Wednesday Overnight Open Thread (6/28/17) The Third Monday of The Week Edition

—Misanthropic Humanitarian

Quote I

The trend of opinion among eugenists is that we must make marriage more difficult. Certainly no one who is not a desirable parent should be permitted to produce progeny. Nikola Tesla

Quote II

If you think nobody cares about you, try missing a couple of payments. Steven Wright

Quote III

I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just; that his justice cannot sleep forever. Thomas Jefferson

Quote IV

Why has the Democratic Party become so arrogantly detached from ordinary Americans? Though they claim to speak for the poor and dispossessed, Democrats have increasingly become the party of an upper-middle-class professional elite, top-heavy with journalists, academics and lawyers. Camille Paglia

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Guess what will be 200 years old? No, not your Grandmother's fruit cake. The Erie Canal.

But next Tuesday will also mark another anniversary of surpassing historical importance to this country. For it was on July 4th, 1817, 200 years ago, that the first shovelful of dirt was dug and the construction of the Erie Canal began. Finished eight years later (ahead of schedule and under budget) it united the east coast with the fast-growing trans-Appalachian west.

A certain former U.S. President would say something to that effect you didn't build that. Or we are not an exceptional country. The ONT says "F" off.

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The Democrats have been losing elections steadily since 2008. Liberals still don't need to win elections to get what they want.

Nevertheless, as the recent war on President Trump and the more distant -- but certainly recent enough -- debate on marriage reveal, U.S. liberals don’t necessarily need to win elections to further their leftist agenda. In fact, as most any sentient political observer of the American scene is aware, arguably the sturdiest plank of the Democratic platform -- abortion -- became legal in America, not because of what occurred at the ballot box, but because of the tragically foolish decision of seven unelected justices of the U.S. Supreme Court. As the block (now lifted) on the so-called “travel ban,” the seemingly never-ending Trump-Russia collusion farce, and the Trump obstruction-of-justice myth prove, if the electorate won’t cooperate, the American left well knows that it can almost always rely on the cooperation of the courts and the mainstream media.

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The passing of the torch? Is Nancy Pelosi on her way out?

The Pelosi factor has been a drag on Democrats in all four of the special elections the party has lost since Trump’s November triumph.

Prediction: Democrats will not go into the 2018 Congressional elections with San Fran Nan as the party’s face and future. No way. As President Kennedy said, “Sometimes party loyalty asks too much.”

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Crime Politics pays. Late phase capitalism.

In one of histories great ironies, the English speaking world went to war with fascism and defeated them on the battlefield, but ended up adopting most of the fascists socio-economic polices. Similarly the US government went to war with the mob, but is now embracing the same ethos as those long vanquished gangsters. Maybe like the oxpecker, the tiny bird that lives off rhinos, human society will always have a quasi-criminal class that lives off the people at the pleasure of the people in charge.

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Sarah Palin is in the news again. Palin suing the NY Times in Federal Court.

The lawsuit has to do with an editorial the NYT ran on June 14 that falsely smeared Palin as inciting the 2011 shooting of Democratic Rep. Gabby Giffords by a mentally ill man. There is no evidence to support the NYT’s implication that Palin played a role in inciting the Giffords shooting.

The ONT hope she wins and wins big.

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A comforting thought, 600 million legally owned guns in the U.S.A.?

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China. Green energy. Chinese province runs on green energy for 7 days.

And it seems they did just that. For seven continuous days, over 5 million citizens living in the Qinghai Province in northwest China survived on 100 percent renewable energy, according to the State-run Xinhua News Agency.

The ONT is skeptical, "State-run news" if they are anything like CNN FNN (Fake News Network)...............

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Bernie Sanders, not happy to be in this spot light.

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Windows 10? Keep it clean. Not content to leave well enough alone Bill Gates is out to screw up hamburgers.

The Bill Gates-backed vegetarian burger is coming to a national fast food chain.

Wait until they mess up bacon.

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The ONT Musical Interlude

June 28, 1975, The Eagles started a five-week run at No.1 on the US album chart with their fourth studio album 'One Of These Nights'. The album which became their breakthrough album released three US Top 10 singles, 'Lyin' Eyes', (which won a Grammy), 'Take It To The Limit' and the title track. via thisdayinmusic.com

June 28, 1997, The Pink Floyd album The Dark Side of The Moon spent its 1056th week on the US album chart. It was rumoured at the time that if the album was played while watching The Wizard of Oz movie, and started exactly when the MGM lion roared the third time during the movie's intro, very interesting connections could be made between the two. via thisdayinmusic.com

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The next time someone from the Left says there is no such thing as voter fraud. Introduce them to Andrew J. Spieles of Harrisonburg, Virginia.

A student at James Madison University who was working for a political organization affiliated with the Democratic party was sentenced to go to prison for at least 100 days after he pleaded guilty to registering dead people to vote.

Andrew J. Spieles of Harrisonburg, Virginia entered his plea on Monday in federal court. He had been working for the group Harrisonburg Votes last summer. A U.S. Attorney’s Office spokesperson said, “In July 2016 Spieles’ job was to register as many voters as possible and reported to Democratic Campaign headquarters in Harrisonburg.”

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There is more to life that Valu-Rite on the rocks or a cold brew on tap. How to make famous cocktails.

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Thanks Shoe0nHead for this tutorial. (NSFW)

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The ONT enjoys Mark Steyn. Cutting and funny as hell, Steyn comments on PM Trudeau of Canada.

When I first heard that Justin Trudeau had marched in the Toronto Pride Parade wearing Ramadan socks, my first reaction was that that was a bit under-dressed even for him. My mistake. It turns out the Prime Minister wasn't wearing just his Ramadan socks but also shirt and trousers.

Which, on reflection, is a bit boringly overdressed. Perhaps for next year's parade he could wear a niqab with cutaway buttocks and a crescent tramp stamp. Just trying to be inclusive here.

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C'mon and share. Even if it is for PBJ, Dildo doesn't make everything.

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Young people can be Genius Award Winners.

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Off duty officer also doubles as a guardian angel.Tonight's Feel Good Story of The Day,

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Tonight's ONT has been brought to you by The AoSHQ Moron Cookbook

Notice: Posted with permission by AceCorp, LLC. We card those who appear to be under the age of 40.

Close it up

SecDef Mattis: Trump' Blunt Warning to Assad Stopped Him From Launching Another Poison Gas Attack

—Ace

Gotta be tough.

ABOARD A U.S. MILITARY AIRCRAFT — Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said Wednesday that the U.S. warning to Syria not to conduct a chemical attack on its own people appears to have been taken seriously by the Bashar Assad regime.

"They didn't do it," Mattis told reporters on his plane as they flew from Germany to Belgium. "It appears they took the warning seriously."

Mattis would not confirm or discuss on-the-record statements by a Pentagon spokesman that the U.S. had observed the movement of chemical munitions at the Shayrat airfield, the same airfield from which a Syrian warplane dropped deadly sarin nerve gas on civilians April 4. Navy warships launched a cruise missile attack on the air base later that week, which destroyed several aircraft.

Maybe they didn't do it now because Trump was accusing them before they even did it. Maybe if that sort of pre-emptive condemnation doesn't come the next time they start loading the poison gas bombs on to the planes, they will go ahead and do it, and then just say The Jews Must Have Done It.

Sissy CNN Media Reporter: Critics of CNN Are Bigots We're Now Calling "Extreme Anti-Journalists"

—Ace

Yes, of course. It was time to invent an "Islamophobia"-style slur to brand critics of genuine abuses with.

Before we get to this fat little girl's attempt at a new PC slur to control people, let's review some of the media's recent work, CNN's especially:

This liberal journalist freaks out over Deputy Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders' mention of a "barrage of fake news," shrilly screeching that she was "inflaming" people against reporters, which I guess makes them Feel Unsafe.

Chris Cuomo then welcomed this sad little girl on to CNN and told her she's always got a Safe Space there. Also in that clip, Chris Cuomo's co-bimbo said that journalists were now operating in a "war zone."

Chris, at what point does this become dangerous and I'm not just talking about dangerous as in tearing at the social fabric, I'm talking about dangerous in that a journalist gets hurt, because I can tell you working overseas in war zones, people are emboldened by the actions of this administration, emboldened by the all-out sort of declaration of war on the media, if I'm getting it in the neck, Chris I can only imagine what someone like you is dealing with. At what point does this become reckless or irresponsible, Chris?

Apparently inflaming people against Republicans is no big deal -- even in the aftermath of the shooting of four people by a Rachel Maddow Super-Fan.

(Which is why it's necessary that Sarah Palin sues the New York Times until they cry uncle.)

Jim Acosta is a hysterical drama queen who has to be reminded that there's no point playing to the cameras when the cameras are off.

However, people who aren't on TV have a way of getting their look-at-me hysterias out into the world. It's called Twitter.

After the week's biggest media story blew up on Friday -- with CNN retracting a shoddily-vetted Trump/Russia "story" -- the sad fat little girl Brian Stelter had no mention of it on his show, which is allegedly about the media itself.

o how much time did Stelter have for this story on his show Reliable Sources on Sunday? Nothing. Instead, Stelter spent more than five minutes hate-analyzing Fox & Friends as a Trump infomercial. He spent about ten and a half minutes indulging "TV legend" Phil Donahue. He even closed the show with four minutes allegedly about Russia -- but his guest Masha Gessen basically fed back Stelter his favorite talking point that Trump is an "aspiring autocrat" who's shutting down access to the press: "We're definitely hurtling towards a closed system of government..."

So in this context, sad fat little girl Brian Stelter attempts to create a new PC slur -- "extreme anti-journalist," which I guess is like racism, but worse, because it's racism against rich college-educated white people.

Xhe then decided to quote noted Objective Non-Partisan Expert Chuck Todd for his unbiased thoughts about the media.

Surprise! He's against Trump:

By way of a parting thought: As Jammie Wearing Fool noted after all this hysterical girl-crying, don't ever dare call CNN #FakeNews:

CNN Now Propagandizing Against Travel Ban By Using Refugee Expert... Elmo the Muppet

—Ace

We're a Real News Organization, Swearsies.

Democrat Senator Dick Durbin Refuses to Release Email Correspondence He Had With Leftwing Assassin James Hodgkinson

—Ace

Apparently it's both nothing important, and something important enough to hide from the public.

Democratic Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin’s office will not release reported email correspondence with anti-GOP shooter James Hodgkinson.

An Associated Press report says, “Hodgkinson also visited the office of Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, whose campaign he had worked on as a volunteer, and was in email contact with the two Democratic senators from his home state.”

The “two Democratic senators from his home state” of Illinois would presumably be Dick Durbin and Tammy Duckworth.

When The Daily Caller reached out to Sen. Durbin’s office, we received this comment, “Mr. Hodgkinson contacted our office to state his opinion on a variety of legislation over the years. Those emails were all given to USCP and are part of the current investigation.”

When TheDC asked for more details, or whether they planned to publicly release the emails Hodgkinson sent, no response was received.

El Salvadoran Illegal Immigrant Who Raped and Killed Muslim Girl Is, Get This, Reported a Member of MS-13

—Ace

Gee, I wonder why this particular Hate Crime dropped off the national media radar in such a hurry.

Incidentally, he is suspected of having sexually assaulted another woman in the previous week:

The suspect charged with murdering a 17-year-old Muslim girl during Ramadan was accused of sexually assaulting another woman a week before the teen’s slaying in Virginia and is reportedly an MS-13 gang member.

Darwin Martinez Torres, of El Salvador, allegedly sent a woman to hospital after he punched and choked her, according to a Loudoun County Child Protective Services report obtained by the Washington Post.

The alleged acts happened in front of a child, and the woman said she didn’t want to press any charges against her attacker who was later identified by authorities as Torres.

Susan Rice: I Think I'm Being Investigated for Unmasking My Political Enemies Because of Racism and Sexism

—Ace

Playing the racism and sexism cards is virtually a giant "I'M GUILTY" banner.

In an interview with journalist Michael Tomasky for New York Magazine, Rice reportedly questioned the criticism she’s faced dating back to the Benghazi controversy.

“Why me? Why not Jay Carney, for example, who was then our press secretary, who stood up more?” she asked.

Tomasky noted in the piece that Carney “isn’t an African-American woman, of course” and apparently asked Rice whether that is the key factor. Rice, in response, left the door open:

“I don’t know… I do not leap to the simple explanation that it’s only about race and gender. I’m trying to keep my theories to myself until I’m ready to come out with them. It’s not because I don’t have any.”

But Rice mentioned other prominent female figures – like Hillary Clinton and Condoleezza Rice – who faced “ad hominem” attacks, suggesting a correlation.

Two other people are subpoenaed in the matter: White male James Clapper and white female Samantha Powers.

New Project Veritas Video: Van Jones Admits Russia "A Big Nothingburger"

—Ace

They just published the video.

Trump: Friend of Israel

—OregonMuse

I didn't care all that much for Nikki Haley when she was governor of mumblemumble Carolina, but she's been tearing it up ever since Trump appointed her as our ambassador to the U.N.

In the tradition of our best U.N. ambassadors — Daniel Patrick Moynihan and Jeane Kirkpatrick — Haley has been a powerful voice against U.N. hypocrisy. Most notably, she has denounced U.N. hypocrisy regarding Israel.

Read the whole piece at Powerline.

I would hazard a guess that Israel is very much thankful for Trump after 8 years of Obama's bullshit.

Mid-Morning Open Thread

—CBD

[Hat Tip: Tim In Illinois]

And he painted another one!

The (Little) Tower Of Babel
Pieter Bruegel the Elder

And there is a third, but it is lost.

Close it up

The Morning Report 6/28/17

—J.J. Sefton

Good morning, kids. Midweek and a mixed bag of things today. First up, and as I had suspected all along, the Democrat-inspired terrorist attack that left Rep. Steve Scalise and several others gravely wounded has been nothing-to-see-here-move-along'd way too quickly. The Daily Caller is reporting that there is evidently a chain of communications between the terrorist and the office of Dick Durbin and that office is refusing to let reporters from that outlet have access to them. Considering the fact that the Left has essentially blamed the President and the victims for the act of a lone wolf, it's kind of puzzling (read: alarming) that these communications exist in the first place, let alone the refusal to release them. Couple all this with the FBI's (don't laugh) bizarre press announcement that the attack was spontaneous, random and had no specific target, despite mountains of evidence to the contrary, and the complete politicization of its leadership that is in open revolt against the President and his political allies, and you know something is terribly wrong here. Either I'm insane or there is something being covered up is truly explosive. And let's leave it at that. For now.

In other news, the GOP healthcare bill has been delayed and there are indications that the conservatives are hopefully making headway in adding an actual repeal component to the bill that has been touted as a repeal and replace. We shall see.

Bernie Sanders, the maple syrup commie with the Canarsie accent claims the FBI investigation into his and his wife's real estate swindle is a political witch hunt. Lastly, there is a very disturbing report for my last link. I apologize for linking it and yet I feel compelled. No one is covering it and it's a story that must be told. Because this is the real enemy that we are facing. Anyway, links from around the world, across the nation and up your street. Have a better one and remain blessed.

• Dick "Dick" Durbin (D)-Ick Refuses to Release E-Mails Between Him and Democrat Terrorist Hodgkinson
  
• Palin Slams Slim's Slimes with YUUGE Defamation Lawsuit, Hires Hulk Hogan's Legal Team
  
• After Sit-Down with PDT, Rand Paul Now Thinks GOP Healthcare Bill Could Pass; He and Prexy Agree It Needs More "Repeal"
  
• PDT to Rally Congress on Immigration After GOP Healthcare Delay/Setback
  
• House Intel Committee Interviews John Podesta Behind Closed Doors
  
• Venezuelan Ex-Cop Stages Grenade Attack on Court Building; Calls for Uprising to Overthrow Socialist Regime as Maduro Spoke on TV
  
• Pathetic Alta-Cocker Claims FBI Investigation Into He and His Wife "Politically Motivated"
  
• Tammy Baldwin's Lawyer Brought In Dark Money for Tomah VA Scandal Defense
  
• GOP Senator Says Mueller's Hiring Spree Taints Entire Russia Probe
  
• Teachers Are Performing Monthly Mental Health Exams on Your Kids- - Without Your Permission
  
• The Communist Cardinals of Pope Francis
  
• Smithsonian Magazine Exhumes Joe Pyne to Attack Conservative Talk Radio
  
• Religion of Peace: Starving Yazidi Sex Slave Unwittingly Ate Her Own Son After ISIS Butchered Him

UPDATE:

First link to Durbin fixed.

Tuesday Overnight Open Thread (6/27/17) The Second Monday of The Week Edition

—Misanthropic Humanitarian

Quote I

One of the things the government can't do is run anything. The only things our government runs are the post office and the railroads, and both of them are bankrupt. Lee Iacocca

Quote II

There is joy in work. There is no happiness except in the realization that we have accomplished something. Henry Ford

Quote III

I think I've owned all the models of iPods so far. And these days between my iPod, iPhone and my personal laptop computer, I'm someone who is very, very grateful for all the ways to listen to music and completely switch off from people around me and listen to the music in detail, which is very hard to do if you're in a room with other people. Ian Anderson of Jethro Tull

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My late Father-in-Law was a model railroad enthusiast who spent hours on 2 different sets. I don't see him using these figures if he were alive today. h/t Hank Curmudgeon

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Black Rappers calling other Black men N***** is ok. Calling women Whores or Sluts is fine. Sing about the wanton destruction of human life and private property those are acceptable behaviors. But as an artist, don't you dare call for orderly and legal immigration.

In a Facebook statement yesterday, Castle Face Records criticized comments that musician couple Doris and Matthew Melton made during an interview with the French publication Still in Rock. While the California-based record label can’t pull the album it released in May, it vowed to donate profits from sales to charity.

“We’re horrified and ashamed by this, and we appreciate people being upset but respectful in letting us know how they felt about it,” the record label posted on Facebook.

Here's hoping this band goes on to making bigger and better albums and laughing all the way to the bank.

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Homosexuality. Illegal Aliens. Tax Dollars. Stir them all together and what do you get? A $20,000 musical.

“Using the Mime Troupe’s signature style of broad, physical theater, the work will explore immigration, gun violence, the opioid epidemic, depression, the public education system, and racial tensions, and how they relate to societal health,” according to the grant for the project. “Portions of the work will be developed through playmaking workshops in California’s Central Valley with low-income youth, inmates, and migrant workers.”

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Right, wrong or otherwise, the U.S.A. is playing the role of the world's policeman. U. S. Special Forces spread throughout the world.

Those numbers, however, only hint at the true size and scope of this global special ops effort. Last year, America’s most elite forces conducted missions in 138 countries—roughly 70 percent of the nations on the planet, according to figures supplied to TomDispatch by U.S. Special Operations Command.

Halfway through 2017, U.S. commandos have already been deployed to an astonishing 137 countries, according to SOCOM spokesman Ken McGraw.

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The ONT chuckles, We told you so!!

According to a new paper from the National Bureau of Economic Research:

Using a variety of methods to analyze employment in all sectors paying below a specified real hourly rate, we conclude that the second wage increase to $13 reduced hours worked in low-wage jobs by around 9 percent, while hourly wages in such jobs increased by around 3 percent. Consequently, total payroll fell for such jobs, implying that the minimum wage ordinance lowered low-wage employees’ earnings by an average of $125 per month in 2016. Evidence attributes more modest effects to the first wage increase. We estimate an effect of zero when analyzing employment in the restaurant industry at all wage levels, comparable to many prior studies.

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Steven Crowder becomes Bob Ross.

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The ONT Musical Interlude

June 27, 2002, One day before the scheduled first show of The Who's 2002 US tour, bass player John Entwistle, died aged 57 in his hotel room at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas. Entwistle had gone to bed that night with a stripper, who woke at 10am to find Entwistle cold and unresponsive. The Las Vegas medical examiner determined that death was due to a heart attack induced by an undetermined amount of cocaine. via thisdayinmusic.com

1987, Whitney Houston became the first women in US history to enter the album chart at No.1 with 'Whitney' she also became the first woman to top the singles chart with four consecutive releases when 'I Wanna Dance With Somebody' hit No.1. via thisdayinmusic.com

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Had a young white male from Iowa burnt a mosque, we would all know about it. Young black Muslim woman, not so much.

A 22-year-old Muslim woman was arrested in Iowa after she was caught by security cameras setting fire to her own mosque.

From The Des Moines Register:
Police in Iowa arrested a 22-year-old woman suspected of starting a small fire at an Iowa mosque Thursday morning.

Des Moines firefighters and police were called to the Islamic Center of Des Moines about 10 a.m. There had been a small fire on the carpet, according to a Des Moines police report.

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Perhaps this should have been in the Quotes of The Day, "If you are still somehow paranoid about something this ridiculously stupid, I insist that use a condom. Mainly to stop you from reproducing." One of the ONT's favorite science sites.

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Tuition and fees at Lewis University are $29,040 USD without financial aid. With room, board, and other fees combined, total cost of attendance is $42,100 USD. Obviously Lewis University doesn't overcharge their students. They are seeking a Coordinator for Social Justice Pilgrimages.

“Pilgrimages are a unique combination of educational study, faith-based reflection, and social justice immersion,” the University Ministry’s website notes. “Through these immersive experiences, students will become educated about a current world social issue, grow deeper in their faith, and be inspired to work toward a more peaceful and just society.”

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Historically, June has always been the most popular month for weddings. The age of first marriages for men around the world.

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Addiction, is it a disease? Or is it a behavioral issue? Treating addiction as a disease makes it harder to treat.

Botticelli’s analogy doesn’t work. No amount of reward or punishment can alter the course of, say, brain cancer. It is an entirely autonomous biological condition. Imagine threatening to impose a penalty on a brain cancer victim if her vision or speech continued to worsen or to offer of $1 million if she could stay well. It wouldn’t matter.

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Karma strikes.

Have a blessed day.

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Everything you wanted to know about the email deletion flow chart. But, were afraid to ask.

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Legalized pot. Conflicting data on car accidents.

With marijuana legalization on the horizon, Canada may be looking south of the border for clues as to how cannabis impacts vehicle collision rates. But a pair of American studies released last week came came to seemingly opposite conclusions on whether rising marijuana use is causing an increase in car crashes in states that have legalized the drug.

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Winner of the The Feel Good Story of The Day and Genius Award Winner Meet.

Is you English bad? Genius Award Winner

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Woman helps those less fortunate. Tonight's Feel Good Story of The Day

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Tonight's ONT has been brought to you by the fruit from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil.

Notice: Posted with permission by AceCorp, LLC. Brain bleach is available for a small nominal fee. Shipping and handling extra.

Close it up

This. Is CNN. The Most Trusted Name In News

—OregonMuse

Here are some things more trustworthy than CNN, stolen from Twitter #MoreTrustedThanCNN:

1. Anthony Weiner's babysitting service

2. Bill Clinton doing a sleep-over at a sorority house.

3. This guy:

4. That the guy I can't understand on the other end of the tech support call is actually named "Jeff".

5. Clinton Foundation accountants

6. This guy:

7a. Unprotected sex with Madonna
7b. Unprotected sex with Sandra Fluke
7c. Unprotected sex with Lena Dunham
7d. Unprotected sex with Amy Schumer
7e. Unprotected sex with Katy Perry

8. Brian Williams' war stories

9. This guy:

10. Cub Scout Pack leader Harry Reid

11. Mexican tap water

12. Cocktail hour at Bill Cosby's house

13. This newspaper:

14. Teddy Kennedy as the designated driver

...and last:

15. Bill and Hillary Clinton's wedding vows

Add your own.

Close it up

Colbert's Ratings Slip Back Behind Fallon's

—Ace

CNN's, MSNBC's, and Colbert's ratings all rely on the idea that there is a Great Impeachment a-coming, just around the bend.

But what happens when the Rubes start to suspect they're being taken for a ride?

According to The Wrap, "The Tonight Show's" Jimmy Fallon beat Colbert in ratings for the first time since Trump's inauguration in January. In total viewers, Fallon had 2.66 million to Colbert's 2.62 million. He also crushed Colbert in the coveted 18-49 demo, with a .68 rating to Colbert's .42. In total, Fallon had a 62 percent demo lead over Colbert.

Last week, Fallon saw his highest ratings in the 18-49 demo since the week of April 3-7. One explanation for Fallon's newfound success is that CBS didn't include Thursday and Friday's ratings for Colbert because the network aired reruns on those days.

Speaking of ratings: CNN decided to rebut the Project Veritas sting video in which a producer said CNN runs "mostly bullshit" Russia stories all day "for the ratings" by... citing their ratings.

Note the The Most Trusted Name in News also included a typo there ("it's" instead of "its"). They also cited a single fact -- not plural facts -- and then said "Those are the facts" instead of "That's the fact."

And speaking even more of ratings (this is the Age of Trump, after all), Megyn Kelly's ratings have fallen for the fourth straight week.

Megyn Kelly's Sunday night newsmagazine show's ratings dropped for a fourth consecutive week since debuting earlier this month on NBC, according to Nielsen Media Research.

The latest episode of "Sunday Night with Megyn Kelly" averaged 3.4 million viewers and an 0.4 rating in the key 18- to 49-year-old demographic that advertisers covet most.

..

Overall, Kelly's week 4 came third behind a repeat of CBS's "60 Minutes," which delivered 7.1 million viewers and an 0.7 demographic rating, and a repeat of ABC's "America's Funniest Home Videos," which brought in 3.9 million viewers and a 0.7 demographic rating.

Why? Well, she lost her old Fox audience, and the liberal audience that pretended to like her only liked her because she was making the liberal case against Trump on Fox.

She has no particular cache as yet another NBC flake making the liberal case against Trump on NBC, and liberals no longer feel the need to support this Victim of Trump.

Another Scoop from Carter & Solomon: Andrew McCabe Under Investigation for Violations of the Hatch Act

—Ace

The charge seems a little ticky-tack, but Mueller is trying to get Flynn and Trump on ticky-tack crap, so if the rules forbid ticky-tack crap, then they forbid ticky-tack crap for everybody.

cting FBI Director Andrew McCabe is being investigated by the Office of U.S. Special Counsel for violating The Hatch Act that prohibits FBI agents from campaigning in partisan races.

The Office of U.S. Special Counsel, the government’s main whistleblower agency, is investigating whether FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe’s activities supporting his wife Jill’s Democratic campaign for Virginia state senate in 2015 violated the Hatch Act’s prohibition against FBI agents campaigning in partisan races.

The agency’s probe was prompted by a complaint in April from a former FBI agent who forwarded social media photos showing McCabe wearing a T-shirt supporting his wife’s campaign during a public event and then posting a photo on social media urging voters to join him in voting for his wife.

...

The Hatch Act prohibits FBI employees from engaging "in political activity in concert with a political party, a candidate for partisan political office, or a partisan political group."

It defines prohibited political activity as "any activity directed at the success or failure of a partisan group or candidate in a partisan election."

I bet they'll find that McCabe lacked intent to do the thing he intentionally did.

There's video at the link, and additional details, like the disclosure that McCabe met with Terry McAuliffe in 2015 (along with his wife, in a candidate-recruitment pitch).

Following the Example of the Fund for Clintons, the Foundation for McCains Refuses to Disclose Its Largest Donor's Largesse

—Ace

And John McCain is the guy who brought us the McCain-Feingold Campaign "Reform" Act, requiring anyone who gives $250 or more to a political campaign to be disclosed.

I didn't make that connection. That's in Richard Pollock's article:

The McCain Institute for International Leadership executives refuse to disclose how much money big donors have contributed to the nonprofit that's named after Arizona Republican Sen. John McCain, The Daily Caller News Foundation Investigative Group has learned.

McCain was the architect of the landmark Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002-- more popularly known as "McCain-Feingold" -- that required public disclosure of all contributions of at least $250 in federal elections. Former Wisconsin Democratic Sen. Russ Feingold co-sponsored the measure with McCain.

But the McCain Institute -- created in 2012 with an $8.7 million donation of funds remaining from McCain's unsuccessful 2008 presidential campaign - refused Monday to disclose the amounts it received from its biggest donors who gave $100,000 or more....

They did divulge a list of people who had given $100,000 or more. But they didn't specify how much each had given, except that they'd given $100,000... or more.

Pollock points out this is "misleading," as some donors -- like a Saudi organization -- are listed as giving $100,00 or more, but in fact they gave a lot more: Ten times more, in fact. A cool million.

The McCain Institute is refusing to specify how big their donations are from large donors.

Claire McCaskill, Who Claimed to Have Never Met With Russian Ambassador, Actually Attended Black-Tie Affair at His Home

—Ace

Was she lying, or just mentally infirm?

Earlier this year, Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-MO) claimed she never had a "call or meeting" with the Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak -- "ever." She was trying to make a point in a thinly veiled attempt to suggest a connection between President Donald Trump's campaign and Russia.

"No call or meeting w/Russian ambassador. Ever. Ambassadors call members of Foreign [Relations Committee]," she tweeted.

The Democrat's words are now coming back to bite her. On Monday, CNN reported that McCaskill actually attended a "black-tie reception" at the Russian ambassador's home in Washington, D.C., in 2015.

Was the FBI Investigation into General Flynn Just Payback for Him Embarrassing the FBI by Supporting an FBI Agent Who Complained of Sex Discrimination?

—Ace

I don't know the answer.

But, as no less an authority than Chuck Schumer told us, you never go to war with the Deep State -- they have a thousand ways to get payback.

John Solomon and Sarah Carter continue digging:

The FBI launched a criminal probe against former Trump National Security Adviser Michael Flynn two years after the retired Army general roiled the bureau’s leadership by intervening on behalf of a decorated counterterrorism agent who accused now-Deputy FBI Director Andrew McCabe and other top officials of sexual discrimination, according to documents and interviews.

Flynn’s intervention on behalf of Supervisory Special Agent Robyn Gritz was highly unusual, and included a letter in 2014 on his official Pentagon stationary, a public interview in 2015 supporting Gritz’s case and an offer to testify on her behalf. His offer put him as a hostile witness in a case against McCabe, who was soaring through the bureau’s leadership ranks.

The FBI sought to block Flynn’s support for the agent, asking a federal administrative law judge in May 2014 to keep Flynn and others from becoming a witness in her Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) case, memos obtained by Circa show. Two years later, the FBI opened its inquiry of Flynn.

The EEOC case, which is still pending, was serious enough to require McCabe to submit to a sworn statement to investigators, the documents show.

The deputy director’s testimony provided some of the strongest evidence in the case of possible retaliation, because he admitted the FBI opened an internal investigation into Gritz’s personal conduct after learning the agent “had filed or intended to file” a sex discrimination complaint against her supervisors.

McCabe eventually became the bureau’s No. 2 executive and emerged as a central player in the FBI’s Russia election tampering investigation, putting him in a position to impact the criminal inquiry against Flynn.

Three FBI employees told Circa they personally witnessed McCabe make disparaging remarks about Flynn before and during the time the retired Army general emerged as a figure in the Russia case.

See this Flashback from the Washington Post: the FBI reviewed Flynn's calls with the Russian ambassador back in December and found nothing illicit at all.

And so they turned to trying to nail him on a paperwork foul having nothing to do with Russia at all.

Almost as if the top echelons of the FBI had been politicized and weaponized.

Thank God we have a cadre of "conservatives" to lecture us every day that anyone who works in a hierarchical organization and wears a suit is due the unquestioning obedience one would offer a living god.

CNN Denies Any "Connection" Between Its Retracted False Report on a Probe into Trump Associate Anthony Scaramucci and Their Also-False Report that James Comey Would Deny Trump's Claim That He Was Told Three Times He Wasn't Under Investigation

—Ace

Why deny a connection? Well, for one thing, CNN relies almost exclusively on leaks from anonymous sources now, so we have no way of knowing if the #FakeNews source for the retracted Scaramucci piece is also the same #FakeNews source for the wildly-wrong "Comey will refute Trump" #FakeNews.

And also, as Eric Wemple points out in the National Laughingstock:

In advance of former FBI Director James Comey's Senate testimony, CNN used four bylines -- Gloria Borger, Eric Lichtblau, Jake Tapper and Brian Rokus -- to report that Comey would contradict Trump's claims that the fired FBI chief had told him that he wasn't a target of an investigation. Instead, the opposite turned out to be the case: Comey confirmed those claims of Trump. The story piled poor editorial judgment on top of faulty reporting, in that there was little merit in predicting Comey’s testimony a day or two before he gave it.

John Sexton notes:

It's worth noting that, despite CNN's claim the current screwup was not connected to the prior one, Eric Lichtblau's name appeared on both pieces.

Lichtbau was one of the three CNN personnel who "resigned" in the wake of the Scaramucci humiliation.

How bad is it? This bad: Even Redstate is slamming CNN for it.

The people getting the ax should tell you just how bad the story was. These are not nameless interns or low level writers. These are major names.

I hate seeing people get fired but CNN has deteriorated to the point where there is literally no lie they will not tell if they think in will damage the Trump administration and get clicks.

"streiff" makes a point I make a lot, and I'm glad that someone else is trying to embarrass "conservative" fans of Jake Tapper into noting that Tapper is a serial offender, instead of giving him a pass because he pays attention to their silly asses on Twitter (PS, he's using you, and he talks to anyone with more than 1000 followers if it can advance his career, and he's on Twitter like always for crying out loud) and because he appears on their Electric God Box, I mean, television, which is apparently enough to give some conservative men Celebrity Crushes:

Note that one of the bylines in the story cited above belongs to one of the guys fired over the Scaramucci story and another is Jake Tapper who, for reasons that escapes me, has reduced a lot of alleged conservatives to a fanboi status that borders on homoeroticism.

Well, I couldn't embarrass them, but wow, that little stinger just might.

Guys: Stop giving Jake Tapper taint-paints while he pees on your belly. It may be a kind of love, but it's a bad kind of love.

Oh My: Project Veritas Posts Sting Video of CNN Supervising Producer Admitting CNN Has No Evidence of Russian Conclusion, But Zucker Has Mandated They Cover Russia Around the Clock for Ratings

—Ace

He didn't actually link those last two things, but he did say CNN's CEO (which Project Veritas identifies as Jeff Zucker) "gave" CNN a day and a half of coverage of the Paris Accords, and then said "Let's get back to Russia." And the producer admits that the reason CNN talks about little but Russia -- despite having no evidence about "collusion," and despite the story being "mostly bullshit" at the moment -- is "ratings."

Project Veritas says this is Part 1, and more will be coming.

Two videos below: a highlights teaser they posted on Twitter, and then their fuller Part 1 video.

Update: Unexpectedly, Trump gloated on Twitter.

Mid-Morning Open Thread

—CBD

Okay...so it's from this century. Shut up.

DON'T JUDGE ME!

The Morning Report 6/27/17

—J.J. Sefton

Good morning, kids. The President and America had an overall great day in court yesterday. The Supreme Court, that is. Justice Neil Gorsuch is looking like everything we hoped he would be and a key reason why many voted for Trump. While we did lose a second amendment battle against the rogue state of California, his dissent, coauthored with Clarence Thomas, is Scalia-like in its brilliance and eloquence. Let's hope it's only a taste of what's to come.

Next, a potential bombshell; a secret memo indicates that the FBI's investigation into Michael Flynn may have been engineered by now acting director McCabe as a retaliation for Flynn interceding on behalf of a woman who was planning on filing a sex discrimination against McCabe and other top G-Men. And not unrelated, James O'Keefe and Project Veritas has undercover footage showing a top CNN producer admitting the Russia thing is bullshit.

The GOP Renege and Repackage bill was scored by the CBO, for whatever that's worth. Of course noted champion of the free market Warren Buffett insists that all of us abandon the free market and embrace socialist NIH-style single payer. And alta-koker tyrant wannabe Bernardo Sandino and his wifey are being investigated for evidently goniffing a real estate deal in Vermont. It would be laughable were it not for the fact that too many young people, and too many adults that ought to know better look to this failure-of-a-man as a savior.

Anyway, links from around the world, across the nation and up your street. Have a better one and remain blessed.

• Secret Memo Suggests FBI Russia Probe Was Retaliation Against Flynn for Going Against McCabe in Sex Discrimination Suit
  
• US Detects Assad Prepping Another Chemical Attack, Issues Strong Warning
  
• Keep F**king That Chicken Dept.: Hoyer Declares SCOTUS Reinstating Travel Ban "Hands Victory to ISIS"
  
• Project Veritas: CNN Producer Admits Network Hyping "Mostly Bullshit" Russia Probe for "Ratings"
  
• In Bid to Screw PDT, Obama-era Holdovers' Leaks Endangering National Security
  
• Rush: Public Opinion Could Curtail Mueller-Led Coup
  
• Feds Ratcheting Up Probe on Sanders, Wife in VT College Real Estate Swindle. . .
  
• . . . Comrade Bernie Dodges Reporter, Refuses to Answer Questions
  
• Smoke: CBO Sez GOP Healthcare Bill Reduces Deficit by $321 Billion, Lower Premiums 31% by 2020
  
• Mirrors: How Will the Bill Lower Premiums? Corporate Welfare for Insurance Companies
  
• Greedy Pig Thinks It's Time US Scraps Free Market and Institutes Brit-Style Single Payer
  
• Mr. President: Don't Suck Up to Industries That Hate You
  
• Conservatives Cheering Gorsuch as SCOTUS Ends Current Term
  
• Dem Dingell Daughter: Obama "Was Dead Wrong" on Trade
  
• The Bizarre Historical Connection Between Germany and Islam

Monday Overnight Open Thread (6/26/17) First Monday of The Week Edition

—Misanthropic Humanitarian

Quote I

So many books, so little time.Frank Zappa

Quote II

To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment. Ralph Waldo Emerson

Quote III

A psychologist said to me, there are only two important questions you have to ask yourself. What do you really feel? And, what do you really want? If you can answer those two, you probably can leave your neuroses behind you. Harold Ramis

*****

When Evangelicals become useful idiots for Islamism.

The Christian church has not escaped this agenda. In fact, it has become a major target. The Left, in concert with its allies among atheists, Islamists, and the homosexual lobby, is engaged in a multi-front war to destroy what remains of our nation's Christian bedrock. One of the fronts in this war comes under the innocuous heading "Interfaith Dialog". It sounds so compelling: a mutually beneficial outreach for "differing faith traditions" to find common ground and join forces to mend the fractious divisions between Muslims, Christians, Jews, and for that matter, practically everyone else.

Sharia and The Ten Commandments. Not even close.

Imam Rauf tries to blame sharia's amputation and stoning on Biblical Law:

"Sharia is not about amputations and stoning. These extreme punishments carry over from earlier, biblical law" and "Within the history of Islam, they have rarely occurred. What Islamic law does prescribe are the same do's [sic] and don'ts of the Ten Commandments."

Imam Rauf's article is, to say the least, misleading -- especially regarding the Ten Commandments. Sharia is not only incompatible with Western legal system but is the direct opposite of Western values; it has violated all ten of the Ten Commandments.

Islam was created 600 years after Christianity not to affirm the Bible, but to discredit it; not to co-exist with "the people of the book" -- Jews and Christians -- but to replace them. It is hard to read Islamic law books without concluding that Islamic values are essentially "a rebellion against the Ten Commandments."

*****

New technology helps police in 90 different cities. Gun shots heard, cops are called.

The technology responsible for alerting the NYPD to Ortiz's shooting is known as ShotSpotter, whose 16-year-old parent company went public on June 7. In more than 90 cities across the US, including New York, microphones placed strategically around high-crime areas pick up the sounds of gunfire and alert police to the shooting's location via dots on a city map.

The technology builds on existing surveillance tools, many of which are aging, grainy-video cameras that don't record sound and produce footage officers review only after a crime has been committed. ShotSpotter also sends alerts to apps on cops' phones.

*****

The Faculty Lodge, Canada. The issue: Supply and Demand.

“Ultimately the biggest problem that appears after today’s discussion is one of supply,” Sousa said in an interview this week. Finance ministers were told demand is “quite high” for marijuana already in Canada, he said. “So we want to make certain that, when we do proceed, there is sufficient supply to accommodate the activity because what we’re trying to do is curb the illicit use and organized crime that now exists around it.”

Trudeau’s framework for legalization, unveiled in April, will rely on Canada’s provinces to set up sale and distribution regimes, while at minimum selling recreational pot by mail beginning some time before July 2018. Key details including taxation remain up in the air. Federal Finance Minister Bill Morneau has said he favors a tax rate that will starve out the black market, one of the government’s key objectives. “That as a conclusion would lead us to say taxation rates have to be low,” Morneau told reporters after the June 19 meeting, where he said they discussed the need for a “coordinated” approach

*****

The ONT Musical Interlude

June 26, 1974, Cher divorced Sonny Bono after 10 years of marriage. Four days later, Cher married guitarist Gregg Allman, the couple split 10 days after that, got back together and split again. They did stay married for three years, producing Elijah Blue Allman via thisdayinmusic.com

*****

Meeting Roberto Escobar: What is the problem with men?

It occurred to me as we toured the Escobar home: why are the most ruthless and violent people throughout history always men? If there’s ever been a mega-violent, drug-slinging dominatrix, I’ve sure never heard of her. Or what about a murderous dictator? Rebel military commander? Serial killer? Playground bully? Again and again, almost all men.

Men perpetrate over 76% of the violent crime in the US. Worldwide that statistic is likely much higher.2

Men are 10 times more likely to commit murder and nine times more likely than women to end up in prison.3 Men commit 99% of the reported rapes and sexual assaults.4 And boys perpetrate 95% of the violent crimes at the juvenile level.5

*****

Former Teacher of The Year takes on the Establishment. The problem of unions is on trial. Good luck in California.

Bhavini Bhakta never intended to become an activist, but after being laid off six times in the first eight years of her career as an elementary school teacher in the Pasadena suburbs, she decided to get involved in the education reform movement. She focused first on challenging seniority-based layoffs, which in turn led her into conflict with the California Teachers Association. Now she is a plaintiff in Bain v. CTA, a case which challenges the dues structure of unions as a violation of the First Amendment. The suit seeks to restore voting rights on union matters to agency fee payers, who pay full dues for representational activities but opt out of paying for lobbying and political activities.

*****

Trump's White House breaks from tradition. Muslim celebration, no longer celebrated.

Donald Trump’s government has not held an iftar dinner for the end of Ramadan, breaking a Muslim tradition held at the White House for more than two centuries.

The iftar dinner occurs at sunset at the end of the holy month of Ramadan, the ninth month of the Islam lunar calendar and a time of prayer, reflection and fasting.

And the problem is?

But did Trump really break tradition?

Again, what if he did?

*****

Justice Neil Gorsuch, So far, so good.

Associate Justice Neil Gorsuch has now written three opinions — a majority, a partial concurrence and a dissent. All three show the Supreme Court’s newest justice to be a confident, committed textualist with a distinctive writing style — and a justice who is not afraid to challenge his new colleagues.

*****

Would you like a tattoo? Do you need it hidden? Arm pit tats. OUCH!

*****

Angry Beaver.

*****

Do you want a smoke bomb? Now you can make your own.

They’re cheap, small and portable, and incredibly easy to make at home. You can keep them in hiking packs, car glove compartments, garages, etc. You never know when one will come in handy and either provide some weekend entertainment, or perhaps even save your life. Below, I walk you through the simple steps in making homemade smoke bombs on your kitchen stove.

No, your significant other's cooking does not count.

*****

Another reason not to jog. Runner attacked by rabid raccoon.

Acting on instinct, Borch dragged the raccoon in to the puddle, then forced its head under the water.

Belly up, the raccoon clawed fiercely at her arms, but Borch held it under until ““its arms sort of of fell to the side.”

Borch pulled her thumb free and ran home. Her mom rushed her to the hospital, while her dad retrieved the dead raccoon to test it for rabies.

*****

Oooops!!!! Genius Award Winner.

*****

The right amount of people at the right time. Tonight's Feel Good Story of The Day.

*****

Tonight's ONT has been brought to you by The Obvious.

Notice: Posted with permission by AceCorp, LLC. Contains: Milk, Wheat, Soy. May contain: Valu-Rite and Peanuts. AoSHQ Moron Cook Book entrants are immune. Check it out in the Side Bar.

Close it up

Whoa: Three CNN Personnel Connected to #FakeNews Russia Report "Resign"

—Ace

I didn't believe that CNN would actually discipline anybody. For once, I was wrong about CNN.

Wow, they really must have done something wrong here.

Three CNN staffers have resigned following the publication and subsequent retraction of a story linking a Trump transition team member to the Russia-related investigations.

The piece, published late last week, cited an anonymous source saying the Senate Intelligence Committee was looking into the chief executive of a $10-billion Russian investment fund who met with financier Anthony Scaramucci before the inauguration.

The reporter, Pulitzer-prize nominee Thomas Frank, assistant managing editor Eric Lichtblau (who recently joined from the New York Times) and Lex Haris, the executive editor in charge of investigations, are all out.

"In the aftermath of the retraction of a story published on CNN.com, CNN has accepted the resignations of the employees involved in the story's publication," CNN said in a statement.

Scaramucci threatened a lawsuit, Politico reports, but media companies are used to that and usually ignore such threats. Price of doing business.

If they pulled this down in reaction to that threat, they must have been pretty sure they'd lose.

Meanwhile, Jim Acosta keeps whining that he doesn't get to play pretend Hero of #TheResistance with cameras on in the White House briefings:

Sean Spicer seems to make fun of Acosta's camera-hungry nature here:

Report: Fusion GPS, Which Injected the Infamous "Pee Party" Dossier Into the #FakeNews Bloodstream, Is, Get This, Stonewalling Senate Investigators About Its Connections to the Democrat Party and the FBI

—Ace

Does Adam Schiff demand "all the answers" to these questions too?

The D.C. firm that commissioned the Russia intelligence dossier smearing President Donald Trump is refusing to answer questions and provide records to the Senate panel investigating its connections to the Democratic Party, according to the New York Post's Paul Sperry. The so-called "dodgy dossier" helped spark the Russia scandal that has been bedeviling Trump since the election. Astonishingly, the FBI became involved with the dossier last summer, even though it knew the salacious report lacked credibility -- and now it is also stonewalling the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Fusion GPS calls itself a “research and strategic intelligence firm” but is well known in Washington to be an opposition-research group for Democrats. According to Sperry, the firm's founders are "more political activists than journalists" and have "a pro-Hillary, anti-Trump agenda."

A source I know with experience in intelligence operations told me, flatly, that this whole matter was "an op" -- a covert intelligence operation against Trump, cooked up by spooks opposed to him -- from start to finish.

Important Story From Vice: Straight Men Aren't Lining Up to Have Sex With Transexuals

—Ace

There's a lot of stories like this -- trans people complaining that people whose gender identities are stubbornly non-fluid aren't willing to date or have sex with people whose sexuality is ambiguous.

Vice is just the latest to push the idea, as Heat St calls it, "pity f***s for social justice."

I ask this a lot but I'll ask it again: If it's fair game for George Stephanopolous to ask Mitt Romney, out of nowhere, whether he'd ban contraception-- that is, to ask a Republican about an idea he'd never suggested, just to put him in the position of being associated with a fringe sort of position and also having to distance himself from a fringe sort of position that may be held by some of his potential voters -- why is George Stephanopolous not asking prominent Democrats if they agree with the proposition that being "tolerant" of gay and/or trans people means that straight people should be willing to date them?

If we get asked such wedge issue questions about difficult, embarrassing, wedge-issue sexual topics, why the hell shouldn't Claire McCaskill and Elizabeth Warren and Lord God King Barack Obama be asked if "Love Trumps Hate" means that straight people should repress their own "Born This Way" Sexuality and do some gay dating?

CNN Publishes Single-Source Claim on Russia Investigation, Then Disappears It, Then Finally Retracts;
Forbids Reporters From Running Any Russia Story Without Permission, Promises "Discipline"

—Ace

Before getting to that, Camille Paglia said last week that the Democrat Party had broken journalism, and that it would take "decades" to heal the wounds.

It would take decades to recover if they ever self-critiqued and self-corrected, which they're psychologically incapable of doing.

"It's obscene," she said. "It's outrageous, OK? It shows that the Democrats are nothing now but words and fantasy and hallucination and Hollywood. There’s no journalism left. What’s happened to The New York Times? What's happened to the major networks? It's an outrage."

"I'm a professor of media studies, in addition to a professor of humanities, OK?" she continued. "And I think it's absolutely grotesque the way my party has destroyed journalism. Right now, it is going to take decades to recover from this atrocity that's going on where the news media have turned themselves over to the most childish fraternity, kind of buffoonish behavior.”

Now on to the newest CNN #FakeNews: CNN reported, on the basis of a single anonymous source, that a Trump associate did business with Russia, and that he's now the target of a criminal probe.

They then retracted. First, they seem to have done so without acknowledging the retraction, just deleting all mentions of the story in their Twitter fed and nuking links to it.

But after Buzzfeed asked where the story went to, they issued a note stating it had been retracted, and failed to even meet CNN's Like Whatever Man exacting editorial standards for Russia reporting. If you can imagine such a thing.

CNN claimed Senate investigators are looking into whether or not Scaramucci discussed lifting sanctions with Kirill Dmitriev, the chief executive of the $10-billion Russian Direct Investment Fund, in a meeting just four days before President Donald Trump’s inauguration.

“CNN.com published a story connecting Anthony Scaramucci with investigations into the Russian Direct Investment Fund,” CNN said in its editor’s note, “That story did not meet CNN’s editorial standards and has been retracted. Links to the story have been disabled. CNN apologizes to Mr. Scaramucci.”

Given that CNN is actually apologizing, and nuking the story from orbit, I have to guess that this story didn't just fail to meet their "editorial standards," whatever those might turn out to be when discovered, but was objectively and perhaps actionably false.

CNN is now forcing reporters to pre-clear all "Russia-related" stories by high ranking editors before publishing anywhere -- including social media -- and promising "discipline" over this error:

Over the weekend, CNN's executives busied themselves with a new process for reporting on Russia, Buzzfeed later learned. According to an internal memo, all reporting from CNN on that topic will have to get specific approval from executives before appearing on any of their platforms. Jon Passantino's source says that disciplinary action will also be forthcoming over last week’s debacle...

When a report is so fake that even CNN is panicking over it-- well, that's CNN showing us what it really is. A hotbed of conspiracy theorists and vulgar partisans.

Supreme Court Rules State Cannot Discriminate Against Religious Schools

—Ace

Gorsuch strikes twice.

The case involved grants made generally available to all schools in the state for refurbishment of run-down playgrounds. But then the state ruled that, while these funds were appropriated for all schools, religious schools nonetheless had to be affirmatively discriminated against, because you can't have government money ever going to icky religious schools (even if the money is not specifically to advance religion, but is just another state boondoggle of taxpayer cash for hard-to-argue-against feelgood spending programs).

Gorsuch and six other justices said Nah, brah.

The justices ruled 7-2 that Missouri stretched the constitutional separation of church and state too far by declaring a Lutheran church ineligible to receive a competitive state grant for playground resurfacing. The decision could have implications for more than 30 states that block public funds from going to religious organizations.

Chief Justice John Roberts wrote the decision. Only Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Sonia Sotomayor dissented.

Even though the state's denial of funds likely would lead only to "a few extra scraped knees," Roberts said, "the exclusion of Trinity Lutheran from a public benenfit for which it is otherwise qualified, solely because it is a church, is odious to our Constitution all the same, and cannot stand."

...

"It does seem as though ... this is a clear burden on a constitutional right," liberal Justice Elena Kagan said then, in reference to the state's refusal to treat Trinity Lutheran Church equally to other non-profits seeking state grants. The church had met all the neutral criteria for the program.

Gorsuch and Justice Clarence Thomas would have gone further than Roberts, who suggested in a footnote to the court's decision that the case "involves express discrimination based on religious identity with respect to playground resurfacing. We do not address religious uses of funding or other forms of discrimination."

Gorsuch wrote: "The general principles here do not permit discrimination against religious exercise -- whether on the playground or anywhere else."

So once more: Gorsuch would have gone farther.

No John Roberts taint on this one.

As Craig Ferguson used to say, it's a great day in America.

Supreme Court Reinstates, Mostly, Trump's Travel Ban;
Dissenters' Argument Is That They Should Have Restored All of the Ban

—Ace

The only limitation the court is permitting on the travel ban is for those who have a bona-fide pre-existing close relative in the country or bona-fide, established-previously business in the country. Such persons may visit the country.

But for all others, the Trump ban is back on.

Incidentally, the opinion doesn't even mention Trump's campaign statements, suggesting that the Court views this entire line of argument to be so illegitimate as to not even be worth a rebuttal.

This is a decision about a preliminary injunction -- the Court has struck most of the lower courts' injunction against enforcement of the ban down. But the case has not been heard in full on the merits yet. That'll happen later -- but it's not looking good for #TheResistance.

The resistance's greatest legal victory has been gutted, and not even Ruth Bader Ginsburg accepted its most extreme arguments.

Guest Post: Observations From Flyover Country (Cumberland Astro)

—CBD

Since Donald Trump was elected I have seen a spate of local news stories about companies building, expanding, or investing in manufacturing plants within a 50 mile radius of Chattanooga. With these new plants there will be hundreds of new manufacturing jobs. Although pundits in Washington who are much smarter than me (just ask them) keep saying that manufacturing in America is dead, I'm observing a multitude of companies behaving otherwise, including several foreign companies. I don't think the Acela crowd is aware that manufacturing is expanding in business-friendly states.

Mid-Morning Open Thread

—CBD

It looks like a crossword jigsaw puzzle, and a damned complicated one at that. The artist's technical prowess and patience is obvious, but I wonder if that is all that is necessary? It's certainly not evocative of any personal triumph or tragedy. I guess it could be seen as social commentary.

Or just a cool painting.

I don't know, but it's fun.

The Morning Report 6/26/17

—J.J. Sefton

Good morning, kids. Another week is upon us and first up we have the continuing meltdown of the Media/Democrat Complex as their Russia collusion/obstruction-of-justice meme is crumbling like a wet blini. Propaganda outlet CNN is front and center after having pumped out and then been forced to retract a complete fable (pushed most notably by Senator Elizabeth Warpath among others) their own media critic Brian Stetler was refused comment by his own employer. Wow.

Next, there is a push to ram home the Senate Obamacare Rehash and Relabel Bill by the July 4th holiday. I find it infuriating that a) it doesn't go nearly far enough in dismantling the monster and bolstering free market solutions (as promised) but that b) those who point this out are labeled as "purists." Sorry, but no amount of ketchup and Everclear will wash down a feces sammich and make it taste like sirloin steak. If it's not obvious by now that this is all kabu-kakke theater to keep in place a bureaucracy that keeps DC denizens empowered and swimming in lucre, then you (the royal you) should not be coming here any more.

Lastly, the final link about this shyster lawyer who scammed over half a billion dollars in SSDI money is infuriating to say the least. It is a perfect example of why we need tort reform, judicial reform, entitlement reform as well as why government functions best when it functions least. And if Obamacare remains whole, in part, or as Mark Levin warns we get single payer, the fraud and abuse outlined above will look like a rounding error in what's to come. Sadly, to paraphrase Oberst von Scherbach "you will not get them." Anyway, links from around the world, across the nation and up your street. Have a better one and remain blessed.

• Sketchy Firm Behind Trump "Dossier" is Dem-Affiliated and Stonewalling Investigation
  
• PDT to Call for US "Dominance" in Global Energy Production
  
• Levin: Not Only is O'Care Here to Stay, Same GOP Refusing Repeal Will Help Usher in Single Payer
  
• Four Ways to Get Senate Conservatives to Vote "Yes" on O'Care Repeal/Replace
  
• Say, What?! Dems Pissed PDT Has Failed to Lower Drug Prices
  
• Nebraska Dem Sez He's "F**king Glad" Scalise Got Shot, Wishes He Was "F**king Dead"
  
• 41% of Counties Could Have Only One Insurer in O'Care Exchanges, Up from 33%
  
• Even CNN's Own Brian Stetler Told "No Comment" from Outlet's Spox About Fake News Story
  
• Flint Terrorist Might Have Actually Debunked the "Gun Show Loophole" Myth
  
• Chicago Gay Parade Bans Star of David Gay Pride Flag Because Joo and "Safety Concerns" But Mostly "Joo"
  
• Why Otto Warmbier's Murder is the Biggest Challenge Yet to PDT's Presidency
  
• Birth of a New Persian Empire
  
• Why Germany is Once Again a Threat to the West
  
• A Cultural Revolution in Slow Motion
  
• Blood Boiling Dept.: Fugitive Lawyer Guilty of $600 Million in SSDI Scam, On the Lam with Fake Passport, Claims He's Now Broke and Working 9-5

Sunday Overnight Open Thread (6/25/17) Rusty Edition

—Misanthropic Humanitarian

Quote I

A vacation is what you take when you can no longer take what you've been taking. Earl Wilson

Quote II

Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven't found it yet, keep looking. Don't settle. As with all matters of the heart, you'll know when you find it. Steve Jobs

Quote III

Kindness is in our power, even when fondness is not. Samuel Johnson

*****

Quite frankly I would feel safer if law abiding citizens carried or had easy access to a firearm. Ohio State House and Chamber of Commerce battle over gun possession.

Business groups are fighting an Ohio Senate proposal that will open them up to civil lawsuits by employees and others who bring handguns on to company property.

“For us this isn’t a concealed carry issue as much as this is an employer rights issue,” said Chris Kershner, vice president, public policy & economic development for the Dayton Area Chamber of Commerce.

*****

From my backyard. The Founding Fathers continue to roll SPIN in their graves.

In 2004, Murr and her siblings sought to sell one of two parcels of land that had been in the family for decades. Murr's parents bought the land in the 1960s, built a cabin on one parcel, and left the other parcel undeveloped as a long-term investment.

The family attempted to sell the vacant parcel to pay for renovations to the cabin, but were prevented from doing so by regulations restricting the use of land along rivers like the St. Croix approved by the state in the 1980s, long after the purchase of both lots.

Those regulations effectively gutted the value of the Murrs' property. The property was appraised at $400,000 before the Murrs tried to sell it. When the family came to the county, now the only eligible buyer, the county offered $40,000.

The ONT certainly hopes that POTUS Trump gets to replace Anthony Kennedy, sooner rather than later.

*****

The Fed. What is it good for? Apparently causing recessions.

While the answer to the first part remains elusive, and to Goldman it is still relatively low, the answer for the second part is clear: in the post WW2, virtually every recession (and depression) was caused by the Fed.

Goldman starts with a historical overview of the causes of recessions. Looking at 33 US recessions since the 1850s, it finds that while many pre-WW2 recessions originated in the financial sector, most post-WW2 recessions were caused by monetary policy tightening and oil shocks and, and sentiment-driven swings in borrowing and investment led to recessions in both eras. A similar IMF study of the key contributors to 122 advanced economy recessions shows that even before 2008, financial crises were a fairly common source of modern recessions too.

*****

The ONT Musical Interlude

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BECAUSE. That's why.

June 25, 2009, Michael Jackson died at the age of 50, after suffering heart failure at his home in Beverly Hills. The eighth child of the Jackson family, he debuted with his brothers as a member of The Jackson 5 in 1964. Jackson is credited for transforming the music video into an art form and a promotional tool, four of his solo albums are among the world's best-selling records: Off the Wall (1979), Bad (1987), Dangerous (1991) and HIStory (1995), while his 1982 Thriller is the world's best-selling record of all time with sales of over 50 million. via thisdayinmusic.com

1945, Born on this day, Carly Simon, US singer, songwriter, (1973 UK No.3 and US No.1 single 'You're So Vain', 1974 US No.5 single with James Taylor 'Mockingbird'). In 2015, after keeping quiet for more than 40 years, Carly Simon admitted that 'You're So Vain' was about Warren Beatty, but only one verse of it. Simon said the other verses were about two other men. via thisdayinmusic.com

*****

What's that old saying about Socialism? The problem with socialism is that you eventually run out of other people's money. Uncle Bernie and his money grubbing wife continue to dip their toes into hot water.

eff Weaver, Sanders' longtime top political adviser who heads Sanders' political organization, Our Revolution, confirms to Politico Magazine that Bernie and Jane Sanders have lawyered up. The couple has retained Rich Cassidy, a well-connected Burlington attorney and Sanders devotee, and Larry Robbins, the renowned Washington-based defense attorney who has represented I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby and disgraced former Rep. Bill Jefferson, to represent Jane Sanders in the matter.

Now, President Donald Trump's Justice Department is handling an investigation that will proceed at the discretion of a U.S. attorney of Vermont that Trump has yet to appoint.

*****

The FCC is opening up the way for internet in areas without internet service. OneWeb to launch over 700 satellites.

FCC chairman Ajit Pai has released a statement announcing that the commission has granted OneWeb approval for US market access to launch a network of internet-beaming satellites into orbit. OneWeb, which is backed in part by Richard Branson, has been working on providing broadband internet via satellite since 2000, when it acquired the satellite spectrum formerly owned by SkyBridge.

OneWeb plans to launch a constellation of 720 low-Earth orbit satellites using non-geostationary satellite orbit (NGSO) technology in order to provide global, high-speed broadband. The company’s goal has far-reaching implications, and would provide internet to rural and hard-to-reach areas that currently have little access to internet connectivity. Additionally, OneWeb has a targets of “connecting every unconnected school” by 2022, and “bridging the digital divide” by 2027.

*****

HOLY SHIT! Important discovery or just a pile of crap?

Archaeologists excavating at an ancient Viking settlement in southeast Denmark thought they were dealing with a typical country town from the Middle Ages. Then a single toilet changed everything.

Museum of Southeastern Denmark archaeology researcher Anna Beck was digging up what she thought was a semi-subterranean workshop, only to find that she was knee-deep in... yeah, you guessed it. She'd found a layer of medieval poop.

*****

When you think of Canada, what do you think of? Hockey? Funny bacon? SCTV? Snipers?

Crushing a record previously held by a British sniper, a Canadian special forces member now holds the title title for the longest confirmed kill. Measured at 3,450 meters, or approximately 2.2 miles, the member of the Joint Task Force 2 killed an Islamic State insurgent in Iraq using a McMillan TAC-50 rifle. For obvious reasons, officials are not releasing the name of the soldier, but say that the shot was “confirmed by video and other data”. Now that’s a LiveLeak video I want to see,

Me too!

*****

World War I still haunts France over 100 years later. The Red Zone is still a No-Go.

The Zone Rouge (Red Zone) is a region near Verdun, France spanning some 460 square miles of mostly virgin forest – at least on the surface. It’s teeming with history, making it a major tourist attraction and a source of income for locals – yet no one lives there and nothing is built there.

Despite its draw, access is restricted because not everyone who goes in comes out alive. If they do, there’s no guarantee that they’ll do so with all of their limbs intact. Of those who do come out (whole or otherwise), death sometimes takes a while to catch up.

*****

What is your state known for? The most impactful inventions.

*****

Will the Moron Cookbook feature this? Baking in your car.

*****

Sexually active old people seem to be smarter.

A new study suggests that when old people do sex, it is also good. Maybe even more good. The researchers behind a new study already knew that increased mental, social, and physical activity is associated with less cognitive decline. So, they posit, seeing as sex consists of mental, social, and physical activity, more sexing must also mean better thinking.

Hey Honey, do you want be smarter and healthier?

*****

He was quickly captured. Why? Genius Award Winner.

*****

Someone. Someone loves you. Tonight's Feel Good Story of The Day.

*****

Tonight's ONT has been brought to you by Buyer Beware.

Notice: Posted with permission by AceCorp, LLC. No worthwhile animals were destroyed in the making of the ONT.

*****

Weekly commenter stats 6-25-2017

Top 10 commenters:
1 [511 comments] 'Insomniac' [71.80 posts/day]
2 [379 comments] 'Under Fire'
3 [377 comments] 'Steve and Cold Bear'
4 [371 comments] 'bluebell - mangiamo!'
5 [347 comments] 'Village Idiot's Apprentice '
6 [343 comments] 'Vic We Have No Party'
7 [315 comments] 'J.J. Sefton'
8 [311 comments] 'rickb223'
9 [311 comments] 'Deplorable Jay Guevara'
10 [299 comments] 'yankeefifth'

Top 10 sockpuppeteers:
1 [94 names] 'Under Fire' [13.21 unique names/day]
2 [74 names] 'Steve and Cold Bear'
3 [51 names] 'bicentennialguy'
4 [46 names] 'The Political Hat'
5 [44 names] 'Duncanthrax'
6 [41 names] 'Bertram Cabot, Jr.'
7 [36 names] 'Notorious BFD'
8 [34 names] 'Insomniac'
9 [30 names] 'Adirondack Patriot'
10 [29 names] 'tu3031'

Close it up

C'est La Vie (MJ)

—Open Blogger

Our civic debate and the intellectualism surrounding it has become boring. We all know the prism through which Charles Blow (racism), Thomas Friedman (globalism), or any left leaning publication will present its view. Everything the Left does is predictable.

The Right is oftentimes similarly rote, although there exists a stronger willingness to debate an issue beyond the merely emotional. It's more about the construct than the destruct; the depth and breadth.

Whereas speech is the hallmark of the Right, it is anathema to the Left. Their adherence to a limited cadre of acceptable words has led directly to their stunted and sheltered views.

I believe this unwillingness for honest diagnosis is leading to a growing, if not already fatal wound in Europe; the pinnacle of Leftism.

Food Thread: When I Use A Word, It Means Just What I Choose It To Mean -- Neither More Nor Less

—CBD

Good morning to all you 'rons, 'ettes, lurkers, and lurkettes. Welcome once again to the stately, prestigious, internationally acclaimed and high-class Sunday Afternoon Food Thread, where men are men, all the 'ettes are gorgeous (and naked under their aprons), knives are always sharp and never used to cut tofu or kale, and special snowflakes starve to death. And unlike other AoSHQ threads, the Sunday Afternoon Food Thread is so hoity-toity, we have a book! And bacon...

Or at least we will have a book, if you get off your asses and submit some recipes (and just once, could you color inside the lines please? We have rules!) And if Weasel and Bluebell and the rest of the reprobates and voluptuaries and debauchees (who claim to be assisting this grand project but really are just stealing the booze samples), put down the bourbon bottle and actually get something done.

Sort of like the US Constitution is for liberals.

I'll give you an example. Ina Garten has a Guacamole Salad that she has featured on one of her shows and in Barefoot Contessa: At Home. It's really good, and can be prepared mostly ahead of time. But...and you knew that was coming...she calls for yellow pepper and red onion in the salad. The pepper is sweet, and to my palate adds nothing else, so I swap it out with sauteed corn, which is just as sweet (maybe even sweeter) but has a flavor and texture that seems to go better with the dish. And those red onions? They can be quite strongly flavored, so I cut back a bit and rinse them in cold water before adding them to the salad. That cuts the sharpness just enough for most people. And I salt and drain the tomatoes after I cut them. Actually, that's what I almost always do with tomatoes.

Ina Garten has real talent, especially when sticking to comfort food. She took a good but sometimes tired old standard (guacamole) and turned it into something fun and fresh and absolutely worth trying out. I don't have the imagination to be able to do that kind of cooking, but I know what I like, and swapping a few ingredients to please MY palate is well within my culinary skills.

The point of all this blather is that even if you aren't comfortable creating your own recipes from the contents of your larder and your brain, make someone else's recipe once, and then the next time make it your own! If that means twisting it and massaging it into something unique...so be it. The only rule is that the result is pleasing to your palate.

One of the advantages of the internet (aside from pron) is that most recipes can be found in printable format. What I do is print a new recipe, and as I cook I annotate, so the next time I will know what works and what doesn't. It also makes it easier to read; if it is long or complex I will tape it to the cabinet above my main workspace, so I don't have to keep turning toward an open cookbook and splattering the kitchen with a carelessly held spoon. Eventually I will correct the saved copy and make it my own (with credit to the original writer).

By the way, this advice applies to most recipes, but be careful with baking and candy-making. Those recipes are black magic and cannot be toyed with, lest you summon demons from the deepest recesses of the earth.

******
Thread Winner

I add sweetened iced tea to Val-u-Rite and pretend it's Woodford Reserve.
-- fly gal

******

******
Commenter "Red Mind Blue State" recommended this website to me, and I am getting a huge kick out of it.

An alarming trend has swept across America and the world. As people begin to adopt a new "healthier" lifestyle, they find themselves willing to acquire the dietary habits of rodents and to compromise ingredients in some of the most sumptuous recipes in the world. Suddenly, supermarkets are inundated with items boasting their "fat free" or "lite" quality. Suddenly, everyone is convinced that if they don't cut out the fat and the cholesterol, they will die of a heart attack by the age of 32. Suddenly, people are feeling guilty every time they eat something that actually has flavor...

Can you see why? This is great stuff. It's a pathetically badly designed site, but don't let that bother you too much. Hell...you're reading AoSHQ with its cutting-edge 1995 technology,so I am sure you will love it at "Eat Dangerously."
******
I found this recipe in People magazine a long time ago in a doctor's office far far away. My first attempt worked well, but I thought there was too much cayenne pepper, so I have modified it somewhat. It is imperative that you use a thermometer, unless you are an accomplished candy maker and can handle the incantations necessary to do this with the ridiculous manual tests for sugar candy hardness that were created by Morgoth.
Cayenne Peanut Brittle
Ingredients

• Vegetable oil or cooking spray (or butter)
  
• 2 cups sugar
  
• 1/2 cup corn syrup
  
• 1/4 cup unsalted butter
  
• 1 ½ tsp Kosher salt
  
• ½ tsp cayenne pepper
  
• 1 tsp baking soda
  
• 3 cups salted dry-roasted peanuts

Preparation:
In a heavy medium-sized pot on medium heat, add the sugar, corn syrup, butter, salt and Cayenne pepper. Mix well until the sugar dissolves.

Bring the mixture to a gentle boil. Regulate the heat so that it continues to warm but doesn’t splatter molten sugar all over you. This is not the time to be wearing assless chaps. You are shooting for a temperature of 300°F It is tempting to stir the mixture, but try to resist the temptation.

When you reach 300°F remove the pot from the heat and add the baking soda over the mixture. It’s going to froth and bubble, so you will feel like a real cook and a bit of a wizard. Add the peanuts and stir completely using a oiled or buttered spoon or spatula.

Pour the mixture onto a greased or oiled baking sheet and using your greased spatula spread the brittle out. The bigger the baking sheet, the thinner the brittle, so choose one for your desired thickness.

Cool until…um…it’s cool, then break it up into whatever sized pieces you like.

******
Food tips, extra Pappy van Winkle bourbon, fresh Morels and other goodies:
cbd dot aoshq at gmail dot com

Close it up

The Human Cost Of Government Regulation: 79 Dead In One Day

—CBD

This NYT article is a mass of evasive and sneaky explanations for the failure of government regulations and regulators to create and enforce reasonable building codes. At every turn it seems it was pressure from "business friendly" politicians that forced the regulators to allow substandard materials to be used. Why Grenfell Tower Burned: Regulators Put Cost Before Safety is a typical NYT article; it wows the unwary with seemingly in-depth reporting but it is clear that the conclusion was written before the reporting was complete.

Promising to cut "red tape," business-friendly politicians evidently judged that cost concerns outweighed the risks of allowing flammable materials to be used in facades. Builders in Britain were allowed to wrap residential apartment towers -- perhaps several hundred of them -- from top to bottom in highly flammable materials, a practice forbidden in the United States and many European countries. And companies did not hesitate to supply the British market.

How this would have turned out worse without the existence of any regulation is difficult to imagine. The only difference would be that the people responsible would go to jail. The fire-safety regulators and the building code writers and the inspectors and all of the other government bureaucrats whose very existence is to prevent exactly this catastrophe will be carefully insulated from any blame. There will be a large and expensive government inquiry, and they will find irregularities in the regulatory apparatus, but mostly they will find that it was private industry that is the real culprit. "Mean old Alcoa should never have sold us that exterior cladding!"

A formal government inquiry into the fire has just begun. But interviews with tenants, industry executives and fire safety engineers point to a gross failure of government oversight, a refusal to heed warnings from inside Britain and around the world and a drive by successive governments from both major political parties to free businesses from the burden of safety regulations.

And let's not forget to blame rich people!

Survivors have charged that the facade was installed to beautify their housing project for the benefit of wealthy neighbors.

Sunday Morning Book Thread 06-25-2017

—OregonMuse

Central Public Library, Oslo, Norway

Good morning to all you 'rons, 'ettes, lurkers, and lurkettes. Welcome once again to the stately, prestigious, internationally acclaimed and high-class Sunday Morning Book Thread, where men are men, all the 'ettes are gorgeous, safe spaces are underneath your house and are used as protection against actual dangers, like natural disasters, or Literally Hitler, and special snowflakes do not last. And unlike other AoSHQ comment threads, the Sunday Morning Book Thread is so hoity-toity, pants are required. Even if it's these pants, which look like they can also be used as a sail for a good-sized yacht.

When The English Stopped Being Gentlemen And Started Fighting Dirty

Going all the way back to WWII for this:

In preparation for D-Day, a highly secretive British department known as Baker Street worked to drop 250 saboteurs behind enemy lines with one purpose: to stop the German army from sending supplies and reinforcements to Normandy. These guerillas were tasked with a massive coordinated sabotage mission to frustrate and block Hitler’s war machine in any and all ways possible. Especially important was stopping Germany’s most lethal division, the 2nd SS Panzer Division, Das Reich.

One saboteur destroyed all of Das Reich’s tank transporters by replacing the axle oil with axle grease mixed with an abrasive, forcing the division to travel by road and damaging six out of every 10 tanks. A separate team then barraged Das Reich with sabotage after sabotage, including felling trees in their path and planting bombs beneath them. In the end, what should have been a 72-hour journey took Hitler’s crack tank division 17 days—enough time for the allies to establish their beachhead.

All of this is detailed in the book Churchill’s Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare: The Mavericks Who Plotted Hitler’s Defeat by Giles Milton. The D-Day operations of this group was part of a larger, more comprehensive war effort:

In the spring of 1939, a top-secret organization was founded in London: its purpose was to plot the destruction of Hitler's war machine through spectacular acts of sabotage.

The guerrilla campaign that followed was every bit as extraordinary as the six men who directed it. One of them, Cecil Clarke, was a maverick engineer who had spent the 1930s inventing futuristic caravans. Now, his talents were put to more devious use: he built the dirty bomb used to assassinate Hitler's favorite, Reinhard Heydrich. Another, William Fairbairn, was a portly pensioner with an unusual passion: he was the world's leading expert in silent killing, hired to train the guerrillas being parachuted behind enemy lines. Led by dapper Scotsman Colin Gubbins, these men—along with three others—formed a secret inner circle that, aided by a group of formidable ladies, single-handedly changed the course Second World War: a cohort hand-picked by Winston Churchill, whom he called his Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare.

Perhaps this is the last great untold story of the Second World War.

It Pays To Increase Your Word Power®

‘All their geese are swans’ is a 17th century expression implying that everything that somebody says is wildly exaggerated or overblown.

Usage: All of CNN's geese are swans.

Overnight Open Thread (24 Jun 2017)

—CDR M

It looks the firm behind the dubious intelligence dossier on DJT is really an opposition-research group for Democrats and are political activists. You don't say. No wonder they are stonewalling the congressional investigators.

Testosterone

Well, this could explain some of the things we suffer through today like pajama boy. Men's testosterone levels declined in the last 20 years.

Healthcare

Yo, California. You should probably read this before y'all go hell bent on single-payer government run healthcare. Nearly 100 patients died waiting for care from Los Angeles VA.

Spaceballs Turns 30

Idiot

Yeah, if you're using Paul Krugman for advice, you're setting yourself up for failure. Paul Krugman on the minimum wage.

Paul Krugman has said that he doesn't read conservative blogs, so obviously he may not be familiar with the literature on how the minimum wage costs jobs. But that's no excuse for not even reading the first page of the study he links to in support of his claim.

What They Really Think

Oh I think there are many, many more progs who think this way and these two stories are just the tip of the iceberg. Professor says North Korea detainee got what he 'deserved'.

And this one from earlier this week. Democrat party technology chairman: I'm glad Scalise got shot, I wish he was f*cking dead".

Who knew, Republican's are murdering their own families according to Montel Williams on CNN.

Ultraboss

I guess they're calling this shredwave. Reminds me a bit of Joe Satriani.

Heh

'Sorry about that, eh' - Canadian sniper apologizes after record breaking kill shot.

According to experts, Canadian standard operating procedure is to ask a target's permission before ending his life, so as to maintain a spirit of good sportsmanship.

"We're all aboot friendship and fair play up here in Canada, even if we're just killing a bunch of hosers like ISIS," said Canadian military spokesman Mick Robinson. "All the famous Canadians that everyone's heard of like Frank Boucher and Jack Bionda would tell you the same, buddy."

You Don't Say

This wasn't getting a whole lot of national coverage for a bit but its starting to hit the MSM. Jane Sanders lawyers up.

Cat Video

Tonight's ONT brought to you by a mystery product:

Top image via.

Notice: Posted by permission of AceCorp LLC. Please e-mail overnight open thread tips to the cob of your choice or CDR M. Otherwise send tips to Ace.

Close it up

Saturday Evening Movie Thread 06-24-2017 [Hosted By: TheJamesMadison]

—OregonMuse

Starting at Zero

When the lights go down and the movie comes up, the audience is opening up to new experiences, new adventures, and new connections. Most of the time, these new things are fake, but the audience is willing to suspend disbelief and try to connect with what's happening on the 60-foot screen before them.

But no matter how successful or abysmal the effort on the part of the artists is, the audience always starts at zero. They have no emotional connection with any of the characters. Because of the artifice of fiction in general, there's a wall between the audience and the film on basic things like setting even if it's set in a familiar place.

What happens next is the movie tries to convince the audience of its authenticity. It's not always an authenticity around placing the events in a real world context, but an authenticity that creates an emotional connection of some kind.

You can take this a bit more granularly and say that individual sequences need to build up to specific emotional payoffs. Without the buildup, the emotions meant to derive from the payoff never really materialize. Think of it like a punchline without a joke. That drumbeat and clash of symbols without any humor before it.

What I show next is three examples of payoff. Two have, in my opinion, well established buildups, and the third does…not.

Ride for Ruin

Say what you want about the Peter Jackson's work on The Lord of the Rings as an adaptation, but the man certainly showed that he knows how to put together a tension filled moment in those movies. One of the first things I remember hearing about the quality of The Return of the King movie before its release at the end of 2004 was a story that Steven Spielberg had gotten to see some sections of the movie including the below clip, the Ride of the Rohirrim. He saw that and said, "Nothing's going to stop this movie from winning Best Picture."

What that sequence does (it's actually from the Extended Edition. The bit with Gandalf facing the Nazgul is not in the Theatrical Cut) is to simply build tension until the charge. The orcs in Minas Tirith, the breaking of Gandalf's staff, the quiet as the Rohirrim take the hill, the steady escalation of music, and the speech from King Theoden all work together to take the audience from the emotional low of a seeming defeat to the high of surprise victory. Without that build up, just starting with the cavalry starting its charge would be far less effective a moment.

Moscow Windup

I think that The Bourne Supremacy is one of the best spy thrillers ever made. I find its technique effective and its emotional connection oddly affective. Hell, the below sequence takes place after the actual plot of the movie has been wrapped up. It only happens because Jason Bourne is wracked with guilt over a murder he committed in his previous life, and he needs to make amends to his victim's daughter. The chase only happens because Bourne has to go to Moscow to seek forgiveness.

But aside from that, the whole sequence from his arrival in Moscow to the police beginning their search to Karl Urban tracking him down to the bit in the grocery store and Bourne actually getting his hands on a car is done in a rather understated manner. The music is there, but it's relatively soft and mostly just a pulse. Once the actual car chase begins, though, the build of tension isn't over. The chase itself evolves and changes, making it increasingly difficult to guess where it will end. Again, without the bit building it up, though, the chase wouldn't feel as exciting, I think.

Below is the buildup. If you want the actual car chase, click here (for some reason it's not embeddable).

Ugh…Sausage Party

Okay, I'll admit it. I thought the trailer for Sausage Party looked funny. Just for reference, here it is:

There's a very specific reason I thought it was funny, and I bet you can guess why. There's buildup. It feels like a cheap Disney knockoff with innocence and a cheery atmosphere, until the truth of the food's plight is revealed in a violent action of the Irish Potato getting skinned. That violence forces a change from innocence to something far more sinister, and that sudden change makes everything that happens after it feel very funny.

Except…that's not how the movie actually works. Before we go any further, here's the opening musical number:

Yeah, it's vulgar from the opening scene. Now, I'm not a guy who turns off things because they're vulgar (I just finished playing South Park: The Stick of Truth and laughed the whole way through), but the humor of the situation the food finds itself in should stem from the juxtaposition between the innocence of the early stuff with the very different feel of the later stuff. The trailer does that. The movie doesn't. There's no great change in the feel of the movie from before the reveal to after it. The movie pretty obviously mistakes vulgarity for humor instead.

See? There's no buildup to the joke. It'd be like the drums and cymbals being hit constantly through a standup routine without any regard to whether a joke was actually playing or not. The vulgarity has just become a signal that something is supposed to be funny. Whether it's actually funny or not isn't really important because so many people have been conditioned to simply laugh at the sound of "naughty" words.

So…

Without a proper buildup to emotional highs, the audience has a much harder time connecting with a movie. This is one reason why certain movies seem to have very large impacts on their first release and then largely forgotten later. Many movies end up being all about payoff without the requisite work in making that payoff mean something. The Transformers movies are largely like this. With just constant drumbeats of giant robots hitting each other for twenty to thirty minutes straight, it's hard to maintain interest, especially when we don't care about the puny humans running around in the background.

Movies of Today

Opening in Theaters:

Transformers: The Last Knight
The Beguiled

Next in my Netflix Queue:

Love on the Run

Movies I Saw This Week:

Bed & Board (Netflix Rating 5/5 | Quality Rating 3.5/4) Poster Blurb: "Another light but touching slice of life about Antoine Doinel."

Alien: Resurrection [Rewatch] (Netflix Rating 3/5 | Quality Rating 2.5/4) "Better than I think people remember it. It's surprisingly funny, and on purpose, too."

The Invitation (Netflix Rating 2/5 | Quality Rating 1.5/4) "One good scene and the rest bad scenes is not quite how John Ford put it."

Paddington (Netflix Rating 4/5 | Quality Rating 3/4) "Sweet and easy to enjoy family fare."

Contact

Email any suggestions or questions to thejamesmadison.aos at symbol gmail dot com.

Close it up

Saturday Afternoon Chess/Open Thread (Featuring Dress Pr0n) 06-24-2017

—OregonMuse

"OK, so you know the loser has to go over to the Obamas' house for dinner, right?"

Good afternoon morons and moronettes, and welcome to the Saturday Afternoon Chess/Open Thread, the only AoSHQ thread with content specifically for all of us chess nerds who pay homage in the temple of Caïssa, goddess of the chessboard. Also, dress pr0n. Each week, I pick out a few lovely, modest, conservative dresses for the 'ettes to admire and appraise. And, for those of you who aren't nerdly enough for chess, you can use this thread to talk about checkers, or other games, or politics, or whatever you wish, only please try to keep it civil. Nobody wants to get in the middle of a pie fight on a Saturday afternoon.

“A bad day of Chess is better than any good day at work”
(Anonymous)

Problem 1 - White To Play (198 )

Hint: White can force a win of material, or the game

rbb2r1k/p3qp1p/1p2pp2/8/3P2Q1/P2B4/1P3PPP/R4RK1 w - - 0 1

Continue reading

Problem 2 - Black To Play (196)

Hint: How does Black achieve a draw?

8/4R1R1/7k/7p/7P/2q3P1/5P1K/8 b - - 0 1

Problem 3 - White To Play (300)

Hint: White wins material

3k4/ppqbr3/2r1PQ2/8/8/P7/1P3PPP/3RR1K1 w - - 0 1

Problem 4 - White To Play (BWTC 38 )

How many paths can you find?

Hint: Mate in 5, with many shorter paths

1r1q3k/1bp1n1pp/3p4/4n3/4Nr2/1P1Q3R/P1P2PPP/5RK1 w - - 0 1

Endgame of the Week (Endgame 28 )

It's White to play. How can he stop Black from cashing in on his material advantage?

Hint: Do not simplify

8/1p6/8/2P1B3/8/8/p2K4/1k6 w - - 0 1

Lovely Dresses, Goofy Hats

This week, I grabbed some photos from this link to the Queen's carriage parade at the Royal Ascot racing meet in England. Lots of fancy clothes, lots of dresses, and some are pretty outlandish. And hats. Click on that link to see the photos I didn't include. All of the men have to wear the Ascot hat as is traditional, but the women are free to indulge themselves as they see fit. I have never seen such ridiculous, goofy-looking hats that some of the women were wearing.

But enough about hats. On to the dress pr0n:

___________

Solutions Update

Problem 1 - White To Play

rbb2r1k/p3qp1p/1p2pp2/8/3P2Q1/P2B4/1P3PPP/R4RK1 w - - 0 1

Black doesn't have much of an answer to:

1.Qh4!

Note that there are three squares White could have moved his queen to, h3, h4 or h5. But h5 is the only destination square that will enable White to force the issue. If 1.Qh3 or 1.Qh5, then 1...f5 stops the attack. Black can't move f5 after Qh4 because of the immediate Qxe7.

1...Bxh2+

Black really has nothing better. He should probably just resign at this point.

2.Kh1 f5
3.Qxe7 and wins

Problem 2 - Black To Play

8/4R1R1/7k/7p/7P/2q3P1/5P1K/8 b - - 0 1

Black is in deep kimchi here, so he pretty much has to go for the draw. A simplification would be disastrous: 1...Qxg7 2.Rxg7 Kxg7 and the 2-pawn advantage pretty much seals the deal for White.

Black's king is kind of in a restricted position, so Black tries to force a stalemate with

1...Qxg3+!

Any of the recapture moves Kxg3, Rxg3, or fxg3 results in stalemate.

White's only recourse is

2.Kh1

But then
2...Qg1+

3.Rxg1

Forced. And there's the stalemate.

Problem 3 - White To Play

3k4/ppqbr3/2r1PQ2/8/8/P7/1P3PPP/3RR1K1 w - - 0 1

1. Qxe7+ Kxe7
2. exd7+ Kf6

Not 2...Kd8 3.Re8#. If 2...Kf7 then 3.d8=Q Qxd8 4.Rxd8

3.d8=Q+ Qxd8
4.Rxd8 and the rook advantage is enough for a win.

An alternate line that will get you to the same place is:

1.Qh8+ Re8
2.Qxe8+ Kxe8
3.exd7+ Kf7
4.d8=Q Qxd8
5.Rxd8 and wins

Problem 4 - White To Play

1r1q3k/1bp1n1pp/3p4/4n3/4Nr2/1P1Q3R/P1P2PPP/5RK1 w - - 0 1

1.Nf6 Nf3+

There are a number of early missteps that will cause Black to lose early:

1...gxf6 2.Qxh7#
1...Rxf6 2.Qxh7#
1...g6 2.Rxh7#
1...h6 2.Qh7#
1...Qg8 2.Rxh7+ Qxh7 3.Qxh7#

2.gxf3

And now it gets a bit complicated:

If 2.Kh1 then Rh4 3.Qxh7+ (3.Rxh4 Ng5 (3...Nxh4 4.Qxh7#) 4.Rxh7+ Nxh7 5.Qxh7#) 3...Rxh7 4.Rxh7#

Back to the main line, which is:

2...Rg4+
3.fxg4 Be4 (3...Qg8 4.Rxh7+ Qxh7 5.Qxh7#)
4.Rxh7+ (4.Qxe4 Ng6 5.Rxh7#)
4...Bxh7
5.Qxh7# 1-0

Endgame of the Week

8/1p6/8/2P1B3/8/8/p2K4/1k6 w - - 0 1

1.Ba1! Kxa1

No other choice.

2. Kc2 b5
3. c6 b4
4. c7 b3+
5. Kxb3 Kb1
6. c8=Q a1=N+!

If 6...a1=Q then 7.Qc2#

7.Kc3 Nc2

If 7...Ka2 then 8.Qb8 Nb3 9.Qxb3+ Ka1 10.Qb2# is an alternate line.

8.Qf5 Ka2
9.Qxc2+ Ka1
10.Qb2#

Hope to see you all next week!

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Note: that cryptic line of letters and numbers you see underneath each board diagram is a representation of the position in what is known as "Forsyth-Edwards Notation", or F.E.N. It's actually readable by humans. Most computer applications nowadays can read FEN, so those of you who may want to study the position, you can copy the line of FEN and paste into your chess app and it should automatically recreate the position on its display board. Or, Windows users can just "triple click" on it and the entire line will be highlighted so you can copy and past it into your chess app.

___________

So that about wraps it up for this week. Chess thread tips, suggestions, bribes, rumors, threats, and insults may be sent to my yahoo address: OregonMuse little-a-in-a-circle yahoo dott com.

Close it up

Posted by OregonMuse at 05:15 PM Comments