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Brian Stewart, the Chair of the Hernando County Democrat Party, was charged with simple battery following the incident in Spring Hill. He was booked Saturday afternoon and released two hours later after posting a $1,000 bond, according to the Hernando County Sheriff’s Office. . . A statement from the Hernando County Conservatives organization claims Stewart shoved a “permanently disabled” military veteran who “served our country with honor and distinction” and then struck him in the head with a megaphone.
OF course that is but one example but that it was not just some random braindead AWFL or Soros rent-a-thug but a local Dem bigwig. Of course, what we witnessed over the weekend and indeed starting with the anti-war protests and civil rights riots of 60years ago right up until the present day has is roots in the classrooms and lecture halls of academia.
Members of America’s largest teachers’ union, the National Education Association (NEA), were back in training in February, this time for a confidential webinar entitled “Advocacy and Free Speech Rights for K-12 Educators.” The leaked slide deck, posted by the watchdog group Defending Education, reveals that the NEA is less focused on American students’ stagnant test scores than on training its members to become activists, while using misinterpretations of the First Amendment as a shield.
The February session complements the union’s December 2025 in-person training on “Advancing LGBTQ+ Justice.” That event counseled attendees to “develop a toolset of tactics for dismantling systems of privilege and oppression.”
Students in New Mexico will learn more about the January 6 Capitol riot and climate change than the moon landing. New Mexico high school history guidelines contain over a dozen references to the January 6 riot while only mentioning the moon landing once. The guidelines, part of the New Mexico Instructional Scope for History, are largely focused on racial and gender grievances and encourage teachers to promote Democratic politicians and lament how the richest men in the United States today are “mostly white.”. . . “These state level documents expose a troubling pattern by education activists of pushing leftwing political and social biases into K-12 classrooms as established ‘facts,'” Staley told The Daily Wire. “Students and families deserve an education that values a politically neutral approach to weighing different sides of issues, not political indoctrination.”
No Kings, but Red Guards disguised as Democrats abound. Unless and until Academia from pre-school through post-graduate is utterly seized and restored to some semblance of sanity. Meh, that requires the restoration of morality, ethics, sanity and american/western cultural values across our entire society. Did the Long March through the institutions bring us to our knees, and if so, is there a road back?
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Trump made the declaration in a message on his website, Truth Social. What remains of the Iranian government after the elimination of “supreme leader” Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has repeatedly denied Trump’s claims that it is in conversation with the American government, while also stating that it has responded to American proposals, which would be impossible without a conversation. Trump: ‘New’ Iran Regime in Place and Talking, but U.S. Will Blow up Its Power Infrastructure if No Deal
“So again, you do the math on how much longer the Pentagon needs to fully achieve the objectives of Operation Epic Fury, which I will reiterate: destroy the Iranian Navy, destroy their ballistic missiles, dismantle their missile and drone production infrastructure, significantly weaken their proxies throughout the course of this operation, and then, of course, preventing Iran from ever obtaining a nuclear weapon,” Leavitt added. White House: Original 4-6 Week Operation Epic Fury Timeline Remains in Place
Last week, President Donald J. Trump issued an Executive Order directing the Secretary of Homeland Security, along with the Director of the Office of Management and Budget, to utilize funds with a “reasonable logical nexus” to TSA operations to pay the over 60,000 TSA employees, including approximately 50,000 transportation security officers. TSA Agents Receive Back Pay After Trump Intervenes.
The Treasury Department issued an advisory to banks pushing them to monitor accounts more closely for suspicious activity, saying, “They’re the frontline in identifying financial fraud when nonprofits, whether its daycare centers, hospice care, start wiring big round numbers out, that’s a problem. There are large multi-national criminal organizations that are doing healthcare fraud, so we are all hands on deck.” Uncle Sam Wants You To Snitch. You’ll Even Get Paid Big For It.
Automotive News reports that the FTC has intensified its oversight of automotive dealership advertising practices, specifically targeting the promotion of vehicles that are no longer in stock or do not exist. This enforcement action carries significant financial consequences, with violations potentially exposing dealerships to fines exceeding $50,000 per offense plus customer restitution, according to attorney Patricia Covington who spoke with Automotive News. Bait & Switch: FTC Cracks Down on Car Dealerships Advertising Vehicles They Don’t Have for Sale
. . . trillion-dollar asset management fund Apollo Global Management says it will open a secondary headquarters in Florida or Texas. "Apollo expects most of its future hiring to be in the second hub rather than Manhattan," according to the New York Post, surprising literally no one. This Trillion-Dollar Firm Wants Out of Mamdani's NYC
CRIME & PUNISHMENT, NON-DOSTOYEVSKY
The “Make D.C. Safe and Beautiful Task Force” launched on March 28, 2025. Since then, more than 3,500 personnel — including 800 Federal Law Enforcement officers and 1,800 National Guard Troops — hit the streets of Washington to address crime, the Caller learned. (RELATED: Majority Of Voters Say Trump’s DC Crime Crackdown Was ‘Justified,’ Feel ‘Unsafe') EXCLUSIVE: Trump’s DC Crackdown Wipes Out Homeless Encampments
Does it ever seem like certain types of crimes get ignored or played down by legacy media?. . .Here’s a list of the latest crime across America. American Crime Blotter: 3/30/26
RED-GREENS, CLIMATE CHANGE HOAX, DEMOCRAT-LEFT WAR ON FOSSIL FUELS,
In response to the intensifying European energy crisis, the green lobby in Brussels and Berlin is accelerating the pace of transformation. Europe Doubles Down on Eco-Transformation
The Native Hawaiian Health Scholarship Program, which was soliciting applications as recently as March 15, provides financial aid to Native Hawaiian medical students who agree to practice medicine in Hawaii after graduation. Awardees receive tuition, a monthly stipend, and additional funds to cover books and supplies. HHS Sued For Race-Based Program Reserved For ‘Native Hawaiian’ Students
THE 2020 and SUBSEQUENT ELECTION HEISTS , SHENANIGANS/FRAUD and AFTERMATH
Victory in 2026 will come from consolidating and mobilizing the voters most likely to show up, as well as those most likely to support the party. That means building an unapologetic coalition of MAGA voters and senior citizens. MAGA + Seniors = GOP Midterm Victory
I’ve only recently become aware of Hasan Piker, the hipster dweeb left-wing influencer who somehow manages to be more insufferable than David Hogg and Maxwell Frost. (I know, that doesn’t seem possible.) Piker is the twerp who took to Cuba to live it up in luxury hotels while claiming that Cubans are totally cool with abject poverty under Communism: Hasan Piker’s Endorsement Is All the Proof Georgia Needs to Dump Jon Ossoff (Meh, TOssoff himself! - jjs)
Writesman discussed how the FDA put many Chinese companies that produce GLP-1 drugs on a “Green List,” which means they are “not being detained at the border.” She contended that the government-created loophole to flood the market with obesity drugs creates an environment where Americans have access to drugs that may have been created under lax safety standards or lack transparency around ingredients. Exclusive – RX Border Defense’s Patsy Writesman on CCP’s Stranglehold on Skinny: FDA’s ‘Green List’ Surrendered GLP-1 Supply Chain to China (Chunks in the armor - jjs)
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.
It works for movies, because movies have massive amounts of redundant information - most of each frame is identical to the previous, with just some elements shifted.
These are engineering samples and probably not running even close to full speed, but they are already competitive with Zen 5.
Interesting point: The high-end models have 24 or 32 cores per chip (and up to 8 chips on the CPU). That's expected for server Zen 6c models (AMD's efficiency cores), but if they're not efficiency cores that's a big surprise.
"We believe our policies are consistent with the law and reflect our commitment to fairness, opportunity, and building the strongest possible teams," NFL executive vice president Jeff Miller
I normally don't comment on the Quotes of The Day. Between this Miller guy and his gutless, spineless, testicle free boss Roger Goodell I can't stand the NFL and it can't go broke fast enough. I grew up close to Green Bay and have always been a Packers fan.
But since 2020 I've given up on the league. The kneelers, the "Hands up" bullshit, politics entered the game. So I now spend my Sunday afternoons doing anything but watching football.
Quote II
“Neither the bases are authorized, nor, of course, is the use of Spanish airspace authorized for any actions related to the war in Iran,” Spain's Defense Minister Margarita Robles
With allies like this who needs friends? What our open borders types never want to discuss out loud is: What happens when Europe becomes a Caliphate and possesses nuclear weapons. Looking at another gutless, spineless, testicle free boi named Keir Karen Starmer.
Quote III
‘I was so small, I was just a walking boob throughout the whole of school. I definitely looked super awkward because I had nothing on me apart from boobs.’ Summer Robert
apitalism in space As part of the reshaping of NASA being pushed by NASA administrator Jared Isaacman, the agency today announced major changes to its future programs in low Earth orbit, on the Moon, and in exploring Mars. Video of these changes can be viewed here and here.
The Moon
NASA will now focus all work in its lunar program on getting to the surface of the Moon. Lunar Gateway is “paused,” though the language of NASA’s press release suggests more strongly that it is dead, with the agency already trying to figure out ways to “repurpose” its already built components. NASA will instead ask for proposals from private industry and its international Artemis partners to ramp up as soon as possible a phased program to establish the infrastructure on the Moon needed for the lunar base. This new focus begins with “up to 30 robotic landings in three years, starting in 2027,” and at least two manned landings per year beginning in 2028.
The graph below, presented during today’s announcement, shows the basic plan for the next few Artemis missions, which will act as the manned foundation for this entire surface-focused program. The overall program will build out the lunar base in three phases, first to test some basic infrastructure using these smaller lunar landers, second to begin establishing the base’s foundational components with intermittent manned missions, and third to begin long-term human occupancy.
In a town where most celebrities can’t be bothered to acknowledge the military unless it’s a Veterans Day photo op with a sepia filter, one Hollywood star just did something that shouldn’t be remarkable — but absolutely is.
Sydney Sweeney, the actress best known for stealing scenes in Euphoria and The White Lotus, took to her Instagram Stories to share a photo of her brother and deliver a message so simple it apparently short-circuited half the internet.
“Receiving calls from my bro always make me happy when he’s deployed,” Sweeney wrote.
And then she committed the unforgivable sin of being publicly grateful to the United States Armed Forces.
“Thinking of all our boys and girls overseas and sending my love! Thank you for your service :)”
2 hospitalized after altercation involving ax, gun, state police say
*****
Tonight's ONT has been brought to you by Crime Prevention.
Notice: Posted with permission by the Ace Media Empire & AceCorp, LLC. Crafted with peace, love and understanding. Or so says Dewey, Cheatem & Howe, S.C. in their yearly invoice. Care and apathy are extra.
White House officials edited messaging on the finding that there was a higher-than-expected number of strokes following COVID-19 vaccination, according to newly released documents.
In January 2023, during the Biden administration, the White House changed wording on post-vaccination ischemic stroke from "moderately elevated" to "slightly elevated," the records show.
Officials also made other changes, including removing the words "potential risk."
DRIVE-BY MEDIA: The New York Times hired a new infographic team to criticize everything. The latest example is the new White House ballroom. I like John’s satirical critique of a US carrier. 🤣
MUST WATCH: Marie Harf: “Wait, why are we so scared of tr*ns people?”
Kayleigh McEnany: “We’re scared of biological men competing against women. Pummeling young women.” ⁰⁰“Do you want a biological man wrestling a woman? Do you want a biological man spiking a ball at a woman?”… pic.twitter.com/SpAaFQarRy
Blue Checkmark: The US hit Iran's heavy water production facility in order to kill Iranian citizens with thirst.
Not only will Iranians die of thirst because of the destruction of the heavy water plant, they will die of hunger from the destruction of yellowcake https://t.co/ZVg585iCyE
"Heavy water" is water in which the hydrogen atoms have neutrons. Most hydrogen is just a single proton. Heavy water is needed for nuclear reactors. It moderates the kinetic energy of the neutrons released during fission, to keep the nuclear reaction from getting out of hand and melting down the reactor.
In Iran's case, it is used in reactors to produce weapons-grade uranium. No one drinks it. I guess you could drink it but heavy water is extremely expensive. I'd guess, tens of thousands of dollars per ounce.
Saad Nizamani
@nizamanisaad1
Translated from Urdu
I write not with words, but with feelings.
I learn from nature, I reach the hearts.
Hyderabad, Pakistan
I was informed by All the Best People (TM) that this would never, ever happen.
cc: @AceofSpadesHQ first choice - die. before offering paid medication. --------- give pain medication to a suffering woman. You relieve paid today.
FBI director pushes to release investigative files on Rep. Eric Swalwell: Reports
FBI Director Kash Patel is pushing for the release of files related to an investigation into Rep. Eric Swalwell's (D-Calif.) interactions with a suspected Chinese spy, according to reports from The New York Times and The Washington Post.
FBI agents and other personnel in California have been directed to gather and redact sensitive information from documents in preparation for sharing with senior Trump administration officials, according to The New York Times, citing three people familiar with the matter.
The files stem from a decade-old counterintelligence probe into a Chinese woman, known both as Christine Fang and Fang Fang, who reportedly helped Swalwell with fundraising and placing an intern in his office during the 2014 campaign cycle.
Swalwell was not accused of criminal wrongdoing and severed ties with Fang in 2015 after being briefed by U.S. intelligence officials on their suspicions of her. A two-year House Ethics probe into the matter concluded in 2023 without taking any further action.
The public release of files in an investigation that did not result in criminal charges would mark a highly unusual step, the Post noted.
Oh, like when they released the Mueller Report about the Russiagate hoax?
Swalwell has for years accused the Trump administration of weaponizing the issue against him in retaliation for his criticisms of the president.
Are you kidding me? He's one of the main weaponizers in Congress.
Note that The Hill points none of this out.
On Saturday, he suggested the FBI's alleged actions were tied to his rising standing in the California governor's race.
Oh! You mean the Administration is trying to interfere with an upcoming election by releasing files?
...
In a statement to the Post, an FBI spokesperson denied improper motives regarding the investigative files.
"The contentions in this story are incorrect," the spokesperson told the newspaper. "This FBI, being the most transparent in history, prepares documents for numerous different reasons, including for release to different agencies and departments to further review investigations that may have been opened under previous administrations."
Swalwell said in September that he "fully" expected to be prosecuted by the Trump administration, pointing to his name in a book written by Patel in which he listed "government gangsters" who should be held accountable.
Related: The media screamed for years that someone allegedly hacked DNC emails, and that person was, it was claimed but never proven, acting in concert with Russia.
"RUSSIA IS RIGGING THE ELECTION TO HELP THE TRAITOR TRUMP,' they screamed as if all reading from the same script.
Patel wasn't even the FBI director when this hack took place. This was back in 2020 and 2021 -- when Patel was a congressional investigator primarily known for uncovering the RussiaGate hoax concocted by Hillary Clinton.
Hackers connected to the Iranian government accessed FBI Director Kash Patel's personal email and posted materials -- including photos and documents -- taken from his account, a person familiar with the breach confirmed to CNN.
The hackers have published a series of photos of Patel from before he became FBI director that they claim were stolen from his personal email account. A source familiar with the incident confirmed the images' authenticity.
The stolen emails appear to date from around 2011 to 2022 and appear to include personal, business and travel correspondence that Patel had with various contacts, according to a preliminary CNN review of the files with the help of an independent cybersecurity researcher.
The federal sentencing guidelines call for a sentence of 30 to 37 months, or 2 1/2 to 3 years in prison.
But the Somali Pirate's corrupt judge cut even that small sentence in half. Or in thirds.
Feeding Our Future defendant sentenced to over 1 year in prison
Another Feeding Our Future defendant was sentenced to one year and one day in federal prison on Monday morning. He is scheduled to turn himself in to federal prison on June 2.
Abdul Abubakar Ali pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud in October 2022. Per the terms of the plea agreement, one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering and one count of wire fraud were dismissed at sentencing.
As previously reported, Ali used nonprofit Youth Investors Lab to enroll in the Federal Child Nutrition Program under the sponsorship of Feeding Our Future. He claimed to serve roughly 1.5 million meals total and that the meals were provided by S & S Catering. But no meals were ever served, prosecutors say.
Remarkably, both the government and the defense advocated for a probationary sentence, noting that Ali has taken responsibility for his actions, given valuable information to investigators and paid $92,500 in restitution so far.
Wow, $92,000. And he took responsibility for his actions?
However, U.S. District Court Judge Nancy Brasel determined that Ali's role in the fraud scheme was too great for a probationary sentence. She noted that Ali recruited a friend to participate in the scheme and completely made up meal counts, rather than just exaggerating them.
Were You Inconvenienced by the Decrepit White Hippies During the CCP- and Soros-Funded No Kings Shuffle-Abouts?
—Disinformation Expert Ace
Insurrection Barbie
@DefiyantlyFree
Mar 28
I got stuck in the middle of one of the idiotic CCP funded No Kings protests with my kid in this morning.
First of all it was 15 people. They were all white and over the age of 65 and lastly, if you continue to walk around with signs that say No Kings, you look like an idiot.
Literally no one was under the age of 65 in the whole crowd.
Fetishist 'No Kings' protester in mask drags 'Trump' and 'JD Vance' behind her wheelchair
The "No Kings" protest in Atlanta took a turn for the weird as a masked artist dragged unhinged cosplayers dressed as President Trump and Vice President JD Vance behind her wheelchair.
Video of the street protest sideshow circulating online shows activist Jessica Blinkhorn clad in a black sheer skirt, a leather tube top and a full facemask reminiscent of "Mad Max: Fury Road" villain Immortan Joe seated in a motorized wheelchair as her fellow dress-up players awkwardly gyrate to techno music.
The Georgia State University teacher and self-described "DOGEWALKER" holds a metal leash in one hand, which is connected to a collar worn by a person wearing a Trump mask and dressed in his signature blue suit, red tie and MAGA hat, and a woman who appears to be mimicking Erika Kirk.
...
"This is performance as protest. This is art in action," Blinkhorn wrote in an Instagram post accompanying the unhinged video.
...
Blinkhorn has been awarded in the art world for her performance pieces about sex and disability. He received a prestigious Guggenheim Fellowship in 2024 -- a prestigious award that comes with tens of thousands of dollars in grant money -- for her project SPANKBOX.
The art "depicts individuals with physical disabilities in hypersexualized poses and situations," according to the fellowship.
Robert DeNiro -- or, as I think this genius should be called, Bobby "The Brain" DeNiro -- stumbled and mumbled his way through a gibberish speech written for him by ChatGTP.
C3
@C_3C_3
Mar 28
No Kings crybaby and terminal TDS patient Robert DeNiro...
Has lost roughly $350 million on his last 5 movies.
Whoops!
For decades people praised DeNiro for somehow managing to make his eyes empty and absent. Turns out, no, he's not a great actor, he's just brain-damaged IRL. When he "portrays" a man with no inner monologue who seems to be an animal motivated only by primitive instinct, that's just him.
LMAO 🤣. No kings protester completely LOSES IT and STORMS AWAY when the interviewer points out that nobody voted for Kamala and she was installed as the nominee pic.twitter.com/k4soNACCuS
HOLY CRAP!! A Palm Beach elections office volunteer just got arrested for STEALING an encrypted access key and computer equipment in the March 24 special election where the Democrat won by 800 votes
This is the district the includes Mar-a-Lago.
Investigators worry that the encryption -- used for training -- could be reverse engineered and used to tamper with voter registration
The theft was reported on March 27, a few days after last Tuesday's special election, per WPTV. The theft occurred on March 19, just days before election day
"During the search of [John] Panicci's home, detectives recovered the stolen items along with a substantial amount of electronic and digital storage devices. Panicci was transported to the Palm Beach County Jail and booked on charges."
Election integrity is vital to our republic.
If it's happening in Florida -- IT'S HAPPENING NATIONWIDE
Tony Seruga
@TonySeruga
You wondered how Democrat Emily Gregory defeated Trump-endorsed Republican Jon Maples by roughly 797--800 votes (51.2% to 48.8%, out of about 33,400 votes cast in a low-turnout special).
The district had previously been held by a Republican who won by a much larger margin in 2024.
FACTS: On March 19, during a volunteer training session at the elections office (4301 Cherry Road) ahead of the March 24 special election, Panicci allegedly stole an encrypted access key from a voter registration terminal. Surveillance photos reportedly captured the act.
He maintains a Facebook profile under John Panicci (@JohnWPB), describing himself as a "huge tech nerd."
The key was programmed only for training databases, not live voter registration or election systems. However, investigators expressed concern that someone technically skilled could reverse-engineer the encryption and misuse it in a real kiosk.
The theft was reported to detectives on March 27. They identified Panicci, obtained search and arrest warrants, and executed them at his Lake Worth/Greenacres-area home on March 28. They recovered the stolen key and equipment, plus a large amount of other electronic and digital storage devices.
He faces charges related to theft of computer equipment/property crimes (including taking/damaging electronic devices). He was booked into Palm Beach County Jail and held on $6,000 bail, with a no-contact order regarding the elections office. The investigation is ongoing, including a review of seized devices.
It appears that Panicci was in communication with Debbie Wasserman Schultz's DC office over a dozen times since Christmas.
If you recall, Wasserman and her Assistant United States Attorney (federal prosecutor) in the District of Columbia, brother, Steven Wasserman, who bungled the case, provided cover for the Awan brothers (Imran Awan, Abid Awan, and Jamal Awan), who were Pakistani-American IT staffers who worked as shared/contracted technicians for numerous Democratic members of Congress.
Washington Post "Reporter:" My Iranian Handlers and Sponsors Tell Me the US is Dropping Land Mines From Planes On to Residential Neighborhoods and I Believe Them Very Much
—Disinformation Expert Ace
This reminds me of Operation Sorry, Charlie (Chicken of the C-4). The Iranian propaganda site I found claimed the cans of tuna -- which maybe resemble "mines" a little -- were dropped from the skies on to residential neighborhoods.
I wonder if there's a connection. Though these "mines" don't look like flat tuna cans.
Images show what experts say are U.S. land mines dispersed across a residential area in southern Iran.
Human rights groups have long called to ban land mines because of their propensity to harm or kill civilians, often years after conflicts have ended. https://t.co/XtPJkLT1fppic.twitter.com/ryRpQb9hCF
Heckuva correction. First of all, even though the text now says Lascanis was invited by the regime, how was this omitted? Either the Post was lied to or the reporters didn't do due diligence. https://t.co/sMZPCzmesQpic.twitter.com/NLzbz696FL
Indicted Florida Democrat Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick was found "guilty" on 25 of 27 ethics charges early Friday, a sweeping bipartisan verdict after a rare public House hearing that now all but seals her fate in Congress.
The decision came after more than six hours of testimony Thursday night, where an evenly divided subcommittee -- four Republicans and four Democrats -- weighed evidence from a two-year investigation into allegations that millions in federal COVID-era funds were improperly funneled into Cherfilus-McCormick's political operation. While the panel did not release a vote breakdown, members from both parties aggressively questioned her defense throughout the hearing before ultimately siding with investigators on nearly every count.
At the center of the case is a network of transactions tied to Trinity Health Care Solutions, a company linked to the congresswoman's family that received more than $6 million in government funding tied to pandemic-related services. Ethics investigators concluded that millions of those dollars were routed through entities connected to Cherfilus-McCormick -- including a consulting firm she owned -- before making their way into her campaign through loans and contributions, some of which were deemed illegal. A House report found that at least $3.6 million in taxpayer-backed funds ultimately reached her political operation.
The case now moves to the full committee, where Chairman Michael Guest and Ranking Member Mark DeSaulnier said lawmakers will determine after the April recess what punishment to recommend. Possible outcomes range from censure to expulsion -- one of the most severe penalties Congress can impose on a sitting member.
Cherfilus-McCormick rejected the findings and said she intends to fight the allegations. "I look forward to proving my innocence," she said in a statement, adding that her focus remains on serving Florida's 20th Congressional District.
Pressure is already building from within her own party. Washington Democrat Marie Gluesenkamp Perez wrote on X, "You can't crime your way into legitimate power. Since she was found guilty, she should resign or be removed."
The ethics ruling comes just weeks before Cherfilus-McCormick is set to stand trial in federal court on 15 criminal counts tied to many of the same allegations. Prosecutors say she diverted pandemic relief funds for political use and personal expenses, including luxury purchases. If convicted, she faces up to 53 years in prison.
THE MORNING RANT: Housing Affordability Requires Vast Swaths of Virtually Uninhabitable Urban Areas Be Reclaimed
—Buck Throckmorton
An issue I have periodically revisited is the need for “municipal conservatism” as an alternative to Democrat-administered destruction of our cities. In a 2024 piece at The Blaze, I wrote“Republicans need to offer our struggling cities an agenda focused on delivering excellent city services, including effective policing, cleanliness, anti-vagrancy measures, public safety, reliable utilities, and family-friendly parks. This agenda should promote a political climate that supports small businesses, primary education, churches, families, and patriotism. Democrat-run cities have grown hostile to these foundational elements of urban civilization, creating an enormous opportunity for Republicans.” This is not “small government conservatism.” It is “civil order conservatism.”
Hampton Prescott, one of my favorite follows on Twitter/X (@HamptonPrezcott), is a real estate professional in Atlanta who is heavily focused on this exact issue. (He also covers architectural trends, commenting on the correlation of bad commercial architecture with the state of urban environments.)
The Trump WH was close to figuring this out when they deployed the National Guard to crime ridden cities. The ONLY way to solve housing affordability is to reclaim vast swaths of urban areas that have been rendered effectively uninhabitable due to lack of safety. https://t.co/pgkBbEW5Jg
Because I want to keep fueling discussion about the importance of municipal conservatism, I invited Mr. Prescott to provide me an essay as to his thoughts on the subject. He kindly obliged. Here it is:
Donald Trump’s second term has coincided with an increase in use and application of the phrase “you can just do things.” Whether it is taking out the Ayatollah after 50 years of western appeasement, shutting the southern border after hearing all kinds of “reasons why we can’t do anything about it” by the leftist/libertarian industrial complexes, or eliminating discriminatory hiring practices after decades of conservative apathy (or enabling), the age of dismantling stale orthodoxies is firmly upon us. I’d like to talk about another example of something justified for decades as “just the way things are” - abysmal governance of major cities and the idea that there is no hope for right-leaning leadership that efficiently and effectively provides safety and security for citizens.
Even many left-leaning folks will admit, our major cities are disaster zones. Capital flight, out of control vagrancy, serial criminals let loose by a malignant justice system, expensive services that underperform in quality (to put it charitably) - our major cities may be experiencing the roughest stretch since the dark days of the late 1970’s. Now the median conservative may look at this sad state of affairs and remark to himself, “not my circus, but maybe this will provide fodder for an attack ad come election season.” I’m here to tell that this is the height of loser attitude, and is a set of common wisdom that is commonly wrong. A few reasons why people are looking at this issue the wrong way:
• Yes, while a statewide or national GOP candidate likely won’t be winning over 50% of a major metro’s vote anytime soon, you need to look at the gross numbers involved. For example, Metro Atlanta has 6.4 million people in it as of 2024. If you apply the standard 65% turnout rate and assume that the GOP candidate is going to lose by 10 points, that is still 1.84 million potential voters that could be in your camp. Therefore, politicians ignoring the concerns of urban right-leaning voters or simply those longing for public safety may end up costing them the election. Having a tailored candidate at the local level, that delivers on their simplified promises (see later in the post for my proposed three-point pledge) would filter up to benefit these statewide and national candidates (granted they tailor their message to these urban voters!)
• A dynamic of municipal elections that is often overlooked - turnout is generally absolutely abysmal. To wit, the 2021 Atlanta Mayoral Election (which saw multiple competitive candidates) had a whopping turnout of 25% of active registered voters. Even the 2024 NYC mayoral election, likely the most ballyhooed municipal race in recent memory, saw turnout come out to a ho-hum 43% of registered voters.
• The GOP has made housing affordability a huge priority for their governance platform. As anyone who follows my X account knows, proponents of housing affordability are missing the absolute largest driver of the problem - the only way you can materially help with housing affordability is to reclaim the vast swaths of buildable land surrounding job centers that were abandoned to crime and disorder over the past few decades. Further straining affordability, city dwellers are also effectively forced to pay twice for services like education - their taxes pay for dysfunctional schools which in turn force them to pay tuition, with prices reflecting inelastic demand, for private school. Solving this issue at the local level would filter up to substantial improvements on a national scale, another factor that should interest the GOP.
Of course, a “national GOP” style of message at the local, urban level is a guarantee of failure. Talking about fiscal conservatism, tax cuts, and reducing municipal services is not going to motivate and inspire your average urban voter. (Probably not even affluent voters.) A candidate that follows the spirit of the ideas posited here would need to prioritize safety and municipal order above all else. I highlight these issues as they are the absolute prerequisites for quite literally anything in an urban ecosystem to work. As a real estate professional, I am always amused at the relative lack of attention paid amongst industry luminaries towards something that is absolutely core to any success in the industry. There is almost a learned helplessness to the issue, as if the move is to perpetually be in retreat as destructive, pro-crime forces destroy more and more of the built environment. Those who remain spend their political capital seeking out tax breaks (which won’t matter as long as a neighborhood feels unsafe and is seeing its productive populace flee.) This approach, of course, is absolute nonsense.
The real estate community, as generational leadership turnover occurs, is a natural ally in this endeavor. They need to get organized on the front end, defining simple goals for candidates to support, such as:
1. Effectively address crime and disorder.
2. Utilize the Walt Disney approach to cleanliness.
3. Manage but don’t cut services, which will benefit tremendously from effectuating #1.
Getting voter turnout in municipal elections above its current anemic levels would yield tremendous ROI - for the cities themselves, and for their own business interests.
Look no further than the value appreciation seen in Florida cities benefiting from strong messaging and action on crime and disorder. (And for the inverse, look no further than the value destruction in formerly high-flying cities such as Seattle, Minneapolis, Portland and Denver).
This is an exciting time where long-held, indefensible orthodoxies are being discarded. “You can just do things” is the ethos of our time. Taking back our cities and making the apathy that has dominated for so long a relic of a bygone era is an opportunity waiting there for the taking.
[Hampton Presoctt]
Thank you, Hampton, for this much appreciated contribution. Here is a link to his Twitter/X page if you would like to read more from Mr. Prescott.
Good morning kids. And so we had the so-called "No Kings" protests in a number of cities and towns across America over the weekend. Is it just me or, for a tyrannical king, Donald Trump is the most piss-poor example in history. As longtime commenter of note MP4 once quipped, if he and by extension we really were a fraction of the Nazi fascists they shriek we are, they'd all have been smoke up a crematorium chimney long ago. And this past weekend would've seen the protesters bullet-ridden corpses stacked up like so much cordwood or scooped into dump trucks as seen in Soylent Green. Of course, the things that so many braindead Americans railed against are all part and parcel of the Democrat/Left playbook. Despite parading around in the moldering skin suit of "Democracy" it is they and they alone that have spent the better part of two centuries tearing down the very pillars of the civil society they claim to be defending. It is the sine qua non of projection.
In Saturday’s “No Kings” protests, the usual “resistance” crowd managed to again show their rage at President Donald Trump and their fury at being out of power; they may even have succeeded in mobilizing Democrats for the midterm elections — but they also broadcast the opposition’s complete lack of any coherent political message.
Forget about the waving of Soviet flags and tributes to anti-American dictators at various rallies: The entire “No Kings” conceit is a lie. Democrats against “kings”? Hah! They love them — as long as the king has a (D) after his name.
Not long ago, Democrats applauded every abuse of executive power by President Barack Obama.
From unconstitutional rewrites of the Affordable Care Act (a k a ObamaCare), to immigration amnesty for “dreamers” (DACA) and their parents (DAPA); to unilaterally declaring the Senate to be in recess so he could pack the National Labor Relations Board with union lackeys, Obama was not shy about autocratic behavior.
“I’ve got a pen and I’ve got a phone,” he declared when Congress refused to bow to his will, vowing “to sign executive orders, and take executive actions and administrative actions.”
He did, and Democrats didn’t complain, but applauded.
Tom Friedman, The New York Times’ smug voice of liberal “wisdom,” fantasized of what Obama could achieve “if we could just be China for a day.”
Obama lost, often at the Supreme Court. That didn’t stop him.
Nor did it stop President Joe Biden, who became infamous for ignoring Supreme Court decisions.
When the Supreme Court said that extending a COVID-era moratorium on evictions would be unconstitutional, Biden just did it anyway.
The same when the Supremes told Biden he lacked the power to cancel hundreds of billions of dollars in student loan debt. Democrats didn’t protest against Biden acting like a king. In fact, they encouraged him to go even further.
Then there were the coronavirus restrictions, imposed and extended by every Democratic governor.
Blue states shuttered businesses and locked kids out of schools — when Americans in fact could’ve conducted most normal activities safely.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom even banned religious worship in private homes; he’d eventually lose in the Supreme Court — but Democrats had no problem with it. So when it comes to “no kings,” Dems aren’t just accusing Trump — they’re falsifying their own history.
The truth is that Democrats cheer authoritarian behavior — as long as they’re in charge.
Let them back into power, and they’ll prove it once again.
No Kings demonstrations in Portland, Oregon got out of hand in the evening with protesters sporting gas masks attacking police officers who were trying to control the crowd, according to video posted on X by FreedomNews.tv. There was no immediate word on arrests.
In Dallas, Police had to separate No Kings demonstrators from “Pro America” counter demonstrators as the two groups engaged in heated clashes. Video of the scene showed a protester being hauled away and arrested and other shouting “f–k you” at apparent pro-Trump demonstrators who were carrying flags and automatic weapons.
A large mob of demonstrators waving Palestinian and other flags hurled cement blocks towards Department of Homeland Security agents in Los Angeles.
They’re figuratively huddling behind you, and putting their citizenry’s security and substance at risk in direct dereliction of their sworn duty to “insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty.”
You, the American people, are the Democrats’ human shields.
As I stated last week, the phrase "Death to America" is not native to the Iranian mullahs. It was and is the goal of the anti-American Left and its epicenter in the Democrat party.
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.
ABOVE THE FOLD, BREAKING, NOTEWORTHY LINKS
...The incident happened while the president's aircraft sat on the tarmac at Palm Beach International Airport. Military pilots moved quickly, intercepted the plane, and deployed flares to get the pilot's attention and force a change in course.F-16s Scramble Near Trump’s Air Force One After Security Scare
The Pentagon is preparing for what could become weeks-long ground operations inside Iran — including Special Operations raids and limited infantry missions — as U.S. forces, including a Marine expeditionary unit now in theater, continue to build up for a potentially more dangerous next phase of Operation Epic Fury, according to a report published Saturday. Report: Pentagon Preps Weeks‑Long Ground Ops in Iran as U.S. Marines Arrive in Theater
Thad McCotter: Iran’s chokehold on the Straits of Hormuz exploits Western division, turning diplomacy into surrender and giving the mullahs a new shield for terror, coercion, and nuclear ambition. The Dire Strait of Hormuz
If Iran can order American blood spilled on U.S. soil, the real question isn’t why confront it—it’s what alternative would actually stop it. The War of Salman Rushdie’s Eye
We do not want the Battle of Kharg to become part of the United States Marine Corps legacy. They have more than enough to be proud of without being saddled with this potential debacle. Lindsey 'warmonger' Graham needs to give peace a chance
A decorated patriot’s fall into conspiracism shows how even the best can be consumed by antisemitic fantasy—and why such thinking must be confronted before it spreads. Why Joe Kent Matters
“The people that have been inflicting this harm [on migrants] need to be prosecuted,” Indian immigrant Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA) said Friday at a “shadow hearing” she hosted. “They need to be brought before us, and they need to be held account [sic] for the trauma that they have created, and we are going to have to have some form of reparation for the kids and the families that have been traumatized through all of this.” Immigrant Rep. Pramila Jayapal Urges ‘Reparations’ for Illegal Migrants
How many American citizens have to be raped or murdered before politicians are motivated to get our borders under control? When is enough enough?
Pritzker blamed President Donald Trump for Gorman’s murder, allegedly at the hands of an illegal alien released twice under the Biden administration in 2023. Johnson, likewise, said the killing would not change his approach to governing. Egbewole asserted on “Fox News Live” that Pritzker’s offive released a good statement on the murder, but then he politicized it, while Johnson failed to respond sympathetically to Gorman’s family. Former Biden Official Yemisi Egbewole Blasts JB Pritzker, Brandon Johnson Over Responses To Sheridan Gorman Murder
Immigration hard-liners are taking aim at rules that protect foreign-born U.S. citizens from deportation even if they become terrorists. Naturalized citizens committed three suspected terrorist attacks in Texas, Michigan and Virginia in a two-week timeframe after the U.S. went to war with Iran’s Islamic regime in February. Other naturalized citizens caught plotting terrorist attacks have been released or are due for release back onto America’s streets, according to Department of Justice (DOJ), court and prison records. US Law Says These Foreign-Born Terrorists Are Just As American As You
A Pakistani Christian could face the death penalty due to blasphemy allegations.Trial proceedings were completed for Ishtiaq Saleem, who was accused of downloading blasphemous material on social media, Alliance Defending Freedom International (ADF) said in a news release on 18 March. Saleem will receive a verdict after court proceedings conclude for his alleged accomplice, Muhammad Umair, ADF said. Pakistani Christian Faces Death Penalty Over Blasphemy Allegations
The FBI investigation into Phares features some of the same figures that are accused of railroading Carter Page and advancing the Russia collusion hoax against President Donald J. Trump, including former FBI lawyer Kevin Clinesmith and former Obama government Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) director John Brennan. FBI Abused FISA to Wiretap ANOTHER 2016 Trump Advisor – Who Says the CIA Was Also Spying on Him.
FIRST AMENDMENT ISSUES, CENSORSHIP, FAKE NEWS, MEDIA, BIG BROTHER TECH
Futures market traders on Friday raised the likelihood that the Fed increases interest rates before the end of the year to 52%, CNBC reported. This marks the first time the prospect of the Fed raising rates before 2026 is over is more likely than not, according to the futures market. Furthermore, the stock market shed over 3 trillion dollars in market capitalization since conflict began, a decrease of over 7% from January, according to Axios. Three-Headed Economic Monster Looms In Face Of American Consumers As Iran Conflict Rages, Midterms Approach
“Voters began associating Democrat governance with rising prices... Democrats have started to back sweeping middle-class tax cuts... Both movements are responding to the same underlying reality.” Democrats’ Tax-and-Spend Dead End
Such stories evoke the prurient pop music theme found in the rock band Van Halen’s 1984 tune “Hot For Teacher.” However, in the real world, the overwhelming majority of these criminal relationships are never disclosed and prosecuted, and their destructive impact on victims goes largely unreported. Exclusive: Teacher Sexual Misconduct Is ‘Rampant’ in U.S. Schools, Leading Experts Find
More than two-thirds of Americans indicated they are against Biden-era Food and Drug Administration rules that allow women to receive dangerous abortion pills without seeing a doctor in-person first, according to a new poll reported Wednesday. Majority Of Voters Want Tighter Abortion Pill Safeguards, New Poll Shows
THE 2020 and SUBSEQUENT ELECTION HEISTS , SHENANIGANS/FRAUD and AFTERMATH
The amendment comes amidst lackluster effort by the Senate GOP to pass the SAVE America Act, which would amend the 1993 National Voter Registration Act to require documentary proof of citizenship to register to vote and photo ID to cast a ballot. 47 Democrats Vote Against Voter ID After Claiming They’d Support It
President Donald Trump and other conservatives have long accused Omar of marrying her brother, Ahmed Nur Said Elmi, to facilitate his move to the U.S. in 2009. Vance said on “The Benny Johnson Show” that the White House “definitely” believes Omar committed fraud, and they are actively looking into options on how to investigate and ultimately “go after” her for it. JD Vance Says White House Plans To ‘Go After’ Bro-Fo Omar For Alleged Immigration Fraud
“After barely registering in the informal survey last year, 35% of attendees at this year’s event said they wanted him to be the party’s next nominee.” Vance Tops CPAC, Rubio Surges as Field Collapses
"I really believe this is a time where we need new leadership, new moral imagination to pull our country together, because the challenges on the horizon aren’t just this current crisis that Trump has caused. He shouldn’t be the main character of our narrative right now. We have real challenges from new technologies like AI and robotics, new challenges that we need more unity in our country, and a reminder that we are not each other’s enemies. In fact, our ability to find common ground is always been our greatest hope.” Cory Booker Calls for New Leaders: Democrats Have ‘Failed This Moment’
The only nation in the Middle East where Christians can practice their religion freely and thrive is once again facing disgusting misinformation ahead of Passover and Easter. And the woke leaders of France and Spain, who so often attack Christian values, are suddenly pretending to love Christianity in order to smear Israel. Macron, Sanchez Slam Holy Sepulcher Closure, Ignore Iranian Missiles That Necessitated It
The Paris incident follows a pattern seen in neighboring countries, according to France 24. Dutch authorities suspect Iran recruited four youths arrested in connection with a Rotterdam synagogue bombing. An obscure group with ties to Tehran also claimed an arson attack last week in London targeting volunteer ambulances operated by a Jewish organization. Police Arrest Three Suspects In Attempted Bank Of America Bombing In Paris
It is “a possibility that is quite close” that the British people will pass into history “like the Canaanites or the Arcadians”, and it is an open question whether there will be a Europe in 50 years’ time, a European Parliament conference heard from a panel of expert speakers. EU Parliament Conference Hears Continent ‘On Track For Civil War’
A recent book challenges humans’ common ancestry with primates. More Man Than Ape
FEMINAZISM, TRANSGENDER PSYCHOSIS, HOMOSEXUALIZATION, WAR ON MASCULINITY/NORMALCY
To rebuild masculinity, boys must return to manual work—where real skills, real tools, and real consequences forge discipline, independence, and purpose. On Manual Work for Men
“We got the Gulf of America now,” Cannon explained. “He’s like the club. He’s charging a $5 million bottle service fee to get into the country.” Of course, Cannon was entirely correct about the Republican Party. The GOP, which was created only a few years before the Civil War, won the war against the south, outlawed slavery, and even elected some of the first blacks to public office after the war. Then, in the 1960s, the 1964 Civil Rights Act could not have been passed if it weren’t for GOP votes as the Democrat Party voted against rights for blacks. Watch: Nick Cannon Calls the Democrat Party the ‘Party of the KKK,’ Says ‘I F**K With Trump’
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.
A bill in Florida made some noise recently—well, more than usual legislative noise, honestly—before it quietly stalled out in the Senate. It got people asking a surprisingly common question: can you legally marry your first cousin in Florida? The short answer, at least for now, is yes… but the longer answer drifts a bit.
The proposal, known as HB 733, was introduced by Anne Gerwig back in December. On paper, it wasn’t really about cousins at all—at least not primarily. It focused on healthcare changes, workforce adjustments, Department of Health stuff… the kind of policy that rarely trends. But tucked inside, almost like an afterthought, was a provision that would make it illegal to marry your first cousin.
***
Oddly enough, the bill itself passed through the Senate without opposition. No drama there. But once it bounced back to the House, it lost momentum and died.
So as things stand, yes, you can still legally marry your first cousin in Florida. That hasn’t changed.
Believe it or not, there are currently SEVENTEEN states where first cousins can legally marry.
It's that time of the week - when we turn the ONT over to our good friend Piper for a bit. Here's this week's fashion pr0n.
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Audrey Hepburn’s Effortless Chic: The Iconic Givenchy Wardrobe in Charade (1963)
If there’s one film that captures Audrey Hepburn at her most stylishly modern, it’s Charade. This 1963 romantic thriller—often called “the best Hitchcock movie Hitchcock never made”—pairs Audrey with Cary Grant against a glamorous Parisian backdrop. But while the plot delivers mystery, suspense, and witty banter, it’s Audrey’s wardrobe that truly steals every scene.
Designed by her lifelong collaborator and dear friend Hubert de Givenchy, the costumes in Charade mark a perfect bridge between Old Hollywood glamour and the clean, sophisticated style of the early 1960s. No over-the-top ball gowns here, just impeccable tailoring, rich autumnal colors, structured coats, and simple yet stunning dresses that highlight Audrey’s signature gamine silhouette. The result? A wardrobe that feels utterly wearable today.
The Red Coat Ensemble: Playful Parisian Perfection
One of the most memorable looks is Audrey’s vibrant red wool coat paired with a crisp white pillbox hat and white gloves. Whether she’s strolling along the Seine eating an ice cream cone with Cary Grant or navigating the streets of Paris, this outfit radiates joyful elegance. The coat’s clean lines and bold color make it pop, while the accessories add polish.
The Marigold Coat: Bold & Structured
Givenchy’s marigold wool single-breasted knee-length coat is another standout. Featuring three-quarter sleeves and distinctive black domed buttons, this piece brings sunny energy. Audrey wears it with confidence—hands in pockets or paired with a sleek black bag—showing how a strong color and sharp tailoring can create instant impact. This look is my absolute favorite.
The Beige/Cream Coat & Dress: Understated Sophistication
For quieter, more introspective moments, Audrey slips into a soft cream single-breasted coat (rumored to be one she kept in her personal wardrobe). Often layered over a matching dress with a contrasting black belt or funnel neck detail, it embodies quiet luxury. The high-buttoned jackets and pencil skirts in Givenchy’s designs for the film masked the collarbone (a preference of Audrey’s) while accentuating her tiny waist. Simple, elegant, and endlessly chic.
The Little Black Dress and other looks
Even in a film full of daywear, Audrey delivers evening sophistication in a sleek black Givenchy cocktail dress. Fitted yet restrained, it’s paired with dramatic eye makeup. Beyond the LBD, she rocks several tailored skirt suits and shift dresses in tones like deep navy blue, cream, and black.
Accessories That Elevate Everything
No Audrey wardrobe is complete without the perfect finishing touches:
• Hats: From classic white pillboxes to leopard-print versions and headscarves.
• Gloves: Crisp white or sleek black, always adding polish.
• Shoes: Simple black kitten-heel pumps for day (with pointy blue evening slippers for night).
• Extras: Oversized sunglasses, a chic black handbag, and dramatic winged eyeliner with nude lips.
Why Charade’s Wardrobe Still Inspires Us
What makes this collection so special is its modernity. Givenchy drew from his Autumn/Winter 1962 collections, delivering tapered silhouettes, frock coats, and tailored suits that feel fresh even now. Audrey’s character, Reggie Lampert, is navigating murder, hidden treasure, and romance—and she does it all looking impossibly put-together. Many of these pieces—especially the coats—have become cultural touchstones, referenced by designers and vintage lovers alike.
If you’re looking to channel Audrey in Charade for your own wardrobe, start with a bold-colored coat, a tailored sheath dress, or a classic LBD with statement accessories. Add a pillbox hat or white gloves for that extra Old Hollywood-meets-60s flair.
Howdy, Y'all! Welcome to the wondrously fabulous Gun Thread! As always, I want to thank all of our regulars for being here week in and week out, and also offer a bigly Gun Thread welcome to any newcomers who may be joining us tonight. Howdy and thank you for stopping by! I hope you find our wacky conversation on the subject of guns 'n shooting both enjoyable and informative. You are always welcome to lurk in the shadows of shame, but I'd like to invite you to jump into the conversation, say howdy, and tell us what kind of shooting you like to do!
Holy Shitballs! How in the ever-loving Hell did it get to be the fifth of five March editions? This is madness!
Coming Soon: April editions.
With that, step into the dojo and let's get to the gun stuff below, shall we?
So was this helpful? Do you agree with the methodologies presented in the video? If not, why not?
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Guns Of The Horde
Yowza! Our pal Biden's Dog shoots and scores!
It took over half a year for Israel's Ministry of National Security to process and approve my gun license application. As of this past Wednesday, I am licensed. As of Friday, I am armed with the first firearm I have ever owned in my life.
Until about seven months ago, Israeli laws did not make me eligible to be licensed to carry. Because of the October 7th War, licensing was expanded to include more categories of citizens. However, I only became eligible 7 months ago, when the law was modified to include most Jerusalem residents, like myself. Recently, additional cities and towns have become eligible.
The license is solely for a handgun, not a rifle, for which I am not eligible. I had about 15 handguns to choose from. I chose the Glock 43X MOS. The weight and grip in my not large hand seemed just right. To finalize the license, you have to pass a written test on Israel's weapons laws, which are very strict and limiting. In addition, there is basic gun training, including weapons handling, followed by live fire shooting with 100 bullets.
Speaking of 100 bullets, that's the MAXIMUM Israel's law allows you to possess. And if you think that's crazy, the maximum used to be 50 bullets until the law was changed after the October 7th War broke out in 2023.
In Israel, concealed carry is not only legal. It is the government's preferred method for its armed citizens. I received an IWB holster with my purchase. However, I also have a Galco Lite shoulder holster. I originally bought it for one our pups but he changed his mind and stuck with IWB holstering. I prefer shoulder when wearing a jacket or coat.
So, I will definitely be paying MORE attention hereon in to the gun thread. The thread is published past my bedtime, which is why I've almost never commented there. Thanks for much I've already learned to date from the threads' contents.
CONGRATULATIONS Biden's Dog! Nice shooting!! This really made my day, thank you!!
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F.A.R.C.
More From Eugene Stoner.
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Palmetto State Armory Tour
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Air Marshal Qualification
Anyone tried this? How do you think you would do? Anyone care to attempt this and report back?
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Our Pal The Vacuum Tube
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Highway Patrol!
This week's episode: Suspected Cop!
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Terror From The Year 5000!
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Cigar of the Week
This week our pal rhomboid scores again with this excellent review of the West Tampa Red.
Rick Rodriguez is a veteran of the cigar industry, having worked a quarter century at General Cigar (owner of many brands including non-Cuban Cohiba, Macanudo, Partagas as well as La Gloria Cubana, Diesel, Torano and many others). Four years ago he set out on his own and started West Tampa Tobacco. His is an interesting story - his grandparents were immigrant Cuban cigar makers in Tampa, but he smoked his first cigar at .... age 40.
The Red is West Tampa's third release, and features a Mexican San Andres maduro wrapper with Nicaraguan binder and filler. I had the toro (6 X 52).
I got an immediate sweet note with a smooth light leather and earth base. As you burn through the stick, the sweetness element fades and the leather and earth predominate, but still with an overall smoothness to the blend. Smoke is abundant, burn line needed very limited management, and the performance matches the appearance of excellent construction. Medium-full seems to be the consensus on strength, which was my experience as well. A very solid cigar, surely with more flavor nuances than your justifiably humble reviewer can bring to this report. The West Tampa Red is available online for around $9 and up
Bigly excellent, rhomboid! Thank you!
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Here are some different online cigar vendors. You will find they not only carry different brands and different lines from those brands, but also varying selections of vitolas (sizes/shapes) of given lines. It's good to have options, especially if you're looking for a specific cigar.
A note about sources. The brick & mortar/online divide exists with cigars, as with guns, and most consumer products, with respect to price. As with guns - since both are "persecuted industries", basically - I make a conscious effort to source at least some of my cigars from my local store(s). It's a small thing, but the brick & mortar segment for both guns and tobacco are precious, and worth supporting where you can. And if you're lucky enough to have a good cigar store/lounge available, they're often a good social event with many dangerous people of the sort who own scary gunz, or read smart military blogs like this one. -rhomboid
Anyone have others to include? Perhaps a small local roller who makes a cigar you like? Send me your recommendation and a link to the site!
Please note the new and improved protonmail account gunthread at protonmail dot com. An informal Gun Thread archive can be found HERE. Future expansion plans are in the works for the site Weasel Gun Thread. If you have a question you would like to ask Gun Thread Staff offline, just send us a note and we'll do our best to answer. If you care to share the story of your favorite firearm, send a picture with your nic and tell us what you sadly lost in the tragic canoe accident. If you would like to remain completely anonymous, just say so. Lurkers are always welcome!
That's it for this week - have you been to the range?
Food Thread: You Say Dumplings, I say Kneidlach: Let's Call The Whole Thing Off!
—CBD
I couldn't resist the photo! There is a joke somewhere about it being the major food groups of the Irish, but I would never stoop so low!
That is a full brisket from Wild Fork Foods, which is a frozen-food purveyor with a robust shipping business and also a bunch of stores across the country. I have been pleased with some of their stuff, although it is obvious how they manage costs...their butchers are not the most impressive trimmers in the industry. But that brisket is sold as trimmed, and they do a good enough job at an excellent price, so all I have to do is trim a bit more fat, and it's off to the races, or into the roasting pan for a quick sear.
Well, actually it takes a fair amount of time, because it's a big piece of meat!
What? No! I am not smoking it, because braised (or roasted) brisket is one of the foods of MY people! Passover starts in a few days, and I have a bunch of people for the Seder. While I would have preferred another main course, I was informed that brisket was on the menu this year. No, I have no free will when it comes to these things...why do you ask?
Come to think of it, smoked brisket would be good! There are Jews in Texas...well, do you make traditional or Texan-style for Passover? It's tradition, not religious law, so I could make collard greens and smoked brisket and a big pot of beans, and nobody could complain.... much.
The only thing that is non-negotiable is Matzoh-Ball Soup. For two reasons. First, that's what my mother made, and second, mine is spectacular! And yes, I use duck fat instead of vegetable oil. Of course my mother once made Matzoh-Ball Soup with bacon bits inside, so you can probably guess that I didn't grow up in a Kosher home!
By the way, if you really want to show off, call them "kneidlach," because that's the Yiddish word!
I try not to fall into the foodie conceit that the hipper, rarer, and more expensive the ingredients are, the better the end result. Plain old black pepper is good! But damnit! MY MiL gave me some Cambodian black pepper a few years ago and I was infuriated to discover that it was fantastic! Now, it could be because it was fresh (she bought it there), but I have a sneaking suspicion that it is simply better quality than the stuff I buy. And this is a new batch she just gave me, so I will be busily grinding and tasting to see what's what!
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For whatever reason I decided a week or so ago that pizza is low-carb. So I made some dough from a standard NY style pizza recipe. And while the pizza itself was tasty, I think the dough recipe was designed for ease of handling rather than for taste. But that is a problem with lots of bread recipes...handling high-hydration dough can be a challenge!
I'll dig up a better recipe in a month or so and see what happens.
That's disgusting on so many levels, that I am suspicious. It's either AI, or somebody is trying to drive eyeballs to their site. It's horrible, but maybe it's like a crash on the highway....
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I hate this sort of crap. It is conspicuous consumption of the worst kind, akin to the Potlatch ceremonies of the Northwest Indians. NYC steakhouse rolls out an ultra-decadent hot cocoa cocktail loaded with booze -- for a whopping $1K If you need to validate your social status by pissing away $1,000 on something this stupid, just give me the cash and I will stand next to you for 30 minutes or so and tell you how impressive you are.
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The Dijon mustard that I ate in France is simply better than the same brand that is exported to America. I find that maddening, but my one attempt at making mustard failed miserably, so I either have to find a local source for French domestic Dijon, or fly there regularly to keep my larder stocked.
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Well, the garlic is out in the sunshine, probably soon to be eaten by those vile rodents with bushy tails and a penchant for damaging my home. But if they survive the squirrel apocalypse, and actually grow into something edible, I will be in garlic heaven! In case it doesn't, send all of your excellent home-grown garlic to: cbd dot aoshq at gmail dot com.
Rumor has it that the Bourbon Bubble is bursting. I have seen no evidence of decreasing prices, but maybe the bursting started somewhere else! I think the sweet spot is $40-$60 for excellent and interesting bottles, and bumping that to $100 gets you an incremental improvement in quality, but nothing mind-blowing. More than that and I think you are paying for hype and rarity, which may look good in your liquor cabinet, but doesn't translate to more quality in the bottle.
The problem...or the solution...is to buy lots of bourbon, take tasting notes, and eventually arrive at your favorites! It should take forty or fifty years, but it is worth it!
Yes, it's an old house...coming up on 100 years old in a few years. And of course we'll have a party, with cake and some gasoline and matches!
That is the last of the original moulding (molding?), and as you can see it was pieced together with what I can only assume was scraps from the rest of the house. The math suggests that the house was built in the beginning of the depression, so it is entirely possible that the builder tried mightily to save every penny.
But that line between pieces irritates me every time I see it, so that is the next thing to be replaced.
In my youth I did that sort of work, and I was taught early on how to avoid exactly that sort of problem. And if the trim carpenter who installed that moulding wasn't as good as I was, he was very bad indeed!
No Kings? If We Had A King, These Morons Would Be In Jail
—CBD
The "No Kings" demonstration on an overpass across Route 4 in Bergen County New Jersey was an anemic, lightly attended hissy fit by a few dozen true believers, even though it is a fairly liberal area.
But what do they believe? Everything they are told by the Democrat party apparatus, without questioning the underlying data or even whether it makes any sense at all. The Democrats have cultivated cadres of shock troops they can mobilize to wear their old Tie-Dye shirts and chant awful rhymes about the cause de jour, and that has been the case for a very long time. "Turn On, Tune In, Drop Out!" Hey Hey, Ho Ho, Western Civ Has Got To Go!" "Hey, Hey, LBJ, How Many Kids Did You Kill Today?" Those are 60 years old, and even stupider today then they were in the 1960s.
Today's chants are no more intelligent, and no more representative of an honest protest movement based on political differences. "No Trump, No KKK, No Fascist USA!" Really? A cursory examination of real fascist dictatorships would yield the uncomfortable fact that street protests were and are sometimes met with machine gun fire, mass arrests, and one-way flights on helicopters. Or, "Say It Loud, Say It Clear, Immigrants Are Welcome Here!" That's particularly brain-dead, since it carefully conflates legal vs. illegal immigration, which the parrots on the street don't understand, but their masters on the left certainly do!
The left has always embraced chants and songs and long-winded diatribes that can be trotted out to answer any challenge. That most of these things are utter nonsense, employing circular logic, false historical narratives, and flat-out lies is secondary to their power to inflame the hearts of their true believers.
That is one reason why Charlie Kirk was so effective. He was able to answer their jingoistic canned phrases with facts, and since these people are intellectually bereft, they would often sputter and stutter and stalk off, because their logical basis for their beliefs is simply cant, and without a firm historical or data-driven foundation.
Yet it often works, especially when the left employs their dancing monkeys in the entertainment industry to provide the rhyming and the singing and the angry denunciations of today's crisis.
But the two-edged sword of social media and instant communication has broadened the reach of these script-reading sub-wits, while simultaneously exposing their stupidity to the world. Sure, Springsteen will draw people to the protest, but he looks and sounds like an aging lesbian, especially when he is surrounded on stage by his peers, who also look like aging lesbians! Did Billie Eilish further the cause of... um... indigenous people, or just expose herself as an ignorant and entitled fool? When George Clooney flies to a climate conference on a private jet, he might make a splash on the talk shows, but a lot of people see his rank hypocrisy.
Below the fold is a wonderful example of the intellectual vacuousness of 2026's entertainment spokesmen. It's painful and laughable...you choose which!
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.”
