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April 03, 2026

THE MORNING RANT: My Gripe Against Hollywood – the Unintelligible, Artistic Mumble

—Buck Throckmorton

Hollywood is not my normal beat. I once wrote a piece about David Zaslav’s looting of Warner Bros Discovery after he ran the company into the ground while extracting generational wealth for himself. But in general, I am happy to keep up with the business of Hollywood by following Christian Toto (Hollywood in Toto), George MF Washington’s Hollywood-insider substack (The Continental Congress) and by reading Ace’s accounts of Disney’s self-immolation.

So, with Ace and them fighting the political fight involving Hollywood, I’d like to weigh in on another subject related to the industry - I can’t understand half the dialogue in the shows I stream.

Dear Hollywood: Enough with the artistic mumble.

Watching streaming series is a relatively new thing for my wife and me. Both of us fell out of the habit of watching TV series several decades ago, and it was only in the past five years or so that we’ve picked up the habit again here in the streaming era. On weekend nights when we’re not out, we enjoy watching a couple episodes of whatever show we’re following, but I sometimes feel like giving up on it since half of the dialogue nowadays is barely intelligible.

The problem is not a hearing issue. At my office, I’m sometimes involved in whispered conversations about semi-confidential matters. There are also women who talk in vocal fry. In office meeting there is overlapping chatter. In all these circumstances, everyone is still understandable. The problem is not my ears.

I’m not sure if Hollywood is full of actors who no longer know how to articulate, or if it’s sound engineers who make the actors’ speech inaudible, or some combination of the two.

The speaking affectation in modern shows seems to be equal parts mumble, whisper, and vocal fry. I cannot turn my TV up loud enough for some conversations to be greater than a whisper, or understandable. I might think it was my TV, but we replaced a TV recently, and nothing changed. Even more telling, the speech in news and sports broadcasts is still loud, crisp, and easily understood, as are old sitcoms and TV series.

At times I wonder if there is a “mumble filter” through which Hollywood sound engineers are now subjecting audio. My wife and I were very late to the series “Justified.” We watched the original series just about the time the 2023 reboot, “City Primeval,” came along. We never had any problem understanding what was being said in the original Justified, but the reboot was almost completely unintelligible. Almost all speaking was a barely audible mumble, and even Timothy Oliphant now sounded like he was whispering through a mouth full of marbles, unlike in the original series. Was a conscious decision made to have spoken words be mostly inaudible?

People do not talk like this in real life. This Hollywood speaking affectation is just as fake as the Mid-Atlantic accent of Hollywood’s golden era – but at least we could understand what was being said in those old movies.

It’s also noteworthy that despite the prevalence of the “artistic mumble,” there are still actors who will not be mumbled. Billy Bob Thornton speaks slowly and clearly, and I never have any trouble understanding him. Jamie Lee Curtis has been in several shows we’ve watched recently. She still projects her voice and speaks with authority. There is far more art in their performances than from those actors who are mumbling lines without breathing or moving their lips.

Please, Hollywood, I’m willing to consume your product. Can you have your actors and sound engineers retire the artistic mumble before I give up on Hollywood again?

*****

Throckmorton’s First Law of Live Music: “If There’s an Upright Bass in the Band, It’s Probably Going to be Good”

Something sweet and heartwarming happened on Twitter/X this past weekend – a mutual-admiration love affair broke out between conservative Americans who respect Japan and its culture, and conservative Japanese who admire our culture, all of whom seek to preserve their own cultures against hostile immigration.

There was a lot of good-natured ribbing and affectionate cultural appropriation flying around between Japan and the U.S., including Japanese cowgirls, celebrations of beef and sushi, and some cross-pollinated music.

In that spirit, here is a Japanese band performing the bluegrass classic “Fox on the Run.”

[buck.throckmorton at protonmail dot com]

Posted by Buck Throckmorton at 11:00 AM Comments



Mid-Morning Art Thread

—CBD

Michelangelo crucifixion.jpg

Crucifixion
Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni

Posted by CBD at 09:30 AM Comments



The Morning Report — 4/3/26

—J.J. Sefton

YumShrimp.jpg

A good Good Friday morning kids. Let's dive right in.

So, President Trump has sacked Pam Bondi from her position as Attorney General. Her tenure these past several months has been checkered to say the least. And many of our fellow Floridians were not exactly thrilled when Trump tapped her to lead the DOJ in the first place.

She probably wasn’t as bad as her detractors think she was (her job is harder than most realize), but she wrongfooted herself so badly there was no recovery. . . I must admit that I had a problem with Bondi from the get-go because of her involvement in the 2012 George Zimmerman case. Zimmerman was acquitted because he acted in self-defense, something that was always obvious if one paid attention to the facts without being blinded by racial politics. Bondi was the Florida AG at the time, and she supported Angela Corey, the special prosecutor who indicted Zimmerman. . . Since Bondi took over, there have been two complaints: First, she’s failed to bring any indictments against the Democrats who have played fast and loose with the law since Trump’s first day in office. Second, she’s failed to bring any indictments in connection with the Epstein matter or even to name names. . . Whether a victim of circumstances, misspeaking, or genuine boneheadedness, Bondi wasn’t working, so today, Trump made a very kind announcement that she’s out:

Pam Bondi is a Great American Patriot and a loyal friend, who faithfully served as my Attorney General over the past year. Pam did a tremendous job overseeing a massive crackdown in Crime across our Country, with Murders plummeting to their lowest level since 1900. We love Pam, and she will be transitioning to a much needed and important new job in the private sector, to be announced at a date in the near future, and our Deputy Attorney General, and a very talented and respected Legal Mind, Todd Blanche, will step in to serve as Acting Attorney General. . .

Given the vicissitudes of politics, it is reasonable to ask did Bondi screw the pooch or was she handed a pre-screwed pooch to begin with when she got pinned with the badge as America's top cop? And depending upon what happens in Iran as well as the midterms, when It comes time for this President to depart the Oval Office come late January of 2029, we may very well be asking the very same question. As the saying goes "Personnel is Policy," and especially in his first term, President Trump made some horrible choices for his cabinet and other key advisors. To his credit, Hegseth, Rubio and Zeldin have been outstanding, and I envision the first two as potential if not likely presidential candidates, if not in 2028 then certainly 2030 and beyond.

Moving on to the immigration situation, as CBD and I discussed on the latest episode of the podcast linked here as well as in the sidebar and on the popular platforms listed at the bottom of the post,

we were talking about the complete bastardization of the 14th amendment vis a vis birthright citizenship for the spawn of illegal aliens and other non-citizens who intentionally or otherwise give birth on our territory and then voila, instant American!

In that vein, we have a story that might otherwise fly under the radar but for its implications in the broader immigration debate as it pertains to our national security and identity, both of which are interrelated because when you lack the latter you lose the former and vice versa.

“There’s a high bar to denaturalization.”

There isn’t really. We mostly choose not to pursue denaturalization. Yes, past Supreme Court decisions have made denaturalization more difficult than it was ever meant to be, but mostly we don’t even try.

Here’s what happens when we do try.

. . . “Gaining citizenship after committing serious crimes against the American people is an unacceptable abuse of our immigration system,” said Attorney General Pamela Bondi. “These latest denaturalizations illustrate this Department of Justice’s focus on ensuring that citizenship remains a privilege to obtain, not a right to abuse.”

That’s the important precedent being set here.

The actions of the two spies were not even extraordinary. Sadly a huge chunk of Chinese Communist ‘students’ and ‘researchers’ operating in the United States are doing the exact same things.


For decades, the Chi-Coms in particular have been actively promoting so-called "birth tourism" sending pregnant Chinese women to America for the specific purpose of giving birth here so that their little bastards can become automatic citizens and then ultimately Red Chinese agents, actively working to undermine us from within via espionage/sabotage as and when directed or merely to vote en masse as a bloc to influence our elections by putting in office leftist traitors.

And so with the above, it perhaps puts the tenure of Pam Bondi as AG in a bit more flattering light. And if we are willing to denaturalize those who abrogated their oath of citizenship by betraying us then perhaps we can do this en masse to however many thousands of Somalis, Afghanis, and other third-world turncoats who never had any intention of assimilating but of at a minimum being leeches and at worst, fifth columnists.

So, fare thee well Pam Bondi and thank you for this and laying the groundwork for more of this. Hopefully your successor will do exactly this.

And speaking of Red Chinese agents and scumbag degenerate traitors:

California's top Democratic gubernatorial candidate has plenty of problems with his residency, his primary residence mortgage issues, and his lovelorn involvement with a Chinese spy who helped him pick his congressional staff.

His lack of fitness for office, though, is all the worse because of his financial problems, including some bizarre and outrageous campaign expenses and failure to file his taxes on time, along with an unverified social media report claiming that he sexually harassed interns and then paid them off by forcing them to sign non-disclosure agreements. . .

. . . According to JustTheNews:

California governor candidate Democrat Rep. Eric Swalwell's finances show that he delayed paying his federal taxes, and spends the most on child care in the House with campaign funds.

Swalwell and his wife, Brittany, made an average income of more than $444,000 from 2021 to 2024, which included cash-raising moves such as drawing down retirement accounts, delaying federal tax payments, and spending on child care with campaign funds, according to tax returns and campaign finance filings, the Sacramento Bee reported.

The Swalwells' income puts them in the top 5% of households in Washington, D.C., where the couple owns a $1.2 million home, in addition to the congressman renting a room in Livermore, Calif., owned by another family.

Lest we forget his consorting and cavorting with a known Red Chinese Spy Fang-Fang which earned him the nickname Yum Yum during a Congressional hearing last year but considering who she is and works for, makes it not a matter for levity.

Denaturalizing immigrant fraudsters like the aforementioned and please God BRO-FO OMAR and her ilk is one thing.

Treason trials for Swalwell and everyone like him should also be a priority, if not a pipedream.


Lastly, here's wishing all of you a Blessed Easter!

Have a great weekend!


And 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.


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Posted by J.J. Sefton at 07:40 AM Comments

Daily Tech News 3 April 2026

—Pixy Misa

Top Story

  • houston@nasa.gov, we have a problem. (Tom's Hardware)

    The crew of the Artemis II mission - basically retreading the path of Apollo 10, 97 years ago - ran into an issue that didn't happen last time: The spacecraft's computer has two instances of Microsoft Outlook running, and neither one works.

    At least that's better than unidentified floating poop (though we may yet come to that) or a Main B Bus Undervolt.


  • Speaking of things not working those new LG-made 1Hz laptop display panels have been put to the test and they don't. Don't not work, that is. They work exceptionally well. (Tom's Hardware)

    These displays are designed to automatically lower the refresh rate to as little as 1Hz (from a maximum of 120Hz) when the user is looking at a static screen, since the constant refresh cycle is a major power draw.

    Tested in Dell's latest XPS 14 model (which I think is the first laptop shipping with these panels) a battery life test simulating simple web browsing with the screen brightness set to 150 nits saw the laptop lasting 43 hours. That's three times longer than Apple's M5 MacBook Air running with the same settings.

    Apple's CPUs are more power-efficient than Intel's so heaver workloads handed the win to the Air, but the new display panel certainly proved itself.

Continue reading


Posted by Pixy Misa at 04:00 AM Comments

Thursday Overnight Open Thread - April 2, 2026 [Doof]

—Open Blogger

HE5aNmzawAACYxm.jpg
From Archillct

Greetings, Hordelings! Thanks for stopping by tonight's ONT. Open thread, as always. What's on YOUR mind tonight?

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Posted by Open Blogger at 10:00 PM Comments

Pesach Cafe

—Disinformation Expert Ace

fallswithlogs.jpg
Pete Vander Muelen

When I was young, I wondered why my Easter egg decorating kit said it was for "Paques." That's just the French for the old Latin term "Pascha" which just means Pesach or Passover. Most Romance language countries call Easter something like "Paques:" -- Spanish Pascua, Italian Pasqua. Easter is specifically an Old English word and probably means "dawn."

The English word "Easter" originates from Old English Eastre or Eostre, likely derived from a Proto-Germanic root for "dawn" (austron-) or a springtime goddess associated with the east. This name is traditionally linked to the rising sun, symbolizing the resurrection, and was adopted to replace earlier Pascha celebrations.

Dune: Meowsiah.

Dog slept so deeply he attracted a vulture.


Big bunny bread for its meat is rescued and living his best bunny life.

Puppy's been training for this very moment his whole life.

Street argument.

Rescuing a neglected senior dog (who looks like a teddy bear now).

Last week I posted a short video of a bear waking up from hibernation with Stage IV bedhead. There's more to the story. That was an elderly circus bear callously discarded by the people he used to make money for. He's now been rescued and given his own paddock to walk around in.

Low-energy cat.

Lightning strikes are God's way of telling you Do Better. #DoBetter, people.

Cats are why we can't have nice things. Further evidence.

I will never forget this dog's birthday party because it's a nightmare dreamed by a demon.

Guys pretending to listen to their wives.

Koalas should be seen not heard. Fuck man that's awful.

Cruisin' the strip.

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Posted by Disinformation Expert Ace at 07:37 PM Comments

Quick Hits

—Disinformation Expert Ace

newsomeobana.jpg

Where are his grades and SATs and LSATs?

Chuck Schumer, when asked if he gives any credit to Trump for paying TSA agents after 42 days without pay: "No."

Australia's woke PM Steve Albanese wants to censor alternative media because it's "not consistent" with leftwing propaganda media.

Libs of TikTok @libsoftiktok

2h

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese criticizes people getting news from social media because it's "misinformation," and not "consistent" like legacy news outlets.

Who here trusts the "consistent" legacy media?

"There's just no way to determine an athlete's sex other than reaching under her skirt and fondling her genitals!"

-- the Genius Alexandria Donkey-Chompers

Don Ballfingers Lemon: "I was given the n-word treatment" when I was perp-walked as any criminal would be.

A Democrat representative, "Shomari Figures" -- I'm not sure if that's a human name or a new He-Man character (like maybe he has numbers for eyes or something) -- wanted to prove that black people are too dumb to get ID to vote. So he asked the members of a black church how many of them had failed to obtain this exotic, elusive object called "personal identification." Literally no one said they did not have identification so he quickly pivoted to a different point.

King Charles, long rumored to have secretly converted to Islam, not only issued Ramadan greetings during Lent, not only urged British citizens to learn more about Islam, but now says he will not issue any Easter message this year.

Oh well, Easter's not a big Christian holy day or anything I guess.

This post contains a bunch of claims about Charles' alleged conversion to Islam, which I have never heard and certainly cannot verify, but fuck this cuck.


I didn't even consider the Flat Earthers during yesterday's launch. How could I not think of the Flat Earthers? Apparently they're having a bad time, given that their whole stupid "the earth is totally flat you guys and NASA just fakes photos of a round earth" Identity.

So they're back to their usual cope. They claim that the rocket shown on video was actually an "inflatable," a large rocket-shaped dummy balloon to con the rubes.

He then repeats one of Cavernous Nostrils' key proofs for the moon landing being fake, to wit, how can they receive communications in space when Candace has problems getting cell phone coverage in the city? She actually said that. And she said it about radio transmissions during the 1969 moon landing. She showed no awareness at all that there was a kind of "wireless communication" available before she first got her cell phone in 2004.

I would say this account is a spoof, but... they really do believe and claim these things. So even if it is a goof, it's still just repeating actual conspiracy theory claims.

All systems are go!

So... is it a joke? Maybe but the stupidity is very real.

And now I think it's really real again.

Continue reading


Posted by Disinformation Expert Ace at 06:42 PM Comments

Bondi's Out.
Is Tulsi Next?!

—Disinformation Expert Ace

As you know, Pam Bondi was fired today.

This article repeats the rumor that Trump believed she was leaking to Eric Swallwell:

Trump was also frustrated with Bondi because he believes she may have alerted California Democratic Rep. Eric Swalwell to an effort by the administration to release files from an investigation into his relationship with an alleged Chinese spy, one of the sources told Semafor.

Regarding the claim that Bondi was fired because it was suspected she tipped off her friend Eric Swallwell about Patel's interest in releasing the Fang-Fang files:

Reagan Reese @reaganreese_

27m

A source familiar with Bondi's firing tells me this is "BULLSHIT."

That doesn't mean much but it's only fair that I post the denial.


But word is -- Trump's coming for Tulsi Gabbard next.

According to the Guardian, Trump polled his other Cabinet Sectaries about whether she was worth keeping or not:

Donald Trump has privately asked cabinet officials in recent weeks whether he should replace his director of national intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard, venting frustration that she shielded a former deputy who undercut his rationale for war with Iran, according to two people briefed on the discussions.

It is not clear that Trump will actually fire Gabbard over the episode. Currently, there is no standout candidate to take the job, and advisers have cautioned that creating a high-profile vacancy before a successor is ready could cause unhelpful political distractions.

But Trump's discussions mark an ominous development for Gabbard, given the president tends to poll his advisers when he starts to seriously consider whether a personnel change is necessary. The two people spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss private conversations.

Trump's doubts about Gabbard followed her testimony at the worldwide threats hearing on Capitol Hill last month where she declined to condemn Joe Kent, who had resigned days earlier after arguing that Iran did not pose an imminent threat to the United States, the people said.

The nature of Kent's departure and his criticism of the war had already angered Trump, but he expressed particular frustration about Gabbard seemingly defending Kent and appearing reluctant to defend the administration's position to attack Iran, the people said.

Trump seems to have formerly been employing the strategy of keeping his critics and saboteurs inside the tent, so that they were pissing out of it instead of into it. But now he seems to be dropping that strategy and giving them all the boot.

Bonus:

Continue reading


Posted by Disinformation Expert Ace at 05:40 PM Comments

Bobby "The Brain" DeNiro Is So Pro-Democracy He Wants a Council of Elders To Ban People He Doesn't Like From Running for President

—Disinformation Expert Ace

nurse ratched asked for a "fun thread." I don't know if this counts, but maybe it does.

Batya Ungar-Sargon @bungarsargon

This is such a perfect example of how Trump broke the brains of so many on the Left. In the name of opposing "totalitarianism" and "defending democracy," DeNiro thinks there should be a body of elites who bar people from running for office, including someone who went on to win the popular vote.

What's sad is that DeNiro is obviously experiencing immense, totalizing pain, genuine psychic distress at the outcome of an election.

So much of their hatred of Trump is just an attempt to evade recognizing that democracy--their neighbors getting what they want when they vote in greater numbers--causes them searing psychic pain.

Continue reading


Posted by Disinformation Expert Ace at 04:38 PM Comments

The Left Found a Way to -- Get This -- Politicize the Artemis II Launch and Denigrate Space Travel

—Disinformation Expert Ace

I guess they agree with Cavernous Nostrils that Space Is Fake and Gay You Guys.

Continue reading


Posted by Disinformation Expert Ace at 03:39 PM Comments

As Part of JD Vance's Anti-Fraud Task Force, Feds Raid Fake Hospice Fraudsters In California

—Disinformation Expert Ace

The Patriot Oasis
@ThePatriotOasis

🚨BREAKING: Vice President JD Vance says his Fraud Task Force is NOT wasting time after the California raid this morning.

VANCE: "Our task force isn't wasting any time cracking down on fraud."

"This morning in the LA area, federal law enforcement is taking down fraudsters who stole $50M+ from Americans by defrauding our healthcare and hospice systems."

Remember earlier stories about, what, 89 "hospice care" "businesses" operating in a ten square block area of LA?

Hospice care is care for the terminally ill. It can be expensive, but the care is brief: Most people who enter hospice care die within two or three weeks.

That's not the case in the Hospice Care Businesses being raided. Astonishingly, after eight months of care for the terminally ill, these Modern Miracle Factories have achieved a ninety-seven plus percent survival rate. And I'm not making that number up, that's from the Fox video report below the fold.

Even though these Resurrection Mills are bringing the dead back to life, the anti-science thug JD Vance wants to arrest them instead of giving them all Congressional Medals of Super-Science!

NYP:

The home of a husband and wife who own a Southern California hospice accused of committing $7 million in fraud was raided by FBI agents in conjunction with Health and Human Services early Thursday morning.

The raid is one of several that took place as part of a massive federal effort to address widespread fraud in the state in coordination with Vice President JD Vance's Fraud Taskforce -- and the California Post was there.

In dramatic fashion, the couple, Amelou Gill and Gladwin Gill, who operate St. Francis Palliative Care in Anaheim, were arrested at their home by an FBI SWAT team as authorities sawed through the metal front gates of their property and called with loudspeakers for them to come out.

Dr. Mehmet Oz, the Administrator for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, was on the scene as well and said the couple created a hospice in their daughter's name and bilked millions of dollars from taxpayers.

"Since 2022, there have been allegations, but for four years, what seems to be typical in California, nothing was done," he said.

Their hospice had a mortality rate of just 2.3% over the last five years, according to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS).

Dr. Oz told the California Post that CMS has suspended "hundreds" of hospice licenses in California.

"In 10 weeks we're getting close to what Governor Newsom did in four years," he said.

...

Dr. Fariba Javaherian is a registered dermatologist, but according to CMS billing data obtained by The Post, she is associated with 63 hospice facilities across California either as a medical director, attending physician or in some other capacity.

Apparently there are millions of terminally ill patients dying of Problem Acne.

The National Provider Identifier (NPI) registered with Dr. Javaherian, a unique 10-digit number given to individual health care providers, was used for 1,662 unique patients across the 63 hospice agencies and appeared on more than 6,000 claims that billed $35,816,331.


Following The Post's investigation, CMS revoked Javaherian's license to bill Medicare and suspended the license of at least 16 hospice agencies associated with the dermatologist.

"Dr. Javaherian's white coat was a costume," CMS Administrator Dr. Oz said. Javaherian is not accused of any wrongdoing.

Remember, the very very smart Smarties of the Left insisted that JD Vance's posting as anti-fraud task force commissioner was some kind of political setback, because it's a big waste of time because Fraud Is Fake. The Science (TM) says so.

While the reality is 100% the opposite. I'm not a JD Vance booster any longer, but conservative voters are keen to finally have fraud investigated and punished after seventy years of politicians promising that to us, and they will reward Vance for doing the job that until now American politicians just wouldn't do.

Continue reading


Posted by Disinformation Expert Ace at 02:27 PM Comments

Breaking: Multiple Reports That Trump Has Told Pam Bondi That Her Time as AG Is Coming to an End

—Disinformation Expert Ace

Update: She's been fired now?

Trump posted that Todd Blanche will be acting AG.

Posted by: Duke Lowell

The claim is that he is pre-firing her, I guess. Telling her to prepare her resume and make up a reason why she is voluntarily leaving the job.

Is this true? No idea, of course.

Poltiico:

Bondi on the brink?

By JACK BLANCHARD with DASHA BURNS


...

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.

The New York Post:

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.

Continue reading


Posted by Disinformation Expert Ace at 01:12 PM Comments

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."

Continue reading


Posted by Disinformation Expert Ace at 12:13 PM Comments

The Morning Rant

—CBD

punk-monkey.jpg

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.

No Kings Puppets Push for 'Communist Revolution' in America

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!

Posted by CBD at 11:00 AM Comments

Mid-Morning Art Thread

—CBD

Caravaggio Taking Christ1.jpg

The Taking of Christ
Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio

This is a repeat, but Caravaggio is a titan of the Baroque world, and nobody does it better!

Posted by CBD at 09:30 AM Comments

The Morning Report — 4/2/26

—J.J. Sefton

ConeyWhitefish.jpg

Good morning kids. So a couple of big stories to cover this morning, first up is President Trump last night in an address to the nation about our military campaign against the Iranian regime.


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.”

In the run-up to the speech, there was some speculation that the President was going to declare victory and then cease operations. Considering the President has deployed a third carrier to the theatre and is demanding the Iranian's adhere to a ceasefire, and they've responded by flipping a Farsi firebird in his direction, I'm not so sure that Peace is at hand, as old Henry Kissinger used to say about Vietnam.


The other huge story was the President's truly historic visit to the SCOTUS during testimony about the abomination of the utter bastardization of the 14th amendment he has attempted to end via executive order.

Yes Kentanji Brown-25 Jackson is an imbecile but a very dangerous imbecile because of her anti-American racialist fueled leftism.

Worse is the wishy washy two-faced Amy Coney Island whitefish Barrett.

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.

When even the Wiseass wide-ass Latina sounds logical by comparison, maybe it's a good sign we might witness a miracle that birthright citizenship will at long last be tossed.

Elsewhere, we shot a black dude into space to orbit the moon. Yay, us...

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.


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Posted by J.J. Sefton at 07:20 AM Comments

Daily Tech News 2 April 2026

—Pixy Misa

Top Story

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Posted by Pixy Misa at 04:00 AM Comments

Wednesday Night ONT - April 1, 2026 [TRex]

—Open Blogger

April12026Athene_noctua.jpg

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.

[Top photo: Athene owl. Photographer unknown]

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Posted by Open Blogger at 10:00 PM Comments

Good Wednesday Cafe

—Disinformation Expert Ace

mesasforever.jpg
Dave Probasco

Also called Spy Wednesday.

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!)

How to combine bad-ass with painfully dorky.

Everything is cute in Japan.

Chinese miniature building artist.

Orcas absolutely merking dolphins, whales, and other prey.

Baby moose runs and frolics like a puppy.

We are all fated to be nibbled by crows.

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Posted by Disinformation Expert Ace at 07:53 PM Comments

Quick Hits

—Disinformation Expert Ace

Paul Sperry @paulsperry_

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!

mojtabaisfabulous.jpg

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.

Justice Alito wasn't having it.

Leading Report @LeadingReport

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.

fraudandabuseincalifornia.jpg

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?"

Video here.

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.

Thanks to @Zakn.

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Posted by Disinformation Expert Ace at 06:48 PM Comments






Now Available!
The Deplorable Gourmet
A Horde-sourced Cookbook
[All profits go to charity]
Top Headlines
CJN podcast 1400 copy.jpg
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.
Artemis moon shot a go, scheduled for 6:24 Eastern time tonight
Great marketing arranged by Amazon to promote Project Hail Mary. Okay not really but it does work out that way.
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]
CJN podcast 1400 copy.jpg
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."
Forgotten 80s Mystery Click: Red Leather Suit and Sweatband Edition
And I was here to please
I'm even on knees
Makin' love to whoever I please
I gotta do it my way
Or no way at all
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
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