Ace: aceofspadeshq at gee mail.com
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A site for members of the Horde to post their stories seeking beta readers, editing help, brainstorming, and story ideas. Also to share links to potential publishing outlets, writing help sites, and videos posting tips to get published.
Contact OrangeEnt for info: maildrop62 at proton dot me
WHAT EVERYONE IS TALKING ABOUT: Dasha last night confirmed those buzzy NYT and CNN scoops that Pam Bondi will likely soon be OUT as attorney general.
Bondi beached: A person close to the White House tells Dasha that when Trump met EPA boss Lee Zeldin on Tuesday to discuss last year's California wildfires, Trump also discussed the potential of tapping him for the AG role. (CNN and the NYT last night both named Zeldin as the most likely successor.) A second person familiar with the situation tells Dasha that Bondi will be out imminently.
Epstein strikes again: Rumors of Bondi's departure are hardly new, but it seems the mood has shifted against her in recent days. The AG has been under pressure since last summer over her ill-fated handling of the Jeffrey Epstein files inquiry, with even close ally Susie Wiles admitting Bondi "completely whiffed" her response. Trump has also long been frustrated over the DOJ's failure to successfully prosecute his enemies, and readers will no doubt recall the infamous "Pam" message that Trump accidentally posted onto social media last year.
Zeld-IN? By contrast, Trump has repeatedly showered praise on Zeldin for his work at the EPA. Zeldin worked as a New York attorney in his 20s, and as a House representative during the first Trump administration became known for his hawkish support of Trump's various legal battles and pursuits.
Non-denial denial: A statement issued to CNN and the NYT shows Trump voicing personal support for Bondi. "Attorney General Pam Bondi is a wonderful person and she is doing a good job," the president said, which is hardly a guarantee of her future status. Bondi accompanied Trump to the Supreme Court yesterday morning and was in the audience for his address to the nation last night. Zeldin was also there.
President Trump told Attorney General Pam Bondi on Wednesday that she would be out as head of the Department of Justice, a source with knowledge of the conversation told The Post on Thursday.
Bondi was at the White House to attend Trump's address to the nation on the Iran war, and earlier had accompanied the president to the Supreme Court to watch oral arguments in a major birthright citizenship case.
Fox News said Trump will replace Bondi with Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche as the interim attorney general.
Trump is expected to soon make a formal announcement.
The White House did not directly address the report, but pointed The Post to a quote from the president praising Bondi.
So Fox is confirming it.
Unexpected, at least to me.
Update: Sorry to push unvetted info, but a commenter posted this and I'm going to repeat it even while declaring "I don't know if this is anywhere close to true."
Trump's reasoning for the sudden dismissal comes in part because the President believes Bondi tipped off Eric Swalwell about the FBI's efforts to release investigative documents related to his relationship with an alleged Chinese spy.
I'm still trying to figure out where this comes from.
A person familiar with the situation tells me that Pam Bondi will be out as AG imminently, confirming scoops from @CNN and @nytimes.
When Trump met EPA boss Lee Zeldin on Tuesday to discuss last year’s California wildfires, Trump also discussed the potential of tapping him for… pic.twitter.com/zXj6MInr6B
Update to last post: At an Easter event, Trump told Erika Kirk that she should "sue their asses," speaking about her professional defamers like low-IQ schizophrenic DEI podcaster Candace Owens.
Owens says that the only reason Erika Kirk would have to sue her would be that she is "making fun" of her "best friend's" grieving widow, and then says this proves that the "Israelis are in charge" and that Trump is now fully Jewish.
This retard is going to get destroyed in the Macron lawsuit and she’ll get destroyed in an Erika lawsuit.
If you think she’s like some kind of genius, you’re wrong. She’s a malicious halfwit. Everything she says is wrong, and if you believe her, you are a sucker. https://t.co/wCLKL0Qih6
This is the woman the site's current Nazi Troll tells me I have to align with Because Reasons.
The Nazis defend her because she routinely says things like "the Israelis are totally in charge now" and "Trump is now fully Jewish." But when you object to Candace Owens telling lie after defamatory lie about a grieving widow who appears to be a nice normie mom, they always say the same thing: You're only against her defaming a grieving widow in the most evil and demonic way possible because you're obsessed with Israel.
No, Nazis. I condemn someone for telling countless vicious lies about a grieving widow -- and suggesting that her wheelchair-bound dying mother is faking for money and sympathy -- because these are inherently, on-their-face evil actions that any right-thinking moral person should condemn uniquivocally.
You, on the other hand, refuse to condemn these lies, because YOU are obsessed with Israel. You have too few prominent Nazi agitators to cut one loose just because she's been on a deranged campaign for almost a year to put Erika Kirk through her own conspiracy-theory Calvary. We don't condemn Candace Owens' breathtakingly evil defamations "because of Jews" -- but you sure as shit embrace this evil because of Jews.
So fuck you and also Kill Yourselves, please and thank you.
Trump Promotes Douglas Murray Article Blasting Tucker Carlson as a Sharia-Law-Promoting Holocaust-Denying Backstabber
—Disinformation Expert Ace
Ryan Saavedra
@RyanSaavedra
President Trump posts an article by Douglas Murray that highlights Tucker Carlson's extremism, embrace of Islamists, and America Last:
The article is titled: "Deranged Tucker Carlson backstabs Trump"
Several of the top lines in the piece include:
-"While the president has advocated a strong defense of America's regional allies, Carlson has spent 100% of his time trying to turn the MAGA base against Israel and in favor of Islamist regimes."
-"His podcast has become a remorseless roll call of Holocaust deniers, antisemites, Islamic extremists and World War II revisionists."
-"While attacking Trump, Carlson eagerly softball-interviews people who love both Adolf Hitler and Joseph Stalin."
-"While accusing everyone else of being obsessed with Israel, Carlson has obsessed about nothing else. While saying 'We're not allowed to talk about Jews,' he has talked about nothing but Jews."
-"This culminated in Carlson calling Trump's actions 'evil.' ... From being Trump cheerleaders, Carlson & co. are trying to do everything they can to destroy the president."
In politics, it is often the people who you think have your back who end up stabbing you there.
Nobody knows that better than Donald Trump, who has been stabbed in the back more times than Julius Caesar -- yet has still survived.
This week, part of the noisy right-wing online podcast-sphere again turned on the president.
Leading the virtual charge, again, was Trump's one-time cheerleader, Tucker Carlson.
There was a time when Carlson was fully Team Trump.
I don't think so. Fox had to release Tucker Carlson's texts and emails during the Dominion lawsuit and Carlson stated he "truly hated" Trump and couldn't wait for Comey and Jack Smith to take him out so that he'd never have to hear from Trump again.
A lot of craven opportunists jumped on the MAGA bandwagon not because they supported Trump or MAGA, but because Trump represented a disruptive force that could break the ice of conservabot doctrine and reshape the right into something new. These opportunists -- these grifters, often actually white supremacists and Nazis and not just in the left-wing "this person disagrees with me so he must be a Nazi" way -- saw Trump's power to shatter old smug conservabot certainties and reform the pieces of the Republican coalition into a shape he preferred. These grifters did not support Trump's vision of what the re-made party should look like. They had a dark, extremist, and yes frankly Nazi/White Supremacist agenda. They just temporarily supported Trump because their goals equally relied upon shattering the old conservabot/neocon alliance. And they hoped that by sucking up to Trump, they could convince him that their totally-new ideas about white supremacy and anti-Jewish hatred should finally be given a try. (Like communism, Real Naziism has never been tried.) And even if Trump refused to bend to their will, why, as long as they were seen as close to Trump, they could emerge as his successors after Trump was term-limited and retired.
Carlson often appeared at Trump rallies as part of the warmup act.
But in the past year, he has tried to lead the MAGA base away from Trump and down a very dark path.
Fortunately, the Trump base hasn't followed him there.
The president's strong Middle East policy seems to have particularly deranged his one-time supporter.
While the president has advocated a strong defense of America's regional allies, Carlson has spent 100% of his time trying to turn the MAGA base against Israel and in favor of Islamist regimes.
His podcast has become a remorseless roll call of Holocaust deniers, antisemites, Islamic extremists and World War II revisionists.
While attacking Trump, Carlson eagerly softball-interviews people who love both Adolf Hitler and Joseph Stalin.
Quite an achievement.
Undermining
While accusing everyone else of being obsessed with Israel, Carlson has obsessed about nothing else.
While saying "We're not allowed to talk about Jews," he has talked about nothing but Jews.
This obsession has culminated in a total derangement over the president's Iran policy.
Carlson and other people in the right-wing podcast-sphere pretend to be confused by the president acting to stop the mullahs from getting an atomic bomb.
At one and the same time, they say Iran was never seeking nuclear weapons. And that Iran has the right to nuclear weapons.
They pretend the Iranians were nowhere near having a nuclear weapon. But that it would be understandable if they were.
This culminated in Carlson calling Trump's actions "evil."
And suggesting he has once again been manipulated by, well -- guess who?
From being Trump cheerleaders, Carlson & co. are trying to do everything they can to destroy the president.
It is true.
Meanwhile, Candace Owens has made it explicit and commanded her deranged, retarded followers to acquit the gay furry leftist murderer of her "best friend" Charlie Kirk.
Candace Owens is now shamelessly declaring Tyler Robinson innocent.
She’s already cashed in big on this tragedy, building her entire brand and stacking profits on the back of a dead man, and she has zero plans to stop. No one has milked, exploited, and grifted off this situation… pic.twitter.com/ffXKA0d87t
In just the last few days, Owens has added these gems to the list:
- Trump might be hiding the Epstein files as a favor to his Jewish daughter and son-in-law, who might be more loyal to Israel. - The socialist anti-Israel NYC Mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani is a secret zionist… https://t.co/jbUqjsmtIl
She's a literal madwoman. Oh, she's also evil and demonic, but she is a schizophrenic lunatic. There is literally not one bizarre conspiracy theory she does not believe in passionately.
Ghosts tell her secret conspiracy theories about bees in dreams and she feels "vibes" and there is no higher standard of evidence than that.
Definitive proof Candace Owens is the greatest investigative reporter of our time. pic.twitter.com/FlwZYMKOY6
— Nathan Livingstone (MilkBarTV) (@TheMilkBarTV) April 1, 2026
This was Candace Owens in February, pushing the claim that Tyler Robinson’s defence team were part of a conspiracy - because they hadn’t reached out to her. Candace realised that Robinson was likely to be found guilty.
— Nathan Livingstone (MilkBarTV) (@TheMilkBarTV) April 2, 2026
So does Tucker, for that matter:
Tucker Carlson believes Pearl Harbor was a false flag orchestrated by Roosevelt to drag America into WWII. His evidence is a Senate inquiry that actually concluded the exact opposite - that there was zero evidence of foreknowledge of the attack.
One of the reasons why we conservatives find it difficult to comprehend the magnitude and reach of the organizations funding, organizing, and promoting the comprehensive leftist response to pretty much everything the Trump administration does, is that we are far too invested in our own individualism, and chafe at the thought of being a cog in some great right-wing machine. We simply can't imagine why anyone would be such a mindless drone, sent hither and yon at the behest of a cabal of wealthy progressive manipulators, who are themselves simply tools of our enemies abroad.
But the left has no problem with being part of the collective, because that is exactly who they are! There is no recognition of the uniqueness of the human condition. It sees everyone as part of a greater whole that inevitably moves toward their goal, which is the destruction of the individual, and the rejection of the divine spark that gives meaning to the world, gives meaning to life, and creates the conditions necessary to recognize the intrinsic worth of each of us.
Religion, traditional culture, the nuclear family, free markets, respect for life...all are targets in the great war that the left is waging against Western culture. And while those are all powerful weapons in that battle, the left's ability to organize and to sublimate the God-given attributes of humanity is a tremendous advantage.
If you were in New York City on Saturday during the third edition of the No Kings movement, you would have seen a smorgasbord of far-left groups aiming to sow the seeds of revolution in America.
You would have seen numerous flags adorned with the hammer and sickle. You would have been surrounded by collectivist swag and literature for sale, including copies of The Communist Manifesto. You would have seen banners with socialist slogans celebrating depraved monsters like Joseph Stalin and Mao Zedong. Worst of all, you would have been inundated with chants like, “there is only one solution — communist revolution.”
The No Kings movement is a sham. Far from a grassroots movement, it is a highly coordinated, well-funded network of far-left groups that seek to replace America’s founding principles.
And the left's useful idiots -- the blue-haired cat ladies, the septuagenarian hipsters with gray ponytails reliving their counter-culture youth, the ignorant 20-somethings who believe everything they hear, as long as it is in a reel shorter than 30 seconds -- they obediently rush out onto the street carrying preprinted signs, chant slogans from 3x5 cards, get their protest checks from the organizers, and rush home to tell their friends how powerful they are!
It is a fight that conservatives find difficult to enter, precisely because we are not worker bees being directed by others. But enter it we must! Luckily we have the truth and 2,500 years of evidence on our side.
[Crossposted at CutJibNewsletter and X/Twitter]. If you folks who are on X/Twitter would follow us it would be much appreciated!
President Donald Trump praised the United States military Wednesday night during a speech updating the American people on the conflict with Iran, but he offered no new details on the operations.
Operation Epic Fury, a military campaign by the United States and Israel, commenced on Feb. 28 after attempts to negotiate a cessation of Iran’s efforts to acquire nuclear weapons failed. During the speech, Trump said that the “core strategic objectives” of the military operations were almost achieved\(RELATED: Trump Halts All Strikes On Iran Power Plants Amid Negotiations)
“As I stated in my announcement of Operation Epic Fury, our objectives are very simple and clear. We are systematically dismantling the regime’s ability to threaten America or project power outside of their borders,” Trump said. “That means eliminating Iran’s navy, which is now absolutely destroyed, hurting their air force and their missile program at levels never seen before, and annihilating their defense industrial base. We’ve done all of it. Their navy is gone, their air force is gone. Their missiles are just about used up or beaten.” “Taken together, these actions will… crush their ability to support terrorist proxies and deny them the ability to build a nuclear bomb,” Trump said. “Our armed forces have been extraordinary. There’s never been anything like it militarily. Everyone is talking about it. And tonight, I’m pleased to say that these core strategic objectives are nearing completion.”
Trump also paid tribute to the 13 Americans killed during the military operation. As of Wednesday evening, seven American military personnel had died from hostile action in Operation Epic Fury, with six others perishing in the crash of an Air Force KC-135R tanker. Trump also blamed Iranian attacks on shipping in the region for high gas prices, saying their actions proved the necessity of the military operation.
“Many Americans have been concerned to see the recent rise in gasoline prices here at home. This short-term increase has been entirely the result of the Iranian regime launching deranged terror attacks against commercial oil tankers and neighboring countries that have nothing to do with the conflict,” Trump said. “This is yet more proof that Iran can never be trusted with nuclear weapons. They will use them, and they will use them quickly. It would lead to decades of extortion, economic pain, and instability worse than we can ever imagine.”
Trump also warned Iran’s current leadership to accept the terms he laid out, saying that if they did not, the United States would target Iran’s energy infrastructure.
“If there is no deal, we are going to hit each and every one of their electric generating plants very hard and probably simultaneously,” Trump said. “We have not hit their oil, even though that’s the easiest target of all because it would not give them even a small chance of survival or rebuilding, but we could hit it and it would be gone, and there’s not a thing they could do about it.”
The progressives’ threat that “millions” of people could lose citizenship amid legal chaos seems intended to give swing-voting judges an excuse to kill Trump’s order that bars citizenship to illegal migrants.
The prospect of chaos was raised by a swing-voting judge. “It could be messy,” said Justice Amy Coney Barrett, a conservative who has voted with progressives.
Trump made the announcement in a Truth Social post on Wednesday morning, writing, “Iran’s New Regime President, much less Radicalized and far more intelligent than his predecessors, has just asked the United States of America for a CEASEFIRE!” Trump said, however, that the U.S. will consider a ceasefire after the Hormuz Strait is “open, free, and clear.” President Trump: Iran Has Asked for a Ceasefire
The Chinese government has struggled to maintain relevance in the context of the conflict, which began on February 28 with President Donald Trump announcing Operation Epic Fury and the elimination of Iranian dictator Ali Khamenei. A close ally of Iran’s, which prompted China to facilitate its membership into the anti-American BRICS coalition, Beijing has vacillated between condemning the United States for engaging Iran militarily and gently suggesting that Iran’s disruptions of commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, which disproportionately hurt China, should cease. . . China Debuts Iran Peace Plan: ‘Cease Hostilities,’ Begin Peace Talks (that Are Already Happening), Respect the U.N.
NATO endures on American backing while many allies demand U.S. action abroad but withhold it when asked, exposing a widening gap between rhetoric and responsibility. A Foolish NATO Was a Big Loser in the Iran War
Graham, long viewed as a holdover from the warmongering faction of Republicans, is now calling for President Donald Trump to begin winding down Operation Epic Fury. Fey fraud Lindsey Graham Playing For Both Sides
CIVIL WAR 2.0, LEFTIST PERSECUTIONS, DEMOCRAT PUTSCH, AMERICAN DISSOLUTION
Rep. Susie Lee (D-NV), who describes herself as “America’s #1 Most Bipartisan Member of Congress,” posted and later deleted a profanity-laced response on X to an Associated Press (AP) story about President Donald Trump’s planned attendance at Wednesday’s Supreme Court hearing on birthright citizenship. Dem Rep. Susie Lee Deletes ‘I’ll Pray They F*** Him to His Face’ Post About Trump
The hilarious aspect of this. . . was to hear the liberal justices, who rarely allow the language of the Constitution to stand in the way of a preferred interpretation, but they seemed to be channeling Scalia today, talking about we really have to go back to that original intent, and it’s pretty clear this is the English rule. And that obviously played to the conservative justices.” FNC’s Turley: ‘Hilarious’ to Watch Lefty Justices Sound Like Scalia on Birthright Citizenship
The progressives’ threat that “millions” of people could lose citizenship amid legal chaos seems intended to give swing-voting judges an excuse to kill Trump’s order that bars citizenship to illegal migrants. The prospect of chaos was raised by a swing-voting judge. “It could be messy,” said Justice Amy Coney Barrett, a conservative who has voted with progressives. Migration Advocates Threaten ‘Millions’ May Lose Status if Supreme Court Allows Trump’s Birthright Citizenship Order to Stand (Please God!!!- jjs)
. . .if the justices harbor any consideration of keeping the 14th Amendment migration train running by upholding the current bastardization of the amendment, it will signal to the American people the illegitimacy of even the highest legal authority in the land, ostensibly with a 6-3 conservative majority. A SCOTUS decision to uphold birthright citizenship as currently applied
would communicate that it means to follow in the footsteps of successive presidential administrations and Congresses, selling Americans’ jobs, land, and promises of freedom to the highest bidder, or simply giving them away to foreigners who cross the border illegally. If SCOTUS Upholds ‘Birthright Citizenship,’ It Will Do So At Its Own Peril
True compassion doesn’t stop at borders; it strengthens nations by rewarding legal immigration, enforcing the law, and exporting the ideas that made America prosper. Is Deportation Compassionate?
The fight over illegal immigration misses the point: the real debate is whether America should limit immigration at all—legal or otherwise—to protect its own workers and sovereignty. Legal Immigration Is Bad: We Can Stop It
THE GREAT SOMALIAN SIMOLEON SWINDLE
The case highlights the largest pandemic-era fraud in Minnesota, undermining public trust in government programs and sparking outrage over the perceived leniency of the sentence. Somali Fraudster Handed Soft Sentence in Minnesota. (A jury of his peers, no doubt IYKWIM - jjs)
RED-GREENS, CLIMATE CHANGE HOAX, DEMOCRAT-LEFT WAR ON FOSSIL FUELS,
“President Trump has made it clear that America should fully develop its abundant energy resources in a way that strengthens our economy and benefits American families,” Burgum said in a statement. Trump Oversaw Record Levels of Domestic Energy Production in 2025
John Stossel: You're killing the planet! Evil Meat
THE 2020 and SUBSEQUENT ELECTION HEISTS , SHENANIGANS/FRAUD and AFTERMATH
Letlow publicly claims to oppose “woke ideology,” and has been endorsed by President Donald Trump in her primary Senate race against incumbent Bill Cassidy. However, a 2020 video shows Letlow participating in a panel interview as a semifinalist for the University of Louisiana, Monroe’s presidential search, where she detailed plans to lead diversity measures and ensure more women, especially ‘women of color,’ would be hired for senior leadership roles. Trump-Backed Senate Hopeful Was In Love With DEI — Until She Entered Politics
“Ultimately, there will have to be a transition phase,” Rubio told host Sean Hannity. “There will have to be free and fair elections in Venezuela, and that point has to come.” He said the initial stabilization stage is “largely achieved” and that the country has entered a recovery period, with Venezuelan crude now shipping to American refineries and oil revenue flowing into U.S. Treasury-controlled accounts. Marco Rubio Calls For Fair Elections After Meeting With Venezuelan Opposition Leader
General Mills, which bought Annie’s in 2014, announced in September 2025 a “delightful upgrade” to the famous mac and cheese that is “even more ooey gooey real cheese.” In typical corporate fashion, General Mills didn’t highlight the real shifts to the recipe in its press releases. The fourth and fifth key Annie’s ingredients, good ol’ butter and nonfat milk, were reportedly replaced with cornstarch, which acts as a thickener but has no protein or nutritional value. Big Companies Seem To Be Ignoring MAHA Way, Change Two Everyday Food Items
“The Match achieved its monopolistic power over the residency market by instituting an ‘All In’ policy that requires Match-participating residency programs to register and fill all positions through the Match or another national matching plan, and then merging with its largest competitor.” House Judiciary Report Exposes Medical Residency Hiring Monopoly
ACTUAL SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY
The crew will remain in Earth orbit until (later today), checking out the capsule and its systems. Once they have confirmed these are working as expected, they will then fire their engines to head to the Moon. SLS successfully puts Orion into orbit
FEMINAZISM, TRANSGENDER PSYCHOSIS, HOMOSEXUALIZATION, WAR ON MASCULINITY/NORMALCY
“WPATH and USPATH conferences are a black box to outsiders... Presenters often refashioned assessment to affirm identity... ‘If you want breasts at a later point in your life,’ she quipped, ‘you can go and get them... Now they were wary about publishing...The conference videos offer further evidence of WPATH’s shifting narrative... Some bristled at the suggestion of hard age limits.” How Gender Medicine Set Itself Up for Disaster
CULTURE WARS, NATIONAL SUICIDE
The days of La La Land may be numbered with the pressures of how people consume entertainment continuing to undergo massive shifts. And the legacy studio system is struggling to respond and reinvent itself accordingly, especially in the U.S. as productions of movies and TV shows flee California in droves and even increasingly head to other countries looking for far cheaper costs. WSJ: ‘Hollywood Will Soon Resemble Detroit’ After Auto Industry’s Decline, ‘Nightmare Scenario Is Playing out’
ALSO: The Morning Report cross-posts at CutJibNewsletter.com usually within an hour or so of posting here, if you want to continue the conversation all day.
Open source software is protected by copyright law, and that depends on the exact expression of the code. It's easy for an AI to make sufficient changes to dodge copyright law while keeping functionality intact.
Or mostly intact. In my experience even performing straightforward changes like that you still end up with some breakage.
And of course this was possible before AI as well; it just took a little more effort.
Panic buying before the worst of the price increases hit looks like it was a good move. I have enough memory and storage to keep going for years.
On the other hand, if you're in the market for a new mid-range graphics card, look out for discounted 16GB XFX Radeon 9060 XTs. I bought one early this year as part of my panic attack, and they have very much bucked the trend by cutting the price by 20% since then.
That's in Australia but the price here would be equivalent to $310, against an MSRP of $350.
Not a high-end card but fast and capable and not overly power-hungry.
I was thinking of buying one - actually the Pi 500+, which is the model built in to a mechanical keyboard - but passed on it because at the time only the keyboard itself was available and not the bundled desktop kit with a matching mouse and cables and power supply.
That model is the worst affected, but even the 4GB Pi 5 has increased in price by 75%.
That's only a minor change, though. Existing Intel laptop chips have up to 8 P-cores and 16 E-cores. Nova Lake HX adds four low-power cores to that.
Also, as with the current Panther Lake family, there will models with the advanced integrated graphics (branded as B390), but then you get half as many CPU cores. You can't have both.
Good evening Horde. The time has come for mid-week shenanigans.
Welcome to the Wednesday night ONT which means another edition of overnight fun and games. Pull up a chair and sit a spell. Good will offerings of amusing puns are happily accepted. Pants are optional. Be nice to your fellow commenters and AoS contributors. As a matter of fundamental national interest, the ONT bar remains open. JQ has the keys and is authorized to pour like never before, so put in your order.
Paul Newman, Jessica Tandy, and Bruce Willis. Never saw the movie, so I can't vouch for it.
Side story - Paramount apparently had a little promotional money left over for the film, so Newman convinced them to spend it on sponsoring a Ford Mustang entry at the 1995 24 Hours of Daytona. The car number 70 was a nod to Newman's age. Newman and three professional drivers won their class and finished third overall.
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Steve Perry - Foolish Heart
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I am not wise in the ways of tarot cards but the Fool card is one among the deck.
Per Wikipedia:
According to A. E. Waite's 1910 book The Pictorial Key to the Tarot, the Fool card is associated with:
Folly, mania, extravagance, intoxication, delirium, frenzy, betrayal. If the card is reversed: Negligence, absence, distribution, carelessness, apathy, nullity, vanity
***
Def Leppard - Foolin'
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Styx - Fooling Yourself
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Aretha Franklin - Chain of Fools
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The Spinettes covering Frankie Lymon - Why do Fools Fall in Love
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Whitesnake - Fool for your Loving
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Fool Us! magic - if you appreciate magic, you'll enjoy watching this. Impressive.
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Elvis - Fools Rush In
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Like new! No foolin!
Fwiw, I am continually amazed there are channels on YouTube dedicated to restoring old stuff. I am further amazed by the volume of viewers. YouTube has its issues, but it is the universal skeleton key to narrowcasting.
Written correspondence can be sent to moronhobbies at protonmail dot com. Are you lurking ?? Thank you for your attention to this matter. We aim to whelm. Sometimes we hit. Sometimes we miss.
Monkey papparazzi caught Punch the Monkey canoodling with his fuzzy "friend."
A very elderly chimpanzee, dying of thirst and hunger as his body shuts down, has a visitor -- his caretaker from years before. (The chimpanzee then savaged the old caretaker, raking all of the skin off his face. But before that -- heartwarming!)
BREAKING: A just-disclosed Aug. 4, 2022, FBI email reveals two DOJ officials involved in the Russiagate hoax--George Toscas and Jay Bratt--were pushing the Mar-a-Lago raid hard despite FBI WFO objections: "We heard Mr. Toscas say yesterday in the call that 'he frankly doesn't give a damn about the optics' [of raiding a former president's home] and Mr. Bratt already has built an antagonistic relationship with FPOTUS's attorney Mr. Corcoran just prior to the execution of the warrant," guaranteeing the raid "will not go well."
Paul Sperry
@paulsperry_
BREAKING: Newly released July 13, 2022, email b/t FBI field agents reveals they didnt think probable cause existed to search Mar-a-Lago but were "rebuffed" by Biden DOJ: "WFO does not believe we have established probable cause for the search warrant at Mar a Lago. DOJ has opined they do, requesting a wide scope including residence, office, storage space." Judicial Watch obtained the email thru FOIA.
Fabulous!
Gunther Eagleman
@GuntherEagleman
BOOM! Kayleigh just dropped TRUTH:
There are over 500 firms in China helping CCP members come here to give birth in the US, all thanks to Obama’s 2009 loopholes.
That could mean 1 million new “anchor baby” voters by 2030.
BREAKING: Justice Sam Alito explains that unlimited birthright citizenship means a Chinese, Iranian or Russian foreigner can have a child in America, and that US citizen owes military allegiance to a foreign adversary.
Justice DEI wanted to prove that it's no big deal if millions of Fake American Citizens actually owe their primary allegiance to a hostile foreign country, so she embarrassed herself again. She claimed that if you're in Japan and subject to Japan's laws, that means you "locally owe your allegiance" to Japan so what does it matter if we have 10 million Chinese anchor babies planted here by the CCP? We all owe our allegiance to some other country sometimes, baby.
Jasmine Crockett
@JasmineForUS
The meltdown over Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson is truly something EVERYONE needs to pay attention to. You see, as the first & only black woman to ever serve on the court, she had to be 10 times better than most... She continues to flex her brilliance in oral arguments & many dissents.
Please note that by the time a black woman ascends to a powerful position, she Definitely Earned It... if you have any questions... let's talk about Senator, now Secretary Mullin... or please pull the resumes of some of the other justices before entering this chat... actually just don't, it's not a debate, these are FACTS (alternative facts = LIES).
Stephen L. Miller
@redsteeze
I think we're long over "Don't listen to her words, just pay attention to her skin color."
You of all people should have just learned that lesson in Texas.
Christopher F. Rufo ⚔️
@christopherrufo
4h
EXCLUSIVE: Multiple senior HHS officials estimate that, under Gavin Newsom, California's state Medicaid program has lost 25 percent of its budget to fraud. This would mean it is currently losing $50 billion a year to scammers, fraudsters, and organized crime rings.
Brandon Straka #WalkAway
@BrandonStraka
JD VANCE: "ICE arrested an illegal immigrant from Mauritania who's voted in 7 federal elections since 2008!"
"Even if you take the Democrats at their word, even if illegal aliens voting is very rare, then why don't we ban it anyway?"
The internet did something it was supposed to do but never does: It actually brought together different people in a positive way.
Andrew Branca Show
@TheBrancaShow
1/6 Something remarkable just happened on X -- and almost nobody in legacy media noticed. A tweet about Japanese BBQ went viral in the US. What came next was completely unexpected. 🧵
2/6 X quietly launched automatic Japanese-to-English translation on posts.
The result? American and Japanese users started reading each other -- many for the first time.
And they immediately discovered something: they like the same things.
Andrew Branca Show
3/6 It started with meat.
It always does.
Japanese users were posting about wagyu, yakiniku, and grilling culture. Americans responded with their own BBQ passion. The two audiences went absolutely wild for each other.
A shared love of quality meat kicked off an international friendship movement in real time.
4/6 But it didn't stop at meat.
As the conversation deepened, both groups realized the connection ran much further.
Shared pride in their cultures.
Shared values around family, work, and national identity.
A shared worldview that the globalist left has spent decades trying to erase.
16h
5/6 This is what happens when the language barrier falls and ordinary people actually talk to each other -- without journalists, NGOs, or government officials in the way.
Japanese and Americans aren't supposed to like each other this much. The globalists need them divided.
Iryna should have crossed the border illegally, committed several felonies, preferably violent, instead of dying at the hands of a cold-blooded murderer on a bus if she wanted to be cared about in a blue city. https://t.co/LEDaASmBwR
I’m all for dunking on Democrats for normalizing crazy, stupid, and ideologically dangerous, jackasses. It’s a fair and legitimate point. But to pretend or even imply this is just a problem with one of our parties is crazy, stupid, ideologically dangerous jackassery. https://t.co/KiaEjsEujB
A Dem Senate candidate campaigns with a guy who says America deserved 9/11 and Jonah’s take is that we don’t attack enough Republicans lol https://t.co/1ha6CZge9j
Because Jonah Goldberg does not read actually-conservative media and never did, he is completely unaware that in fact there is a major and brutal pushback against the Nazis and fake conservatives who push socialism and Russian Imperialism. So no, it's not the same as Democrat senate candidates campaigning with Hasan "Let's face it, America deserved 9/11" Piker, an outright cheerleader for anti-American terrorist attacks. The left continues hugging its antifa and Islamic terrorists closer.
🚨 HOLY CRAP! A fraud scandal is BLOWING UP at Newark, New Jersey schools
Over a quarter BILLION federal dollars surged to the district meant to address learning loss, but it had basically NO IMPACT
"This person received the no-show contract, and this person was a close friend… pic.twitter.com/IjRWHIWH6m
"Experts:" Just Because the Combined US and Israeli Forces Are Having Their Way with the Iranian Regime Like Jodie Foster on a Pinball Machine Doesn't Mean We're Winning
—Disinformation Expert Ace
This has been a running narrative in the Leftwing Joke Media for the entire month.
But the Theater Kids Media is really wedded to the idea that by killing the entire top two or three echelons of Islamic Occupation Army command, we've actually strengthened Iran.
Are you stupid? Are you people actually retarded? Have you replaced all your editors with the free version of ChatGPT from 2023? How could you possibly run something this ridiculous.
The US and Israel have complete air superiority over Iran and have been bombing it nonstop for…
To the platinum credentialed Expert, such a decisive military success being presided over by consensus idiot Donald Trump is completely inconceivable; so they will carry on strutting mindlessly, like a chicken which has been relieved of its head.
In the below list, real media headlines have been hidden among the fake ones.
Give yourself five Burger King Kids Club Clue Crew points for each one you find.
.Analysts Warn That Loss of Mojtaba Khamenei's Leg Will Just Make Him 'More Resolved,' Open Up 'Sick Parking Opportunities' Outside of Pinkberry
After suffering two fatal wounds to his head and heart, General Custer is said to be preparing for a "rebuilding season"
AP: Israel Is Rapidly Killing Iran's Top Leaders. Experts Warn This Strategy Could Backfire.
The Loss of "Deadweight Cities" Hiroshima and Nagasaki Just Might Be the Boost Japan Needs
NBC: Israel killed another Iranian leader, but experts say that doesn't mean it's winning the war
Foreign Policy: D-Day More Like Flea Day Amirite
Hitler's Masterstroke: Furher's Brilliant Suicide Maneuver Stuns Jewish Capitalist Conspiracy by "Flipping the Script" and Taking the Polarizing Leader Out of the Equation
CNN: How Israel killing leaders in Iran could complicate Trump's search for an endgame
How many of the real headlines did you spot, Burger King Kids Club Clue Crew?
I saw it Tuesday night. I realized that was the last night to see it on a premium screen, because Super Mario Bros. would take al the premium screens Wednesday.
I'll review it below. (In short: It's good, worth seeing in the theaters.)
The movie isn't political, but the creators are pitching it low-key as a conservative-friendly movie.
First of all, the writer of the novel the movie is based on, Andy Weir, actually went on Critical Drinker for almost an hour. The Critical Drinker is hated and persona non grata with progressives, so when Weir decided he would ignore the #Deplatforming order on Critical Drinker, he was making a statement.
"I forgot who it was--I wish I could remember who it was who said it, some analyst--he said something like, 'All modern science fiction TV shows and movies have been heavily influenced by the original Star Trek--except for the current batch of Star Trek shows,'" Weir noted. "I'm Gen X, so my sci-fi was like original series Star Trek reruns and Lost in Space reruns. And there wasn't really much in the way of [new] sci-fi that was airing--where people are off in space doing cool things--until we got to [The Next Generation]."
After discussing the fate of Starfleet Academy and Jordan suggesting that Paramount should simply decanonize all modern Star Trek, Weir offered something of a rebuttal while also revealing that he had attempted to pitch a Trek series of his own.
"You're a little more severe than I am--I'll give you my opinion, and I'm just a consumer. I like Strange New Worlds. I think it's pretty good. I didn't hate Enterprise. I thought it was kind of weird. Lower Decks, I thought, was entertaining and fun. All the others, they can go," Weir said.
"And here's another thing: I pitched a Star Trek show to Paramount, and I was in Zoom with the showrunners with all the shows and spent a lot of time talking to [executive producer Alex Kurtzman]," the writer continued. "I don't like a lot of the new Trek. He, as a person, is a really nice guy. But at the same time, those shows are shit. He is a nice guy. But they didn't accept my pitch, so, you know, fuck 'em."
He was forced to apologize for this -- conservatives also shouldn't court controversy or alienate potential ticket-buyers when they're promoting their movies, either -- but we all heard it. The Truth Is Out There now.
In another soft pitch to conservatives, star Ryan Gosling introduced the movie at a screening, he declared, "It's not [fans'] job to keep theaters open, it's our job to make things that make it worth coming out." That may seem obvious, but it's only conservative cultural critics who've been saying it. The left thinks we should show up for their Gay Illegal Alien Antifa Movies just to show our support for favored minorities.
'Project Hail Mary' Is Fun. Maybe That's All It Takes.
By Roy Price
Mr. Price is the chief executive of International Art Machine, an entertainment studio, and was previously the head of Amazon Studios.
"Project Hail Mary" opened last weekend to more than $80 million at the domestic box office, the biggest opening for a nonfranchise, nonsequel film since "Oppenheimer" in 2023. For all the fretting about the decline of movie theaters, people apparently know where their local theater is just as long as they're given films they want to go and see. It's also the first major theatrical success for Amazon MGM Studios, which formed in 2023. (Despite my former association with Amazon, I don't enjoy any benefit from the film's success.)
It's not just a one-off hit, either -- the domestic box office in general in 2026 is up a robust 20 percent from the year before, driven by hits like the mid-December releases "Avatar: Fire and Ash" and "The Housemaid," along with the year's "Scream 7," "Wuthering Heights" and others.
A possible reason for this rebound? Movies are starting to feel fun again.
Eras change. Vibes, as they say, shift. In 1969, the low-budget counterculture road movie "Easy Rider" was the fourth-biggest box office hit -- edged out for third place by the low-budget, X-rated "Midnight Cowboy." By contrast, "Paint Your Wagon," a big-budget, star-driven musical, tanked. That was the end of an era: Musicals were essentially over and the cinematic 1970s had begun, one year early.
We've had other eras since -- the blockbusters of the 1980s, the Sundance generation of the 1990s. But the most recent era, which started in the wake of Donald Trump's election in 2016 and went into overdrive after 2020, was one in which political and social messaging were what seemed to matter most in Hollywood.
I actually wrote that he rejected divisive political messaging before I read the actual article. But he said it! I was only thinking he'd softly imply it.
Sex, erotic thrillers and humor were on the outs. Romantic comedies essentially disappeared. From 2012 to 2016, roughly 67 comedy films with budgets over $5 million were released a year on average. From 2017 to 2023 (excluding the Covid year of 2020), that average dropped by a third, to some 45 comedies a year. It was an era when you could make "Nomadland" -- a best picture Oscar winner in 2021 -- but championing the ribaldry of a film like "Bridesmaids" seemed suddenly out of the question.
The Dionysian elements of popular entertainment -- irreverence, sexual frankness and broad, even scatological humor -- were cast aside as the industry sought to correct historic wrongs and resist current ones. An unmistakable censoriousness and fear of saying or doing the wrong thing seemed to settle over the creative process. Cultural and political considerations played an outsize role -- not only in what movies got made, but in how success for these movies was defined.
What didn't seem to matter as much? Making sure that audiences were filling seats.
It can't be a coincidence that Ryan Gosling is echoing this line, minus the overt criticism of progressive propaganda. This feels like a coordinated message.
In Price's case, he has nothing to gain from Project Hail Mary's success. I guess he had no points in the project. But many in Hollywood have recognized that the industry is now in a state of dire existential crisis and they need to get their heads out of their stinky asses ASAP or the whole rotten house is going to collapse. His interest here is about the general viability of the so-called "entertainment" industry.
Some might object that comedy in particular waned in that era because the genre, in the words of the industry, "doesn't travel," meaning it lacks international appeal. But the international appeal of comedy didn't suddenly change in 2017. Hollywood's tastes did.
That era might finally be ending.
Hollywood loves box-office data, and the recent data suggests that there are two paths forward for the industry. One path is the prestige message films that dominated the most recent Oscars, exemplified by this year's best picture winner, "One Battle After Another" (although that movie, with its chase scenes and stoner jokes, had a crowd-pleasing element). The other path is represented by eight-cylinder entertainment like "Project Hail Mary" and "The Housemaid" -- as well as pulpy films like "Weapons" and "Sinners" (which had its political notions, but you could enjoy it for the music and vampires).
If this new era of fun has a figurehead, it's the actress Sydney Sweeney, who almost single-handedly revived the romantic comedy with "Anyone but You" and the erotic thriller with "The Housemaid," two genres that 10 years ago had been cinematically left for dead.
Hollywood was built on entertainment. A big part of what makes entertaining movies work is that they engage audiences in a way that feels contemporary but would be completely recognizable to Billy Wilder or Frank Capra. These films spring from the belief that movies matter in and of themselves -- and not just as a means to influence society.
The question is not whether Hollywood should make serious or socially conscious films -- it should, and it will. But the success of "Project Hail Mary" and other recent films reminds us that in our new era, whatever it will be called, people appear to be responding to fun.
There was an old rule that actual movie stars observed: "One for the studio, one for me." In other words, one broadly entertaining movie likely to make a good amount of money, and then one more personal and "arty" project which probably wouldn't make money but would boost the star's prestige.
For ten years, Hollywood's rule has been "one for me, and another one for me, and oh how about another one for me, and this one for me, and this one for me." Yes, they made Marvel and other superhero movies during this period, but those were among the only broadly-entertaining movies they made -- everything else was overt, mentally-impaired hardcore woke propaganda. And then, of course, even the stupid superhero movies started pushing braindead woke propaganda as well, and people stopped seeing those.
The "star" of the upcoming Supergirl movie just decided to alienate the mostly-male audience for superhero movies and announce that she is a pre-emptive victim (TM) of internet bullying. You see, Basement Internet Babies cannot stand the thought of a Stronk Female playing... Supergirl.
And so Hollywood now finds itself making almost nothing but woke propaganda movies people just don't want to see. And they can no longer point to Marvel's success as evidence they're still relevant.
A review:
As I said, it's worth your time and money. The movie has a fair amount of spectacle -- there's a great sequence involving skimming the atmosphere of an alien planet towards the end of the movie -- and supposedly most of the effects were achieved in-camera with models and painted backdrops.
The story is a little contrived: the Sun is dimming due to strange alien cells called "astrophages," or star-eaters. The earth has about 30 years left before it is plunged into a lethal ice age that will kill almost all life on the planet. Local stars are similarly dimming, probably also from these astrophages. All except a star 13 light years away, Tau Ceti. The earth organizes an emergency crash project to build a ship to go to Tau Ceti and find out what makes Tau Ceti immune from the plague of the astrophages, and send what they discover back to earth via small probes.
The hitch: It's a one-way trip, a suicide run. They cannot load enough fuel on to the ship for a return trip. Whoever goes, dies in space.
One thing I like about this set-up: Author Andy Weir avoids the usual end-of-the-world scenario of "global warming." Instead he conjures up a fictitious threat that results in... global cooling. I think he did this on purpose.
When Ryan Gosling's character reaches Tau Ceti, he is menaced by an alien space ship that also has just arrived there. But he soon guesses the ship was sent by another civilization threatened by the astrophages, for the same reason he's there, to discover why Tau Ceti resists the plague.
This brings up two closely-related criticisms I have about the movie:
1, Hollywood's continued belief that audiences still love Marvel Trash Humor. The movie is loaded with jokes -- or "jokes" -- and while a fair number of them work, a lot of them are just thrown in because the movie thinks the audience has a short attention span and is bored by science and so there's a joke a minute to keep the audience engaged. Now, maybe they're right that the Modern Audience demands this constant barrage of light humor, but it grated on me. I have to repeat, a fair amount of the humor actually is funny, but I got annoyed at the many pop culture references. I felt like I was stuck at a party between Star-Lord and Dr. Strange trying to out-clever each other and both losing.
2, the movie aggressively wants you to like it and like the characters. It's like a hyperactive puppy in its drive to be liked. Of all the sins a movie can have, this is a pretty forgiveable one, but... I liked the characters well-enough without the cloying attempts to ingratiate themselves with me.
Directors Lord and Miller were fired from Solo for making that movie too much of a comedy. I long assumed that Kaffeine Kennedy was in the wrong, but now I'm not so sure.
Those flaws knock the movie down a point, but it's still a strong movie. The atmospheric-skimming sequence at the climax of Act II is spectacular and so tense that I wanted to walk out of the movie. That's not the movie's fault, it's just as I've gotten older I flinch from tension (and horror) more and more. The suspense was, for me, unbearable at points. But that is, of course, what they were aiming for.
Oh, I recognized Milana Vayntraub as a background character after a while. (Pretty much all characters except Ryan Gosling and his alien contact are background characters.) She is pretty, but, as usual, she dresses in baggy clothes because she really, really hates guys looking at her boobs. I count this as another attempt by the film-makers to appeal to conventional/traditional audiences, men in particular.
There is a flaw I felt when I was watching the movie but later decided wasn't a flaw: When Gosling encounters the alien craft, there's a sequence taking about 40 minutes of Gosling figuring out how to communicate with the aliens. While I was watching it, I felt as if Gosling was spending too much time on this rather than his actual mission, which was to explore Tau Ceti.
But of course partnering with aliens for this mission would greatly improve the odds of succeeding. I wish there had just been a quick line inserted where Gosling speaks into his video journal and declares that finding a way to communicate with the aliens will help him complete his mission. I know that's obvious, but he does spend a long time figuring out the alien language. I kept thinking, "What about your mission?" If the movie just offered a quick line saying that this is part of the mission, I wouldn't have been bothered.
I listened to that Idiot Whore Grace Randolf because I wanted to hear how the movie was performing financially. She was sure that there is no way the human and alien could have communicated with each other.
I was kind of infected with her Very Stupid Idea as I was watching the movie, but upon reflection, I think the learning-the-language sequence is perfectly plausible.
They don't learn each other's language at all, actually. They say words to each other, and get the other's equivalent word, and then enter the matching pair into the computer. It's the computer that does the translating, working from a lexicon they enter into it. Not having to actually memorize vocabulary really speeds things up.
Even though this takes a fair chunk of screen-time, in real time, I think it would only take 2-3 days. Because they only learn, at the end of their big language-learning session, 250 words.
At the end of a process of sharing vocabulary with each other, Gosling says something like, "We know about 250 of each other's words, not a lot but enough to order dinner in a restaurant." That's about right. Vocabulary goes by a power law: the 500 most common words in a language make up fifty percent of all words you will ever read or hear in it. The next 500 most common words make up 25% of all the words you will ever encounter. The next 500 most common make up 12.5%, the next 500 6.25%, etc.
So upon further reflection, their 250 word lexicon would be enough to start communicating.
I also realized that this explained away part of my problem with the movie: the cutesieness. I hope I am not spoiling the movie by telling you the alien Gosling partners with is very cute -- too cute, I found during the movie. Cuter than Ewoks.
But I now realize that a big part of why I found him so cloyingly cute was that he spoke with a child-like vocabulary. When he objected to an idea, he would say "Bad bad bad" or "dumb and stupid."
But... that's exactly what he would say, if he's limiting himself to the simplest possible vocabulary he knows so that the computer can look it up in their tiny 250-word lexicon. So the cuteness was actually plot-justified, which I didn't realize when I was watching it.
Of course he speaks like a little child, because he's working from a little child's 250-word vocabulary! Little children do not say "sub-optimal" or "insufficiently evidenced." They say "Bad bad bad" and "dumb and stupid."
(How exactly they communicated more technical/scientific ideas, I don't know. Fortunately for them, the science they end up doing is pretty basic. I don't know what they would have done if it got very technical. And they do continue adding to their lexicon as they work together through the movie.)
Maybe with that explanation, this aspect of the movie won't grate on you as it grated on me.
Overall, a good movie. Often over-cute, marred by Marvel humor, and there's a character arc that feels too writerly to me -- like Weir thought of it and then patted himself on the shoulder -- but worth the $11 and two and a half hours.
Plus, if they're trying hard to pander to normie audiences, normie audiences would do well to reward that.
Supreme Court Appears "Skeptical" of Trump's Completely-Correct Arguments on Birthright Citizenship Plus: Trump to Sign EO Cracking Down on Illegal Mail-In Voting
—Disinformation Expert Ace
Of course. Republicans nominate liberals to the Supreme Court, recommended by the fake conservatives of the Federalist Society.
The Supreme Court on Wednesday mostly appeared skeptical of the Trump administration's argument to end birthright citizenship for babies born to parents who are not U.S. citizens.
Solicitor Gen. D. John Sauer argued Wednesday before the high court, with President Trump in attendance, that birthright citizenship "rewards illegal immigration" and urged the justices to rule that the children of temporary visitors and illegal immigrants should not be deemed as citizens at birth, the Los Angeles Times reported.
Most of the justices, on the 9-member bench, said the Constitution had been interpreted for more than a century to grant citizenship to "all persons born" in the U.S., regardless of the citizenship status of their parents.
Justices Neil Gorsuch and Amy Coney Barrett said the 19th-century debates over citizenship focused on newborns, not their parents' legal status.
"In none of the debates are parents discussed," Gorsuch said.
Of course the liberal woman and libertarian sissy are defecting, as usual.
Barrett said the 14th Amendment's framers declared a "new type of American citizenship. ... They don't focus on the parents. They focus on the child."
So she's already gone -- she's stating that she already knows exactly what the 14th Amendment means.
Justice Elena Kagan told Sauer that he was seeking a major revision in longstanding law.
"Birthright citizenship has been the rule for a very long time," she said. Because of this, she said, why "accept this revisionist history?"
...
Sauer argued in response that this understanding of birthright citizenship had been wrong from the beginning.
He said the citizenship rule did not extend to the children of immigrants and visitors who were "subject to a foreign power," as those people did not have "allegiance" to the U.S.
Chief Justice John Roberts was also skeptical, saying, "It's a new world, but it is the same Constitution."
And there you go. The Grim Troika again.
You can listen to live arguments here, if you can take it. Go to the right sidebar and scroll down to Wednesday's arguments. (I can't link it directly.)
Trump is ready to sign another EO, which our corrupt liberal Supreme Court will probably strike down because they don't want to stop Democrats from openly stealing elections.
President Donald Trump is expected to sign an executive order Tuesday cracking down on mail-in voting across the country, the Daily Caller learned first.
The executive order will require the Secretary of Homeland Security to create a list of verified U.S. citizens who are eligible to vote in each state with the Social Security Administration's help, according to a fact sheet shared with the Caller. The presidential action will also require that the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) only send absentee ballots to those on each state's approved mail-in ballot list. Ballots will now have specific secure envelopes, with unique barcodes for tracking, the order mandates.
States will be provided with their revised list of confirmed voters no less than 60 days before each federal election under the order.
The executive order also tells the U.S. Attorney General to prioritize investigating and prosecuting anyone accused of sending ballots to ineligible voters, the Caller learned. States that disobey the order may lose federal funds under the presidential action.
...
The action comes as the U.S. Senate continues to debate the SAVE America Act. Under the legislation, voters would be required to provide proof of U.S. citizenship and ID, states would be required to clean up their voter rolls and approved reasons for mail-in ballots would be restricted.
The New York Times Shrieks About the 1% Recividivism Rate for Pardoned J6 Protesters, But Continues to Support the Release of Hardened Criminals with 30%+ Recidivisim Rates
But we should also allow Iryna Zarutska's butcher to keep killing women until he's all "murdered out."
Strom is amused/angry that the NYT has suddenly discovered a zeal for punishment by incarceration -- but only for conservative political prisoners.
Maybe it was an April Fool's joke? The New York Times, which is deeply upset that Trump is arresting rapists, pedophiles, and sex traffickers to deport, wants you to know that the people Trump pardoned over January 6th infractions are on a crime spree.
Crime spree.
Apparently, of the more than 1200 people he has pardoned, 12 have been arrested for a crime since their pardon.
"One does not have to be a criminologist to predict that people who commit a violent act and are absolved of any punishment might become repeat offenders,"
Twelve people. Obviously, I want any of these people who committed a crime to get the appropriate punishment, and I wish I could say the same thing about New York Times readers and writers.
But they only care about criminals who support Donald Trump. Antifa rioters? They are "protesters." Homeless drug addicts pooping on the streets? "Victims." Somali fraudsters? No big deal. Hamas supporters taking over college campuses? They are bravely expressing their First Amendment rights.
The man who slashed Iryna Zarutska's throat committed more felonies than all the January 6ers combined, and The New York Times barely tut-tuts. Illegal alien gang members? They are our "neighbors."
Daniel Friedman
@DanFriedman81
The Times editorial board points out that 12 people Trump pardoned for January 6 offenses have been rearrested in the 14 months since Trump pardoned them. Trump pardoned 1270 January 6 convicts. That is a rate of 1% of pardon recipients reoffending.
Among arrestees free pending trial in New York City under the 2018 bail reform, about 22% are rearrested within 6 months. The people we need to worry about becoming repeat offenders after being absolved of punishment are not the J6ers.
I am all for a punitive justice system. I am all for mass incarceration. But to pretend the J6 offenders are dangerous recidivists who need to be locked up while it's fine to immediately release most criminals arrested by the NYPD is profoundly ridiculous.
Say -- what's the recidivism rate for antifa street thugs repeatedly sentenced to "time served" -- just the hours or days they spent in county jail awaiting their "sentencing"?
What do you guess the repeat-offender rate is there? 100% or thereabouts?
By the way, the J6ers were held without trial for up to a year, often in the most degrading and intentionally-damaging conditions. Some were held in solitary confinement for no reason except to punish before trial.
The Times editorial board points out that 12 people Trump pardoned for January 6 offenses have been rearrested in the 14 months since Trump pardoned them. Trump pardoned 1270 January 6 convicts. That is a rate of 1% of pardon recipients reoffending.
Rubio Blasts Our Frenemy "Allies:" You Know, We Don't Rely On Oil That Passes Through the Strait of America. You Do.
—Disinformation Expert Ace
Europe, the world's most arrogant welfare moocher, wants us to -- get this -- do all the work for them while they can keep sitting on the couch fingering each other up the bungholes.
Overton
@overton_news
Secretary Marco Rubio just delivered a BRUTAL wake-up call to U.S. allies refusing to step up on the Strait of Hormuz.
"We depend very little on the straits -- this is a problem for the WORLD."
RUBIO: "Well, the Straits of Hormuz, those are international waters, so anything Iran does to impede commercial traffic is illegal."
"For all these countries that like to talk about international law, it is a violation of international maritime law to impede the free flow of travel in international waters, so that's number one."
"Number two, it's illegal to bomb and hit and attack commercial shipping, and sink them."
"That's what the Nazis did during World War II in the Atlantic, and that's what they are doing now to ships from countries they don't like, flagged by countries they don't like."
"These are TERRORISTIC acts that they are undertaking."
"So the United States gets very little energy through the Strait of Hormuz."
"Our allies ship out a lot of oil through there...and certainly countries in Asia and Europe on it."
"We depend very little on the straits, if, in fact, Iran decides to set up a toll, if, in fact, Iran decides that they are going to illegally control the Straits of Hormuz..."
"I imagine that will be the president's call whether he wants to help but this is a problem for the world."
"It's countries around the world that should be stepping up and dealing with that and saying that's intolerable and that's what we've encouraged them to do."
Rubio just exposed the truth -- Iran is committing terroristic acts in international waters and America's allies are sitting on their hands.
Trump Becomes First Sitting President to Attend Supreme Court Oral Arguments, Showing Up to Hear Discussion About His Birthright Citizenship Executive Order
President Donald Trump plans to sit in on Wednesday's Supreme Court hearing on birthright citizenship, making him the first sitting president to attend oral arguments at the nation's highest court.
The Republican president's official schedule, sent out by the White House, included a stop at the Supreme Court, where justices will hear Trump's appeal of a lower court ruling that struck down his executive order limiting birthright citizenship.
The order, which Trump signed on the first day of his second term, declared that children born to parents who are in the United States illegally or temporarily are not American citizens. It's an about-face from the long-standing view that the Constitution's 14th Amendment and federal law since 1940 confer citizenship to everyone born on American soil, with narrow exceptions.
It's not the first time Trump has considered showing up for a high court hearing. Last year, Trump said that he badly wanted to attend a hearing on whether he overstepped federal law with his sweeping tariffs, but he decided against it, saying it would have been a distraction.
On Tuesday, however, Trump seemed more sure he'd be in court for Wednesday's hearing while he spoke with reporters in the Oval Office.
"I'm going," Trump said, when the upcoming arguments in the birthright citizenship case were mentioned. To a follow-up question clarifying that he planned to go in person, Trump said, "I think so, I do believe."
The argument is about the 14th Amendment's declaration that any person "born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof" is a citizen. This was intended to make it clear that slaves released from bondage after the Civil War were now citizens. The whole point of the "and subject to the jurisdiction thereof" line was to make it clear that this did not apply to foreigners, who are subject to the jurisdiction of a foreign sovereign.
We should win this case on the merits, but we're fighting against more than logic here.
It continues to amuse me that Blueskyers abandoned twitter to avoid the toxicity, only to discover that they *were* the toxicity. https://t.co/8ZHlNlqQpA
There are many reasons that naysayers looked at the prospect of state-sponsored "assisted suicide" with everything from trepidation to open horror. These reasons range from the religious to the moral to the pragmatic, but there have been many objectors wherever such notions have been floated. In this country, it's a state-level consideration. In other countries, like Canada, it's national. More states and countries every year enable it, and the naysayers now have the records of places where it has already been done to point to.
One thing that state-sponsored "assisted suicide" has demonstrated is that on this particular topic, the goalposts aren't merely mobile, they have wheels and powerful engines to propel them down the field. Yesterday, Ace posted an ad from Canada, encouraging that country's flavor of euthanasia (called MAID) by extolling the virtues of offing yourself. In his Morning Rant yesterday, CBD mentioned the legal battle over what became Spain's youngest person killed through its euthanasia program.
In Canada, MAID's goalposts have been moving rapidly. It took just five years for Canada to mash down the accelerator on MAID. When passed in 2016, MAID required a 10-day "reflection period" before a person could be eligible. This was repealed for terminal patients in 2021, and they installed a MAID express lane. There is still a waiting period for MAID's "Track 2" participants - which is for those without "forseeable death" - but it can also be waived. From "death as a mercy" to express-lane, state-sponsored killing in five years. Impressive.
But it doesn't stop there for MAID. MAID still doesn't kill citizens suffering only from mental illness. That is changing. It was supposed to change last year, but there was enough objection that it's been deferred until 2027. But they will get there, and open a whole category of people who can be killed by the state. Sure, it requires consent - but as we see reported frequently, MAID is enthusiastically offered to those seeking medical treatment and - unlike many other medical treatments in Canada - MAID acts fast. The slope is slippery indeed.
Colorado also passed its euthanasia law in 2016. Unlike Canada, it took longer to start moving the goalposts. It wasn't until 2024 that they cut the waiting period in half and added a waiver process to skip the waiting period if the prescriber thinks death is imminent. That same year, Colorado also expanded who can prescribe the drugs to include Advanced Practice Registered Nurses in addition to doctors. This latter change was made specifically to cover doctor-scarce rural areas. Vermont passed its euthanasia law in 2013 and also took longer to start moving the goalposts. In 2022 they "expanded access" by eliminating one of the two waiting periods, allowing remote diagnosis ("telemedicine") and opening eligibility to non-residents. In neither state is it available for mental illness, nor can the doctor administer the drugs - but I will be surprised if it takes more than five years to get there under the banner of "expanded access." After all, neither state made it even a decade before hitting the accelerator.
Then there is Spain. Spain was comparatively late to the party, not legalizing state-sponsored euthanasia until 2021. Spain does still have a waiting period, but also permits it for mental illness. That permission is not explicit, but it is nonetheless permitted. A mere three years after the law's passage, the Spanish parliament attempted to make it explicitly permitted. The attempt failed - probably because it wasn't necessary - but many in Spanish government wanted to make it very clear that they will help you off yourself for mental illness. They learned from their forbears to be expansive, but wanted to make it explicitly expansive just in case they can help shuffle more people into the grave by doing so.
The reason I looked into this further is the same case that CBD discussed yesterday. In that case, a mentally-ill young woman named Noelia Castillo Ramos became the youngest person in Spain to die by assisted suicide, and it was for mental illness that was exacerbated by sexual assault. Her family sued to prevent it, citing mental incompetence. The court ruled that she was competent, and so it proceeded. That makes sense as far is it goes, but I was curious as to why the lawsuit was about competence rather than diagnosis, why the argument was that Ramos couldn't make that choice, rather than because it was for a non-terminal illness. That is when I learned that it needn't be for a terminal - or even physical - illness in Spain. Competence was the only avenue available to fight it.
The press and politicians happily ignored those who objected to these laws. The press wrote off the moral and religious objectors as atavistic cranks, and declared that the pragmatic objectors were arguing in bad faith. The pragmatic objectors to state-sponsored euthanasia are perhaps the most interesting, because they feared exactly this ratcheting expansion even if they didn't have moral or religious objections to the idea of a "mercy killing." The pragmatists were proven correct as everywhere such laws have been implemented, the requirements are subsequently loosened. Wait less. Make diagnosis easier and faster. Expand the list of eligible conditions. Once permitted at all, the steady march toward expansion, acceleration, popularization or - G-d forbid - a mandate immediately began.
Encouraging citizens to die is too great a temptation for the state. Once that door has been opened, it not only can never close, it can only open wider. Whether through misplaced empathy, financial considerations or simple malice, the standards and restrictions always decline and - like abortion - what started as "safe, legal and rare" becomes the heavily-encouraged first choice.
Also, I hope that our Jewish Hordelings have a good Pesach (which begins tonight) and that our Christian Hordelings have a blessed Good Friday and a happy Easter!
Good morning kids. Lots of things happening, and ground to cover this morning. First to Iran where President Trump is making lots of things go boom including the heads of Leftists and miscreants. But in Iran:
Writing in Ynet on Tuesday, Israeli military analyst Ron Ben-Yishai — a veteran Yediot Ahronot correspondent and Israel Prize recipient — assessed that the strike reflects a deliberate U.S. effort to neutralize Iran’s enriched uranium stockpile by entombing it beneath rock, soil, and collapsed tunnel infrastructure rather than attempting to remove it by force.
Perhaps this was the plan all along and the deployment of several thousand US troops to or near the theatre was a big head-fake. Iran's nuclear program was always the prime if not sole reason why the President decided to attack, with regime change or as it stands the chance for regime change an enticing side benefit.
President Donald Trump said Tuesday that Operation Epic Fury in Iran will come to an end in the next two or three weeks, or perhaps even sooner.
If the reports of Iran's enriched Uranium stockpile being buried forever are accurate, that is certainly a very good thing. And assuming their centrifuges are now also a pile of rubble and their nuclear and rocket scientists now so much moldering worm food, the odds of them being able to reconstitue what they once had, certainly in the near term are low. But, can we really breathe a sigh of relief if even a shadow of the Mullahocracy is allowed to take the reins of power. We are after all dealing not only with a 47-year old regime but with a 1500-year old ideology spanning the globe that seeks to conquer it and make it Planet Islam.
The apparent eagerness of Trump to make a deal with Iran, leaving in place the current regime, has left many Iranians feeling deceived and disappointed. They are particularly alarmed that his mediators have been talking to the speaker of Iran’s parliament, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf. More on Ghalibaf can be found here: “Iranians feel ‘deceived, abandoned’ as Trump weighs striking deal with Iran’s old guard,” by Omid Habibinia, The Media Line, March 25, 2026 . . .
Well, dear Persians, my message to you is put your own asses on the line. We've done more than enough heavy lifting already. The rest is up to you. What's better, living on your knees of dying on your feet?! I hope it doesn't come to that for you and every innocent decent person, but the ball is in your court.
President Donald Trump on Tuesday evening signed an executive order focused on election integrity, including a measure to ensure that mail-in ballots are sent to eligible voters and returned by them. Trump signed the order in the Oval Office while flanked by White House staff secretary Will Scharf and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick . . . “We’re going to take federal data, we’re going to ensure that each state’s election officials are provided with a comprehensive view of who the eligible voters in their jurisdiction actually are, allowing them to properly verify that everybody voting in their elections is legally able to vote,’ Scharf said of the first measure.
No doubt the lawsuits and phony injunctions from Justices Buch M. Danno and Mac A. Damia will be forthcoming. But still. At least we at long last have a real leader putting his ass on the line, unlike the GOP that is doing jack shit and worse, doing what they can to sabotage the efforts.
President Trump to Attend SCOTUS Oral Arguments on Birthright Citizenship. . . Soon after taking office last year, Trump signed an executive order to end birthright citizenship for the U.S.-born children of illegal aliens and foreign tourists, often referred to as “anchor babies” as they anchor their parents permanently in the U.S. and can sponsor their immediate relatives for green cards once they become of legal age.
Wow. I'm no presidential historian but I think this is unprecedented. That said, I know of no rule that forbids Trump from sitting in on the SCOTUS session, especially since he himself, or his policy, is one of the parties in the case.
My first reaction is perhaps politically it's not such a great move as it gives the Leftists a potential talking point to attack him as a tyrant/Hitler intimidating the judiciary or some such rot. Then again, it brings the issue of the madness of the birthright citizenship abomination into the public discourse, alongside the madness of illegal aliens and election non-integrity that illegal aliens voting is a huge part of.
God bless and keep President Trump. Say what you will, but this is what I voted for. LEGALLY three times. One vote in each of three elections, for the record.
And to my fellow Jews and really to all of you, I send Passover greetings and wishes for a Ziessen Pesach and may the angel of death pass over you and pay a nice long visit to all our enemies, wherever they lurk. May they be thwarted, defeated and their legacy of dissolution and destruction be eradicated and expunged for all time.
Have a great day!
And lastly, a quick shout-out and a huge thank you for your continued support in hitting our tip jar. It truly is appreciated more than you can know.
Trump said securing the Strait will be the responsibility of the countries that depend on it for oil, adding that it will probably be secure from threats by the time the U.S. leaves. Trump Says U.S. Will Exit Iran in 2-3 Weeks
“We are prepared to keep operating for weeks to come. We have the targets for that, the munition for that, the manpower for that. And it’s up to the leadership to decide,” Shoshani said on Tuesday. Israel Prepared to Continue Iran Strikes for ‘Weeks to Come’
Israel’s military also reported Tuesday that four more of its soldiers had been killed in combat in southern Lebanon, where the war has spilled and where they are clashing with Iranian-backed Hezbollah. Iran Fires Missiles Across Middle East as Trump Threatens Oil Hub
In a statement published by Tasnim News Agency, one of the Islamic Republic’s state media agencies, the IRGC claimed the companies were “involved in terrorist operations” against Iran. The statement listed 18 companies including Tesla, Palantir, and Microsoft. Iran Threatens To Blow Up American Tech Firms
Concern spreads that the Islamic Republic might ultimately remain in power. (Time to put your own asses on the line - jjs) Iranians Feel Deceived by Trump
CIVIL WAR 2.0, LEFTIST PERSECUTIONS, DEMOCRAT PUTSCH, AMERICAN DISSOLUTION
“No kings” in name only—power is dispersed across institutions and networks that police speech, shape culture, and impose control without a crown. No Kings
The X account “LibsofTikTok” posted a video of the user making the threat, coupled with a second video of the user saying he’d been “deactivated” on Monday evening. In the initial video posted March 13, the TikTok user, who goes by “esoteric_eriik,” threatened to destroy the orders if he saw a “MAGA sign” on the customer’s front lawn. Left-Winger Says He’ll Destroy Food Ordered By Trump Supporters, Whines When DoorDash Drops Him
Soon after taking office last year, Trump signed an executive order to end birthright citizenship for the U.S.-born children of illegal aliens and foreign tourists, often referred to as “anchor babies” as they anchor their parents permanently in the U.S. and can sponsor their immediate relatives for green cards once they become of legal age. President Trump to Attend SCOTUS Oral Arguments on Birthright Citizenship
Democratic leaders in the West without sound judgment—vain, short-sighted, and negligent of history—have opened the borders to a civilian invasion by Muslims. ‘The New Europe’
OFFICIAL DEMOCRAT PARTY/LEFTIST-ENDORSED, AND OTHER ANTI-SEMITISM, ANTI-CHRISTIANITY
In fact, some Democrats kinda … like it? As part of the tax cuts in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act of 2025, Republicans carved out a provision allowing for tax deductions on overtime pay up to $25,000. According to new Treasury Department data, nearly 20 million Americans have already reaped its benefits this filing season, Politico reported Tuesday. Trump Hits Nail On Head With Affordability Policy And Democrats Don’t Know What To Do About It
White House Spokesman Kush Desai confirmed the report in a statement provided to The Daily Caller News Foundation on Tuesday afternoon, saying the Trump administration “has issued the fifth and final year of Title X grants that were locked in place during the Biden [so-called quote-unquote] presidency.” Pro-Lifers Shred Trump Admin’s Biden-Era Title X Extension As ‘Inexplicable Slap In The Face’
THE 2020 and SUBSEQUENT ELECTION HEISTS , SHENANIGANS/FRAUD and AFTERMATH
“We’re going to take federal data, we’re going to ensure that each state’s election officials are provided with a comprehensive view of who the eligible voters in their jurisdiction actually are, allowing them to properly verify that everybody voting in their elections is legally able to vote,’ Scharf said of the first measure. Trump Signs Order to Verify Mail-In Ballots Used by Eligible Voters
While 80 percent of Americans disapprove of Congress, 80 percent of voters approve of voter verification. So Congress goes on spring break. SAVE Act Is 4 Times More Popular Than Congress
There’s only one way such a deeply arrogant and out-of-touch party can continue to win elections. What happened to the Democrats?
“His pugilism and his critique of the party’s leftward lurch will create a gauntlet his would-be rivals will have to navigate.” Can Rahm Emanuel Win the 2028 Democrat Presidential Nomination? (white, non-homo Male, Jew with direct ties to Israel - No way! - jjs)
It's pretty simple. You start with a standard Russian T-72B3M tank, add "a frame for drone-defeating metal plating and spines, installs floors under the plating to support infantry and hatches for the infantry to ingress and egress." And don't forget the dangling steel chains to cover any gaps. War Is Crazy: The Return of the Giga Turtle Tank
FOREIGN AFFAIRS, INTERNATIONAL
Speaking with the Qatari-owned Al Jazeera Media Network, Secretary Rubio expressed deep disappointment with the response of allies in Europe to the conflict in Iran and the Strait of Hormuz and suggested that America may be better off without NATO. Rubio: NATO Alliance Unsustainable if It is Just America Protecting Europe
We all know now that Bukele did what it took to clean up El Salvador. He had to rely on desperate action to handle a desperate situation. But the global elites, like these folks at the UN High Horse Commission or whatever you call it, like to sit in their ivory towers and tell other countries how to do their business, pretending as if those minors who participate in systematic organized crime are simply kids who are a little misguided. Nayib Bukele Just Went Nuclear on the UN and Rightfully So
DEFENSE, MILITARY, SECURITY AFFAIRS
Cpl. Andrew Paul Amarillas, 23, is accused of stealing military ammunition and a Javelin anti-tank missile system from Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, where he worked as an Ammunition Technician Specialist, according to the indictment filed in Arizona District Court. Prosecutors say Amarillas transported the weaponry and munitions to Arizona, where he sold them to unnamed co-conspirators in a plot uncovered by an undercover law enforcement operation. US Marine Allegedly Steals Anti-Tank Arsenal To Sell On America’s Streets
All of the data post-Voyager-2 remains very coarse and uncertain, as we are looking at Neptune at a great distance. Thus, no theory about what is happening carries much weight, especially because we do not know why Neptune produces so much more internal heat than Uranus, fueling this fast-changing weather. Voyager-2 discovered Neptune to be a planet of quickly changing weather
This is the second time in just over three months that a Starlink satellite has failed suddenly. In mid-December a Starlink satellite began to tumble when fuel began venting from a tank. It burned up in the atmosphere a month later. A 2nd Starlink satellite since December fails catastrophically
FEMINAZISM, TRANSGENDER PSYCHOSIS, HOMOSEXUALIZATION, WAR ON MASCULINITY/NORMALCY
Statues should not be torn down on impulse, but judged by clear standards that honor real contributions, expose grave wrongdoing, and preserve a truthful memory of our history. Which Statues Should Stay? Which Should Go?
“Here the horror is not racism, but abandonment... They learned to read their failure as personal and individual... The great mass of the poor, the marginal, the vulnerable of Liverpool disappear.” In ‘Candyman,’ Race Erased Class
ALSO: The Morning Report cross-posts at CutJibNewsletter.com usually within an hour or so of posting here, if you want to continue the conversation all day.
Which... Well, so what? You can download it. Countless thousands of people have. I have. Anyone who wanted to put in the effort to pick it apart could have done so.
Anthropic left a debug option set it one release and that made all the source files visible, but that just made it easier.
The real brains - Anthropic's AI models like Sonnet and Opus - run safely on their servers and haven't leaked anywhere.
Because the 1.7 billion parameter model runs in 240MB of memory - yes, M, not G - and churns through 130 tokens per second on an iPhone 17.
Which uses noticeably less power than a rack full of high-end graphics cards.
Bonsai 8B uses 1.15GB of RAM.
While it doesn't lead in test scores, it's being tested against 16GB models, which require an entirely different class of hardware. It would be interesting to see how a 70 billion parameter model would perform on the same tests if it's possible to perform the same trick - quantising the model down from half-precision (16 bits) per parameter to 1 bit with error correction.
The interesting part is that this will be manufactured at the Rapidus plant in Hokkaido. With Rapidus ramping up production Japan has leapt directly from 40nm chip fabrication to 2nm, largely catching up with Taiwan, Korea, and the United States, and leaving China trailing behind.
Just two problems: First, it costs $1899, and the Minisforum model I bought around Christmas cost about $600. Sure, the integrated graphics on that model are a lot slower than Panther Lake, but not that much slower. (This site suggests the difference is around 25%.)
Second, it's out of stock.
Musical Interlude
Disclaimer: Musical interlude has been replaced with potato salad at the last minute and at great expense.
Podcast: CBD and Sefton talk birthright citizenship, the 14th Amendment and SCOTUS, no boots in Iran, Artemis II and refocusing NASA, the NBA's hatred of everything non-woke, and more!
In more marketing for Project Hail Mary, scientists say they've found the biosigns indicating life growing on an alien planet. It's not proof, just signatures of chemicals that are produced by biological metabolism, and it could be nothing, but scientists think it's a strong sign that this planet is inhabited by something.
In a paper published in the Astrophysical Journal Letters, a team of scientists announced the detection of dimethyl sulfide (along with a similar detection of dimethyl disulfide) in the atmosphere of an exoplanet called K2-18b. This is actually the second detection of dimethyl sulfide made on this planet, following a tentative detection in 2023.
Tons of chemicals are detected in the atmospheres of celestial objects every day. But dimethyl sulfide is different, because on Earth, it's only produced by living organisms.
"It is a shock to the system," Nikku Madhusudhan, first author on the paper, told the New York Times. "We spent an enormous amount of time just trying to get rid of the signal."
He means they tried to prove the signal was caused by things other than dimethyl sulfide but they could not.
What? Skeleton of the most famous Musketeer, D'Artagnan, possibly discovered in Dutch church closet. Dumas picked four names of real musketeers out of a history book, D'Artagnan, Athos, Aramis, and Porthos. So there was an actual D'Artagnan, though he made most of the story up. (Or, you know, all of it.)*
Charles de Batz de Castelmore, known as d'Artagnan, the famous musketeer of Kings Louis XIII and Louis XIV, spent his life in the service of the French crown.
The Gascon nobleman inspired Alexandre Dumas's hero in "The Three Musketeers" in the 19th century, a character now known worldwide thanks to the novel and numerous film adaptations.
D'Artagnan was killed during the siege of Maastricht in 1673, and there is a statue honoring the musketeer in the city. His final resting place has remained a mystery ever since.
A lot of Dumas's stories are based on bits of real history. The plot of the >Three Musketeers, about trying to recover lost diamonds from the queen's necklace, was cribbed from the then-almost-contemporaneous Affair of the Queen's Necklace. And the Man in the Iron Mask is based on real accounts of a prisoner forced to wear a mask (though I think it was a velvet mask).
* Oh, I should mention, Dumas says all this, about finding the names in an old book, in the prologue to his novel. But authors lie a lot. They frequently present fictions as based on historic fact. The twist is, he was actually telling the truth here. At least about these four musketeers having actually existed and served under Louis XIV. Fun fact: You know the beginning of A Fistful of Dollars where the local gunslingers make fun of Clint Eastwood's donkey and Eastwood demands they apologize to the donkey? That's lifted from The Three Musketeers. Rochefort mocks D'Artagnan's old, brokedown farm horse and D'Artagnan is incensed.
A commenter asked which should be read first, The Hobbit of LOTR? Easy, no question -- read The Hobbit first. It's actually the start of the story and comes first chronologically. It sets up some major characters and major pieces in play in LOTR. Also, the Hobbit is Beginner-Friendly, which LOTR isn't. The Hobbit really is a delightful book, and a fast read. It's chatty, it's casual, it's exciting, and it's funny. In that dry cheeky British humor way. I love that the narrator is constantly making little asides and commentary, like he's just sitting next to you telling you this story as it occurs to him.
LOTR is a very long story. Fifteen hundred pages or so. The Hobbit is relatively short and very punchy and easy to read. If you don't like The Hobbit, you can skip out on LOTR. If you do like it, you'll be primed to read LOTR.
Oh, I should say: The Hobbit is written as if it's for children, but one of those smart children's stories that are also for adults. Don't worry, there's also real fighting and violence and horror in it, too. LOTR is written for adults. (It's said that Tolkien wrote both for his children, but LOTR was written 17 years later, when his children were adults.) Some might not like The Hobbit due to its sometimes frivolous tone. Me, I love it. I find it constantly amusing. Both are really good but there is a starkly different tone to both. LOTR is epic, grand, and serious, about a world war, The Hobbit is light and breezy, and about a heist. Though a heist that culminates in a war for the spoils.
The Hobbit Challenge: Read two more chapters. I didn't have much time. Bilbo got the ring.
I noticed a continuity problem. Maybe. Now, as of the time of The Hobbit, it was unknown that this magic ring was in fact a Ring of Power, and it was doubly unknown that it was the Ring of Power, the Master Ring that controlled the others.
But the narrator -- who we will learn in LOTR was none of than Bilbo himself, who wrote the book as "There and Back Again" -- says this about Gollum's ring:
"But who knows how Gollum had come by that present [the Ring], ages ago in the old days when such rings were still at large in the world? Perhaps even the Master who ruled them could not have said."
In another passage, the ring is identified as a "ring of power."
I don't know, I always thought there was a distinction between mere magic rings and the Rings of Power created by Sauron. But this suggests that Bilbo knew this was a ring of power created by Sauron.
Now I don't remember when Bilbo wrote the Hobbit. In the movie, he shows Frodo the book in Rivendell, and I guess he wrote it after he left the Shire. I guess he might have added in the part about the ring being a ring of power created by "the Master" after Gandalf appraised him of his research into the ring. I never noticed this before. I know Tolkien re-wrote this chapter while he was writing LOTR to make the ring important from the start. And also to make Gollum more sinister and evil, and also to remove the part where Gollum actually offers Bilbo the ring as a "present" -- Bilbo had already found it on his own, but Gollum was wiling to give it away, which obviously is not something the rewritten Gollum would ever do. But I had no memory of the ring being suggested to be The Ring so early in the tale.
Finish the job, Mr. President! Melanie Phillips lays out the case for the total destruction of the Iranian government and armed forces. [CBD]
Podcast: Sefton and CBD talk about how would a peace treaty with Iran work, Democrats defending murderers and rapists, The GOP vs. Dem bench for 2028, composting bodies? And more!
Oh, I forgot to mention this quote from Pete Hegseth, reported by Roger Kimball: "We are sharing the ocean with the Iranian Navy. We're giving them the bottom half."
Tomorrow is March 25th, "Tolkien Reading Day," because March 25th is the day when the Ring is destroyed in the book. I think I'm going to start the Hobbit tomorrow and read all four books this time. The only bad part of the trilogy are the Frodo/Sam chapters in The Two Towers. They're repetitive, slow, and mostly about the weather and terrain. But most everything else is good. Weirdly, the Frodo-Sam chapters in Return of the King are exciting and action-packed and among the best in the trilogy. (Though the chapters with everyone else in Return of the King get pretty slow again. Mostly people talking about marching towards war, and then marching towards war.)
Forgotten 80s Mystery Click
One day I'm gonna write a poem in a letter
One day I'm gonna get that faculty together
Remember that everybody has to wait in line
Oh, [Song Title], look out world, oh, you know I've got mine
“robert mueller just died,” trump wrote in a truth social post on march 21. “good, i’m glad he’s dead. he can no longer hurt innocent people! president donald j. trump.”
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