Mostly Peaceful Protesters Stalks OMB Director Russ Vought to Assassinate Him

—Ace

He says his mission was to "stop fascism."

Say, isn't there a terror organization that doesn't exist that justifies violence as necessary to stop fascism? That revolutionary violence is anti-facist, in fact?

Oh wait it doesn't exist, right. M'bad, as the kids who are now in their 50s say.

His name is Colin Demarco and he is 26-years-old. Last August, Demarco left his home in Rockville, Maryland and made his way to the Virginia home of Trump OMB Director Russell Vought. Authorities believe he was carrying a gun. Two weeks ago he was arrested and now he's been charged him with attempted murder.

According to the criminal complaint, which was drafted by an Arlington County police officer, Demarco was captured on a Ring doorbell camera at the front door of Vought's Arlington home on Aug. 10 wearing gloves, a backpack, sunglasses and a surgical mask.

He was also seen looking through Vought's mailbox, and he approached a neighbor to ask if anyone was home. The neighbor told investigators that Demarco appeared to have a gun tucked under his shirt...

Eventually, he said that he went to Vought's home because he wanted to confront him about Project 2025. He denied having a gun or any intent to harm anyone, however. He also told agents that the November 2024 election was "the lowest point in his life" and he feared "impending war and a fascist takeover," the complaint says.

Demarco identified himself as a fan of Luigi Mangione. When authorities searched his ICloud account they found notes about his weapons and a "Body Disposal Guide." He also expressed an interest in killing president Trump.

Meanwhile, the media's antifa allies are now routinely shouting "N*GGER!" at black ICE agents.

And of course the media are not reporting on their antifa allies being loudly racist.

Sometimes racism is good!

Guy Benson @guypbenson

3h

I remember when Democrats claimed Tea Party protesters screamed the N word at them around the Obamacare vote. Cameras everywhere, no evidence, but the media was all over it. Left-wing protesters now shouting racist things routinely in MN & you only learn about the clips on [Twitter/X].

UK Police Search the Homes (Plural) of Labour's "Prince of Darkness" Political Fixer and Close Pal of Jeffrey Epstein

—Ace

No word on whether any Ukrainian rent boys were interrupted when trying to burn the homes down.

I mentioned on Wednesday that Peter Mandelson had maintained a close friendship with Jeffrey Epstein after his conviction for child sex crimes. He even stayed at Epstein's swank NYC palace while Epstein was in jail.

Mandelson even passed explosively valuable secret financial information to Epstein, telling the financier that the UK was about to announce it was going to bail out British banks during the 2008 real estate/banking crisis. Obviously this kind of information is worth millions to an investor.

Completely coincidentally, Epstein wired $75,000 to Mandelson and another $10,000 to his gay husband. Mandelson denied receiving this money, then claimed he couldn't remember whether or not Epstein had sent him and his husband $85,000.

Weird. I'd remember that, I'm pretty sure.

Keir Starmer denied knowing about Mandelson's continued close relationship with Epstein when he appointed him to be Ambassador to the United States in 2024. He claims he asked Mandelson about it, and the man nicknamed "the Prince of Darkness" denied it -- or "used words" to "minimize" the relationship, as Starmer says -- and Starmer, get this, claims he believed him.

Starmer also claimed the UK's security services failed him, by not telling him the man called the "Prince of Darkness" and making his living as a political fixer and international favor-trader might be lying.

Plot twist: Keir Starmer was lying. He knew all about it.

And now the police are searching Peter Mandelson's homes, plural.

Maybe they were pissed off at being thrown under the bus by Queer Starmer.

UK police searching two properties linked to Peter Mandelson over Epstein investigation

British police said they are searching two properties linked to Peter Mandelson as part of their investigation into misconduct in public office, following revelations about the former UK ambassador to the US' links to the disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein.

Since the US Justice Department's latest release of materials related to Epstein, Mandelson has been accused of passing on market-sensitive government information that was of clear financial interest to Epstein in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis.

London's Metropolitan Police said Friday that its officers were carrying out search warrants at two addresses, one in the southern county of Wiltshire and one in Camden, a neighborhood in the north of the capital.

"The searches are related to an ongoing investigation into misconduct in public office offenses, involving a 72-year-old man," said Hayley Sewart, Deputy Assistant Commissioner of the Met.

Mandelson, 72, has not been arrested and enquiries are ongoing, she said.

Mandelson was not an MP, and therefore ineligible to serve in Starmer's cabinet. But Starmer wanted him in the cabinet. So they appointed Mandelson to the House of Lords, which also is a qualification for serving in the cabinet.

Mandelson was just forced out of this position:

Mandelson resigned from the Labour Party on Sunday and quit the House of Lords, the upper chamber of Britain's parliament, on Wednesday.

CNN has been unable to contact Mandelson this week.

The Mandelson scandal has plunged Keir Starmer's government into crisis and raised questions about the prime minister's political judgment.

It's worse than that, CNN. It is now conventional wisdom in the UK that Starmer will be forced out of his role as PM within the year. He was already the most disastrous and most unpopular PM in history, now he's scandal-plagued on top of it.

And don't even get me started on the Five Twinks that are setting all of his houses and cars on fire.

Beege Wellborn just covered Starmer's terrible week. It's a good rundown.

She notes that Labour bank-benchers are now calling for Starmer to resign. That's his own party telling him to get out.

Politics UK @PolitlcsUK

🚨 NEW: Labour MP Rachael Maskell has called for Keir Starmer to resign

"We need to now move forward as a party to ensure that we can gain that support back. I don't believe we can with the PM in place - it is inevitable that the PM is going to have to step down"

I hear that word a lot -- his ouster is "inevitable," most agree, including Labour pussies.

Tousi TV points out that the opposition party the Tories are now calling for a call of no confidence in Starmer. Not a no-confidence vote in the Labour government itself, which of course all Labourites would oppose. But a no confidence vote in Starmer is something many of them would vote for.

Starmer is a 180 pound albatross around their necks. An albatross that has secret sex orgies with Ukrainian rent boys.

The end is coming:

Even in the UK, the cataclysmic left's only defense is "But Trump."

Tousi TV points out that the only MPs you can send messages to through that website are Labour MPs. So they understand the danger is real and acute.

He also points out that the website doesn't allow you to send your own message. No, you must pick from their pre-written propaganda statements, all supporting Queer Starmer.

BTW, the reason Mandelson was appointed Ambassador to the US appears to have been to sell Trump on the weak and foolish scheme to deliver the Chagos Islands -- where the US maintains the critical base at Diego Garcia -- to a China ally.

Architect of Bengazi Terrorist Attack Finally Arrested

—Ace

Wait, Hillary Clinton told me a video-maker was responsible for the attack.

Are you telling me that Hillary Clinton lied?

Because if you are saying that, Chief, then you and me are going to have a problem.

One of the architects of the 2012 Benghazi terrorist attack is now in U.S. custody, marking a long-delayed but consequential development in one of the most painful national security failures in modern American history.

Attorney General Pam Bondi announced Friday that Zubayr Al-Bakoush was flown to the United States overnight and will face federal charges tied to arson, murder, and terrorism for his alleged role in the assault that killed four Americans.

Bondi told reporters at the Justice Department that Al-Bakoush landed at Andrews Air Force Base around 3 a.m. and was immediately taken into custody, where he was met by FBI Director Kash Patel and Washington, D.C., U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro. Prosecutors, Bondi said, intend to pursue the case aggressively. "We will prosecute this alleged terrorist to the fullest extent of the law," she said, adding that the message is simple: time does not erase accountability.

Pirro echoed that warning, stressing that the case is not over simply because years have passed. "The Benghazi saga was a painful one for Americans. It has stayed with all of us," she said. "And let me be very clear, there are more of them out there." Pirro said she and Patel have remained in contact with the families of the four Americans killed and vowed that investigators will continue hunting down those still at large. "Time will not stop us from going after these predators, no matter how long it takes," she said. "We owe that to the families who suffered horrific pain at the hands of these violent terrorists."

Terrorist For Group Which Does Not Exist, Antifa, Arrested for Inciting "Guerilla War"

—Ace

Boy this organization that does not exist sure seems to inspire a lot of terrorists who do exist.

The Minneapolis Antifa activist who told followers to "suit up" and talked openly about "guerrilla war" against ICE is now in federal custody, charged with making violent threats against Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers.

Kyle Wagner, 37, was arrested Thursday after federal prosecutors say his social media posts went far beyond protest rhetoric and crossed into explicit calls for violence against federal law enforcement. According to the Department of Justice, Wagner used Instagram and other platforms in January to encourage followers to confront ICE agents, identify them publicly, and physically attack them.

Prosecutors say Wagner repeatedly portrayed ICE officers as "murderers" and the "gestapo," framing immigration enforcement as an enemy force that needed to be met with force. In one post cited by investigators, Wagner allegedly urged followers to take action wherever possible. "Anywhere we have an opportunity to get our hands on them, we need to put our hands on them," he wrote. "We want to know who they are. We will identify every single one of them and we will prosecute them to the fullest extent of the law. If it has to be done at the barrel of a gun, then let us have a little f***ing fun."

Federal authorities say Wagner made clear he was no longer interested in peaceful demonstrations. In videos reviewed by investigators, he told followers it was time to "suit up," put "boots on the ground," and abandon what he dismissed as polite or nonviolent protest. "No, not talking about peaceful protests anymore," Wagner said in one clip. "We're not talking about having polite conversations anymore."

At other points, Wagner described the moment as "guerrilla war," invoking the Second Amendment and warning supporters that armed resistance was necessary against what he described as "literal f***ing Nazi gunmen." Prosecutors argue the language was not metaphorical, but a deliberate attempt to mobilize real-world violence against named law enforcement targets.

More from Townhall:

"This man allegedly doxxed and called for the murder of law enforcement officers, encouraged bloodshed in the streets, and proudly claimed affiliation with the terrorist organization Antifa before going on the run," said Attorney General Pamela Bondi. "Today's arrest illustrates that you cannot run, you cannot hide, and you cannot evade our federal agents: if you come for law enforcement, the Trump Administration will come for you." ...

Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche welcomed the arrest.

"It's no surprise that an Antifa terrorist is allegedly threatening to kill and assault federal law enforcement officers as they dutifully remove criminal threats from neighborhoods," Blanche said in a statement. "After all, this is what Antifa is about, lawlessness and violence. But under the leadership of President Trump and Attorney General Bondi, there is no safe haven for terrorists and no protection from the full weight of justice."
...

"We know that a 'worthless man plots evil, and his speech is like a scorching fire.' And Wagner's alleged actions were an attempt to spread fire into our peaceful community. That is not going to happen," said U.S. Attorney Gorgon.

He also doxxed and cyberstalked ICE agents.

THE MORNING RANT: More Disturbing Slavery Re-Normalization; Remember to Watch Turning Point’s Super Bowl Halftime Show

—Buck Throckmorton

A subject I keep focusing on is the disturbing re-normalization of slavery in 21st century forms. The left believes there is virtue in allowing foreign nationals to be brought to the US to work off-the-books at below market wages. Meanwhile, the corporate right’s war on labor expense has it seeking to replace US citizens with that same non-American labor pool.

As I wrote recently at The American Spectator, ”Slavery under any name and under any circumstance is a great evil. Neither left-wing ‘compassion’ nor right-wing ‘free enterprise’ can provide an excuse for it to persist in any form in this country, nor in the supply chain of goods that are coming into the U.S.”

However, both the “pro-immigrant” left and the “libertarian” right keep trying to excuse modern forms of slavery.

TV station NBC 10 in Boston interviewed an AWFL named Lisa who boasted of the Haitian refugees whom she had taken possession of provided shelter and then put to work doing household chores. She said, “It’s really fun having them. What I realized is there’s so much prejudice against refugees mostly because people don’t know them.” To this, the TV reporter added “Lisa feels like she has her own personal chef…”

Zeek Arkham brilliantly commented on X/Twitter that, ”This is great! She could maybe take in another one and they would be a maid for her! Then she could take in a few more and they’d farm for her…maybe grow a crop they could pick. Waitaminit…”

On the right, or wherever Rand Paul is, the Kentucky Senator has introduced legislation ending welfare for non-citizens, which is a good thing. However, Senator Paul has also argued for years that illegal immigrants should be able to stay in the U.S. so long as they are working.

Noah Wall cleverly points out that advocating for cheap, foreign labor that does not have the benefits of citizenship has a disturbing ring to it, stating on X/Twitter ”So we want a class of people who we can pay less and not give any benefits to and treat them however we want? I thought we decided that was a bad idea.”

Eliminating “the peculiar institution” in this country was a bloody ordeal that almost ended the United States. It cannot be re-introduced in a “compassionate” 21st-century form.

*****

Other Stuff I’m Writing About

My latest piece at The American Spectator has been published, “Left-Wing Activists Ran Off the Normal People Who Knew How to Do Their Jobs - Now We Are Paying the Price”

It discusses how the woke capture of institutions ultimately manifests in a collapse in those institutions’ ability to do their core functions, be they municipalities, utility companies, museums, or even churches.

At the community level, I saw my family’s longtime Presbyterian Church go from a well-maintained facility that was buzzing with activity to a neglected building with grounds in disrepair. The left-wing politics coming from the pulpit drove out the parishioners who had served as in-the-trenches volunteers. In days gone by, the men of the church would bring their tools to fix potholes, replace lighting ballasts, remove fallen branches, etc. They’re all gone. The rainbow-clad “clergy” took control of the church, but lost control of its upkeep.

This piece is not behind a paywall. I’d be honored if you’d give it a read.

My latest at The American Spectator: “Left Wing Activists Ran Off Normal People Who Knew How to do Their Jobs, Now We Are Paying the Price”

Nashville’s electric utility is broken; L.A. has dry fire hydrants; the Kennedy Center is in disrepair, etc. https://t.co/ju4J3tRL1F

— Buck Throckmorton (@BuckThrockmort) February 6, 2026

*****

How to Watch the Turning Point Alternative Super Bowl Halftime Show

Just a reminder that the NFL has decided to make this Sunday’s Super Bowl halftime show a partisan festival of woke politics. The headliner will be “Bad Bunny,” a flamboyant, Spanish-speaking singer who is famous for his (xis?) left-wing politics and for using public forums such as the Grammy Awards to condemn US immigration policy.

This is another Bud Light / Target / Gillette moment. Conservatives have a great opportunity to remind a powerful corporation that half of this country is repulsed by left-wing corporate political activism.Turning Point USA is counter-programming the Super Bowl halftime with a patriotic show featuring entertainers such as Kid Rock, Brantley Gilbert, Lee Brice, and Gabby Barrett.

It will be a ratings shot heard ‘round the world if millions of people switch channels at halftime to watch the Turning Point alternative show. If you are not going to watch the Super Bowl at all, it would still be helpful if you’d tune in for the Turning Point show. It can be watched at a few traditional cable outlets such as OAN News and TBN, as well as on the You Tube, Rumble, and X (Twitter) channels of Turning Point. Here is a link with more information

[buck.throckmorton at protonmail dot com]

Close it up

Mid-Morning Art Thread

—CBD

Reclining Nude
Ernest Trova

The Morning Report — 2/6/26

—J.J. Sefton

Good morning kids.Well there's political terrorism of the kind we are witnessing in Minneapolis and likely to spread far and wide as the midterms draw near, such as . . .

Liberals in Minnesota have had it with ICE raids and Border Patrol, so they’ve decided to take matters into their own hands with a novel plan to keep the people they don’t want out of their communities. They are, quite literally, creating a system to control who comes and goes. In the middle of the road at 32nd and Cedar Avenue in Minneapolis, activists erected a makeshift roadblock, turning the intersection into a roundabout. Cars slowed as drivers noticed. Some honked, others asked questions. One man even brought food for the people standing watch. . .

. . . Trump actually trolled the Minneapolis Left into reinventing everything they claim to oppose: border patrol, wall checkpoints, cops, enforcement. “We need our own ICE to deport these ICE agents,” they cry, without a trace of irony.

This is what always seems to happen when utopians on the Left — of all stripes — dream up their perfect society. They start by declaring that society as it exists is no good:We’ve got markets. We’ve got people making money. We’ve got private property. We’ve got exploitation — we don’t want any of that, man!  So what are we going to do? We’re going to move to a commune. A farm in the middle of nowhere. It’s going to be beautiful — not like this city, not like this town. We’re going to live together in harmony. Some people are going to grow the food. Some people are going to bake the bread. Some people are going to watch the kids. It’s going to be amazing. We’re going to have a diversity of labor. Oh, you mean we’re going to have a market economy? Well, yeah, but this time it will be perfect. And we’re all going to take care of each other, man.

And then there's also direct violent confrontation that led to the deaths of two Democrat/Left frontline terrorists Good and Pretti, and this madness:

Following the fatal shooting of anti-ICE activist Alex Pretti in Minneapolis, Wagner allegedly told his followers to take up arms and attack law enforcement.

“Show up ready to go. Not talking about peaceful protests anymore,” Wagner said, calling on people to “march…with guns” and saying “the Second Amendment is the only thing that’s going to keep you f*cking protected from literal f*cking Nazi gunmen.”

“Get your f*cking guns, and stop these f*cking people,” he added.

Horrid enough but worse are the Democrat politicians and elected officials egging freaks like this on to do as this psycho wants and go out and stop ICE and law enforcement by whatever means necessary. After all President Trump and all of us who support him are literally Hitler and Nazis so once that marker has been laid down, don't be too shocked that you get this:

Colin Demarco, age 26, who reportedly feared Trump’s reelection would lead to a “fascist takeover,” was charged after he appeared at Vought’s Northern Virginia home wearing a surgical mask and gloves, court records show. U.S. Marshals Service reportedly found during the investigation that Demarco had claimed to have written a manifesto that detailed weapons and a “Body Disposal Guide,” per CBS News. The court records show that Demarco is accused of plotting to murder a victim with the initials “R.V.” who, according to the criminal complaint, “has served as a presidential appointee.”

The complaint adds that the alleged victim was involved in the creation of Project 2025 — a project funded by the conservative Heritage Foundation- to produce a policy agenda for the next GOP administration. It called for a radical reshaping of the government in ways that consolidate power in the executive branch.

Sources familiar with the case separately confirmed to CBS News that Demarco’s alleged target was Vought.

Elsewhere, Trump has dispatched Steven Witkoff and son-in-law Jared Kushner to have a sit-down with the Mullahs. And then . . .

https://nypost.com/2026/02/06/world-news/iran-seizes-oil-tankers-threatens-massacre-in-strait-of-hormuz-hours-before-us-talks/

Iran seized two foreign oil tankers in the Persian Gulf Thursday, accusing them of smuggling fuel and detaining 15 foreign crew members ahead of high-stakes US–Iran talks Friday in Oman.

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) navy said it intercepted the two ships near Farsi Island, claiming they were carrying about 1 million liters of smuggled fuel, Reuters reported.

The crews, made up of 15 foreign nationals, were taken into custody and referred to Iran’s judicial authorities, according to Iranian state media.

The IRGC alleged the vessels were part of an organized fuel-smuggling network that had been operating in the region for several months. . . Zarghami later repeated the threat, calling the Strait a potential “killing field” for American forces and signaling Iran’s willingness to escalate amid mounting regional pressure.

Special envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner are scheduled to meet Iranian officials in Oman Friday.

The pair are traveling from Abu Dhabi after two days of talks related to Russia and Ukraine.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed Thursday that Friday’s talks were still on, stating “diplomacy is always [Trump’s] first option.”

Per longtime Trump ally and adviser Fred Fleitz:

Based on Iran’s long history of violating international agreements and manipulating negotiations, it is certain that Iranian leaders plan to use these talks to buy time and to strike a deal that they have no intention of honoring to save their regime.

Indeed, Iran’s recent offer for dialogue has already revealed its typical pattern of insincerity and strategic maneuvering.

Fletiz is correct but he went on to note, and not incorrectly:

Although the new talks with Iran probably will be futile, I believe the Trump administration made the right decision to join them because it is sending a message to the world that the U.S. is prepared to exhaust every peaceful option before it uses military force. This may prove useful in convincing Middle East states to support a U.S. attack on Iran.

A full-scale U.S. attack is unlikely to topple Iran’s repressive theocracy in the near term, given its resilient coercive apparatus, like the IRGC and Basij forces. However, targeted strikes—perhaps on nuclear sites and proxy infrastructure—could further weaken the leadership, expose vulnerabilities revealed by last summer’s Israel-U.S. attacks, and galvanize protesters by signaling international support for change.

It's a good thing that the President stands with the Iranian/Persian people but unless the Mullahorcracy and the power structure that kept them in control since 1979 is utterly dismantled, this thing s not going to end well.

It's also a very good thing that the President is drawing attention to the Islamic slaughter in Africa, without unfortunately calling out Islam itself as the root cause, political third rail that that sadly for all of humanity is...

U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM) has announced that a small team of American military personnel has been sent to Nigeria to aid the African nation in counter-terrorism operations. The deployment was disclosed by AFRICOM Commander General Dagvin R.M. Anderson earlier this week at a State Department briefing regarding ongoing efforts to end Islamist attacks against Christian communities in Nigeria.The decision to deploy U.S. military officers follows a meeting between Gen. Anderson and Nigerian President Bola Tinubu last October at the Aqaba Process summit in Rome, Italy. The summit, founded by Jordan’s King Abdullah II and held usually three to four times a year, aims to address counter-terrorism practices and ongoing threats in regions of need, especially West and East Africa.

US military advisers? Anyone else besides me getting a flashback to Vietnam 1964? Beyond that, while Jordan might not be in the same category as Iran or Taliban controlled Afghanistan, it is nevertheless an Islamic nation. At best, any support to counter Boko Haram in Nigeria in my estimation is just another Taqqiya Sunrise to placate President Trump.

Personally, The President needs to round up as many Antifa and other anti-ICE thugs as he can, ship them to GITMO and waterboard them until their lungs turn to mush and they cough up all their associates and funding sources so we can crush the terrorists operating within our own borders. To me that is Mission #1.

Also, it's good to see lurker extraordinaire Victor Davis Hanson's byline. As you may know he has been dealing with some serious health issues and per his Twitter feed he is recovering. And, my spouse had very successful surgery yesterday and hopefully she will be home and quickly on the mend, so thanks to all for your kind words and prayers.

Have a great weekend.

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
• Victor Davis Hanson: Democrats, lacking a positive agenda, bet on chaos, Trump hysteria, and media allies to spark a midterm backlash as Trump’s economic rebound gains steam.
  Midterm Palpitations

Daily Tech News 6 February 2026

—Pixy Misa

• losetup is the key
  
  
  
• Nvidia will not be releasing any new video cards this year. (Tom's Hardware)
  
  Their money is all tied up in not investing in OpenAI.
  
  They aren't likely to release anything new next year either. The 5000 Super series appears to be dead and the 6000 series has been pushed back to 2028.
  
  That leaves the field wide open for AMD to fumble.
  
  
  
• Valve meanwhile will be releasing its new Steam Cube this year, just not quite yet. (Liliputing)
  
  Real soon now though.

Thursday Overnight Open Thread - February 5, 2026 [Doof]

—Open Blogger

Snowy, wooden bridge - Stare Juchy, Poland

Howdy Hordelings! Hope you're having a nice Thursday evening. Welcome to the ONT. What's on your mind tonight?

***

Moron worthy behavior.

This guy with the Trump 2028 hat and the megaphone is WINNING.

The left tries everything, but nothing silences him. pic.twitter.com/A9ryg7KHFo

— Mila Joy (@Milajoy) February 4, 2026

Fess up - is this one of you??

-----

Bring on the fish puns.

Quite the fish tale: Muskie caught in 1918 restored

An Ogdensburg taxidermist has completed restoration work on the oldest creature of his career: a muskie caught in 1918 by a 92-year-old woman.

The 50-inch fish was originally caught by Margaret Harden just off Wellesley Island. The catch made the newspaper at the time.

Captivated by the story, Frances O’Tool commissioned the restoration.

“At 92, I just thought that was gumption and it’s a very, very fun story,” O’Tool said.

O’Tool received the muskie from a family friend who was one of Harden’s descendants. Time had taken its toll on the mounted fish.

“It was sagging. It was discolored. It looked like a big sweatsock kind of,” O’Tool said.

TV news segment video at the link.

-----

From fish to Florida Man Snake

A Routine Hunt in the Everglades Turned Into a Record-Breaking Python Capture

In the annals of record-breaking animals, there is big, and then there is Florida python big. Leave it to a professional python hunter to encounter one of the more impressive specimens in the history of the Sunshine State.

Capturing this creature required a hard-fought battle, during which a professional python hunter was dragged over an anthill. Some people may even consider this an injustice. The truth, however, requires an understanding of the Florida Everglades, the invasive species that have taken over its ecosystem, and the people who answer the call to combat a problem that is growing out of control. Let’s learn more about Carl Jackson and how his foray into the Everglades in search of one particular invasive species led him to capture the second-largest python ever found in Florida’s history.

***

Carl Jackson is one of the few people in Florida equipped for dealing with these massive, monstrous invasive snakes. He is a licensed, full-time python hunter with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC). Jackson was on assignment in the Everglades on the afternoon of January 13 when he came across a sizable specimen. As reported by USA Today, Jackson was traveling on Turner River Road in Big Cypress National Park when he saw a Burmese python’s tracks snaking across the road. Jackson assumed they were from a smaller python, perhaps eight or nine feet long.

Jackson headed into the vegetation to get a closer look. He told the Naples Daily News, “I go in [to the bushes] and walk around, and I see a head.” In an instant, Jackson knew he was dealing with a much larger snake than he expected. He started wrestling with it, but the snake easily dragged him back over a red-and-black anthill. He said, “It was like riding a slow horse. It was insane.”

Long article at the link. Check out the whole thing.

-----

Both of these articles hit my feed today. I have no idea if they're directly related. Probably. I just can't bring myself to read about these boondoggles. Maybe one of you will read them and give us an overview?

Engineers confirm construction has begun on a vast underwater rail line designed to link entire continents through a deep-sea tunnel

Bold vision or reckless fantasy: engineers race to build a high-speed train under the ocean, promising to link two continents in minutes and split public opinion

I'm reminded of this tune from the early 80s. Solo work from Donald Fagen (of Steely Dan).

"On that train all graphite and glitter
Undersea by rail
Ninety minutes from New York to Paris"

Cool tune. And here's a decent cover version from Howard Jones.

***

DJ Doof - Guess The Theme

New difficulty scale in effect. Easy / Moderate / Difficult. This one is Easy.

What's the common thread / common meaning / common leitmotif?

***

Tonight's ONT brought to you by empathy

***

Another whelming production from Doof Enterprises, LLC. Dare to be average!

Your feedback may or may not be very important to Doof Enterprises. Follow Mr. Doof on X @doof2112 or do the email thing – doof2112 at proton dot me.

Close it up

High and Low Cafe

—Ace

Porcupine Ridge, Castle Valley, Utah

Massive group parachute stunt. This better not be AI.

When a grizzly wants just a little taste of your ice cream.

Wolves attempting to hunt bison, who herd up for defense.

Wolves trekking through deep snow.

Surfin' beaver.

Colugo and pup.

Aerial shot of Cinque Terra, Italy.

Another One of Biden's Third World Assassins Kills Four in Highway Massacre

—Ace

He was given a commercial drivers license by "moderate" Pennsylvania governor Josh Shapiro.

And he's now murdered four people.

Doing the murders Americans just won't do.

The driver of a semi-truck at the center of a multi-vehicle crash that left four dead in Indiana is in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody after a detainer was placed on him.

Indiana State Police said the fatal crash happened Tuesday around 4 p.m. in the area of State Road 67 and County Road 550 East in Jay County, where the truck collided with a van. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) told Fox News that driver Bekzhan Beishekeev is a Kyrgyzstani national who entered the U.S. via the Biden-era CBP One cell phone app on Dec. 19, 2024, at the Nogales, Ariz., port of entry, and he was released into the U.S. via parole by the Biden administration.

Beishekeev, 30, was reportedly driving on SR 67 in Indiana when he didn't stop for another slowed semi-truck, swerving instead into oncoming traffic and crashing head-on into a van, killing four people, several of whom were reportedly Amish.

...

Indiana State Police, citing the Jay County Coroner's Office, identified the four victims killed in the collision as Henry Eicher, 50, Menno Eicher, 25, Paul Eicher, 19, and Simon Girod, 23 of Bryant, Ind.

...

"Not only was Bekzhan Beishekeev released into our country by the Biden administration using the CBP One app, but he was also given a commercial driver's license by Governor Shapiro's Pennsylvania. These decisions have had deadly consequences and led to the death of four innocent people in Indiana on Tuesday," added DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin in a statement. "It is incredibly dangerous for illegal aliens, who often don't know our traffic laws or even English, to be operating semi-trucks on America's roads. These sanctuary governors must stop giving illegal aliens commercial driver's licenses before another American gets killed."

"Will You Shut Up!:" Low-IQ DEI Congresswoman Maxine Waters "Asks a Question" of Scott Bessent, Then Tells Him to Shut Up When He Answers

—Ace

The " " " questions " " " were about Bessent's claim that tariffs are not inflationary (so long as they are absorbed by foreign countries and foreign companies).

I don't know what this low-executive-function brain-damaged dementia patient's point was. She recalls Bessent's previous statement that there is no evidence that tariffs are inflationary, and then says... I think her whole argument is that "if you tax coffee and bananas, that's inflationary," therefore that's a contradiction of your statement.

She sets this up as if Bessent has made contradictory statements, but the "contradiction" is just her assertion that if you tax coffee and bananas, that's inflationary.

Bessent replies that the source of inflation are the "10 to 20 million illegal aliens" that Joe Biden let into the country, who then drove up prices, at which point this, um, public servant hisses "Will you shut up!"

Rep. Waters, the ranking member on the committee, was grilling Bessent on whether President Trump's tariffs were inflationary and harmful to consumers, suggesting they amounted to a "war on American consumers." She pressed him on whether he would act as a "voice of reason" in the administration and urge Trump to reduce or eliminate the tariffs to lower costs for Americans.

"Will you be the voice of reason in the administration and urge Trump to stop waging a war on American consumers?" Waters asked. "Yes or no?"

"You seem confused as to the definition of inflation," Bessent began before Waters interupted, and repeated her question.

The exchange quickly devolved into both officials talking over one another. Bessent argued that the Biden administration had "let in between 10 and 20 million immigrants," who he said went on to consume housing that would otherwise have gone to working Americans.

It's very obvious that she has dementia and does not understand the words that her aides wrote for her and does not understand the "argument" she's making.

Report: Fulton County, GA -- Home of Fanny Willis and Darrius "Sweetdick" Honeycum, Esq. -- Had 25,000 MoreAbsentee Votes in 2020 Than Absentee Voters

—Ace

Whoops!

Whoopsie!

Cleta Mitchell @CletaMitchell

And here's the REAL kicker about the 2020 Fulton County absentee ballots:

148,319 absentee ballots were counted in the 2020 General Election from Fulton County...

but only 125,784 voters are recorded as casting an absentee ballot.

There are 25,534 more ballots counted than there are voters recorded as having voted by absentee ballot in Fulton County in 2020.

Remember: the margin between President Trump and Joe Biden was 11,779 votes...and that was the THIRD certified number and didn't match either of the first two counts....the counties could not get their numbers to match from the first count to the second to the third.....@GaSecofState

Brad Raffensperger has NEVER explained that...

The full report can be accessed here: @KevinMoncla
https://x.com/KevinMoncla/status/2016989656307367970?s=20

@EIwatchdogs @BasedMikeLee @chiproytx @gc22gc

The full report is here.

Roger Kimball at the Spectator: We're approaching the real endgame of the 2020 election.

In the 2020 election, Donald Trump was ahead in Georgia by some 100,000 votes until, vesto-presto, there were mysterious leaks with no water and, by George, Biden pulled ahead by some 11,000 votes. We all remember the allegations of election workers raising the alarm over the low count for Biden or apparently doing their utmost to increase his vote share, as well as the accounts of curiously pristine mail-in ballots.

The FBI has a lot of sifting and sorting to accomplish in the weeks and months ahead. An ongoing court case claims that 150,000 mail-in ballots in Fulton County were suspicious (my cautious word for "fake") because they weren't creased and didn't look like they were marked by hand. Officially, Sleepy Joe was the first Democrat to gain more than 70 percent of the vote in Fulton since Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1944. The FBI analysis of mail-in ballots might show him to be as popular in Fulton as Castro was in Cuba or Stalin was in the Soviet Union.

There are also hard drives to be inspected and electronic voting machines to be vetted. Remember the allegations that voting machines made by Dominion Voting Systems had been hacked? Dominion (now "Liberty Vote") collected some $787 million in damages from Fox News over the story. It will be interesting to see what sort of follow-up there is to those allegations.

Meanwhile, the Democrats have not been idle. New York Representative Dan Goldman has filed an amendment to prevent the Trump administration from investigating election records, ballot boxes, and voting machines across the country. Yes, really. Been there, done that. "What difference, at this point, does it make?" as Hillary Clinton famously put it, on the matter of Benghazi.

...

Commenting on the tsunami of news crashing out from Georgia, the great Cleta Mitchell, who advised President Trump when he contested the Georgia election results, noted that on the morning of election day, November 4, 2020, Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger said Trump led by 103K votes with only 94K ballots left. "Four days later," Mitchell noted:

[T]here were 300K more ballots, including 148K absentee ballots from Fulton County. That's 25,535 more ballots than voters, more than double Biden's margin. Over 133K ballot images were deleted. Zero of 148 Fulton County tabulators had the required tapes. Nearly 7K fictitious ballots remain certified, and no one investigated.

Then there is the news about Georgia Governor Brian Kemp. Grand jury testimony that was just unsealed revealed that Kemp told the chief of Georgia Bureau of Investigation not to investigation allegations of fraud in the 2020 election, Saying he was a "team player," the official dropped the case.

The mask is being ripped off as I write. A Gestalt shift in The Narrative is underway.

As you know, 99% of the lawsuits filed to contest the rigged 2020 election were tossed out due to the judges deciding that the candidates in the races did not have "standing" -- a recognizable legal interest -- to challenge the rules which determine the outcome of the races.

This was absurd then and it's absurd now. (And it was also very dishonest for the partisan Democrat media to bleat that judges had examined all of these allegations and found them meritless. No -- it dismissed the lawsuits without ever examining the allegations.)

Three weeks ago, the Supreme Court injected some sanity back into election contests, determining that, yes, the actual candidates in elections do have legal standing to challenge election rules.

Like whether or not you verify signatures or not.

n a surprisingly sweeping opinion issued Wednesday, a five-justice majority in Bost v. Illinois State Board of Elections held that a federal congressional candidate had a legal right to sue, known as standing, in federal court to challenge an Illinois law that allows mail-in ballots postmarked by Election Day to be counted as many as 14 days later. Reversing lower federal court rulings that denied Rep. Michael Bost (R-Ill.) standing to sue, the majority opinion by Chief Justice John Roberts adopted a categorical rule upholding candidate standing based on a candidate's inherent interest in "the integrity of the election" and the "democratic process."

The vote was 7-2 in favor of Bost, with Justice Amy Coney Barrett, joined by Justice Elena Kagan, agreeing with the result that the majority reached but not its reasoning. Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, joined in dissent by Justice Sonia Sotomayor, would have affirmed the lower courts' denial of standing.

Under the "case or controversy" clause of Article III of the Constitution, plaintiffs in federal court only have standing to sue if they properly allege that the challenged action or law causes them "concrete and particularized injury in fact." The Supreme Court has generally interpreted that rule to deny standing based merely on some category that the plaintiff falls into, such as "citizen standing" or "taxpayer standing." Instead, the court has usually required plaintiffs to allege that that they have suffered some kind of judicially cognizable real-world harm that sets them apart from the broad run of society.

Adopting the principal argument advanced by Bost, the majority stated, "Candidates have a concrete and particularized interest in the rules that govern the counting of votes in their elections, regardless whether those rules harm their electoral prospects or increase the cost of their campaigns." That candidate interest in protecting the integrity and fairness of the electoral process "is in no sense 'common to all members of the public,'" Roberts asserted. Although the public also has an interest in the integrity of elections, the candidate's interest "differs in kind." An unfair election "plainly affects those who compete for the support of the people in a different way than it affects the people who lend their support," Roberts stated.

...

The majority may have been influenced by remedial concerns similar to those voiced by Justice Brett Kavanaugh during oral argument. There, Kavanaugh had remarked that an undesirable effect of denying candidates standing to challenge vote-counting rules before Election Day would put courts on the spot afterward, when someone already appeared to have won and others to have lost.

In his opinion for the court, Roberts criticized the dissent's argument that candidates should not be deemed to have standing unless they properly alleged that the challenged rule likely made the difference between winning and losing. The problem, he said, is that a court probably can't tell whether a rule affected the ultimate result until after the votes are counted pursuant to that rule. Roberts quoted from an opinion written by the late Justice Antonin Scalia while concurring in the grant of a stay during Bush v. Gore in 2000: "Count first, and rule upon legality afterwards, is not a recipe for producing election results that have the public acceptance democratic stability requires."

Communist Foreign Jihadi Theater Kid Zohran Mamdani Loves the Homeless So He Stopped All Police Sweeps of Homeless Encampments During Severe Weather.
Now He's Killed 17 Homeless People With His "Caring"

—Ace

Homeless people want to be homeless. That's the fact. Cities build shelters for them but they don't want to go to the shelters.

During weather emergencies, cops used to force the homeless to go to the shelters. So they wouldn't die.

The communist jihadi foreign theater kid and Gaytard Zohran Mamdani really really loves the homeless, so he forbids the police from rousing them and bringing them to shelters when the overnight temperatures plunge down to ten degrees (less than zero with windchill).

His new policy was, as Actual Justice Warrior put it, to "try to convince them extra-super-hard" to go to the shelters voluntarily.

They didn't agree to go voluntarily. Because they're mentally ill and incapable of caring for themselves and legally incapable of making decisions about their own health and safety.

Now, 17 homeless people that he really really loves are dead. He's killing them with kindness, you see.

Mayor Mamdani said Friday he still will only force homeless New Yorkers off the streets "as a last resort" -- even as his office revealed 13 people have now died outdoors, with even colder temps coming this weekend.

The Democratic socialist continued to insist that city workers will compel homeless people to get indoors only if they pose a danger to themselves or others. He dug in his heels as the real-feel temperature was forecast to dip as low as -1 degree Saturday into Sunday.

Pressed on how city workers will determine if someone is a danger to themselves, Mamdani said numerous factors need to be taken into account before getting someone to shelter, including whether they have enough clothing on.

"There are a number of specific criteria that is used in determining whether one is a danger to themselves or to others," Mamdani told reporters at an unrelated event in Long Island City.

"I think we can find some of this criteria also in how an individual is clothed, whether they are deemed to actually be warm in those settings, as well as their behavior," Hizzoner said.

"And for the New Yorkers who are deemed to be a threat to themselves or to others, there is a process of involuntary confinement which is a last resort," he continued. "However, it has been utilized a number of times whenever city workers have come to that conclusion."

Hours later, his office announced that the outdoor death toll had tragically risen by three since last Saturday, when the Big Apple began getting walloped by unrelenting below-freezing conditions and Winter Storm Fern.

A City Hall spokesperson said in a statement the number of deaths has increased to 13 -- up from the 10 officials reported earlier this week, spanning from Saturday to Tuesday. The mayor's office didn't provide any additional details about the three newly-tallied deaths, and it wasn't known when they had taken place.

The death toll of homeless people frozen to death in the streets has since risen to 17. And NYC is bracing for another arctic blast of cold air this weekend.

Can we get up to 20? Maybe 25?

His new pick for city lawyer actually praised Mamdani for his Socially-Conscious Murders.

Mayor Zohran Mamdani's pick for top Big Apple lawyer on Wednesday praised the administration's "extraordinarily high-level" handling of the current deadly cold snap -- even as the death toll climbed to 17 people.

Testifying before the City Council's Rules Committee for his approval to become the city's corporation counsel, Steve Banks was pressed by Speaker Julie Menin on how he would advise the fashionably-focused mayor during future extreme weather events.

"What I have seen is exactly what should be happening, which is adhering to the state law to evaluate people, bring them inside when the state law permits people to be brought inside, continually to engage people," said Banks, who served as the former Department of Social Services commissioner under Mayor Bill de Blasio.

He added that the city is "redoubling efforts, 24/7, to engage people and bring them inside" with temperatures set to dip below freezing for the umpteenth day this winter.

Banks, however, rejected a broad removal policy when Menin asked if the city could relocate people "in the interest of health and safety" during extreme cold, particularly those with serious mental illness.

"I think the state law doesn't permit that kind of blanket approach. It requires an individualized evaluation, and that is exactly what I see being implemented right now," Banks said.

"That requires nursing evaluations, that requires clinical evaluations. And that's what I see is going on right now at, quite frankly, an extraordinarily high level."

A Covert Chinese Lab Is Operating in Las Vegas and "Sickening" Nearby Americans

—Ace

RedState's Jen Van Laar:

Several people who stayed at the Las Vegas home apparently doubling as an illegal Chinese biolab became sick after their visit, with two people becoming "deathly ill" a few days after entering the home's garage, according to documents reviewed by Las Vegas journalist David Charns.

And that's just the beginning of today's updates. We've also learned more about how investigators believe the equipment ended up at that home, the relationship between the property manager, Ori Solomon, and the Chinese scientist charged with running the lab, Jia Bei Zhu.

Federal gun charges have now been filed against Ori Solomon, the man serving as property manager for the home. Solomon, 55, appears to have lived in the Las Vegas area for more than a decade, according to public records, but the complaint filed Monday evening states that he's currently in the United States on a Non-Immigrant Visa (E-2) that expires in May, 2026, "which precludes him from owning or possessing a firearm per 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(5)(B)."

...

Zhu is still in frequent contact with his girlfriend/wife/baby mama, Zhaoyan Wang, who is also facing federal charges but fled to China with their baby in 2023, contacting her 3,524 times in January, per the 8 News Now report. Investigators also believe that Wang has had access to video surveillance on the property.

More from JusttheNews:

An illegal biolab in California raided by the FBI in 2023 and a separate hazardous lab inside a Las Vegas garage searched by the bureau this weekend are both tied to a CCP-linked Chinese national currently awaiting trial for fraud, false statements, and the adulteration of medical devices, according to court filings, police officials and members of Congress.

Jia Bei Zhu was arrested in 2023 on allegations he was running an illegal biological laboratory in Reedley, Calif. On Saturday, the FBI and local police raided a similar biolab in Vegas, arresting the home's property manager, Ori Salomon (also spelled Solomon).

Police and lawmakers say the two labs are closely connected.

"An illegal bio lab was just raided in Vegas" and "it is directly linked to the secret Chinese lab found in California in 2023, which was oozing with E. Coli, HIV, and Malaria," Rep. Kevin Kiley, R-Calif., tweeted on Tuesday.

"The lab just raided in Vegas was operated by the same LLC and same Chinese nationals as the one discovered in Reedley," Kiley said in a House floor speech. "Now we know there was at least one other such lab, but we still don't know how many others."

...

Congressional investigators allege that Zhu (also known by the aliases of Jesse Zhu, Qiang He, and David He) had significant connections to the Chinese Communist Party apparatus and allege he ran an illegal laboratory in California that housed approximately 20 types of infectious disease samples -- including HIV, Tuberculosis, and the deadliest known form of Malaria. It also allegedly sold oft-counterfeit or Chinese-origin COVID-19 tests without a proper permit, the investigators said.

...

The filings also demonstrate the DOJ's concerns that the bail deal repeatedly proposed by Zhu is actually a scheme to help him flee to China, which is where Wang jetted off to with their child shortly after Zhu was raided a few years ago.
...

The prosecutor said that "this company, David Destiny Discovery, is currently the owner on ... a house in Las Vegas valued at approximately $800,000" and two condos in Las Vegas that together are worth approximately $800,000." Barton said that Zhu and Wang "are both listed as principals or managing members of this David Destiny Discovery, so the Government believes they control these properties and assets."

Barton argued that "the Government believes this shows that He has control over these assets, even though they're in the name of David Destiny Discovery" and thus that it was a "lie" when Zhu allegedly claimed in his pretrial services report to only having $10,000 to $20,000 in assets."

Zhu's lawyer filed an April 2024 motion pushing the court to review his client's detention, stating that "the defendant is a Chinese citizen with a Chinese passport and lives in a house in Las Vegas, Nevada that is owned by David Destiny Discovery" and that "Ms. Wang states in her declaration that David Destiny Discovery, LLC, invests in real estate with money from her family in China."

I don't know if this is true -- but it's plausible.

Now the American Medical Association Warns Against Gender Mutilations for Children

—Ace

Pretty amazing that our "experts" just figured out that you should not mutilate children.

We should definitely trust them.

Note, however, they still support sterilizing artificial cross-sex hormones which cause irreversible effects, of course. They're just opposing the most visible and most politically toxic part of the Trans All Children agenda.

Another domino has fallen in the war against child mutilation as the American Medical Association (AMA) has renounced gender surgeries on children. This is the second major medical group this week that's taken such a stand. On Tuesday, I reported that the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS) was the first to come out against sex change surgeries for minors.

More to the point, the AMA said that gender surgeries should wait at least until patients are adults. Prior to this week, the majority of the medical community and its professional associations fought against restrictions on gender surgeries and related care. Their earlier stance was to push for "evidence-based" decisions that center on what they had described as the unique needs of the person, regardless of age.

In other words, the ghouls favored making gender surgery decisions on a case-by-case basis, even with children. In addition to surgery, such decisions may also have considered pharmaceutical puberty blockers and hormone therapies.

In making its announcement, the AMA said that while it continued to support treatment for gender-confused minors, there is not enough research on the risks and benefits of surgical procedures for young patients. This stance is very similar to that of the plastic surgeons, which the AMA acknowledged: "In the absence of clear evidence, the AMA agrees with ASPS that surgical interventions in minors should be generally deferred to adulthood."

So what happened that has caused so much of this new enlightenment? My colleague Rick Moran covered an interesting legal case and a $2 million award that may have single-handedly destroyed the sex change industry for minors.

...

Last week, [a detransitioner named, supposedly, "Fox"] Varian won a $2 million jury award -- not an out-of-court settlement -- in this landmark case. The court victory for Varian has sent shockwaves throughout the medical industry.

Cutting healthy tissue off children didn't bother them.

But having to pay higher malpractice insurance rates? That finally roused their consciences.

If you're keeping score, there's one organization we have not yet heard from in terms of changing its position on the issue, and that's the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP). In fact, when the New York Times reached out to the AAP for comment, it said its position on gender surgeries for minors hasn't changed.

The experts want to mutilate your children.

Always Trust the Experts.

The Morning Rant

—CBD

Maybe every new generation has to learn for themselves that socialism is the ultimate political evil, and every attempt at a better version always...ALWAYS ends in death and destruction on a massive scale.

One would be forgiven in thinking that after the Holodomor, the Great Leap Forward, the Cambodian genocide, 45 years of Eastern Europe's enslavement, and smaller but no less brutal country-killing communists in Venezuela, Cuba, Ethiopia, North Korea, etc., that people wouldn't need personal experience to understand the true nature of socialism.

One would be wrong.

And I will be making popcorn and watching with amusement at the klown-car antics of our newest communist/Islamist at the helm of New York City.

Socialists Hate 'Excellence,' So Mamdani Is Ending the 'Gifted and Talented' Program For Kindergarten

New York's Democratic Socialist Party Mayor Zohran Mamdani thinks that these special programs that elevate some kids over others based on talent and gifts are an abomination and need to end. Catering to the lowest common denominator in education, the workplace, and government is how socialists keep everything nice and equal — equally mediocre, at least.

NYers raise a stink over trash buildup as 'limited collection' continues 7 days after winter storm: 'It's disgusting'

Cold Death Toll Hits 17 as Deep Freeze Continues

It doesn't really matter that only about a quarter of eligible voters bothered to vote in the mayoral election. Not voting is a decision just like voting for one's preferred candidate.

NYC got what it wanted, and the consequences of that will reverberate for the next four years. Gutting the cream of the public schools because too few blacks and other pressure groups can get their kids into those schools is absolutely expected, but will be a painful surprise to the willing fools who voted for Mamdani.

Decaying public service (and it was bad before!) was baked into Mamdani's policy cake, but far too few people actually spent the time to figure out what those policies were.

Actual death! That wasn't in his campaign speeches, but anybody who didn't expect this is a fool.

New York City will enjoy four years of chaos, hyper-politicized administrative decisions that bolster Mamdani's political beliefs but penalize NYC, an increasingly vicious tone directed against Jews, Christians, Whites, the well-off, and anyone else who doesn't fit neatly into the top of the grievance hierarchy.

Hopefully they will leave, and NYC will cascade into insolvency, because the top of the grievance hierarchy doesn't pay taxes! And even if NYC can muddle through without a financial catastrophe, the quality of life will decay significantly, and it will take a generation to repair it. Just take a look at how long the horror of the 1970s and 1980s took to be banished! And that's assuming that there will be a tax base to finance it, and that is by no means a given.

So...visit NYC if you want, because it won't be better than it is today for a very long time, and there is a long, dark night coming!

[Crossposted at CutJibNewsletter and X/Twitter]. If you folks who are on X/Twitter would follow us it would be much appreciated!

Mid-Morning Art Thread

—CBD

Mrs. James Smith and Grandson
Charles Willson Peale

The Morning Report — 2/5/26

—J.J. Sefton

Good morning kids. As the spouse is going into hospital this morning for a scheduled surgical procedure, I'll have to keep it short and sweet (if you could call it that). . .

The assault on the rule of law and the fomenting and leveraging of violence and terrorism for political gain by the Democrat Party and its base and operatives in and out of government continues with the epicenter now in Minneapolis and likely to metastasize into a firestorm that will sweep the nation, especially as warmer weather approaches and especially the midterm election push gets into full swing. As history dictates, and should be obvious there can be no parlaying with an intractable enemy that seeks our destruction. And instead of marshaling every possible uniformed agent we can to utterly crush what can only be now described as an armed insurgency and insurrection that seeks not only the prevention of enforcement of federal immigration law but in point of fact, the effective overthrow of the federal government.

And yet President Trump has decided that he needs to make concessions to those that if given half the chance would string him up on a lamp post. I mean that quite literally.

Negotiating with terrorists, whether Islamic in Iran or Gaza, or Marxist/Islamic in America, doesn’t bring peace, it shows weakness and then the terrorism never ends and neither do the negotiations.

Ceding on ICE won’t buy peace. And it won’t even change the topic or end the violence.

There are very good arguments for why this administration should make domestic kitchen table economics its larger focus. If it doesn’t do that, the midterm situation may be catastrophic. But it can do that and fulfill core responsibilities like national defense. Immigration was a major reason, perhaps the biggest reason that Trump is here, because it embodies national survival. We can and should kick the can down the road on some global issues which have been too much the focus lately, but this is a primal issue which is why the Democrats have gone to the mattresses on it and why retreating on it would be a mistake.

Illegal aliens are the political power behind the ghost districts that Dems use to rig elections and maintain outsized political influence. That’s why it’s the one battle they can’t afford to lose.

The theft of the 2020 election, and everything that made the theft possible primarily both the Fauci/Chi-Com biowarfare, lockdowns, erasure of the most basic election voting integrity measures, and the George Floyd race riots that resulted from it and the J-6 Pelosi/Deep State-engineered J-6 fake "insurrection" put a giant sucking wound into the heart of whatever remains of our Republic as it is, but what we are witnessing here and now really is for all the marbles. They know it, and are surely acting like it and we better start doing the same right now, or else I fear that we are a dead nation walking . . . mostly right off a cliff.

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.

Daily Tech News 5 February 2026

—Pixy Misa

• Can Chinese memory save us from the RAM crisis? (WCCFTech)
  
  The article points out limitations of current Chinese DRAM production: It's slower than the best chips from the Big Three, uses more power, and is produced on an older technology node, making it larger and more expensive to manufacture.
  
  I think, for example, that CXMT in China and Nanya in Taiwan are both limited to 16Gbit chips, well short of Micron's 32Gbits.
  
  But who cares if it's slower and uses more power and take a little more space on the module which is module-sized anyway, if you can actually buy it?
  
  Can you buy it?
  
  Well, no. But it's the thought that counts.