson, the 2025 NEA Teacher of the Year, declared teaching "deeply political." Resolutions read like a DNC war plan: one pledged thousands to smear President Trump as a "fascist," misspelling "fascism" as "facism." Another committed over $200,000 to evade a Supreme Court ruling allowing parents to opt out of gender ideology instruction. The NEA also vowed to fight Trump's immigration and education policies. In 2019, it rejected a resolution to "rededicate itself to the pursuit of increased student learning in every public school in America."

...

The STUDENT Act is a kill shot. Unlike revoking the NEA's charter -- a symbolic jab that wouldn't stop its antics -- this bill dismantles its power. It bans lobbying and political activity, choking off its Democratic pipeline. It ends racial quotas, ensuring merit-based leadership. It mandates annual reports to Congress, exposing Pringle's $400 million war chest. It prohibits strikes, keeping schools open for nearly 50 million students. It scraps the NEA's D.C. property tax exemption and requires informed consent for dues, ending automatic deductions.

Read the whole thing.

More: Randi Weingarten is looking to join up with the equally-popular Klaus Schwab.

Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers, dropped a bombshell last week at the union's annual convention in Washington, DC.

In a speech that could have been ripped from the pages of a dystopian novel, she announced a partnership with the globalist World Economic Forum to craft a new curriculum for America's schools.

If you thought Common Core's centralized, one-size-fits-all approach was a bad idea, Weingarten's latest move is the educational equivalent of saying, "Hold my beer."

The WEF, known for its unsettling vision of a future where "you'll own nothing and you'll be happy," is now being invited to shape the minds of America's children.

This is the same organization that cozies up to the Chinese Communist Party, promotes digital IDs and pushes foolish, industry-killing green energy schemes.

The AFT has been edging up to this alliance: When its members passed a resolution this spring calling for "climate-smart and sustainable schools," they explicitly cited the WEF as part of a push to "integrate the curriculum to facilitate comprehensive energy reduction."

Partnering with an entity that holds up authoritarian regimes as models is a five-alarm fire.

And considering the WEF's track record of championing policies that undermine industrial competitiveness, Weingarten's claim that the coming curriculum will lead to "good jobs and solid careers in US manufacturing" is laughable.

This move fits Weingarten's pattern: She has a craving for centralized power, and her union's history shows a knack for leveraging authority to bend institutions to its will.

As I always point out: Failing teachers always want to "reform the curriculum" because the only other alternative would be to fire the incompetent teachers, which the failure-factory-protecting teachers unions vow will never, ever happen.

If you can't fire the people actually to blame, you have to claim that some "reform" in the "system" is necessary. So every five to eight years we go through the same bullshit: Teachers fail, the public sees that they're failing, the teachers unions propose more changes to "the system" which results in even more failure but hey, it buys them another five to eight years until the cycle repeats.

We must destroy them.

This seems impossible but until six months ago it also seemed impossible to seal the border, deport the illegal alien criminals, rebalance world trade and defund PBS and NPR.

We can do this.

Meanwhile: The "experts" keep experting.

A Day of Shocks: Young Men Cannot Name a Single "Masculine" Democrat Except for Obama

—Ace

"Which Obama?" Greg Gutfeld asked.

Young American men do not have a long list of Democratic leaders they view as masculine, in fact, there really seems to be only one name on it.

A recent analysis of young men aged 18 to 29 by the think tank Third Way stated that most of the participants "struggle to name masculine leaders within the Democratic Party, outside of [former President] Barack Obama." Respondents recognized the Republican Party as the most masculine, and the party that best represented the interests of men.

"I make love to men every day, but in my imagination." -- Barack Obama in a letter to his "girlfriend" while in college

"The [Republican] party generally tends to put itself towards supporting the nuclear family," one respondent, identified as a young black man, said in the study. "One I mean, like I said, I'm a father. I'm a husband... you really can't get better at leadership and integrity than having to raise a family. And the Republican Party does do that very well."

...

"[Harris] talked a lot about the whole cultural thing," one respondent, also identified as a young black man, said. "But she didn't really address... the prices of everything going up that was actually going to change my day-to-day life... too much focus on cultural inclusivity and not [making] our lives as civilians a bit more tolerable."

The study used three focus groups of "soft Trump supporting young black, Latino, and non-college white men" from the seven battleground states between the ages of 18 and 29. Third Way said the men in their study tended to be less focused on ideology, low-propensity voters and less likely to consume political news.

Third Way is a self-described center-left think tank widely associated with the Democratic Party's moderate wing.

Lucas Holtz, a political analyst at the think tank, wrote that the findings of its focus groups "should give pause to anyone who wants to beat back the MAGA forces."

Kash Patel: We Found a Trove of RussiaGate Documents In a Secret Room at the FBI, Stuffed Into "Burn Bags" for Easy Incineration

—Ace

I guess they didn't burn these particular documents, though they had them at the ready to be destroyed.

FBI Director Kash Patel found a trove of sensitive documents related to the origins of the Trump--Russia probe buried in multiple "burn bags" in a secret room inside the bureau, sources told Fox News Digital.

Sources told Fox News Digital that the "burn bag" system is used to destroy documents designated as classified or higher.

Sources told Fox News Digital that multiple burn bags were found and filled with thousands of documents.

Sources told Fox News Digital that one of the documents FBI officials found in a burn bag was the classified annex to former special counsel John Durham's final report, which includes the underlying intelligence he reviewed.

Oh -- I guess the disclosures mentioned earlier, about a George Soros stooge coordinating with a Hillary Clinton operative to gin up the RussiaGate hoax, came from one of these burn bags.

...

Sources exclusively briefed Fox News Digital on some of the contents of the classified annex -- including that the U.S. intelligence community had credible foreign sources indicating that the FBI would play a role in spreading the alleged Trump--Russia collusion narrative -- before the bureau ever launched its controversial Crossfire Hurricane probe.

A source familiar with the contents of the classified annex told Fox News Digital that while it may not have been exactly clear in the moment what the intelligence collection meant, with the benefit of hindsight, it predicted the FBI's next move "with alarming specificity."

"Ultimately, the release of the classified annex will lend more credibility to the assertion that there was a coordinated plan inside the U.S. government to help the Clinton campaign stir up controversy connecting Trump to Russia," the source, who was granted anonymity to discuss sensitive intelligence matters that have not yet been made public, told Fox News Digital.

Dan Bongino says there is so much corruption he can't barely keep it together.

FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino posted a lengthy message on his official X account in which he vowed to bring the American people "the truth" after saying that he had learned things that "shocked" him.

"During my tenure here as the Deputy Director of the FBI, I have repeatedly relayed to you that things are happening that might not be immediately visible, but they are happening," Bongino wrote.

"What I have learned in the course of our properly predicated and necessary investigations into these aforementioned matters, has shocked me down to my core. We cannot run a Republic like this. I'll never be the same after learning what I've learned."

It is unclear what exactly Bongino was referring to in his post.

Dan Bongino
@FBIDDBongino

During my tenure here as the Deputy Director of the FBI, I have repeatedly relayed to you that things are happening that might not be immediately visible, but they are happening.

The Director and I are committed to stamping out public corruption and the political weaponization of both law enforcement and intelligence operations. It is a priority for us. But what I have learned in the course of our properly predicated and necessary investigations into these aforementioned matters, has shocked me down to my core. We cannot run a Republic like this. I'll never be the same after learning what I've learned.

We are going to conduct these righteous and proper investigations by the book and in accordance with the law. We are going to get the answers WE ALL DESERVE. As with any investigation, I cannot predict where it will land, but I can promise you an honest and dignified effort at truth. Not "my truth," or "your truth," but THE TRUTH.

God bless America, and all those who defend Her.
Respectfully,
Dan

SHOCK: National Crime Rate Falls as Gang-Members, Child Molesters, R*pists and Killer Illegal Aliens Are Deported

—Ace

I don't know how, but this must be Racism.

If some of you are Racism Experts and can explain to me why this is Racism, please let me know. I just know it's Racism but can't figure out how.

Is it Racist to object to violent crime? I think it is. Cincinnati's Big Fat DEI Police Chief sure seems to think it is.

FIRST ON THE DAILY SIGNAL--Violent crime is on the decline in the U.S. following the arrest and removal of criminal illegal aliens, the Department of Homeland Security announced Monday.

"Under President [Donald] Trump and [DHS Secretary Kristi] Noem, our law enforcement is working at lightning speed to remove violent criminal illegal aliens from the U.S.," Tricia McLaughlin, DHS assistant secretary, said in a press release given first to The Daily Signal.

"Every single day we are arresting gang members, murderers, pedophiles, and violent predators," McLaughlin said, adding, "70% of [Immigration and Customs Enforcement] arrests are of illegal aliens who have been convicted or charged with a crime. These arrests and deportations of criminal illegal aliens are having real impact on public safety."

During the first six months of 2025, homicides fell 17% across 30 U.S. cities when compared with the first half 2024, according to the Council on Criminal Justice, an independent research organization, which has just published its midyear report on crime trends in U.S. cities.

In the first six months of 2025, there were "10% fewer reported aggravated assaults, 21% fewer gun assaults, 10% fewer sexual assaults, and 3% more domestic violence incidents" when compared to the time last year, according to the report.

Robberies are also down 20% and carjacking fell by 24%. Vehicle theft was rising from the summer of 2020 through 2023, according to the Council on Criminal Justice, but the trend began reversing in 2024.

Since Trump returned to office on Jan. 20, the Trump administration has arrested nearly 300,000 illegal aliens and deported more than 239,000, according to DHS.

Pour one out for all the innocent, good Americans who have been killed by criminal foreign invaders that the Democrat Party (and also, the vanquished GOPe) invited into the country to murder us and our children.

A pair of Wisconsin teens who were killed in a wrong-way drunk driving crash caused by an illegal migrant "would be alive today" if she hadn't been allowed into the US, President Trump's Department of Homeland Security raged in an online post Monday.

Honduran national Noelia Saray Martinez-Avila, 30, was drunk and driving her SUV the wrong direction on a highway outside Madison, when she allegedly struck a vehicle and killed the two teens on July 20, according to police. Passenger Hallie Helgeson, 18, died at the scene, while 19-year-old Brady Heiling, who was behind the wheel, ultimately succumbed to his injuries five days later.

"Hallie Helgeson and Brady Heiling had their whole lives ahead of them--and they would still be alive today if it weren't for Noelia Saray Martinez-Avila--a criminal illegal alien from Honduras," DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement. But it wasn't Martinez-Avila's first rodeo.

She was convicted of driving drunk in November 2020 and has several subsequent traffic violations for driving without a license, speeding, following too closely and inattentive driving, according to the Wisconsin State Journal.

Due to her rap sheet, Martinez-Avila was supposed to have a device in her car that blocks the engine from starting if the driver has alcohol in their system, according to the local news outlet. However, she didn't have the device installed at the time of the fatal crash.

"Martinez-Avila recklessly drove the wrong way on a highway while intoxicated and killed these two teens."

DHS also raged over sanctuary policies in Dane County, where Madison is located.

"Unfortunately, this sanctuary jurisdiction has a history of not honoring ICE arrest detainers often leading to the release of murderers and other heinous criminals," McLaughlin said.

Cops found multiple open beer cans in the Chevy Suburban, which reeked of booze, according to the State Journal. Martinez-Avila also had glassy eyes and couldn't complete a sobriety test.

A San Francisco helped this illegal alien criminal avoid capture by ICE by issuing a retraining order against federal agents enforcing the law of the land.

Then he attempted to steal a car with a three-year-old inside of it.

Revealed: Formerly Classified Archive of the Durham Report Reveals That George Soros' Operatives Were Coordinating With Hillary Clinton -- and the FBI? -- to Push the False Russiagate Op and the Subsequent Coup

—Ace

Leonard Bernardo, a senior vice president in George Soros' communist subversion organization "The Open Society Foundation," wrote to Hillary Clinton's foreign policy advisor to tell them that the Russiagate Op would "distract from her missing emails" scandal and also that the FBI would "pour more oil on the fire" to boost the op.

Newly-declassified so-called Clinton Plan intelligence included intercepted communications from a George Soros ally which suggested that Hillary Clinton's 2016 campaign against Donald Trump was plotting a "long-term affair to demonize" Trump by linking him to Russian leader Vladimir Putin, and that the Clinton campaign expected that "the FBI will put more oil into the fire."

The revelations, including intercepted purported communications from Leonard Benardo, a top official at George Soros's Open Society Foundations, and communications by Clinton foreign policy adviser Julianne Smith, provide new insight into information that the U.S. intelligence community received in July 2016 -- just before the FBI launched its politicized Crossfire Hurricane investigation.

The bombshell allegations about a plot to falsely link Trump to Putin in an effort to distract from Clinton's classified emails scandal are found within a formerly classified but now largely-unredacted appendix from special counsel John Durham's 2023 report on the origins and conduct of the Russiagate investigation.

The intelligence received by the U.S. intelligence community, including the FBI, included information and analysis from purported emails from Benardo which detailed an alleged plot by Smith and others, with the approval of Clinton herself.

"During the first stage of the campaign, due to lack of direct evidence, it was decided to disseminate the necessary information through the FBI-affiliated...technical structures... in particular, the Crowdstrike and ThreatConnect companies, from where the information would then be disseminated through leading U.S. publications," the classified annex said. "The media analysis on the DNC hacking appears solid.... Julie [Campaign Advisor] says it will be a long-term affair to demonize Putin and Trump. Now it is good for a post-convention bounce. Later the FBI will put more oil into the fire."

The purported emails added: "HRC [Hillary Rodham Clinton] approved [Campaign adviser Julie's] idea about Trump and Russian hackers hampering U.S. elections. That should distract people from her own missing emails."

"The point is making the Russian play a U.S. domestic issue... In absence of direct evidence, Crowdstrike and ThreatConnect will supply the media, and GRU [Russia's Main Intelligence Directive] will hopefully carry on to give more facts," the alleged emails from Benardo said.

Durham said there is evidence to believe the Clinton Plan intelligence was authentic and that the Clinton campaign did carry out such a dirty trick.

"The office's review of certain communications involving Smith provided possible additional support ... to the notion that the Clinton campaign was engaged in an effort or plan in late July 2016 to encourage scrutiny of Trump's purported ties to Russia, and that the [Clinton] campaign might have wanted or expected the FBI or other agencies to aid that effort ('put more oil into the fire') by commencing a formal investigation of the DNC hack," Durham's classified annex stated.

The Durham classified annex also assessed that "it is a logical deduction [REDACTED] [Julianne] Smith was, at minimum, playing a role in the Clinton campaign's efforts to tie Trump to Russia" and that the communications reviewed by the special counsel "certainly lends at least some credence that such a plan existed."

And that's not all.

James Clapper threatened a whistleblower who refused to sign off on their illegally politicized "intelligence" product, telling him he would not be promoted unless he joined the conspiracy.

Margot Cleveland:

EXCLUSIVE: Clapper Crew Threatened Whistleblower Who Refused To Sign Off On Fabricated Intel Assessment

'You need to TRUST ME on this,' Clapper's crony told the analyst, saying he 'would need to demonstrate [his] ability to "outgrow"' the refusal to sign off on assessments he did not concur with.

A crony of then-Director of National Intelligence (DNI) James Clapper threatened to withhold a promotion from a senior intelligence official unless he concurred in the fake Intelligence Community Assessment (ICA) on Russia's meddling in the 2016 election, notes obtained exclusively by The Federalist show.

The notes made public for the first time today recount a conversation the top analyst in the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) had with an unnamed superior who worked closely with the then-Director James Clapper, according to sources familiar with the document.

...

Those notes capture the analyst claiming in early January that his supervisor told him, "There is reporting you are not allowed to see," adding that "if you saw it, you would agree" with the ICA. After noting he concurred "with varying confidence with most of the 2017 ICA's Key Judgements," the analyst explained that he "would need to review any reporting myself in order to consider it."

"You need to TRUST ME on this," Clapper's crony countered, stating to the analyst he "would need to demonstrate [his] ability to 'outgrow'" his refusal to sign off on assessments he did not share, in order to be recommended for a promotion. The analyst remained firm, according to the notes, which led his exacerbated superior to reply, "I need you to say you agree with these judgements, so that DIA will go along with them!"

The DIA is the Department of Defense's "Defense Intelligence Agency," and the notes explain that ODNI sought "to bring DIA on board as an additional IC Agency signing on to the 2017 ICA." The ODNI whistleblower then relayed that the conversation turned to the "DIA's supposed trust in me, and the necessity of me proving my 'corporate IC officer' bona-fides by doing what it took to bring DIA on board ..." The analyst refused to alter his assessment, and the DIA did not join the CIA, FBI, and National Security Agency (NSA) in signing off on the final non-compartmented versions of the ICA.

"I remember this conversation very clearly," the analyst explained, stressing "it was a difficult situation and I listened, and chose my responses, with care." "I was aware that I was defying the [National Intelligence Officer's] direction to me (to misrepresent my views to DIA) based on a conscious decision to adhere to IC standards, tradecraft, and ethics," the notes concluded.

As mentioned in the sidebar, former CIA case officer (and an important figure in the capture of high-value Al Qaeda terrorists like al-Zawahri) John Kirikou says that CIA agents are legally obligated to go to the Inspector General if other agents are politicizing intelligence. This whistleblower did go to the IG -- and was apparently ignored.

This may be why so few other agents blew the whistle -- because they knew that the agency was so corrupted that there were literally no uncorrupted high-ranking officials or Inspector Generals they could turn to without becoming targets of the Russiagate coupists themselves.

The Morning Rant: Minimalist Edition

—CBD

The disconnect between the Democrat party's platform and the will of many Americans is nowhere more clear than in the debate about transsexual lunacy and its expansion into the formerly axiomatic definition of Man and Woman. Add in their psychotic fixation on the chemical and surgical mutilation of children, and we have a clear vision of the evil of the Democrats and their willingness to destroy their image as a party of the people.

And that is a fantastic thing that the Republican party must use to its (and our) advantage. It makes the distinction between the parties obvious and simple, and energizes a normally quiescent segment of the electorate. There is nothing that focuses the minds of mothers and fathers more than threats to their children's' well being. And having some maniac blue-haired monstrosity in a position of influence in their public school whispering secretly that being a girl is much better than being a boy, and the switch is easy, is a terrifying and very real threat!

Here is a perfect example. Thank you Governor Stein for making public your desire to mainstream the psychosis of transsexualism! And calling us mean spirited because we don't agree.

More please!

North Carolina Lawmakers Override Dem Governor's Veto Of Bill Preventing 'Sexual Exploitation Of Women And Minors'

Gov. Stein vetoed the legislation on July 3, saying he supports the pornography restrictions in the original version of the bill, but he painted the revised version containing the other provisions added in the Senate as a “mean-spirited” attempt “to further divide us by marginalizing vulnerable North Carolinians.” Stein’s veto seemed specifically related to a section added to the legislation that requires state records to include both the “amended” and original version of birth certificates for those who are issued a new one after a sex “change.”

But unsaid is the obvious... He wants to let men into women's locker rooms and bathrooms. He wants to allow unaccountable bureaucrats take control of our children. He wants to blur the distinctions between men and women. He wants to allow our children to see horrid pornography.

Is that true? I don't know, but let's make the sonafabitch deny it! (apologies to LBJ)

[Crossposted at CutJibNewsletter and X/Twitter] And the Apple and Spotify feeds for CJN's podcast should be working!

Mid-Morning Art Thread

—CBD

An Anniversary
Edwin Dickinson

This strikes me as redolent of post-WW1 German expressionism.

The Morning Report — 7/31/25

—J.J. Sefton

Good morning kids.

First of all, congratulations to President Trump's nominee Emil Bove who was confirmed by the Senate to the third circuit court of appeals. Bove's nomination was a particularly bitter pill for the Dems insofar as he represented the President as his attorney during the Biden Junta's persecution of him with the bullshit allegations of improper retention of classified documents as well as supposedly trying to subvert the 2020 elections. Wow, you talk about projection!

So congratulations to Justice Bove, and here's hoping your trajectory does not mirror that of Amy Coney Island whitefish Barrett. But that said, the salient point here is the fact that, Surprise Surprise Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski joined the Dems in casting "No" votes making the final tally 50-49.

But adding insult to injury, we have this item:

President Donald Trump railed against Republican Missouri Sen. Josh Hawley on Wednesday afternoon following Hawley’s decision to join Democrats in tanking a measure that would have commissioned a government report on former Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s stock trading history. Hawley voted against a measure sponsored by Republican Florida Sen. Rick Scott to request information regarding the former speaker and her husband Paul Pelosi’s stock trades over the last 25 years during debate over a proposed stock trading ban Wednesday morning. Trump excoriated the Missouri Republican’s opposition to adding the Pelosi report as an amendment to the legislation and for working with Senate Democrats to pass a congressional trading ban that also curtails the president’s authority to trade stocks. (‘A Clown Show’: GOP Sen Teams Up With Dems To Advance Stock Trading Ban)

With Elon Musk's announcement of his intention to form a new political party all but disappearing from the headlines in the blogosphere and the propaganda press, I reiterate my assertion and appeal to him that his energy, time and money are better spent in a concerted effort to weed out the RINOs from the GOP and support actual America-first conservatives, be they under the MAGA banner or under whatever banner you want to label them, so long as they are 100% "down for the struggle" as it were, in opposing the leftist/Democrat globalists onslaught against the republic. Put aside whatever petty rivalry/differences with Donald Trump, whatever they may be, and put the nation first. More than anything else, that will burnish your credentials and/or image as it were as the patriot you have been projecting, to varying degrees of success since you first emerged as a political force to be reckoned with.

Switching gears we have a couple of truly disturbing stories that sadly are becoming more and more common:

First this nightmare:

Danville City Councilman Lee Vogler, 38, was allegedly attacked by Shotsie Michael Buck Hayes, 29 — who has since been placed under arrest — in the offices of Showcase Magazine. Hayes, according to the outlet’s publisher and local law enforcement, dumped a five-gallon bucket of gasoline over Vogler — and when Vogler ran out of the building, Hayes followed and set him on fire. . . According to multiple reports, Vogler and the suspect knew each other prior to the attack, and the motive is not believed to be political.

I cannot seem to find any information on the political affiliation of either Vogler or the Psycho who set him on fire. That said, I am seeing boilerplate sort of lines like this one from ABC quoting local police "the attack stems from a personal matter not related to the victim’s position on Danville City Council or any other political affiliation."

To me, given what we have witnessed between open borders, the Hamasniks on campuses, transexual mass shooters and so on, and how the media and public officials obfuscate motives almost immediately after an incident takes place, a statement like this reeks of covering up for Leftists/Democrats. And as is the case with the Left, the personal is always political.

What we need is common sense gasoline control to prevent immolation attacks Global warming! Pfft.

And to underscore my assertions, we have this item that happened a few days ago and has all but been buried by the propaganda press:

Recently, a large group of black youths began pummeling several white adults in downtown Cincinnati. The original altercation apparently broke out between a black and white male in he-said/he-said fashion. But that dispute soon turned into a virtual free-for-all. . .

. . . There were many disturbing aspects to the beat-downs. One, the violence broke out along racial and age fault lines. After the initial one-on-one dispute, groups of black youths swarmed solitary older white bystanders to pound them.

Two, the surrounding assembled group of black youths not only failed to intervene to restrain the bullies. They also recorded the beatings for social media and were heard cheering on the one-sided violence. . .

. . . Racialists too often concoct white racist attackers and go silent when the evidence proves fabricated—only to be primed to manipulate the next hoax.

Five, the media and authorities did their best to either hide or play down the violence. . .

. . . The country is descending into a tribal morass of double standards and racial fixations.

The diversity/equity/inclusion industry, the Defund-the-Police madness, and the perpetual left-wing hunt for “white racism/white privilege/white rage”—from the prior Pentagon hierarchy to the lunatic fringe of Jasmine Crockett, Joy Reid, and Zohran Mamdani—have all legitimized double standards while lowering the bar of the once unacceptable.

When our careerist left-wing elites seek to divide us by race and make it essential, not incidental, to our identities, that tribalist message filters throughout communities.

All I can say is If Barack Obama had a son an SS Division named after him, it would look an awful lot like this.

And lastly, a quick shout-out and thank you for your continued support in hitting our tip jar. It truly is appreciated more than you can know.

Have a great day!

ABOVE THE FOLD, BREAKING, NOTEWORTHY
• Victor Davis Hanson: Black teens beat white bystanders in downtown Cincinnati as police, media, and public figures stay silent—revealing a dangerous double standard on racial violence.
  The Cincinnati Cop-outs

Daily Tech News 31 July 2025

—Pixy Misa

• Spotify collects your private information and then leaks it. (The Verge) (archive site)
  
  Which doesn't sound so bad except that Spotify collects a lot more than your playlists.
  
  
  
• So do your sneakers. Here's why that's a good thing. Maybe. (Tech Crunch)
  
  Skechers makes kid's shoes that have a hidden compartment for an Apple AirTag. Which is great if your child has a habit of wandering off or you live in a crime-ridden left-wing shithole.

Wednesday Overnight Open Thread - July 30, 2025 [TRex]

—Open Blogger

Good evening Horde. The time has come for mid-week shenanigans of the overnight variety.

Welcome to the Wednesday night ONT. Pull up a chair and sit a spell. Be nice to your fellow commenters and AoS contributors.

***

***

Wholesome content:

If you’ve never experienced a Goldie 🤣 you’ve missed out 😆 pic.twitter.com/RqvLhyiZWQ

— G-PA (@IndianaGPA) July 27, 2025

***

I know what's happening and there are still parts of this that move too fast for my eyes and brain.

***

Real? I have my suspicions. But could be!

***

Strange things at Aldi. I can see why its time might be limited, but I would like to know what makes it a "premium buy."

***

Ouch.

***

Seems a little drastic, but I will admit to a few mornings in my younger years where my interest in morning movement was modest...

***

The odds of an amphibious moose attack may be low but are never zero.

***

***

Bottom story of the week: Blue Angels sued over free speech rights related to cat's death

The U.S. Navy Blue Angels are being sued for violating constitutional free speech rights after their performances allegedly terrorized a woman's pet to death.

The lawsuit begins with Lombardi, the plaintiff, describing how the U.S. Navy terrorized her "daughter," "silenced a citizen's free speech" and "brought disgrace upon the uniform." The "daughter" in question is her pet cat named Layla, who was suffering from a heart condition.

Lombardi described the training exercises as "auditory carpet bombing" and "state-sanctioned acoustic torture."

"Auditory carpet bombing." We call that the sound of freedom.

***

Come on. Really?

Golfer makes world record dream come true by sticking over 700 tees in her hair

A golfer who dreamed of breaking a world record knew exactly what to do after seeing Joel Strasser shove record numbers of things into his beard.

Anya Bannasch (USA) was inspired by her fellow American to break the record for most golf tees in the hair - managing an incredible 711 of them when she took the challenge on in Carlsbad, California, on 9 November 2024.

It was Joel's many records, including most candy canes in a beard (187) and most beard baubles in a beard (710) that spurred her on to finally fulfill her childhood dream.

The 45-year-old was aiming to get at least 400 tees in her hair and almost doubled it.

***

The Pittsburgh Police Scanner:

The Pittsburgh police scanner keeps giving. Thank you people of Pittsburgh (but please take better care of your gubs and ammo)!

***

The Fabulous Thunderbirds for the big ONT finish:

Bonus: Chuck Mangione closes out the 1980 Olympics at Lake Placid

***

There is no truth to the rumor that TRex has signed a modeling contract with American Eagle. Written correspondence can be sent to moronhobbies at protonmail dot com. Are you lurking ?? Thank you for your attention to this matter.

Close it up

Hoodoo Cafe

—Ace

Valley of Dreams, New Mexico
by willg_photography
More here

Otter (the good kind) playing on the ice.

Icy clear water in Alaska.

Grooming a teddy bear dog.

Doing man-stuff at the beach.

High winds turn a waterfall into a waterfly.

Kitten is overseeing her servant.

At Instagram, some very cool CGI renders of super-luxury space tourism hotels. (For once I realized they were fake before I posted!)

Saving an injured, orphaned baby emu. At 1:37 you can see the emu chasing the dog around a tree.

Tortoises being absolute superstars.

What a beautiful little snack!

Anatolian shepherd stands down a pack of wolves.

He's a terrible watchdog but such a good boy.

Another golden makes a poor watchdog (but is the best boy anyway).

Melting your drone to get good video of lava and it's worth the cost.

Dogger just relaxing at the beach.

Cats with good genes (who are obviously Nazis, especially the one with the Hitler mustache).

A temporary situation becomes more serious.

Great game for you and your cat and it's free.

Dog is packing for his trip, too.

When the missus wants a little somethin'-somethin'.

Trump impresses at his new golf course.

You don't sit in a dog's spot.

Peter Pan as performed by sheep.

Continue reading

Two More Trump Victories: Signs Deal With South Korea -- 0% Tariff on American Imports, 15% on Korean Imports -- and Forces Fake-Ivy University Brown to Drop DEI and Men in Women's Sports

—Ace

Plus $350 billy of South Korean capital invested in US business. Directed, supposedly, by the US.

🚨 BREAKING: Brown University has agreed to pay out $50 MILLION after the Trump admin cracks down on their woke, discriminatory policies

Brown will also BAN men from women’s sports and ditch DEI, opting for merit-based admissions

MORE OF THIS! 🔥 pic.twitter.com/jwLAJiJXQ4

— Nick Sortor (@nicksortor) July 30, 2025

BREAKING: Brown University has just SETTLED with the Trump administration for $50,000,000 and has agreed to end DEI programs!

The money will be paid out over ten years and will go towards job development in Rhode Island! pic.twitter.com/8OlmGLcj4F

— Gunther Eagleman™ (@GuntherEagleman) July 30, 2025

I don't know if Trump's figures are accurate or if he's just throwing out some Trumpian New Math.

But he says he's collected $150 billion in tariffs since they were imposed, and that's only been for a little while. He says next month he anticipates collecting $200 billion.

Or did he just mean $50 billion more, for a total of $200 billy?

Well, I'm assuming he meant $200 billion in one month.

If this is a bona fide projection, then we can expect $2.4 trillion, more or less, in tariff revenue per year.

The budget deficit is $1.9 trillion this year.

If you run the numbers... let me know what the numbers are.

'STUNNING': President @realDonaldTrump lays out the numbers revealing how his tariffs are raising revenue for taxpayers while leveling the playing field for American companies to compete around the world. pic.twitter.com/Jt1IqmStl0

— Fox News (@FoxNews) July 30, 2025

From the great Chris Plante:

Close it up

Steve Jobs' Widow's Vanity Magazine The Atlantic: Everyone Hates Jasmine Ratchet

—Ace

The Free Beacon's Andrew Stiles read it so that you don't have to.

Basic takeaway: She's so obnoxious that even The Atlantic has trouble polishing this turd. Thirty-three of her Democrat colleagues refused to comment about her -- refusing to offer the expected "she's great" puffery -- strongly hinting that she is absolutely despised, even by this crew of criminals, demagogues, and groomers.

It also indicates that everyone knows that everyone else will cook her, so no one wants to be known to have spoken to the "journalists" from the Atlantic: Naturally anyone known to have spoken to them will be suspected of having trashed her.

So they just pretend "I don't even know this ratchet bitch."

[E]ven the liberal journalist was repulsed by Crockett's toxic narcissism. As a sign of how poorly it went, the congresswoman called the Atlantic reporter, Elaine Godfrey, days before the story came out to complain that the journalist had been contacting her colleagues in the House "without telling her first," and proclaimed that she was "shutting down the profile and revoking all permissions," which isn't a thing.

Yeah that sounds like her. Bold. Brash. Borderline illiterate.

The article portrays Crockett as a self-infatuated wannabe influencer who "monitors social-media engagement like a day trader checks her portfolio." She brags about having the "largest social-media following" on the House Oversight Committee, and makes sure to notify the reporter that her YouTube rant about ICE agents being "out of control" was approaching 800,000 views. She would often tout her social media metrics while meeting with House Democrats during her failed bid to become ranking member of the Oversight Committee. "The base is thirsty," she told one freshman colleague. Out of the four candidates who wanted the job, Crockett finished last.

"During many of our conversations, Crockett wore acrylic nails painted with the word RESIST, and a set of heavy lashes over her brown eyes," Godfrey writes. "The lock screen on her phone is a headshot of herself." She does not come across as someone who is particularly pleasant to work for. Godfrey notes that Crockett called her office to berate a staffer in the middle of an interview.

...

Not surprisingly, Crockett's glory-hounding antics have aggravated many of her fellow Democrats. Godfrey notes that 33 House Democrats she contacted for the story "either declined to talk with me on the record or didn't respond to my interview requests." A number of Democratic staffers suggested that Crockett's colleagues were reluctant to criticize her publicly, but have expressed concern privately about her lack of discipline. "She likes to talk," one of the staffers said. "Is she a loose cannon? Sometimes. Does that cause headaches for other members? 100 percent."

More at the Free Beacon. The narcissistic no-account says she's thinking about running for governor of Texas, insisting that Texas is actually a blue state, just "vote-repressed."

In addition, fellow unaccomplished dim-bulb diva AOC seems to be jealous that another female moron is getting attention and "likes" on TikTok.

Jasmine Ratchet is forcing herself into another story, and not for any good reason.

Texas is planning to re-draw its legislative districts for partisan advantage, which is perfectly legal. Democrats oppose the effort, which is also legal.

Though they're going to resort to illegal means to do so. They're planning on denying a quorum in the Texas legislature by "fleebagging" again, running away to another state. (Texas police can arrest them and deliver them to the State House if found in Texas.)

But flying around the country to avoid arrest is expensive, and Texas fines truant legislators $500 a day. Last time they did this, they just paid the fines with campaign dollars.

Republican legislators closed that loophole, and the law now forbids the use of campaign donations to pay legal fines.

But Jasmine Ratchet has a solution -- just lie about where the money came from. Just claim it's a "salary" from a side-gig.

From the Texas Tribune:

Rep. Jasmine Crockett, a Dallas Democrat who was part of the 2021 quorum break, sees a path to circumvent the campaign finance rules: With minimal limits on external income, Texas lawmakers can simply accept the donations as another salary, she said. As one of the most prolific fundraisers in the U.S. House, Crockett said she's willing to tap her donor base -- and her $3.7 million war chest -- to cover the expenses.

That's illegal. I don't just mean lying, I mean Ratchet's suggestion that people should lie about where their money comes from, and that she will help them.

A "conspiracy" is a simpler-than-you'd-imagine crime: A conspiracy is simply an agreement between two or more people that one or more of them should commit a felony. You don't have to commit the felony to be guilty of conspiring to commit the felony; the conspiracy -- the agreement itself -- is the crime.

You can be guilty of conspiracy to murder even if the murder never comes off. Again, the crime is the conspiracy itself, not the crime you agree to commit. (You can withdraw from a conspiracy but only by taking action that makes it clear you no longer wish the crime to be committed, like... calling the cops.)

There is some case law that you have to commit at least one "overt act" in furtherance of the conspiracy, just to establish it was a real agreement and not some loose talk. If Ratchet does in fact call a single one of her donors, that's an overt act in furtherance of the conspiracy she's already publicly announced.

I don't know Texas law but it is surely a felony for a politician to lie about his sources of income to evade campaign finance laws, so Jasmine Ratchet's urging of others to commit this crime, along with her promise to help commit this crime, makes her a conspirator to commit the crime herself.

She pretends she's a lawyer. She should know all this.

But, you know: None of the letters in "DEI" stand for excellence or achievement or earning it.

Arrest this ratchet criminal.

Two of the Criminal Thugs from the Cincinnati Street Lynching Are Arrested, But At Least One is Released on a $400 Bond, as Morbidly Obese DEI Police Chief Blames the Beating on the Bartender Who "Overserved" the Thugs

—Ace

This cannot continue.

Two arrested in brutal Cincinnati mob attack; one was freed on bail despite serious charges

CINCINNATI - Cincinnati Chief of Police Teresa Theetge announced during a public safety meeting on Tuesday that two people have been arrested in connection with a downtown attack that left two people seriously injured over the weekend.

The chief said 34-year-old Montianez Merriweather and 24-year-old Dekyra Vernon were arrested, though no charges were announced.

Hamilton County jail records also omit the charges that both suspects face.

FOX 19 in Cincinnati reported that the Hamilton County Prosecutor's Office said three warrants have also been issued for additional arrests.

The Cincinnati Fraternal Order of Police (FOP) Queen City Lodge #69 thanked the Cincinnati Police Department for arresting the two people so far in the "heinous attack" that occurred on Saturday morning.

The FOP also shared a previous incident in which Merriweather was indicted on July 10, 2025, for receiving stolen property, weapons under disability, improper transportation of a firearm and other charges.

Another Gentle Giant. He was thinking of applying to CUNY and starting a career as a rapper.

Per a story linked at Hot Air, he was released on all of these charges -- carrying a gun despite a "disability," meaning illegally carrying a gun as a felon -- on a bond of $400.

The post also noted that Merriweather was released on a $4,000 bond, though he only needed to post 10%, or $400 to be released.

"This is your court system," the FOP post read.

Well, it's not his fault, is it? It's never the fault of a member of a Protected Democrat Group.

Note he was released for the gun charge for $400, and on this charge, also for $400.

Obviously they did not charge this guy with anything serious.

Because the real villain here is... a bartender. She says this at 2:40. She's going to use "all investigatory techniques" to move the blame away from Protected Democrats.

She continues calling this savage attack "a fight." And she insists she will charge anyone on "either side of the fight." So the white guy who got put into the hospital is just as guilty as the wilders who repeatedly stomped on his head when he was down.

And she refuses to tell us what they're being charged with. Because she's charging them with basically nothing.

Kamala Harris: I'm Not Running for California Governor, I'll Be Keeping My Options Open for Any Other Ways I Can Serve the People In the Future (Like in 2028, Maybe)

—Ace

Fox News @FoxNews

Former Vice President @KamalaHarris
announces that she will NOT run for governor of California: "For now, my leadership and public service will not be in elected office."

For now.

File this under Least Surprising Headlines of the Day. Democrats have been "bemoaning" her threat to run for governor.

"She Comes In With Baggage': California Dems Bemoan Potential Harris Gubernatorial Bid Former VP 'would only fire up Republicans and hurt' Democrats, a California House Democrat says

Matthew Xiao
July 28, 2025

As Kamala Harris weighs a run for California governor in 2026, state Democrats are expressing their fears that the former vice president "comes in with baggage" that could hurt the party down-ballot and energize Republicans.

"There's no groundswell for [Harris's] candidacy," one California House Democrat told CNN on condition of anonymity. "In fact, I think it would only fire up Republicans and hurt our ability to win the four to five seats that we need to win the House and hold on to three seats that we just flipped in 2024."

"She comes in with baggage," the Democrat said.

Other California Democrats expressed frustration that Harris appears more focused on staging a 2028 presidential bid than on leading California. "Once you're the vice president of the United States, there's only one place to go--it's president," Rep. Jimmy Gomez (D., Calif) told CNN. "For me, if I was vice president and all of a sudden I lose, it would be a fallback to me. I hate to put it so bluntly."

Some major Democratic donors and interest group leaders, meanwhile, are insisting that Harris still needs to answer for her failed presidential bid last year, according to CNN. Harris took over the Democratic nomination from then-president Joe Biden and went on to lose to Donald Trump, failing to carry a single swing state.

...

This isn't the first time that California Democrats have publicly aired doubts about Harris, who said that she will make up her mind about a gubernatorial bid by late summer.

"Kamala just reminds you we are in this complete shit storm," a California Democrat who contributed six figures to her presidential bid told Politico last month, noting that another Harris candidacy would only remind Democratic voters of the "traumatizing" 2024 election.

California Democrats faulted her for treating the office of governor of the seventh biggest economy in the world as a Safety School.

From her previous statements, I previously concluded that she is trying to interest donors into setting her up in "charity" grift in which she will be paid a salary, given luxury offices, have travel and hotel paid for worldwide tours, and have a 24-hour-per-day professional chauffeur service. She doesn't really want any office where she'd be expected to actually perform or make decisions.

You know-- the exact same grift they set up for Hillary Clinton and her mutant Deep One spawn Chelsea.

But Kamala is willing to threaten runs for governor and the presidency (again) to get Democrat mega-donors to pay her to go away. They will have to open up their checkbooks is they want to focus on (right hand up and to the front) What Can Be (left hand down and to the back) Unburdened By What Has Been.

GDP Grows Strong 3% in Second Quarter

—Ace

The 3% rate is the annualized growth rate, that is, what the annual growth rate would be if this quarter were repeated four times.

It's a solid number -- a strong number. In my own mind 3% is the baseline for a "strong" rate of growth. The economy can grow more, but 3% is where the "strong" range begins.

Even the AP is forced to concede this is "strong" growth.

But note that immediately after conceding that the second quarter showed "surprising" (that means "experts predicted the opposite") "strong" growth, they immediately begin undermining that fact, talking up foreigners' and leftists' "concerns" about the economy.

And then they keep talking about the 0.5% contraction in the first quarter, talking about the old news of the first quarter more than the new news of the second quarter.

The U.S. economy expanded at a surprising 3% annual pace from April through June, bouncing back at least temporarily from a first-quarter drop that reflected disruptions from President Donald Trump's trade wars.

Still, details of the report suggested that U.S. consumers and businesses are wary about the economic uncertainty arising from Trump's radical campaign to restructure the American economy by slapping big taxes -- tariffs -- on imports from around the world.

Weird, huh, that the only time that the left admits that taxes slow economic growth is when Trump imposes tariffs? They deny that Democrat tax hikes slow growth. In fact, they've been screaming about Trump's tax cuts without ever once conceding that lower taxes spur growth.

"Headline numbers are hiding the economy's true performance, which is slowing as tariffs take a bite out of activity," Nationwide chief economist Kathy Bostjancic wrote.

The "experts" keep predicting rising inflation and slowing economic growth which never actually arrives, and of course the Steno Pool Media repeats these Democrat talking points.

America gross domestic product -- the nation's output of goods and services --rebounded after falling at a 0.5% clip from January through March, the Commerce Department reported Wednesday. The first-quarter drop, the first retreat of the U.S. economy in three years, was mainly caused by a surge in imports -- which are subtracted from GDP -- as businesses scrambled to bring in foreign goods ahead of Trump's tariffs.

Boy you almost forget that the new GDP number is 3.0% because they won't stop talking about the brief Biden-era 0.5% contraction six months ago.

Check this out:

The bounceback was expected but its strength was a surprise: Economists had forecast 2% growth from April through June.

The "experts" keep failing in their predictions, so let's keep making the "experts'" predictions the main topic of conversation, rather than the 3% growth.

The New York Times takes the "let's keep talking about the first quarter even though we have the second quarter's data in now" tactic to the next level.

The Times doesn't want to acknowledge that the GDP grew by a strong 3%, so they average it with the first quarter number -- still suffering under Biden, and with Trump's policies not even close to enacted yet -- to talk about the first half-year's average GDP growth.

I think this is the first time in economic reporting history that anyone has ever descended to this level of hackery -- let's ignore the actual new numbers to focus laser-like on numbers from six months ago.

One claim these hacks are making is that the GDP growth isn't really that strong because a drop in imports boosts domestic GDP. So, they're saying, we just stopped importing foreign goods, and this sparked domestic production, so it doesn't really "count."

Two things, though:

1, the whole Trump economic plan is built on the idea of taxing foreign imports to reduce the levels of imports to spark domestic economic production. So the left is saying that even though Trump's plan is working as designed, it doesn't count, because they're neoliberal c*nts who want to offshore all production to foreign countries.

2, the only reason we had a "contraction" in the first quarter is because businesses overbought foreign goods to buy them before Trump's tariffs kicked in, and increasing imports reduces the GDP. So while they're saying that the 3% growth isn't "really real" because it's based on falling imports, they continue to insist that the first quarter's "contraction" is really real even though that "contraction" was largely an artifact of HIGHER imports.

When trade effects reduce GDP, highlight the lower GDP and pretend it's all really real. But when trade effects increase GDP, highlight the trade effects and denigrate strong 3% growth as not really real at all.