Wednesday Morning Rant

—Joe Mannix

The common refrain among many regarding poor corporate performance when it correlates with knee-jerk, all-in wokeness is "get woke, go broke." It's sometimes true, but it's often the exact opposite. It is not unheard for essentially healthy companies to go through the "Woke Pivot." When that happens, results are mixed. For Gillette and Bud Light, it is certain that their lurches into contemporary leftist ideology and marketing caused catastrophic and irreparable damage to their brands. Others have had a different experience. Nike and Target were both early boarders of the woke train, and it doesn't appear to have hurt them. It's now part of the brand identity.

But otherwise healthy companies jumping into wokeness with both feet is somewhat unusual. Often, it's more of a high-risk gambit to turn things around. Companies or brands will go through a Woke Pivot in response to structural problems in their businesses. This is almost certainly behind Victoria's Secret's disastrous leftward lurch. For companies like VS, it isn't a matter of "get woke, go broke" - it's a matter of "go broke, get woke." So, too, is likely the case with Jaguar.

As Ace covered yesterday (standard warning: don't comment on old posts), Jaguar has seen a total sales collapse in Europe as compared to last year. Last year's weak performance was followed by this year's disastrous performance. People are pointing at last year's equally disastrous ultra-woke, ultra-stupid, ultra-poorly-timed and extremely loud Woke Pivot as a major cause. It might be - but there's more to this story. From the Daily Caller article:

Jaguar's European sales plummeted by 97.5% and year-to-date figures show a 75.1% decline in sales, with just 2,665 units sold from January to April 2025. Globally, Jaguar's performance dropped sharply from 180,833 units in 2018 to 26,862 units in FY24/25, holding a market share of just 0.1% in both Australia and the U.K.

So European sales were an unmitigated disaster, but worldwide saw nowhere near the declines that Europe did - but declining they are, and across the board.

So how common is this? I decided to look at a decade's worth of Jaguar/Land Rover (JLR) annual reports and the chart of global Jaguar units sold (taken from the summary of each year's report) paints a stark picture:

With the exception of a modest bump last year, Jaguar's sales have been collapsing since 2018. Jaguar is a dying brand. It's also doing other dumb things many others have mentioned (going all-EV at precisely the wrong time, just at it went all-woke at precisely the wrong time, etc.), but the core problem is that people aren't buying Jags anymore. This year's sales decline and the European sales catastrophe - while notable and extremely dramatic - is just an acceleration of the long-existing trend. The car-buying market has no love for Jaguar, and its sales reflect that.

So they tried for the Woke Pivot. Facing brutal sales declines, an engineering pipeline focused entirely on EV powertrains, shifting market preferences and various other issues, Jaguar made a different play. It is a common and downright normal play: make a lot of noise, do something they think will shock the squares, and go hard at prog messaging in the hopes of bringing in new customers to replace their old customers. It didn't work, and almost certainly made things worse.

From what I could find, Jaguar's customers are, for the most part, well-to-do people who are solidly into - or even on the cusp of exiting - middle age. More men than women buy (or, rather, bought) Jags. With their traditional market of well-off middle-aged men and their wives drying up, they tried to bring in young people and women, and did it in the stupidest way possible - by alienating their core customers and turning themselves into a laughingstock. This was never going to work anyway (young people, by and large, can't afford Jags), but the way they pursued it was also perhaps the most destructive and dumbest way available to them. Alienating your core customers is never likely to get new customers to beat a path to your door.

But like so many companies, Jag is not an example of "get woke, go broke." They were going broke, so decided to get woke. As usual, it didn't work.

Close it up

Mid-Morning Art Thread

—CBD

Feast of St. Nicholas
Jan Steen

The Morning Report — 7/ 2 /25

—J.J. Sefton

Good morning kids. And so this so-called Big Beautiful Bill has passed the Senate. No I did not read this phone book-sized bill, nor if I had would I have had the time to go through it to see what's really what. Given the nature of the Leviathan of a bureaucracy that we have been saddled with at least as far back as FDR's New Deal which has been metastasizing to this day, regardless of who sat in the Oval Office and which party controlled Congress.

With that admission, I still feel that perhaps a corollary to the revolting 'We have to shred the Constitution in order to preserve the Constitution: We have to borrow and spend trillions in order to stop borrowing and spending trillions?

So, okay, Trump so far scores a political "win" thanks mostly to VP J.D. Vance casting a tie-breaking vote because 3 RINOs decided to cross the aisle and vote No on the bill.

Yeah, I didn't read the bill but here are the Cliff's notes:

Chuck Schemer retitled the bill, but they kept all the waste, fraud and grift, added a couple dozen extra "This Page Left Intentionally Blank" pages, and changed the dedication from Satan to Paul Ryan, and Chuck Schumer's Mohel and Trichologist.

So we absolutely had to pass this monstrosity because MAGA!

RUFKM?!

The Senate began what is known as a vote-a-rama on Monday morning — a rapid series of votes on dozens of proposed amendments to Trump’s big, beautiful spending bill. As of 5:00 a.m. on Tuesday, the vote-a-rama was still ongoing. One of the most disappointing results came on a measure seeking to block illegal immigrants from receiving Medicaid benefits, which failed by a vote of 56–44. Senate Parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough had previously determined that the “Byrd Rule” applied in this case. Because a reconciliation bill — a type of budget bill — requires only a simple majority of 51 votes for passage, the Byrd Rule imposes restrictions on what provisions can be included. Measures deemed to be “extraneous” to the budget must secure a supermajority of 60 votes to pass. As a result, the proposal to remove undocumented immigrants from Medicaid failed by just four votes. . . If it weren’t for the Senate Parliamentarian’s interference, this vote would’ve succeeded with just 51 votes. pic.twitter.com/7eztg2RicE

Yeah, we can blame this Cunning Runt parliamentarian (transpose the C and the R) all we want, but the fact remains, the Wetbacks get our money when they should be running "Serpentine!" in Alligator Alcatraz. Meh, keep the Medicaid, send Murkowski, Collins and Thune there. Or strap them to a MOP and drop them onto the FOrdow Foundation!

Look, God bless President Trump and for the miracle of his victory last November and for his amazing accomplishments here and abroad in just six months. But if I'm out of line about the criticism of this bill, I'm open to any reasonable argument as to why.

And what's up with the President's position on illegal aliens vis a vis farm and hospitality workers? They get dispensation because why?

It was a great decision on his part, to show mercy to farmers, whose crops would be rotting in the fields in short order if every farm worker had to be in pristine immigration status. Crops need to be harvested immediately or there are no crops. Like food shortages? No farmers, no food.

Yeah, I get it. While I suppose it does avoid temporary short-term pain as well as political blowback if shortages mess up a booming economy. But then again, the whole point as he and others have been touting is the creation of jobs for Americans. No pain no gain. It also allows his enemies to paint him as a hypocrite and ridicule a key component of the MAGA agenda. Perhaps to be charitable it's a strategic retreat.

Elsewhere, Los Angeles is continuing its devolution with anti-ICE demonstrations that Karen Bass-tard is doing nothing about and/or encouraging. And we did capture an Iranian spy scoping out Jewish targets for mass murder attacks, along with some Chi-COm spies.

Meanwhile, the rise of this Mamdani momzer in NYC is causing the relatively sane among the Democrat base in NYC and nationally to be freaking out. Why, I have no idea, because the conventional wisdom is that this maniac is where the Democrat Party has been heading for decades. The objection is not necessarily his policies and worldview, it's the fact that he's open and honest about it that is causing the Dems to freak out. They win when they pretend to be as American as apple pie, hot dogs and Chevrolet (and can make their election thievery look kosher).

Whose Side Are Democrats Really On? . . . Cheering for the enemy

It's not that the Democrats are on the side of the enemy, It's that the Democrats have been America's greatest enemy for two centuries and counting.

Mamdani? Everywhere you turn it's Mamdanis all the way down.

Boston Muslim Illegal Alien Councilwoman Replaces July 4th Before Going to Prison. . . July in Boston will now be Cabo Verde Independence Month.

BUT . . . there is some good news to report, here's a smattering:

for example on the illegal alien front,

as well as the religious freedom front

And the Second Amenment...

and the transexual madness front.

Looks like Will Thomas had to tuck his tail, instead of his John Thomas and head for the hills at UPenn,

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!

Daily Tech News 2 July 2025

—Pixy Misa

• Search engines like Google and Bing will be required to verify the age of users from Australia by the end of 2025, forcing them into safe mode if they are logged in and under the age of 18. (Information Age)
  
  Which is stupid for many reasons, not least of which even under the law it doesn't work if you're not logged in.
  
  
  
• In more surprising but more welcome news, Chris Elston - "Billboard Chris" on Twitter - and Elon Musk won in separate cases against Australia's "eSafety Commissioner" Julie Inman Grant and some random crazy lady who goes by the name of Teddy Cook. (MSN)

  In the post, Mr Elston, who goes by the name Billboard Chris on X, slammed the proposed appointment of Mr Cook, a biological female, to a World Health Organisation panel on healthcare delivery.

  The post reads: "This woman (yes, she's female) is part of a panel of 20 'experts' hired by the WHO to draft their policy on caring for 'trans people'. People who belong in psychiatric wards are writing the guidelines for people who belong in psychiatric wards."

  Speaking of random crazy women:

  Ms Grant labelled the remarks "degrading" and issued a takedown notice to X on March 22, threatening the company with a fine of up to $782,500 for any refusal to remove the post.

  Not only is the relevant law stupid - which is the ground state in these matters - but Australia's Administrative Review Tribunal ruled that Grant broke the law in forcing the content to be taken down.
  
  Elston and Musk sued separately to have the posts restored, and both won.

Tuesday Overnight Open Thread - July 1, 2025 [scampydog]

—Open Blogger

Good evening and welcome to the Tuesday ONT of digital sanitation. A collation of abandoned drafts, lukewarm takes, and general decluttering.

Attention Lurkers

Per the Official AoS Handbook, subsection 4b, all lurkers are encouraged to submit one (1) comment per quarter. Today marks the start of Q3 on the Gregorian calendar, so go ahead and check this task off your list. Dive in and join the lively chatter.

Acceptable topics are whatever you want. This is an open thread. Some ideas to get you going:

-Anything chaotic
-Commentary on the content (lightly skimmed/ignored is expected). We know about the content reading/lack thereof
-Anything random, weird, or questionably relevant (weird is very on-brand)

Members of the 50 Cent Army, Internet Research Agency, and other state-sponsored propaganda squads: you're excused. Sit this one out.

*****

As the cool kids say, "Stay with it to the end."

Watch this vid before you take your kids with you to work 😂🤣 pic.twitter.com/63fDs3KAKW

— 🔥⭐️Edwin⭐️🔥 (@Nuked4Every1) June 24, 2025

*****

Operation Midnight Hammer is officially in the books.

Let's see what else is tucked away in the archives. Some amusing military operation names.

Operation Frequent Wind. And more.

Operation Frequent Wind was the 1975 evacuation of Americans and Vietnamese citizens from Saigon before it fell. So we’ve established this was a pretty big deal and our side comes up with “Operation Frequent Wind” for a name. Leave it to a bunch of military guys to make a fart joke around one of the most visible missions in history.

*****

There are a fair amount of thoughts around: What the hell is the DOJ spending their time doing?

The Tuesday ONT is here for you. Here is the link to their press release page. Searchable by date and keyword. Some interesting reading.

*****

Life Skills - Rites of Passage: Polishing shoes - dead art? Walk in heels (only those that can define what a woman is). Properly pressing a shirt? Dressing appropriately for any occasion? Change a tire? Apply nail polish? How to tie a tie? Share some life skills - rites of passage in the comments.

Had the opportunity to have an incidental learning session with a young man recently on how to properly tie a tie. I prefer the 1/2 Windsor but the military knot and full Windsor have their time and place. My mother actually taught me how to tie a tie.

Pretty much every imaginable knot at this link. Never learned how to tie the bow tie - they do make it looks sexy in the movies when a woman ties it on a man.

High heels seem like a torture device. I suspect there is value - on those occasions when they must be worn, in knowing how to operate those creatures. Is there a song or something? Heal, toe, short step, short step.

Don't take long strides in your heels. As tempting as it can be to strut your stuff, you've got to learn how to walk before you can run. Take small steps by planting your heel firmly on the ground. Roll through the ball of your foot, push off with your toes, and keep your strides controlled and short. Avoid overextending your legs. Focus on maintaining a steady pace and distributing your weight evenly. Take your time to adjust to the height and feel of the heels, gradually increasing your stride length as you gain comfort and support.

*****

Not what you expect it to be.

Such a good boy😂😂. pic.twitter.com/06oj8V6Lh5

— SonnyBoy🇺🇸 (@gotrice2024) June 24, 2025

*****

What could possibly go wrong? Large banks are ramping up leverage again.

In the early 2000's, large bank leverage was roughly 20 to 1. Sometime around 2008 they increased to 30 to 1 (and I lost my mind). Previous life - the company I worked for did some deals with Lehman - thankfully prior to their demise. Current ratios are running about 10/15 to 1.

Uh huh, tell me about those low-risk assets. Way too deep of a topic to litigate in an ONT post, but plenty of room in the comment section for those interested or read in on such things.

ESLR (enhanced supplementary leverage ratio).

Large U.S. global banks can expect as much as $6 trillion in additional balance sheet capacity and billions in freed up capital under a Federal Reserve plan to relax leverage rules, Wall Street brokerages estimated Thursday.

The U.S. Fed unveiled a proposal on Wednesday that would overhaul how much capital large global banks must hold against relatively low-risk assets, as part of a bid to boost participation in U.S. Treasury markets.

Here is a deeper dive.

The relationship between the Treasury market and leverage ratios, and the ESLR in particular, is intuitive: Since a leverage ratio requires the same amount of capital for every asset with the same nominal value, it incentivizes banks to move away from low-risk assets like Treasuries and toward higher-risk, higher-yielding assets. Risk-weighted capital requirements incentivize banks in the opposite direction-toward lower-risk assets. But when the minimum required leverage ratio is high enough, it can dominate bank decisions on how to allocate capital among asset classes and activities. This effect is likely to be especially pronounced for banks with relatively higher amounts of trading activity-both because Treasuries are the most traded asset in the world and because of their use as collateral in repo transactions.

Before the ESLR was adopted in 2013, Federal Reserve officials (including me) discussed internally whether the new requirement of a 5% SLR for G-SIBs might interfere with monetary policy implementation or the smooth functioning of the Treasury market. Given expected levels of Treasury debt and reserves, they did not anticipate a problem. But many, both inside and outside the Fed, recognized that the ESLR might in some future circumstances adversely affect the Treasury market, especially during a period in which hedge funds and other institutions holding Treasuries needed to monetize them to obtain liquidity. Banks approaching their minimum leverage ratio would not be able to take more Treasuries onto their balance sheets.

*****

One of those silly songs that has hung in there.

Charlie Rich, Behind Closed Doors from 1973. Went to #1 on US Country Songs and #15 on the US Billboard Hot 100.

I'm not on Spotify, but it is a popular tool. Most streamed song by year. A lot of streaming! Streaking was the '70's, or so I was told.

Parents, what have you done, or do you still do that embarrasses your littles?

Poker Face - Lady Gaga, 2008. Some Moron used that as their alarm on their phone for a couple of years to annoy their children. Daaaad!!!! You're not cool enough to know that song. You're embarrassing!

*****

Technically, none below are wrong - all will be consumed. However, let's not pretend there isn't a hierarchy of proper "doneness." Prepare for opinions. Loud ones. Friendships may be tested. Some of you will get this wrong - the correct response is somewhere between 1.5 and 2. Scampywife insists that 6 is the correct carbon state of bacon.

Good Morning Y’all ☕️🥓
3-4 perfect bacon pic.twitter.com/e0Mi96XLIB

— LaylaTexas77🌹 (@LaylaTexas77) April 3, 2025

This ONT is brought to you by: If you're here, you survived Pride Month. Congrats.

Also, No Go Zones.

*****

Last minute ONT additions:

Happy Bobby Bonilla Day. One of the greatest sports stories of this generation.

As has been the case since 2011, Bonilla today will receive a $1.19 million annual payment from the Mets, a continuation of a deferral structure created in 2000, and lasting until 2035. Overall, the Mets deal, thanks to the deferrals and compounded interest, has turned an initial $5.9 million contract obligation to Bonilla into nearly $30 million for the six-time All-Star.

Trump wins again. UPenn male swimmer cosplaying as a woman has swim records stripped.

The university will also issue formal apologies to every biological female competitor who lost out to a transgender competitor following an investigation by the Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights (OCR).

*****

My proton email account is kaput. I'd like to say it was something clever that I did, but it wasn't. Testing out - coming soon, the new and improved... Atomic mail.

Close it up

Big Cats Cafe

—Ace

A golden tiger, a snow white tiger,
a Bengal tiger, and a white tiger

An old vid: lions run to hug and kiss their old caregiver.

Sassy snow leopard. Fixed: Now contains infinity percent more snow leopard.

When you're on safari, you have to expect some cheetahs are going to get into your car.

Baby tiger pounces on mom.

Mother cat introduces her kittens to the dog.

An "octopus tree" grows suspended above a trail. It's not the Octopus Tree in Oregon.

Rollin' up to the cops wearing a Michael Myers mask.

Dog slithers through a fountain.

Dog slithers down a hill.

Dog loves seeing the FedEx guy even more than the owners do.

Compilation of older dogs meeting the new puppies.

A little tough to watch but very poignant: A compilation of dogs grieving the fellow pets that have passed.

Dog meets the new pupper.

Caution: Falling trees.

Baby elephant plays chase with dog until he gets frustrated and goes cryin' to mama.

Steve Inman:

A quick street beatdown for a skel who attacked a citizen's car.

More street justice for car-assaulters.

Classic street justice for antifa road pirates.

The street tax paid for bothering people on the street is getting higher.

Teaching some hooligans some manners.

Some beatdowns for people who have earned it.

Old man breaks out the pimp hand.

Not Inman, but related: How Switzerland deals with Hamas street-blockers.

Also related: Would-be arsonists and low-IQ criminals succeed only in setting themselves and their car on fire.

Being funny wasn’t enough — had to hit every beat too!😂🎵🎬 pic.twitter.com/lMo8sjvWlE

— Nina Deer (@longdepzai_n) June 25, 2025

Kings of the valley 🐐 pic.twitter.com/u7zGqbxhFR

— Nature is Amazing ☘️ (@AMAZlNGNATURE) June 26, 2025

It can't all be cats:

A new kind of therapy pic.twitter.com/wkiggDErkr

— dog (@Dog__Dog0) June 30, 2025

AI is making me doubt every video I post here:

Can you tell the difference between reality and AI?pic.twitter.com/XhOvH20Txw

— Massimo (@Rainmaker1973) July 1, 2025

Close it up

Quick Hits

—Ace

New absurd Hamas jihadi propaganda drops:

This may surprise you, but the 33-year-old former "rapper" and jihadi communist Zohran Mamdani has about the same level of basic competence as Alexandria Donkey-Chompers.

He claims he will pay for his "government run grocery stores" using "subsidies" that are currently paid to for-profit grocery stores.

But the government isn't paying these stores money -- they're merely giving them tax breaks. And these tax breaks are offered to accomplish the left-wing goal of opening grocery stores in the left-wing hallucination of "food deserts."

There is no money just sitting around waiting to be spent.

When Zohran Mamdani, the New York Democratic mayoral nominee, defends his idea of socialist grocery stores, he says he can pay for them by cutting city subsidies to "corporate grocery stores."

This claim is based on a basic misunderstanding of the city's current grocery subsidies. The money he plans to use to pay for his city-owned grocery stores is money the city doesn't have.

Specifically, he wrongly believes that the city is spending $140 million to subsidize private grocery stores, and he thinks he can take half of that money and use it to build government groceries.

..

According to Mamdani, his five grocery stores would cost $60 million.

"That should be compared to the city's existing program called City FRESH, where they are set to spend $140 million, subsidizing corporate grocery stores ... So we would take less than half of the money the city is already set to spend, and actually deliver results," he said.

What is this FRESH program?

The Food Retail Expansion to Support Health is a bundle of tax breaks and special regulatory relief for grocery stores that open up in so-called food deserts: poor neighborhoods where the city has concluded residents don't have adequate access to produce and other healthy foods.

The subsidy includes some tax breaks: building taxes stay at the pre-improvement level for a few years, land taxes are abated, there are some tax breaks for building the store, and some of the transfer taxes are cut. (The store still collects and remits sales tax, pays payroll taxes, pays corporate income taxes, et cetera.)

The FRESH program can also include some zoning and regulatory relief.

The tax breaks have saved the grocery stores a few million dollars each year.

If you take those tax breaks away, these stores in the "food deserts" will probably close because companies have determined it's a money-losing proposition to open up stores there. Which is fine by me, but ending the tax breaks does not suddenly make money appear in the government's bank accounts.

The Democrat-Media Party keeps claiming that Mamdani isn't a communist just as much as Biden wasn't senile.

You will not be surprised to learn that the Democrat-Media Party is lying.

Just the News:

Zohran Mamdani, the self-described "democratic socialist" and presumptive Democratic Party nominee to be mayor of New York City, has been supported by so-called "fact-checkers" and legacy media in denying that he is a Communist -- but his oft-repeated past comments strongly contradict his denials. Mamdani is a member of the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA), but he denies that he is a Communist.

An investigation by Just the News shows that in tweets, speeches, and affiliations, Mamdani, at his core, holds a strong affinity for straight-up Communism: praising and campaigning with a Marxist state senator in New York; declaring that NYC needed a mayor just like a famously young Indian mayor who was a member of an explicitly Marxist and Communist Party; praising the 1917 Russian Revolution which led to the overthrow of the Czar and, soon, the establishment of the Soviet Union at the cost of millions of lives; arguing about the need to "seize the means of production" in a reference to a core Marxist principle; praising famous radical Communist figures; and much more.

After the win by Mamdani on Tuesday, President Trump weighed in by declaring Mamdani "a 100% Communist Lunatic."

...

The self-described fact-checking website PolitiFact declared last week that "Zohran Mamdani is favored to win the NYC mayoral primary. Claims he's a communist are False." The outlet said that "some politicians and social media posts falsely labeled him a communist" and that "experts say he hasn't espoused key tenets of communism, such as government takeover of industry and private property."

PolitiFact also alleged that "accusing Democrats of being communists or communist sympathizers is a frequent misleading attack line by some Republicans" and that "it is a red scare tactic that has existed in U.S. politics for decades, but has been transformed by the success of some democratic socialists."

...

The denials notwithstanding, Mamdani's own words may very well reveal what is behind the facade.

Mamdani has repeatedly praised his fellow "comrades" in the DSA, and seems to have been especially close with New York State Sen. Julia Salazar, who endorsed him and with whom he campaigned during his 2020 run for the New York state assembly, and whom he also praised and thanked for her endorsement when he was running for mayor in 2025.

Salazar is a self-described "Democratic Socialist" who has repeatedly declared that she is an avowed Marxist. Mamdani made it clear in 2020 that he was well aware of Salazar's Marxist views -- and strongly suggested he agreed with them, meaning Palestinian-American activist Linda Sarsour is not Mamdani's only controversial close associate.

...

[Salazar] tweeted that "I'm a Marxist" in January 2019, and tweeted again in April 2020 that "I have a Marxist worldview." Salazar tweeted again that "to be clear, as ever, I'm a Marxist" in October 2023.

Salazar also played a role in helping Mamdani win during his 2020 race for New York state assembly. Mamdani repeatedly touted being endorsed by Salazar in his 2020 race, and the two collaborated on issues and virtually campaigned together in the lead up to the election.

...

Mamdani has also repeatedly praised famous Communist figures and leaders. A tweet by him from December 2020 was especially striking, as it suggested that he believed NYC needed a Communist mayor -- a job he would pursue himself just a few years later while denying that he is a Marxist.

"them: so what kind of mayor does nyc need right now? me:" Mamdani tweeted as he shared a Twitter thread from the Indian Puducherry State Committee of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) -- or the CPI(M).

"Comrade Arya Rajendran, age 21, new Mayor of Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala. She will be the youngest mayor of a major city in the world. Here she leads a detachment of Red Volunteers in @CPIMKerala. #CPIM #LeftAlternative #Communist," the Indian Communist Party tweeted. The profile for that branch of the Communist Party included a hammer and sickle emoji in its Twitter description.

...

When Mamdani tweeted in June 2020 that NYC should pull down a statue of Christopher Columbus, among the three options he suggested for statues to replace Columbus was a famous Italian Communist.

"In 2017, NYC ordered a review of public works constituting "symbols of hate" for potential removal. But a statue of Columbus remains in Astoria, in defiance of the values of humanity, empathy & justice that we stand for. It has to go. Sign the petition," Mamdani tweeted. He then ran a Twitter poll, asking, "The Italian-American community has a rich history in Astoria. Who should we honor instead? Tony Bennett (Astoria native, music icon) Walter Audisio (Communist partisan, killed Mussolini) Sacco & Vanzetti (Executed due to anti-Italian sentiment)."

...

Mamdani has repeatedly posted approvingly about the Russian Revolution of 1917 and the fall of Czar Nicholas II, which soon ushered in Communist rule in Russia and the establishment of the brutal Communist-led Soviet Union.

Mamdani tweeted in March 2023 -- and then again with the exact same language in March 2024 -- praise for the 1917 February Revolution in Russia, which led to the abdication and murder of the Romanov family and the Bolshevik takeover.

"On March 8, 1917, women textile workers in Russia organized a massive strike, calling for 'bread and peace,' an end to war and the fall of the Czar. A week later, he abdicated. Women received the right to vote. The 1st #InternationalWomensDay in Russia was a revolution," Mamdani tweeted in both 2023 and 2024.

An analysis by History.com made it clear that this February Revolution -- named such because the Russians used the Julian calendar -- led almost directly to Vladimir Lenin's dictatorship in Russia.

...

Mamdani spoke of "the end goal of seizing the means of production" in 2021 while he was a New York state assemblyman.

Karl Marx's book Das Kapital repeatedly uses the term "means of production," which has become a central pillar of Marxist theory. "Capital is dead labor, that vampire-like, only lives by sucking living labor, and lives the more, the more labor it sucks," is just one example of the phrase appearing in Marx's work.

...

Momdani seemed to have previewed this sentiment in a December 2020 tweet. The Democratic Party had tweeted that "the Biden-Harris administration is committed to rebuilding an economy that welcomes everyone as full participants." That didn't go far enough for Mamdani, who responded by saying that "if we want everyone to be full participants in the economy, we need worker ownership of the means of production."

Mamdani hasn't just used the "Comrade" moniker for his Marxist ally Julia Salazar, but it is rather a term of endearment he repeatedly uses with his fellow DSA members and allies.

The term "comrade" has a long -- but not exclusive -- association with Communist movements. Soviet Union dictator Joseph Stalin was referred to as "Comrade Stalin" and Chinese Communist Party dictator Mao Zedong called himself "Comrade Mao" -- among many such examples. When Mamdani spoke at the YDSA winter conference in February 2021, he referred to the other elected socialist officials as his "comrades."

Mamdani loves to call his fellow leftwing and socialist candidates his "comrades" on Twitter. As one example, he tweeted his congratulations to Lee J. Carter in November 2019 when the Virginia socialist won reelection in the Virginia House of Delegates.

The Cheapfake Media is claiming that it was just some youthful exuberance that has led Mamdani to repeatedly call for the seizing of the "means of production" and delivering them over to the proletariat.

He was 30 when he said these things. He's now 33.

The Democrat-Media Party is also trying to claim that "seizing the means of production" Akshually Isn't Communist at All. It's just seizing the money and equipment of the exploitative capitalist class and turning them over to the revolutionary proletariat to be held communally, that's all.

Where are you seeing "communism" in this, Bigot? Is it because his face is slightly more brownish than yours, Racist?

Trump's DOJ is suing California for its insurrectionary blocking of federal agents from carrying out their appointed duties.

The DOJ lawsuit targets Los Angeles' sanctuary city ordinances, claiming they directly violate federal law and enable illegal aliens to evade deportation. The complaint links Los Angeles' refusal to cooperate with immigration enforcement to recent "rioting, looting, and vandalism" that forced the deployment of the National Guard and U.S. Marines. U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli said the city's policies "contributed to a lawless and unsafe environment," adding that the Constitution "prohibits the City from picking and choosing which federal laws will be enforced."

FBI chief Kash Patel says he will shut down the J. Edgar Hoover Building and move FBI operations to the Ronald Reagan Building.

FBI Director Kash Patel is shutting down the J. Edgar Hoover building and moving its headquarters across Washington to the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center, with President Donald Trump touting the move, telling Fox News Digital that the FBI "will finally have the kind of building they deserve."

Fox News Digital exclusively obtained a Tuesday memo Patel sent to the FBI, notifying employees of the relocation, and stressing that it is "most cost-effective way" to serve the American people, Fox News Digital has learned.

Patel, in May, first hinted that the bureau would be reallocating its workforce around the country, and would move agents out of the J. Edgar Hoover Building, which opened in 1975.

The FBI and the General Services Administration (GSA) have been looking at options for a new FBI headquarters for more than a decade, including locations near D.C. in Maryland and Virginia.

"Team, the FBI Headquarters will be moving down the street to the Ronald Reagan Building, and the Hoover building will be shut down," Patel wrote in the memo, exclusively obtained by Fox News Digital.

Trump told Fox News Digital that the Ronald Reagan Building is "a wonderful building," and said the FBI is "a wonderful group of people.

"The FBI will finally have the kind of building they deserve," the president told Fox News Digital. "Congratulations to Kash Patel, Dan Bongino and all the great people at the FBI."

At least they're not going with the Wray/Biden plan of spending billions of taxpayer dollars on a new, completely-undeserved Palace of Justice.

Nick Sortor @nicksortor

BREAKING: USAID has OFFICIALLY ceased operations, Secretary Rubio announces

This was a TOP priority of @ElonMusk while he was at DOGE, even calling it a "CRIMINAL organization."

The Democrat slush fund for kickbacks and corruption is no more.

Here's how CNN reported it:

The Fake Republicans in the Senate Screwed Us and the Fake Republicans in the House Are Complaining They Didn't Screw Us Enough

—Ace

Here's how our liberal "Republican" Senators screwed us on the Big Bloated Bill:

Changes to phase-outs of clean energy tax credits in the bill remained central to the final hours of debate among Republicans, as hard-line conservatives have called for strict, swift cuts and more centrist lawmakers pushed for extended wind-downs to avoid major market and investment disruptions.

The now-passed Senate bill includes steep cuts for these tax credits, ending incentives for wind and solar projects placed in service, meaning operational and plugged into the grid, by the end of 2027.

Moderates were able to squeeze in a carve-out allowing projects that begin construction less than one year after the bill is enacted to claim the credit. Any projects that start construction after that time frame must be operational and in service by 2027 to be eligible.

This is a fake cut: they have rigged these "cuts" so that no money will be cut at all.

Alex Epstein @AlexEpstein

Senate fails to terminate Green New Scam

The Senate bill *looks like* it has a 2027 "placed in service" cutoff for new solar/wind subsidies.

But one last-minute paragraph makes it worthless--because projects making a recoverable 5% investment in the next 12 months are exempt!

The idea of a 2027 "placed in service" cutoff was that new subsidies would actually end during the Trump administration.

But under the last-minute carveout, Big Green has 12 months to initiate as many subsidized projects as it wants using the insanely-easy-to-meet "construction" threshold. (All you need to do is commit 5% of expected project cost to buying re-sellable assets like solar panels.)

Once they declare "construction"--e.g., in July 2026--they'll have 4 years (e.g., July 2030) to "place in service." And then some of those projects, e.g., most wind projects, will get 10 years of subsidies.

So we'll still have wind subsidies on Donald Trump's 94th birthday!

Here's how much worse the Senate bill just got:

* Two days ago: "Placed in service" by 12-31-27--with new subsidized solar/wind projects stopping very quickly, and Trump being able to let subsidies truly end.

* Today: "Placed in service" by JULY 2030--with new subsidized solar/wind projects absolutely spamming the rid and ripping off taxpayers like never before, and Trump having no control over whether the subsidies end.

The current Senate bill is arguably worse than the original Senate Finance one. At least that bill decreased solar/wind subsidies starting in 2026 to 60%. The current bill just increased them to 100%.

The current bill is a solar/wind lobbyist's dream. It does not terminate the Green New Scam in any way, shape or form. It absolutely perpetuates it. And offensively so, I might add, by keeping the "placed in service" cutoff language so many people courageously fought for, then totally undoing it with a single last-minute paragraph that makes it worthless.

If the Senate wanted to extend the Green New Scam it should have said so, not insulted our intelligence by trying to bury the extension in one sneaky little paragraph.

PS Several Senators have already told me they didn't know about or understand this last-minute paragraph. If that's the case they should do whatever they can to fix the situation.

An unnamed Republican congressman sounds off about the "shit sandwich" the Senate RINOs are trying to force on the House.

But unfortunately he's not calling for more cuts, but for fewer. He objects to the Senate cutting Medicaid.

Reese Gorman @reesejgorman

Vibe check in the House from one GOP member:

"The Senate took a bill that had a year's worth of work in it - and in a month turned it into a shit sandwich. They're trying to jam the House, because they think they're this sacred body. In reality they're sending back a bill that members of my Congress can't defend because they don't understand Medicaid like they need to."

The Hill talks about the Medicaid cuts in the Senate version of the Big Bloated Bill.

Senate Republicans on Tuesday passed the largest cuts to Medicaid since the program began in the 1960s, a move that would erode the social safety net and cause a spike in the number of uninsured Americans over the next decade.

The tax and spending bill is projected to cost more than $3 trillion during that time, but it would be partially paid for with about $1 trillion in cuts to Medicaid.

Almost 12 million lower-income Americans would lose their health insurance by 2034, according to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO).

It still needs to pass the House again, where some moderate Republicans have expressed concerns about the cuts.

The Washington Examiner's fact check says that Medicaid isn't being cut, only the rate of growth is being slowed. But it does impose work requirements on able-bodied adults without children who were allowed to enroll in Medicaid by Obama.

Senate Republicans are defending their changes to federal Medicaid spending in their final push to pass President Donald Trump's budget reconciliation bill before Independence Day, arguing that the bill does not technically cut the health insurance program for disabled and low-income people.

Republican leadership has insisted for weeks that the One Big Beautiful Bill Act is not primarily a healthcare reform package, but reductions in Medicaid spending have been a crucial piece to recoup some of the costs from the sweeping tax cuts that take center stage in the legislation.

...

Democrats have waged a multimonth campaign against what Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) has called the "big ugly betrayal" by saying that the bill will decimate coverage for low-income people.

...

"We are fiscally making Medicaid more sound," Marshall said. "It's only in Washington, D.C., that you increase spending at a rate faster than inflation and you call it a cut."

Sen. Ted Budd (R-NC) posted on X on Sunday evening that Medicaid spending has increased by more than 200% since 2008 and by roughly 51% since 2019, largely due to increases in enrollment from the Medicaid expansion population of able-bodied adults without dependents.

The Congressional Budget Office's projected federal spending on Medicaid and Obamacare increased by $1.9 trillion, increasing 25% from 2021 to 2025, according to conservative think tank the Paragon Health Institute.

Robing Rudowitz, vice president at the healthcare think tank KFF and Medicaid policy specialist, told the Washington Examiner that the CBO's analysis of the most up-to-date version of the bill "will reduce federal Medicaid spending over the next ten years by about $1 trillion relative to expected federal spending without the legislation."

Much of the spending cuts come from imposing work requirements on able-bodied adults without dependents and changing federal reimbursement rates for the Medicaid expansion population.

Medicaid eligibility was extended to able-bodied adults without dependents under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010, better known as Obamacare.

No wonder that craven RINO congressman spoke anonymously, and to the left-leaning The Hill.

Unrelated: What's a Cuck Chair?

What's a cuck chair? You might have seen the term online, often in jokes about hotel rooms. But is there more to it?

A "cuck chair" is a slang term for a chair facing a bed, linked to the idea of passivity. The word "cuck" comes from "cuckold," an old term for a man with an unfaithful wife.

In this post, you'll learn the history behind the term, its cultural impact, and why the meme continues to spread.

...
The term "cuck chair" has an unusual yet fascinating history, deeply rooted in language evolution, cultural shifts, and internet meme culture. While it may seem like a recent phenomenon, its origins trace back centuries to the words "cuck" and "cuckold."

...

In contemporary online debates, the term often symbolizes perceived emasculation or powerlessness, particularly in discussions surrounding masculinity and vulnerability. This usage appears frequently in social media, forums, and satirical commentary.

Design Features of a Cuck Chair

Traditional Design

Historically, cuck chairs were designed for practicality and affordability, often found in homes of the less affluent. Their defining characteristics include:

Armless Design A simple structure without armrests, making it easier to move and reposition.

Low-Seated Typically sits lower than standard chairs, emphasizing a subtle, passive seating posture.

Portable & Lightweight Designed for convenience rather than comfort, allowing for easy relocation.

You'll want it light so you can move it to the closet at your convenience.

These features made cuck chairs affordable and functional. They were often used as secondary seating, not meant for extended relaxation but rather temporary use in different settings.

Kristi Noem: We Are Investigating CNN for Promoting an App That Allows Radicals and Criminals to Track Indivdual ICE Agents' Movements

—Ace

The Democrat-Media Party's browshirts are attacking ICE agents and posting pictures of their family members along with threats to harm them, and CNN decides to advertise an app that allows antifa, trantifa, and assorted other criminals to track them.

Wesley Hunt @WesleyHuntTX

Is CNN pushing an app that helps DOXX ICE agents in real time?!

The app "ICEBLOCK" tracks the movements of federal agents and has the potential to put their lives at risk, and CNN is running a "story," on it.

Will Apple and Google keep this in their app stores?

Will Congress act as fast to ban this as they did with TikTok?

Because if exposing American law enforcement to danger doesn't raise red flags, what will?

Poll: Thomas Massie Would Lose to a Republican Challenger?

—Ace

Thomas Massie votes against all spending bills because he wants to be able to fundraise off of that questionable honor.

And now Trump and Musk are on opposite sides of Massie's reelection. Musk wants the House to vote against the Big Bloated Bill, and Trump wants them to vote in favor of it.

Musk says he will support Massie if he's primaried:

Tesla CEO and former Trump administration special employee Elon Musk says he'll back Rep. Thomas Massie in his 2026 primary race after President Donald Trump vowed to fund a primary challenger for the Kentucky Republican.

"Every member of Congress who campaigned on reducing government spending and then immediately voted for the biggest debt increase in history should hang their head in shame! And they will lose their primary next year if it is the last thing I do on this Earth," Musk, who led the administration's Department of Government Efficiency, posted Monday on X.

Former Michigan GOP Rep. Justin Amash replied to Musk, asking whether he'd support Massie after he came out against Trump's "big beautiful bill" over concerns of it adding to the deficit.

"I will," Musk responsded.

Trump is highlighting a new poll showing that Massie is on thin ice.

Not just for the budget dispute, but for opposing Trump's strike on Iran.

Kentucky Rep. Thomas Massie is losing support among Republican primary voters in his own district, a new Kaplan Strategies poll shows. He now trails challenger Nicole Lee Ethington as voters turn on him for opposing major parts of President Trump's agenda.

Key Details:

Only 19% of likely GOP voters in Kentucky's 4th Congressional District say they would vote to reelect Massie no matter who challenges him -- a number that drops to 14% if Trump endorses an opponent.

In a head-to-head matchup, Massie trails Ethington 31% to 19%, with a majority of voters still undecided.

Massie's unfavorable rating stands at 62%, while Trump's favorability among respondents hits 89%.

Diving Deeper:

Congressman Thomas Massie is entering his 2026 reelection bid with little margin for error, according to a new poll from Kaplan Strategies released Monday. The poll, conducted June 23--24 among 368 likely Republican primary voters in Kentucky's 4th District, shows Massie lagging well behind challenger Nicole Lee Ethington in early support -- and facing sharp disapproval over several key votes.

Ethington, a registered nurse, currently leads Massie 31% to 19% in a hypothetical primary matchup. A significant 50% of voters remain undecided, but the underlying numbers signal deep dissatisfaction with Massie's record. Just 23% of respondents view him favorably, compared to a commanding 62% who view him unfavorably. President Donald Trump, by contrast, enjoys 89% favorability in the same poll -- and a Trump endorsement would drop Massie's support to just 14%.

The poll highlights a growing rift between Massie's libertarian-leaning approach and the prevailing MAGA sentiment in the GOP base. According to Kaplan Strategies, large majorities of voters expressed concern with Massie's past votes:

72% say they're less likely to support him because he opposed Trump's tax cuts and budget,

69% disapprove of his vote against the Take it Down Act, which would criminalize deepfake revenge porn,

58% are less likely to vote for him due to his opposition to Trump's pro-Israel policy stance.

Hey, it's a slow news day. Give me a break. I've got to put up anything close to newsy.

Trump Tours "Alligator Alcatraz;" Agrees to Let DeSantis Deputize National Guardsmen as Immigration Judges to Speed Up Deportations

—Ace

The left is always complaining that we need judges to handle the huge wave of illegal third-world immigration they encourage.

Okay, how about National Guard soldiers sworn in to be immigration judges?

This is the kind of innovation in government I'm looking for.

President Donald Trump on Tuesday said he would approve Florida's plan to expedite deportations by having qualified National Guard members work as immigration judges.

Trump made the announcement during his visit to a new state-run immigration detention center in South Florida dubbed Alligator Alcatraz.

For months now, Gov. Ron DeSantis has sought the approval of the federal government to deputize Florida National Guard Judge Advocate General Corps. officers to act as immigration judges.

On Tuesday, Trump said he is in favor of the plan.

"He didn't even have to ask me. He has my approval," Trump said during a roundtable discussion at the immigration detention center in the Everglades.

DeSantis on Monday said having the National Guard work as immigration judges on site at the detention center could fast-track deportations.

On Tuesday, DeSantis said his goal was to cut through "bureaucracy."

Because the detention center is built on an old airstrip, DeSantis and others have also said it will speed up the deportation process by allowing the federal government to fly migrants out of the site.

Attorney General James Uthmeier, who was instrumental in the detention center's planning, said on social media Tuesday that it was a "one stop shop for immigration enforcement."

"Come in, get your 'process,' and fly out," Uthmeier said.

I love it. Unfortunately he's not talking about just making thousands of National Guardsmen judges, just Guardsman in the judge advocate corps. Lawyers, then.

Jaguar's Sales Drop by 97.5% After Bizarre Gender-Blender Rebranding Campaign

—Ace

Congratulations, Jaguar. You took your brand, which had been associated with prestige, achievement, and masculinity, and turned it into the Drag Queen Story Hour of automobiles.

Here was there disastrous ad, if you've banished it from your memory:

Do you sell cars?

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 19, 2024

No, they sell what all corporations are selling these days: Marxism and child-grooming.

The Daily Caller reports that desire for the once-desirable brand has collapsed.

Jaguar's sales in Europe have plunged dramatically, with only 49 vehicles registered in April 2025, a 97.5% drop from the 1,961 units sold in the same month the previous year.

Jaguar's European sales plummeted by 97.5% and year-to-date figures show a 75.1% decline in sales, with just 2,665 units sold from January to April 2025. Globally, Jaguar's performance dropped sharply from 180,833 units in 2018 to 26,862 units in FY24/25, holding a market share of just 0.1% in both Australia and the U.K.

These sales figures follow Jaguar's bold rebrand in November 2024, which departs from its traditional identity. The luxury automaker unveiled a new logo and advertising campaign that notably excluded depictions of cars, instead featuring androgynous models in vibrant attire, with slogans like "Copy Nothing" and "Live Vivid," positioning Jaguar as a modern, inclusive brand.

Critics slammed Jaguar's rebrand for straying too far from the brand's performance-focused roots, accusing it of pandering to a "woke" agenda.

So another woke corporation chases off its old "pale and male" customer base to replace them with... nobody.

Or maybe with this guy:

Few on the woke far-left have the money for bus fare never mind a Jaguar. And they wouldn't want to buy something so associated with yucchy male-centered traditional notions of achievement and excellence even if they did.

So you wiped out billions in corporate value for a virtue signal.

Was it worth it?

Today ist the day on Sprockets when ve set fire to all of our shareholder value.

Close it up

Big Unbeautiful Bill Passes Senate with Vance's Tie-Breaking Vote

—Ace

It now moves back to the House, which will either vote for it or add amendments.

Nick Sortor @nicksortor

BREAKING: Trump's One Big Beautiful Bill has officially PASSED the U.S. Senate, with JD Vance breaking the tie

It now heads back to the House for a vote on the changes made.

It COULD still hit Trump's desk by July 4th.

The Morning Rant: Minimalist Edition

—CBD

American Exceptionalism! What a grand and glorious thing...driven by (among other things) the self selection of exactly who comes here. Until fairly recently it was incredibly difficult just to arrive on our shores. Weeks or months-long voyages with no guarantee that one would survive the trip, only to arrive in America and have to fend for one's self. No immigrant support system for 16th (or 17th or 18th or 19th or even 20th) century arrivals!

And imagine the decision to leave Bavaria or Prussia or Ireland or Holland or Sweden or Poland or Russia Italy or any of the other sclerotic and rigid countries that sent its most adventurous and brave citizens to our shores. Nothing was sure for these people; it was a great unknown, they knew it would be incredibly difficult, yet they did it!

And the result is the greatest country in the history of the world. Sure, there are places with better discrete things. Mass transit is one: I'll take the London underground or the Paris Metro any day over the NYC or San Francisco or Chicago transit systems. And European trains are great! French and Italian food? Ooh la la! The list goes on and on, but add them all up, and what do you get? Because you have to consider everything, not just the good stuff in Europe and the rest of the developed world. Count everything, like our incredible physical beauty, and amazing room for everything, and our freedom to do whatever the hell we want, which is buttressed by our flawed but still amazing Constitution, not to mention big washing machines and great air conditioning and big cars and endless vistas and huge houses and great barbecue and an absolutely incredible ethos that makes the low trust societies of most countries on earth a miserable and pale and diminished reflection of us.

The United States of America is the greatest country in the world! Yet there are many among us who see this wonderful place as irredeemably broken, and a place to sneer at and mock and yes...hate.

What happened to the Democrats of America? Are they so coddled and soft and unappreciative that they despise the very thing that created the conditions necessary for them to be free to have their vile opinions? Only 36% of them are proud of their country? Have they finally been co-opted by the progressives in their midst who fervently desire a socialist hell hole in place of America? Has the never-ending drumbeat of denigration of America coming from off our shores finally taken effect? Has the long march through our institutions that was designed to destroy the concept of American Exceptionalism among our youth finally bearing fruit for the socialists?

The answer of course is: Yes to all!

But the next question is: what can we do about it?

I think that the Trump administration's efforts to hold Harvard University accountable for teaching the very things that lead to Democrat hatred of America is a powerful broadside in defense of American Exceptionalism, and it is hopefully the first of many such efforts.

The Department of Defense is doing a huge amount to destroy the post-modern malaise that has infected our armed forces, and a rejuvenated and vigorous armed forces is a valuable counterweight to hatred of country.

The Department of State, led by the impressive Marco Rubio has shifted the onus of legal entrance into America onto those who wish to come here. If they break the rules, their visas are withdrawn! No more visitors who preach against us.

The Justice Department, in fits and starts, is attacking the premise of that twisted, culture-destroying lunacy of transexualism. No boys competing with girls!

That is a snapshot of what the government is doing, but there is much more to be done, and it must be done by all of us. Love of country is not passive, it is an active part of life, and must be pursued lest it wither.

Is your local high school flying the gay flag alongside the American flag? Go complain at a school board meeting. Does your workplace have a flag pole? If not, suggest one that flies our flag...proudly. Does your idiot 2nd cousin jabber during Thanksgiving dinner about the evils of white supremacist America? Give him a gentle lesson in reality. Write letters to your local paper, shop at businesses that support America, and tell the ones that don't why they aren't getting your money.

There are so many things that we can do to defend America from those who would tear it down. Maybe you can't do all of them, but perhaps you can do one of them...every day...every week...every month!

Being proud of America isn't difficult; there is so much to be proud of!

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

PS. Some of you might be aware that long-time commenter "Jay Guevara" passed away recently. In addition to his erudite comments on a wide range of topics, including his profession as a professor of chemistry and later in the private sector, he contributed to AoSHQ as an Open Blogger on the general topic of "Science Isn't Dead, But It Is Ailing."

I had the pleasure of meeting him and his charming wife, and we had many discussions over the years about pretty much everything, including his lifelong attachment to baseball, both as a player (he played organized ball for most of his life) and as a knowledgeable fan. He also joined me and J.J. Sefton on our podcast a couple of times. He was a polymath, with the insatiable curiosity of someone who is fascinated by the world. In our conversations I could always count on his rigorous and logical perspective, and it was a joy!

He leaves his wife and son, about whom he bragged and bragged!

He will be missed.

Mid-Morning Art Thread

—CBD

There might be something worth zooming in on...

The Morning Report — 7/ 1 /25

—J.J. Sefton

Good morning kids. Evidently some severe thunderstorms really fouled up air travel at key airports up and down the east coast yesterday, well into the evening.

So, given the spate of air incidents earlier this year on top of what I imagine standard operating procedures for air traffic control in the event of severe weather might be, I can see how the dominoes can cascade. But still, after how many decades of global air travel, you'd think we'd have a handle on this by now, so that the impact would've been kept to a minimum. Or given the volume of air traffic today, perhaps what happened yesterday was the minimum.

For some reason, one of the better websites AmericanGreatness dot com which features such notable authors as Victor Davis Hanson as well as Larry Sand who covers the education beat, is down. If anyone has a line to the editors there, see if you can suss out what's going on and shoot me an e-mail. Hopefully they'll be back up soon.

Meanwhile, as I wrote about yesterday and had suspected would be the case, we still have no definitive explanation for why this maniac set a wildfire and then gunned down two firefighters in cold blood who responded to the scene. Somewhere, there is a Venn diagram perhaps with Transexual, Muslim, Climate Change stooge, Anti-Ice/open borders terrorist, Trump-hater, or bog-standard off-the-shelf Pyromaniac. And so the convergence point is the biggest question mark of all.

It happens every time there's a high-profile crime. Law enforcement officials, in collusion with social media companies, surreptitiously disable the social media profiles of suspects, leaving Americans in the dark about their motives and political leanings. 

The question is why. And who benefits?

The most recent example is Wess Roley, 20, who is accused of starting a fire in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, on Sunday so he could ambush first responders. Two firefighters died in the attack, and a third was critically wounded. Roley was later found dead on Canfield Mountain. It's not clear whether his gunshot wound was self-inflicted or the result of a firefight with police. The Kootenai Sheriff's office, as per usual when these things happen, has not released a motive in the shooting. 

Also, as per usual, his social media profiles have been scrubbed. The gatekeepers have decided that the public will not see his posts unless and until they decide to release them. Most likely, that won't happen until they are forced to release the files as the result of a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit. That could take months, or even years. 

Frankly, all things considered as to what's been happening in this nation since the 2020 summer of love mostly peaceful rioting and incineration of American cities and towns, law enforcement had best figure out whether they're with us or with the terrorists. Because things are on a knife edge.

Acting Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Director Todd Lyons says left-wing activists are targeting ICE agents, with some going after agents’ families, including their children.

In a video posted to X on Monday, Lyons revealed that ICE and the United States Secret Service tracked down one particular activist who had been targeting the children of ICE agents online.

“Wouldn’t you wear a mask if it kept your family safe, if it kept your kids safe? We ran an operation with the Secret Service,” Lyons said. “We arrested someone who was going online, taking [ICE agents’] photos, posting their families, their kids’ Instagrams, their kids’ Facebooks, and targeting them. So let me ask, is that the issue here that anyone is upset with masks, or is anyone upset that an ICE officer’s families were labeled terrorists?”

Given the past 10 years of blood-libeling President Trump as literally Hitler, and the MAGA movement as the Nazi party, and of Trump-supporters as white supremacist racists wherein ICE will soon be rounding up anyone and everyone to not only deport illegal aliens but actual citizens for being of the wrong political persuasion. That rhetoric comes not just from the fringe lunatic base but from the highest echelons of the Democrat Party, it's propagandists in the legacy media and in schools and universities across the country, is it any wonder that police, ICE and random citizens who march in support of Israel have been the targets of not merely verbal abuse but of physical violence. The latter, an 81 year-old Holocaust survivor succumbed after being severely burned by an Egyptian illegal alien who hurled a molotov cocktail at her and other Jews in Boulder CO.

Putting the Islam element aside for a moment, Leftists have the same moral conviction that they are the defenders of freedom and righteousness and are being targeted by the forces of darkness and evil, and so have the right an indeed moral obligation to use deadly force to defend themselves and defend their perverse worldview by any means necessary.

All that said, this is how the civil society collapses and how things like political death squads appear. From there, the road to civil war and worse, Rwanda and Pol Pot, is clear.

Unless the funders, and the organizers of such groups as Antifa, La Raza, BLM, CAIR and all the rest are crushed by every legal means at our disposal, we are in for a world of hurt that will make 2020 and what's been happening in LA and elsewhere over the past few weeks back look like a picnic.

All we need is for an ICE agent(s) to get the notion to dox a few of these miscreants and "Take Care of Business" beforehand and Bingo. Not that I am encouraging that or wishing for it, because the aftermath is too horrific to contemplate. But if these guys think their kids are in the crosshairs, they'll either retire and move (which in and of itself was what the BLM defund the police movement sought to do as a means to dismantle law enforcement without necessarily firing a shot, by disincentivizing being a cop as a profession in the first place) . . or they will take matters into their own hands if they feel they do not have the backing of their political leadership. And in far too many places, the blue shithole cities and states, this is certainly the case.

And look what is likely on the horizon for NYC. an Anti-American Islamic terror cheerleader/supporter, anti-law enforcement Communist as the likely next mayor.

While the Democrat party mayoral primary in New York is stealing the headlines, those who have watched Marxist-Hegelian hybrid ideology overtake the party since the 1960s could have predicted this outcome.

Democrat voters in New York City have chosen Zohran Mamdani as their mayoral candidate. He is an avowed socialist Islamist who has never held a real job, gratuitously tosses around promises of giving away almost everything for free, has publicly stated his determination to defund the police, campaigned on tax-payer funding of “gender-affirming care,” and who vociferously defends all illegal immigrants, including those convicted of heinous crimes, from deportation.

Mamdani wants to empty the jails in New York, claiming that violence is an artificial construction. His commitment to socialist ideals is informed by his Islamic faith, which includes his refusal to retract or apologize for trafficking in incendiary antisemitic language such as “globalize the intifada” for over a decade in a city with two million Jews, second only to Tel Aviv.

Of course, Mamdani won't abolish the NYPD. Meh, maybe he'll do just that?! But you can just imagine the kind of individuals who will make up their ranks once the sane ones have fled or are forced out. Worse, those who remain and will "just follow orders" to preserve protect and defend their pensions.

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
• The thunderstorm stops had a domino effect, beginning with delays at Philadelphia International Airport to Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport before spreading to others, trailing up and down the East Coast.
  Ground stops at JFK, LGA and Newark cause thousands of flight delays at airports up and down the East Coast

• “Wouldn’t you wear a mask if it kept your family safe, if it kept your kids safe? We ran an operation with the Secret Service,” Lyons said. “We arrested someone who was going online, taking [ICE agents’] photos, posting their families, their kids’ Instagrams, their kids’ Facebooks, and targeting them. So let me ask, is that the issue here that anyone is upset with masks, or is anyone upset that an ICE officer’s families were labeled terrorists?”
  ICE Chief Says Left-Wing Activists Are Targeting the Children of ICE Agents

Daily Tech News 1 July 2025

—Pixy Misa

• Why AI is not useful for programming. (Ordep)
  
  Because writing code was never the problem. Anyone can write code if you don't care whether it works. Even an AI.
  
  And even if it works, it is almost certain to make the overall system more complicated than the value it adds. Keeping a complex system manageable as you add more features is the real battle.
  
  And AI is still at the stage of selling refrigerated tungsten cubes in its snack bar because one guy jokingly requested that.
  
  
  

Monday Overnight Open Thread - June 30, 2025 [Doof]

—Open Blogger

Elevated railroad bridge - Cape Cod Canal

Howdy Hordelings! Thanks for ending your Monday - and the month of June - here with us at the ONT. How are you feeling with 2025 now halfway over? Is it all you expected it to be? Got any predictions for the rest of the year? Share your thoughts in the comments - along with whatever else is on your mind. Let's step on in!

***

Color me skeptical

She Went On a Vacation to Iran: ‘It was Nothing Like I Expected’

Chiara Herlemann, who is originally from Germany, travelled across the Middle Eastern country for ten days at the end of May.

Before getting on the plane, Chiara says she was quite nervous about whether the trip would be unsafe after reading about Iran in online news reports. But, she was incredibly surprised when she arrived to find the country a welcoming and friendly destination.

“I was very nervous to go and a lot of my friends were warning me that it was really dangerous,” she told SWNS news agency. “Every time I saw something about Iran in the news it was just some blurry pictures that looked like North Korea.

“When I got there, I was so surprised.”

“Everything was so different from what I expected. The people were so friendly. The men were helping me with my bags and making sure I was okay.

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“It is known as an Islamic country, but it doesn’t really feel like it, it was very westernized.

“As a woman you have an instinct when something isn’t right, and there wasn’t a single moment where I felt like that.”

Chiara says her favorite parts of the trip were the “kind people” and the food, with her favorite sight being the Blue Mosque.

Read the whole thing and decide for yourself.

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History AND Geography Nerd Stuff? Absolutely!

The Almost States of America

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Rule number 1, bro!

Texas Man Discovered Ex-Fiancee Married Him Without His Consent

A Texas man recently made the shocking discovery that he had somehow become married to the woman he had just broken up with, without his consent. Imagine breaking up with someone only to find out the next day that you are legally married to them, even though you never even attended a marriage ceremony. This is the bizarre experience of a Texas man who claims he was married to his ex-fiancée without his knowledge. The 42-year-old man, whose identity has not been revealed, admitted to having been in a committed relationship with 36-year-old Kristin Marie Spearman and visiting the Wayne County clerk’s office to get a marriage license. However, the pair never made it to the altar. They got into an argument, and the man told Spearman that he didn’t want to be in a relationship with her, but his ex-fiancée had other plans…

Check out the story at the link. Here is a news report on the story:

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Gambling Problem?

pic.twitter.com/OulwxEKQjl

— I,Hypocrite (@lporiginalg) June 22, 2025

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DJ Doof - Today's Birthdays Version
from thisdayinmusic.com

Born on this date in 1963: Yngwie Malmsteen, Swedish guitarist, songwriter and bandleader. Malmsteen first became known in the 1980s for his neoclassical metal playing style in heavy metal.

Born on this date in 1949: Andy Scott, guitarist with English group Sweet

Born on this date in 1944: Glenn Shorrock, from Australian group, Little River Band

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Tonight's ONT brought to you by division

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Comments, questions, suggestions, or emotional outbursts? Drop a message in a bottle and cross your fingers.

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No Emus Is Good Emus Cafe

—Ace

Dog packing for his vacation.

After a long day, it's time to hit the couch.

Cat keeps her truckdriver dad company while on the road.

Dogs saying "I love you." Some of them get very close. We're on the edge of a Scooby Cascade.

Dogs are excited for the pizza delivery.

Elephant slumber party.

I suppose you're all wondering why I summoned you here today.

Orangutan has mastered human juicebox technology.

Getting close to a tornado.

White guys parody the highly theatrical way that Indians prepare and serve street hot dogs.

Border collies are doing the jobs humans just won't do.

The team is ready.

Bear takes her cubs out for a walk. Surprisingly under-control.

Ostrich shows off his sexy moves.

Steve Inman:

Woman throws a shoe at an ostrich and finds out the reason for that old saying, "Never throw a shoe at an ostrich."

Panda MMA.

Quick Hits

—Ace

Liberal "male" reporters are just ugly, poorly-dressed girls:

WSJ: Rumors of the death of the American economy and stock markets have been greatly exaggerated. By us liberals, mostly.

A historic and tumultuous quarter is wrapping up with U.S. stocks at records and many investors betting the ride isn't over yet.

The April swoon that carried the S&P 500 to the brink of a bear market has been erased and then some. The broad index has now added more than 8% since President Trump announced sweeping tariffs that sparked havoc in markets.

Now, investors have more reasons to feel upbeat. Both the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite Index hit fresh all-time highs on Friday. Robust corporate earnings and solid economic data suggest that growth remains resilient. Inflation is trending near the Federal Reserve's 2% target. Banks that slashed their year-end targets for the S&P 500, such as JPMorgan Chase and Goldman Sachs, are raising them again.

The DOJ has formally found Harvard in violation of federal civil rights law, and instructs it to either bring itself into compliance with federal law immediately or lose all federal funding.

Ed Morrissey, with quotes from the WSJ:

In a letter sent to Harvard President Alan Garber on Monday and viewed by The Wall Street Journal, attorneys for the administration said the investigation found that Harvard knew Jewish and Israeli students felt threatened on its campus and acted with deliberate indifference.

The DoJ offered Harvard to explore the Hillsdale College option to avoid any further consequences for its failure to abide by Title VI. If not, the DoJ warns, the direction of the next lawsuit will get inverted and Harvard may have more legal trouble than it bargained for:

"Failure to institute adequate changes immediately will result in the loss of all federal financial resources and continue to affect Harvard's relationship with the federal government," the letter states. "Harvard may of course continue to operate free of federal privileges, and perhaps such an opportunity will spur a commitment to excellence that will help Harvard thrive once again."

Harvard didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.

A formal "notice of violation" of civil-rights law generally is a step that can come before either a lawsuit from the Justice Department or a voluntary resolution with the school. Under past presidential administrations, civil-rights investigations at universities usually ended with voluntary resolution agreements.

This finding not only complicates any efforts to restore funding that has already been cut off, it disqualifies Harvard from any further access to federal funds. They have three options, none of which are going to be pleasant for Garber under the circumstances. They could go the Hillsdale College route and eschew any federal funding to remain completely independent, as the DoJ letter suggests, but Hillsdale built their financial model with that policy in mind. Harvard's business model entirely depends on federal subsidies and grants. They would have to pare down their offerings significantly to compete in the marketplace against schools that comply with the law and still have access to those federal funds.

Law schools usually offer prestigious slots on the school's law review based on grades and a blindly-graded writing sample.

This is therefore a pure meritocracy -- which makes DEI types hate it.

Duke Law found a work-around for rules against racial discrimination, though: They sent minorities and minorities only an email telling them that while they cannot just mark each application by race so they can make sure they give minorities the slots and take them from the White Devils, if the minorities just let them know in their writing samples that they are minorities, they'll grade those writing samples more charitably and get them spots on the law review they're not qualified for based on objective criteria.

At the end of finals period each May, the Duke Law Journal hosts a two-week-long competition to select its next crop of editors. Applicants write a 12-page memo, or casenote, analyzing an appellate court decision, as well as a 500-word essay about what they would "contribute" to the journal.

Students are chosen based on their grades, casenotes, and personal statements. Less than 20 percent of the class makes it onto the law review, which is overseen by Duke Law School and has no legal existence apart from it.

To help students prepare for the competition, the journal circulates a guide on how to write the casenote. Last year, however, it decided to give some students an additional document.

In a packet prepared for the law school's affinity groups [that is, its race and sexuality-based exclusionary clubs], the journal instructed minority students to highlight their race and gender as part of their personal statements--and revealed that they would earn extra points for doing so.

The packet, obtained exclusively by the Washington Free Beacon, included the rubric used to evaluate the personal statements. Applicants can earn up to 10 points for explaining how their "membership in an underrepresented group" will "lend itself to ... promoting diverse voices," and an additional 3-5 points if they "hold a leadership position in an affinity group."

To drive home the point, the packet included four examples of personal statements that had gotten students on the law review. Three of those statements referenced race in the first sentence, with one student boasting that, "[a]s an Asian-American woman and a daughter of immigrants, I am afforded with different perspectives, experiences, and privileges."

A fourth student waited until the last paragraph to disclose that she was "a Middle Eastern Jewish woman," an "intersectional identity" she said would "prove useful" in a "collaborative environment."

"As a woman," the student wrote, "and a woman with Middle Eastern heritage, I also understand of [sic] the importance of presenting a solid work product and building credibility."

The packet was only distributed to the affinity groups, according to a person familiar with the matter, which meant that minority students had access to inside information about the scoring process. The journal explicitly told those groups not to share the packet with other students, according to messages reviewed by the Free Beacon, and indicated on the first page that it had been made for affinity groups.

When the Supreme Court banned affirmative action in 2023, it said that colleges and universities could not use essays as a Trojan horse for racial preferences. The documents from Duke illustrate how a top law review has skirted that directive, creating a points-based system that foregrounds race and could put the law school in legal jeopardy.

"This is clearly illegal," said David Bernstein, a professor of constitutional law at George Mason University. "They're using the personal statement as a proxy for race."

Harmeet Dillon, head of the DOJ's Civil Rights Division, weighs in:

Harmeet K. Dhillon @HarmeetKDhillon

Not good

An 82-year-old woman, set afire in Boulder last month by a crazed Egyptian illegal alien for the crime of being Jewish, has succumbed to her horrific injuries and died.

Yashar Ali @yashar

DENVER (AP) -- An 82-year-old Colorado woman who was injured in a Molotov cocktail attack on demonstrators in support of Israeli hostages this month has died, according to court documents filed Monday.

Todd Richman @toddrichman

This is what the phrase Globalize the Intifada means @ZohranKMamdani, but G0D forbid you condemn it. Also your chants of AntiZionism is not AntiSemitism is a danger to our community. May Karen's memory be a blessing....

He knows what it means. They all do. They're terrorists.

Zohran is also repeating the communist mantra of "seizing the means of production," taken straight from Marx: "Our end goal is seizing the means of production."

The left is insisting No You Bigots This Doesn't Akshually Mean He's a Communist.

Bonchie @bonchieredstate

"We can't hold Zohran Mamdani accountable for the things he said when he was 30 because he was just young."

The dude is 33.

att Taibbi @mtaibbi

For people asking the difference between Bernie Sanders and Zohran Mamdani, I don't recall Bernie talking about "seizing the means of production."

Unreal. A judge just ruled Kilmar Abrego Garcia should stay in custody, not because he’s an MS-13 gang member and alleged human trafficker, but because she’s worried he will get deported.

"This judge is telling us 'I don't want you to abide by the federal court... I'm going to… pic.twitter.com/1gjcy06SWh

— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) June 30, 2025

We’re are ready to ship them all to Paris whenever we get the green light from the French government. https://t.co/nN54hHgEd9

— Nayib Bukele (@nayibbukele) June 29, 2025

Holy crap — CNN host has @ScottJenningsKY laughing in disbelief as he gaslights that Mamdani doesn’t want to tax white people when Mamdani specifically said he wants to tax white people.

JENNINGS: He literally wrote it in a statement, Omar. He literally wrote it down!

JIMENEZ:… pic.twitter.com/qEyY3Kfk47

— Western Lensman (@WesternLensman) June 30, 2025

Stephen Ireland, who targeted me with endless abuse on here because I oppose the chemical castration of children and the removal of protected spaces for women and girls, has just been sentenced to 30 years in jail for child rape. pic.twitter.com/0HHctRocB4

— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) June 30, 2025

And so begins Pete Bootyjudge's rebranding effort to show that he's akshually a very traditionally masculine guy-type guy:

I don't know about you, but what impresses me most about the Democrat-Media Party is its deep in the bones authenticity.

If only:

Hollywood elitist Ben Stiller is claiming the Trump administration could target him in a wave of political retribution.

He says people might face consequences from the government simply for saying something “wrong,” and he believes he could be one of them. pic.twitter.com/PhHxkEHj9U

— Shadow of Ezra (@ShadowofEzra) June 28, 2025

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