What are you hobbying?

As per usual Hobby Thread etiquette, keep this thread limited to hobbying. All (legal) hobbying is welcome. However, politics, current events and religious debates can live in threads elsewhere. Play nice. Do not be a troll and do not feed the trolls. Pants are optional. Puns are welcome and encouraged.

Horde Hobbying:

Interesting submission from our buddy Patches: Vought XF5U-1 Flying Pancake, 1:72 scale.

Patches notes that this bird never flew, but the proof of concept V-173 did.

Here's a photo of V-173 from the Smithsonian Air and Space collection.

It is no F-111, but what a thing!! Anna Puma - are you out there??

Thanks much to Patches for the submission and rabbit hole of aviation.

Speaking of scale models, the scale model world lost a legendary figure recently. Tamiya Chairman, Shunsaku Tamiya, passed away on July 18, 2025 at the age of 90.

The Tamiya name is as big as it gets in the world of scale models. The story is fascinating. Full story here: Shunsaku Tamiya Changed the World, One Scale Model at a Time

Notable nuggets:
Yoshio Tamiya, Shunsaku's father, had a company that produced trucks and vans until Allied air raids in 1945. After his factory was destroyed, he went into the lumber business. He also began making high quality wooden toys. His son, Shunsaku, was there as well.

The lumber mill burned down and Tamiya pivoted to focus on making wood model kits.

Shunsaken worked alongside his father as plastic injection mold technology arrived in the 1960s. The company expanded and grew, particularly with a 1967 Honda F1 car and a Porsche 934 radio controlled car. The company remains privately owned.

Shizuoka City, home to Tamiya and other model makers, is reportedly responsible for 80% of the plastic model market. When you visit, look for public sculptures that echo the plastic model world.

Wow. $204k+ for an Acura Integra Type R on Bring a Trailer?!

Here's some insight for why:

More Horde Hobbying:

This is titled D&D given the Dungeons and Dragons imagery. It is a 24x18 in oil by polynikes (naturally). I was going to save this painting for a travel theme that referenced castles, but decided that it it fit well with the theme of a grab-bag of hobbying.

Hobby Thread News: As you might guess, Hobby Lobby is fully decked out with fall decorations and crafting. They're already 30% off.

The real news is that I can confirm that Christmas crafting supplies are currently being stocked. I repeat. Christmas supplies are available.

Can someone to explain the pink mini-Christmas tree thing?

Is anyone working on fall or Christmas crafting projects? What about Halloween?

This old-school hobby is helping Hasbro defy economic headwinds

Is anyone wise in the ways of Magic: The Gathering? Seems like a lot of people are.

But the biggest driver of Hasbro's recent earnings has been Magic: The Gathering. That's thanks to a recently released expansion set, Final Fantasy Universes Beyond. The set dropped in June and almost instantly shattered records, earning $200 million in one day and becoming the fastest-selling expansion in MTG history.

I know what you're thinking: "TRex, I'm interested in doing some Bonsai hobbying, but I'm not great with living things. Any suggestions?"

How about Lego Bonsai?

Forgot to include this when we did puzzles as a theme:

I was saving this for a bicycling theme (and may re-use it if we do that theme at some point) but it seemed grab-bag eligible:

Here's the last panel zoomed in if your eyes need a little help to read the words.

Meteor shower season:

Peak night for the Southern Delta Aquariids Meteor Shower is July 29-30.

The next big meteor event is the Perseids Meteor Shower which peaks on August 12-13.

Did you miss the Hobby Thread last week? We talked birds. The comments may be closed, but you can re-live the content.

You might also be interested in this birding story: Birding Is a Booming Hobby - and a Big Business

Notable comments from last week:

Words of wisdom:

"Because despite all our troubles, when things are grim out in that wide round world of ours, that's when it's really important to have a good hobby." Posted by: tankascribe at June 22, 2024 07:41 PM (HWxAD).

Would TRex include a mystery click behind the top photo in a Hobby Thread? Maybe... If you have trouble finding something in the content or comments that resonates with you, hijack the thread for your hobbying as you see fit. We will feature a different theme next time. What are you hobbying? We love showing off Horde hobbying. Send thoughts, suggestions and photos of your hobbying to moronhobbies at protonmail dot com. Do mighty things.

Greetings to all those lovers of nature and pets.  It's always great to see all the pictures submitted and always look forward to seeing what everyone submits.  Just a couple of pics of life out in the country of both pets, visitors, and guests (some uninvited).

(Note: Non-mammals are in the PetMoron Adjacent Animals)

-"Baby" testing his tree climbing
-"Bo", a Manx mix enjoying one of the few cool evenings we've had
-"Taco", our newest edition who was dumped at our local church.  Not sure what breed she is but she immediately staked her territory and is fitting right in with the rest

v/r
"Sua Sponte"

A great crew of cats!

(Note: Non-mammals are in the PetMoron Adjacent Animals)

Hi! I commented in a Cafe that I had a marmot, and somebody asked if I'd send in a pic. Then the marmot disappeared for a month, and today I discovered I have two (at least.) This photo is from about 25 yards away, so not very sharp.

I didn't know whether to send it to Pet Thread or Gardening Thread. Hope I guessed right :)

Thanks So Much!

gp

Not everyone has a marmot. Or TWO marmots!

Greetings to all those lovers of nature and pets.  It's always great to see all the pictures submitted and always look forward to seeing what everyone submits.  Just a couple of pics of life out in the country of both pets, visitors, and guests (some uninvited).

(Note: Non-mammals are in the PetMoron Adjacent Animals)

-Rainbow Scarab
-Black Snakes, of course, one caught with the goods and a bigun measuring 6' 5"
-Bee who was worn out from collecting pollen taking a power nap
-Stick Bug

v/r
"Sua Sponte"

Interesting assortment of insects!

I'm not wild about seeing those sneks around the kittehs.

Thank you for sharing your pets and other animals with us.

If you would like to send pet and/or animal stories, links, etc. for the Ace of Spades Pet Thread, the address is:

petmorons at protonmail dot com

Remember to include the nic or name by which you wish to be known when you comment at AoSHQ, or let us know if you want to remain a lurker.

Until next Saturday, have a great week!

If you start feeling nostalgic, here a link to last week's Pet Thread, the Ace of Spades Pet Thread, July 19

I closed the comments on this post so you wouldn't get banned for commenting on a week-old post, but don't try it anyway.

Edible Gardening/Putting Things By

From the famous Pat*

My second “learn by doing (it wrong)" garden lesson: The first one was letting tomato vines grow to maturity in the compost pile. I didn’t get many tomatoes, and all their roots made it hard to dig out and use that compost.

Lesson Two: Last fall, I put my “Largest Zucchini” Fair entry atop the compost and let it sit. This spring, I noticed sprouts growing from its seeds, so I took one (composted the rest!) and planted it, thinking I would get a jump on the season that way. These blimps are what I got. I believe the zucchini got… promiscuous… with the pumpkins, since they’re both Cucurbita pepo. I had to pull out the plant and put in fresh seed. I’m hoping I’ll get a few actual zucchini by the end of the summer.

Yes, this is a common result if you allow squashes to cross-breed in the garden. If you get volunteers, you can try eating them when they are extra-small.

Melons are the same way. And you can also get weird offspring from hybrid seeds even if you only plant one variety! Offspring of hybrid melons can be especially weird!

Ah, Nature

Bringing nature home:

Carnivorous plant bog from Field Marshal Zhukov

Nice idea!

My pitcher plant is small but mighty--it put out a flower. Oddly enough the flower is bigger than the pitcher top. Not due to perspective!

Lirio100

Beautiful! Both the flower and the pitchers are features. Compare to the pitcher plant in the photo just above.

Puttering

We had a question about fennel recently. See mythology below. It may be possible to be too attractive for your own good.

This is a good time of year to plant fennel and lettuce on broken terra cotta if you want them to wither quickly and die.

On the other hand, if you decide to make sausage after hunting wild boar (be careful), some fennel seed from plants located where they will not interfere with the growth of other plants could be a tasty addition.

Daily Dose of History:

One of the most popular and enduring stories from Greek mythology is that of Aphrodite and Adonis. It has inspired numerous pieces of art and has been the subject of many adaptations and retellings. Shakespeare’s narrative poem “Venus and Adonis,” for example, is believed to be his first published work.

As with most Greek mythology, the backstory is complicated and bizarre. Suffice it to say that Adonis was regarded as extraordinarily beautiful and the goddesses Aphrodite and Persephone both fell madly in love with him. They went to Zeus to have their rivalry resolved and he decreed that Adonis would spend one third of each year with Aphrodite, one third with Persephone, and one third however he liked. According to the story, Adonis chose to spend his one-third allotment with Aphrodite, so that he was with her two-thirds of the year and with Persephone (Queen of the Underworld) the other third. While Adonis was in the arms of Aphrodite, the story went, crops and fruit grew abundantly, and the sun shined brightly. But when he was with Persephone, winter set upon the land.

Adonis met a tragic death. He was gored by a wild boar while hunting and died in the arms of his weeping lover Aphrodite. The death of Adonis is associated with red roses and anemone. Although the details vary among the accounts, the first red roses (ever after a symbol of romantic love) sprang up from the blood of Adonis and anemone are said to have sprung up from the ground when Aphrodite’s tears dropped to earth (in some versions the associations are reversed).

The veneration of Adonis and the remembrance of his death is attested to in documentary evidence as early as the 7th century BC. Ancient Greek women celebrated the Festival of Adonia annually, with singing, dancing, ritual mourning, and the planting of “Gardens of Adonis”— fennel and lettuce seeds sown in broken pieces of terracotta and placed on rooftops to sprout, wither, and die, in representation of the tragic life of Adonis.

The painting is “Adonis Changed into Anemone” by Nicolas Bernard Lépicié (1782).

As a reminder, the anemones would likely be the red anemones below, the State Flower of Israel (from Biden's Dog)

Gardens of The Horde

We have toritos (Tribulus terrestris, Puncturevine) in our garden. What's going on in your garden?

Hope everyone has a nice weekend.

If you would like to send photos, stories, links, etc. for the Saturday Gardening, Puttering and Adventure Thread, the address is:

Remember to include the nic or name by which you wish to be known at AoSHQ, or let us know if you want to remain a lurker.

Week in Review

What has changed since last week's thread? Gardening, Home and Nature Thread, July 19

Any thoughts or questions? Pest control tips, fungicides, harvest reports, eic. Kindltot had directions for plum jam:

Plum jam: about 4-5 cups of cooked plums, add the powdered pectin and lemon juice, let come to a boil on high heat until you get foam you can't stir down. add 4-6 cups of sugar, bring to a boil, and then bring up to the jelly stage either by thermometer, or by knowing how to judge how the jam runs off a wooden spoon (or both)

Can in a hot water bath.

I closed the comments on this post so you wouldn't get banned for commenting on a week-old post, but don't try it anyway.

Matt Taibbi:

“Threatening television networks” lol. I seem to remember the IRS coming to my house and House Democrats threatening me with jail and not a peep of protest from the supposed civil liberties party

This seems to me to be an example of the left's ability to create images in our minds. Trump is from the world of entertainment, and they don't quite understand his non-linear, fun-house version of the ways they "mold" the truth. But the left still has the edge.

Though most everybody stayed with the message, the iconograpny suffered a little with Kamala.

Things are gonna get worse with AI. David Thompson, No Escape from Now.

On the bright side, Media Matters is in trouble. And at Reason: The CEO of NPR Made the Best Case for Defunding It

The notion that NPR can somehow become unbiased is about as believable as the IRS sending you a fruit basket to commend you for filing your taxes.

Once again, making Adam Schiff your muse is a bad idea.

Russiagate hurt people

Many on the left say that we should just forget about Russiagate and move on. But in addition to the obvious people hurt (in the Trump Administration, etc.), other people were deeply hurt. This surprised me:

Scott Adams: Obama's Russia Hoax & 'Fine People' Lie Ruined My Life and Divided America!@ScottAdamsSays: "Let me say that again. Those two hoaxes, Russia, Russia, Russia and the fine people hoax ruined my life because those are the hoaxes that allowed my entire social group to… pic.twitter.com/wCHJ46yORc

— Quotes By Scott Adams ☕️ (@QuotesFromCWSA) July 24, 2025

Incidentally, Scott Adams had a detailed conversation with Cynical Publius about why the crimes of Russiagate would be hard to prove in court. Interesting reading.

Walter Kirn was treated very badly by members of the press when he was trying to get information about issues involved in Russiagate back when the issues were first in the news. He still seems quite passionate about this. He and his commenters have thoughts:

Growing up we laughed at the sick old people running the Soviet Union.. Brezhnev, Chernenko, Andropov... I must say I was surprised to find the press over here in the states treat Biden much the same way Pravda treated Soviet heads of state!

— Richard Clarke (@richard_cl30978) July 23, 2025

Walter Kirn again:

Our society was torn in two by the deliberate lie that Trump was a Russian agent & his supporters, by extension, Putin patsies, fools, traitors. This lie was amplified by the media into a years-long chainsaw roar by media, from news to comedy shows to the NYT. Out with them.

Simply ignore, turn off, delete, & unsubscribe from the outlets that lied to you, loudly, relentlessly, knowingly.

Instantly doable.

And the reporters, observers, & companies remaining will be the rootstock for the future.

It's a surprisingly diverse group.

Give it sun.

— Walter Kirn (@walterkirn) July 23, 2025

So, who do you trust for news now?

Should we make a list?

History

How has war changed since this?

A Daily Dose of History (FB), today:

On this day in 1945 the governments of the United States, China, and Great Britain issued what would come to known as the “Potsdam Declaration,” calling upon the Japanese government “to proclaim now the unconditional surrender of all Japanese armed forces, and to provide proper and adequate assurances of their good faith in such action.” The final sentence of the Declaration announced, “The alternative for Japan is prompt and utter destruction.”

U.S. President Harry Truman, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, and Soviet leader Joseph Stalin, had gathered in Potsdam, Germany, on July 17, ten weeks after the German surrender, to reach an agreement on how the disarmament and occupation of Germany would be handled. With the war against Japan still continuing, Truman decided to use the opportunity to issue a demand for Japanese surrender, having been advised a day before the conference began that an atomic bomb had been successfully detonated at a test site in New Mexico. Although Stalin had agreed to enter the war against Japan, the Soviet surprise attack was not scheduled to occur until August 9, so he declined to join the Declaration (the Soviets would adopt it later, after their invasion of Manchuria).

The 13-paragraph Declaration first described the Allied intention to continue the war until Japan ceased resistance, employing all the military power that had destroyed the Nazis. “The full application of our military power,” it stated, “backed by our resolve, will mean the inevitable and complete destruction of the Japanese armed forces and just as inevitably the utter devastation of the Japanese homeland.”

Although three members of the six-man Japanese Supreme War Council were in favor of opening negotiations for surrender, the war minister and the chiefs of staff of the Japanese army and navy flatly rejected the terms as too harsh and urged that the war continue. Meanwhile the moderates were still holding out hope that the Soviet Union might mediate a peace deal, unaware that the Soviets were on the eve of declaring war against Japan. Finally, the Japanese government publicly announced that their response to the Potsdam demands was “mokusatsu.”

Kazuo Kawai had been an editor of the Nippon Times in Tokyo during the war. Afterwards, when he was a professor of Far Eastern history at Stanford University, he lamented the poor decision by the Japanese government. “Mokusatsu,” he wrote, “is a word which has no exact equivalent in the English language. It is a word which is ambiguous even in the Japanese. It might be translated roughly as ‘to be silent’ or ‘to withhold comment’ or ‘to ignore.’ ‘To withhold comment’ probably comes closest to its true meaning, implying that something is being held back, that there is something significant impending. Certainly, that is what the Japanese government meant.” The Japanese government had never intended to reject the Potsdam Declaration outright, Kawai argued, but was counting on the Soviets to make known the Japanese willingness to surrender.

Further, the ambiguity of “mokusatsu” gave the military hardliners room to construe it as meaning rejection by ignoring, and they insisted that Japanese media construe it that way. A Tokyo newspaper printed the Potsdam Declaration terms under the heading “Laughable Matter” and the Japanese English-language propaganda agency “Radio Tokyo” declared flatly that Japan was “ignoring” the Declaration.

Thus, to the Allies the Japanese response seemed plain enough—they had decided to reject the Allied demands by “ignoring” them rather than responding to them. Accordingly, Truman authorized the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki on August 6 and August 9. . .

Music

How many of you knew that Clint
Eastwood was quite the singer?

Well here he is in a 1962 episode of
Rawhide, entertaining us with his
cowboy crooning 🤠 pic.twitter.com/nnFWTQa7pp

— Farm Girl Carrie 👩‍🌾 (@FarmGirlCarrie) July 26, 2025

Hope you have something nice planned for this weekend.

This is the Thread before the Gardening Thread.

Last week's thread, July 19, NPR provides community and emergency information to Rural Americans?

Comments are closed so you won't ban yourself by trying to comment on a week-old thread. But don't try it anyway.

At root, the NPR story and the Colbert story are the same: progressives took over a product, made it so that people didn’t want to pay it for it—whether via advertising, subscriptions, or donations—and they’re now upset that it won’t be perpetually bailed out by a third party.

— Charles C. W. Cooke (@charlescwcooke) July 19, 2025

AoSHQ Weekly Prayer List

Please submit any prayer requests to me, “Annie’s Stew” at apaslo atsign hotmail dot com. Prayer requests are generally removed after four weeks unless we receive an update.

Prayer Requests:

5/10 – Cosda asked for prayers for his wife, who recently had a mole removed that came back as melanoma cancer. She is scheduled for surgery next week, and it looks like that should remove it completely.
6/20 Update – The PET and brain scans showed no active cancer cells, which is great. But since it’s melanoma, and cancer was found in a lymph node, she is going to receive immunotherapy for the next year. Thanks to all. The prayers are working!

5/29 – Teresa in Fort Worth sent an update and her thanks for all the prayers and words of encouragement. They have sustained her and her family as she continues to battle cancer. She continues to receive good news: her oncologist is quite pleased with her response to the current medication protocol; they are decreasing the lab work frequency to every other week instead of weekly; the side effects from chemo have been barely noticeable; she can just take 4 tiny pills for chemo instead of spending one day a week at the cancer center. It’s been 7 months so far, and she expects that at some point the tumors will start growing again, but for now, they are encouraged.
6/6 Update – Teresa has a side effect from the chemo – her fingernails and toenails are starting to loosen and “lift” off their nail beds. It is painful, and also carries a risk of infection.
7/9 Update – Teresa in Fort Worth sent an update – all is well for her for now. She will have more lab work done on 7/15, and then a CT scan on 7/28 to see if the tumors have shrunk any more. She is still losing hair, and her fingernails and toenails are still being “wonky”. She is not nauseous, so she is happy with her current situation.

6/11 – Legally Sufficient asks the Horde’s prayers for her friend, Bubba, who was in a bad auto wreck on 6/8. Prayers for comfort, healing, and strength are needed for Bubba and his family. He is in ICU and will be there for a couple more weeks. Thank you!
7/15 Update - Legally Sufficient asks for continued prayers for healing, strength and comfort for her friend Bubba. God is great! Bubba continues slow and steady improvement following his horrific vehicle accident. She received a photo of him visiting a job site this week and she said she doesn’t mind telling you that it suddenly got dusty here. Bubba was not able to stay very long before the heat and humidity took a toll and he was forced to retreat to air conditioning. Bubba is still under doctor’s orders to not drive, but has an able and willing chauffeur (his wife) who takes him where he wants to go. The prayers are working, please keep them coming for a little while longer!

6/14 – Inspector Cussword requested prayers for Brother Tim. He has had a horrible time, living in his car and has just been handed a cancer diagnosis. Please pray for God’s Provision to be clear and comforting to him, and for his healing.
7/5 – Update - Brother Tim posted a comment that he learned on 6/30 that the lymph nodes showed no signs of the cancer, which means that it has not spread.
7/11 Update – Brother Tim posted that he was moved to a rehabilitation facility on 7/7, and God willing, he will continue to make progress and be hobbling around normally soon.

6/28 – Dave R requested prayers for healing, strength, recovery, and curing, as he was recently diagnosed with non-Hodgkin Lymphoma. He is 62 and a long-time AoSHQ reader.
7/5 Update – Chemo starts on 7/7.

6/28 – H asked for prayers for a mom of two elementary aged boys who lost her mother 3 weeks ago, and her husband on 6/28, both to cancer.
7/19 Update – The visitation was good, but prayers are still appreciated, especially for the boys, as they go through a hard stage of life without their dad.

6/28 – Ben Had requested prayers for Jay Guevara, as he was seriously ill.
6/30 Update – IrishEi posted that Jay Guevara has passed away, and offered prayers for peaceful repose in God’s hands and for comfort for his loved ones.

7/3 – 469 requested prayers for some medical tests he has coming up.

7/3 – Ciampino’s daughter posted to let us know that Ciampino is back in the hospital. He is dehydrated again. His kidney cyst is back and bigger, so he will need to have another surgery, but they don’t know when.
7/7 Update – Ciampino passed away. His daughter posted how much he loved everyone’s witty humor on the site, and sent her thanks for giving him years of enjoyment and community.
7/19 Update – Please contact Annie’s Stew for more information if you would like to contribute to Ciampino’s cremation fund raiser.

7/5 – Boswell asks for prayers for his best friend Mark’s mother. She is 90 years old and was diagnosed with sepsis after her colon burst. She had surgery on 7/3, but her recovery is not going well. She is too weak for the tests she needs to find out what is wrong. Please pray that she recovers fully, as she and Mark are very close. He is devastated.
7/16 Update – Mark’s mother passed away peacefully in her sleep. Mark is, of course, quite saddened by this, but at least she did not suffer at the end, and her family was by her side when she went. Boswell hopes that his friend finds solace that she lived a long, happy life and she raised such a wonderful son.

7/9 - Teresa in Fort Worth asks for prayers for her niece Amanda, and her husband Barkley. They are at Vanderbilt Hospital, where Amanda seems to be rejecting her seond heart transplant. She is only 40 years old, and has been having heart issues for 20 years. She had her first heart transplant 4 years ago, and things are not looking good.

7/11 – Racially Ambiguous Honky, the brother of G’rump/toby928, sent his thanks for the prayers on his behalf, after his appendix burst and he had sepsis. He says he is recovering well.

7/11 – JR requested prayers for the families of those killed in Gaza.

7/11 – Stateless sent his thanks to all for their thoughts and prayers for him. His house officially became his on 6/30, ending 6 months of uncertainty since his Mom passed. He is getting stronger and is learning about and working to process emotions differently, after losing so much.

7/11 – Screaming in digital asked for prayers for her mother. Mom is still recovering from a UTI plus 3 falls within the last couple of days. During the day, there is some improvement. But once she starts sundowning, she is terrified and clings to whatever she can hold onto. She only weighs about 105-110, and isn’t eating much, but it is hard to move her when she is like that. If she doesn’t improve her mobility and cooperate/help with transfers to and from the wheelchair, etc., and consistently feed herself, she won’t be able to stay at the assisted living facility.
7/19 Update – Screaming in digital’s mother passed away.

7/11 – Frankie asked for prayers for her friend “R”, who is back on hospice for Huntington’s disease. He was on hospice before, but went off for an experimental medication, but unfortunately it wasn’t helpful.

7/11 – Igotnothing sent a prayer of praise. A grand-nephew, quadriplegic since birth due to deformities, and now age 10, after many surgeries and care and prayers, is able to walk. The boy and his family (mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, great-aunt and great-uncle) went on his first ever walk in the woods. What joy!

7/11 – Matthew Kant Cipher requested prayers for Layne, a family friend who is also his son’s FIL. He was diagnosed with bladder cancer and is awaiting further test results to determine whether they treat with chemo or remove his bladder. As of now, it appears to be contained. Please pray that he and his family are blessed with God’s love and grace through this time of trial.

7/18 – Tecumseh Tea had a heart attack and needs prayers.
7/23 Update – Tecumseh Tea had a Type 2 heart attack, which is considered mild. She sends prayers of thanks for that! The angiogram showed a healthy heart, with little plaque and clean arteries, so no stent was needed. They did find a myocardial bridge, which is a congenital defect. The goal is to keep BP 140/70 with a pulse of less than 60, but so far they have not been able to meet that goal. She can’t get a cardiologist appointment until 8/22, so the GP is helping, but so far they have not been able to get the right BP meds. Please pray for a sooner visit, and the right meds that work for her, and answers.

7/19 – Huerfano asked for prayers for a rapid and full recovery for brother R, who had hernia surgery. He cannot see his grandsons until he has recovered. He misses them , and they miss him.

7/19 – Farmer Bob posted an update. He is doing well. He is competing in 5Ks and triathalons, and sends his thanks for the prayers. His ex-wife has “gone off the deep end” (or just remains so), with weird lies and accusations. She could use a prayer or two.

7/19 – Tonypete asked for prayers for Cheri and Gretchen, church ladies of his acquaintance. Cheri had a medical incident while driving and veered off the road and struck a number of pedestrians, sending 3 or 4 to the hospital. Gretchen and her husband were passengers in the car and her husband had a heart attack after the accident and died. Cheri is just sick about it and has kind of snapped. Gretchen has lost her best friend of 65 years.

7/19 – H asked for prayers for Brandon, a homeless man in San Marcos, TX, who has a broken ankle and has to seek care for that injury, specifically prayers that he would see God providing for him. He is asking for God to help him advocate for his care.

7/23 – D sent an update on his wife Susan, as they deal with cancer. The last few weeks have been a roller coaster. They cannot operate on the cancer, because it has spread too much. They have started chemo and hope to get it to shrink. Susan’s gallbladder is inflamed, but they cannot remove it, due to the chemo, and her blood sugar is having issues. Thanks to everyone for their prayers; Susan has pulled through all of this and is looking great as they keep praying to the Lord.

For submission guidelines and other relevant info, please contact Annie's Stew, who is managing the prayer list. You can contact her at apaslo at-sign hotmail dot com. If you see a prayer request posted in a thread comment, feel free to copy and paste it and e-mail it to Annie's Stew. She tries to keep up with the requests in the threads, but she's not here all of the time, so she may not see it unless you e-mail it to her. Please note: Prayer requests are generally removed after four weeks or so unless we receive an update.

2 Corinthians 4:8-9
We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair, persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed.

Tech News

• Meanwhile over at Amazon, "security first" means about as much as "talent first" did with VShojo. (Tom's Hardware)
  
  Hackers were able to inject a persistent vulnerability into an Amazon AI coding tool by, uh, asking it to do it for them.
  
  
  
• WiFi 8 is on its way. (Tom's Hardware)
  
  Raw speeds are exactly the same as WiFi 7. Rather it's designed to deliver better real-world speeds by reducing errors and dropped packets in, uh, the real world.
  
  
  
• How did GPD manage to cram a Ryzen AI Max 395+ and 128GB of RAM into a handheld device? Apparently they left out the battery. (The Verge)
  
  Instead it draws power from either a large external battery or a 180W laptop charger.
  
  Hope the oven mitts are coordinated.
  
  
  
• Echelon home gym equipment can no longer be used without a monthly subscription, an internet connection, and probably government-issued photo ID stored on a public server. (Ars Technica)
  
  Hackers are working on hacking it.
  
  
  

Fido Friday: Ow, my balls!

Diplomatic

Camo patterns

What a trooper!

Americans will use absolutely anything except the metric system

Sweet story with a sad ending

When fish go humaning

The importance of the Oxford comma

I remember those days. Well. Some of them.

Mess with the bull, you get the horns

The oysters at the bar the next day were the small ones

Perfect response

Here's a meme referencing a meme

If you don't get it, Google "Democracy manifest".

Shootout

This happened in Anchorage. Two girls were thrown out of a bar for starting fights. They returned with 2 large men, both “recently arrived” from Somalia. Security spotted them coming and coordinated a response on their radios, which is why one of them goes out to his car to kit up. When the Somali started fighting another security guard, then pulled out a gun and started shooting, the second guard canceled all of his birthdays.

True fact

Urban vs rural

The kids are alright

Odd, that

Move over Waffle House

Oh no! It's the consequences of my own actions!

I'm good with it

Tonight's ONT has been brought to you by skydiving cats:

Collin Rugg @CollinRugg

Female fencer takes a knee to protest against her biologically male opponent during a fencing match.

The opponent, Redmond Sullivan, switched from the men's fencing team to the women's fencing team at Wagner College last year.

Sullivan shockingly started dominating the female competition after the switch was made.

During the Connecticut Division Junior Olympic Qualifiers last year, for example, Sullivan competed with the female athletes and won.

The video below reportedly took place over the weekend.

"Sullivan's female opponent was expelled from the USA Fencing event at the Univ. of Maryland over the weekend," reported ICONS.

Related: Brian Stelter continues his Colbert Denialism, refusing to concede that Paramount may have cancelled Colbert for the reasons that they've stated: Financial ones. Colbert was losing $40-50 million per year with no hopes whatsoever of a ratings recovery.

CNN "Media Reporter" Brian Stelter
Chef's Conception

Related:

Waste of the Day: "Make Art Great Again"

By Jeremy Portnoy, RealClearInvestigations
July 25, 2025

Topline: Erin Elmore, director of the State Department's "Art in Embassies" program, has vowed to "Make Art Great Again," and taxpayers will be footing the bill.

The Art in Embassies program has spent at least $6.4 million on grants and contracts since 2008, according to OpenTheBooks' review of federal spending data.

Key facts: Art in Embassies was created in 1964 with guidance from first lady Jackie Kennedy to display U.S. artwork in diplomatic buildings around the world.

Since then, its spending has arguably gotten out of hand. There is artwork displayed in 189 countries including Suriname, Malta and Tajikistan. Since 2008, taxpayers have spent $361,805 to display artwork in Beijing and $8,000 on artwork in Moscow.

Insurance for the artwork has cost at least $416,000 since 2008, including $111,382 in the past year. Shipping has cost $202,370.

During the government shutdown in 2019, the State Department spent $84,375 to install a sculpture of Bob Dylan in Mozambique.

In 2021, the program bought a "brass Art in Embassies medal with 4.25 rosewood presentation box" for $799. The program also spent $24,909 for a "catering event" in May 2023.

This year the State Department planned to spend $2 million on seven sculptures, including a $650,000 "triple-height suspended sculpture" in Brazil and a $105,000 "textile work" in Malawi, but the purchases were cancelled, according to PBS.

According to its X account, Art in Embassies has been "cultivating diplomacy thru art in U.S. embassies since 1963" as the "Department of State's heart of art." The program has stuck around despite a planned 15% reduction to the Department of State's staff headcount.

CNN's racist witch-faced left-wing "national security" (and social justice) "analyst" explained that Clapper is just sad to see that Muh Pillars of Muh Republic is crumbling.

Juliette Kayyem @juliettekayyem

Knowing Clapper, I think that is the sound of a man distraught that a nation he spent his life defending as an intelligence chief now has one who is using the position to defame people Trump doesn't like in order to deflect from his scandals. That's the sound.

Update: I heard about this, but didn't listen: Hunter Biden extols the virtues of smoking crack and I'm not kidding.

"Safer than alcohol," he proclaims. It's not "dirty," he insists, but is in fact cleaner than cocaine because "all of the impurities have been cooked off."

Related: Tax the remittances!

The U.S. loses at least $200 billion per year from our economy in remittances. This number is likely even higher now as the last reliable, bilateral data were published in 2021.

At least 134 countries received remittances from the U.S. in 2021, with amounts ranging from a few thousand dollars to tens of billions of dollars.

In 2021, the top five recipient countries of remittances from the U.S. were: Mexico ($52.6 billion), India ($15.8 billion), Guatemala ($14.7 billion), the Philippines ($12.8 billion), and China ($12.7 billion). Some of these totals have grown significantly even since 2021.

U.S. remittances account for around 20 percent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of multiple countries in Central America, including Honduras and El Salvador.

Billions of dollars sent in remittances to Mexico are potentially linked to cartels. Some of these funds are in the form of cryptocurrency, making them even harder to trace than conventional funds.

To paraphrase Kurt Schlichter, we had three options regarding the introduction of electric vehicles.

1) Everyone can buy and drive whatever they want.
2) The left denies me the freedom to buy what I want, making EVs the only option.
3) People like me deny the left the freedom to buy EVs, making ICE vehicles the only option.

I very much wanted Option #1. My principles are strongly aligned with Option #1. But my principles also state that when someone tries to deny me the freedom of my principles, then my principles become more flexible. The left decided to reject Option #1 and instead jammed Option #2 down the throat of freedom-loving Americans, therefore Option #3 is the default choice. EVs should therefore be banned.

But what about Tesla and Rivian, which only build electric cars? No worries, they can simply obey the “ICE mandate” and start building ICE vehicles if they want to survive. That is really no different than what Team EV tried to impose upon traditional auto manufacturers when blue states starred banning EVs and Biden imposed his mandates.

Related…Tesla fanboys and stock promoters rejoiced when California passed legislation banning the sale of ICE vehicles by 2035. Well, they are now learning that cozying up to California leftists is like cozying up to a rattlesnake.

“California Set to Ban Tesla Sales” [Electrek – 7/21/2025]

The State of California is moving to ban the sale of Tesla cars amid claims that the company and its CEO, Elon Musk, have misled buyers about the self-driving capabilities of their cars.

It may just be a one-month suspension of Tesla’s license to sell vehicles in California, but that is one month of sales in Tesla’s largest market. Ouch.

I am conflicted about Elon Musk. I am profoundly grateful to him for buying Twitter and saving free speech from the censorious left. I am also profoundly grateful to him for his work on DOGE, which is defunding the left. Regarding his business endeavors, I am in awe of his space program, and likewise Starlink.

But then there is Tesla…

Had there not been a widespread effort to deprive Americans of the freedom of gasoline powered cars, I would not have as much animosity as I do toward EVs. But I would still be incensed by Tesla’s business model, for which it receives about $9,000 in revenue per vehicle sold from non-customers.

There is the $7,500 per unit tax incentive which is paid by all of us taxpayers. Almost as objectionable is the regulatory (carbon) credits awarded to Tesla by governmental agencies, which are then sold to ICE manufacturers to allow them to build and sell ICE cars. Tesla sold $2.76 billion in regulatory credits in 2024, which amounted to (approximately) an additional $1,500 profit on each new Tesla it sold.

Think about it. When you buy an ICE vehicle, the purchase price includes a premium so that the manufacturer of your car can pay Tesla for the right to sell you a non-EV. I don’t know what economic model that is, but it darn sure isn’t capitalism or a free market.

Well good news! Thanks to the Big Beautiful Bill that eliminated the $7,500 tax incentive, it also eliminated all fines for auto manufacturers not achieving Biden-era emission regulations. Without fines, they won’t have to pay Tesla any longer for those government issued chits.

“A Big Problem for Tesla Isn’t Getting Much Attention” [CNN – 7/22/2025

For years, Tesla has earned billions of dollars from its competitors just for selling electric vehicles. But that windfall is about to go away, just when the company may need it the most.

According to a recent note from analysts at William Blair and Co., the automakers “that fail to meet standards no longer incur fines, eliminating market demand for Tesla’s credits.” The analysts expect Tesla’s regulatory credit revenue to fall by 75% next year and disappear completely by 2027.

Tesla is about to lose about $9,000 per unit of revenue that is being paid by you and me. If Teslas are as amazing as all its fans keep writing me, they shouldn’t mind paying $9,000 more so that I don’t have to keep subsidizing them.

[buck.throckmorton at protonmail dot com]

DOMESTIC AFFAIRS, THE COURTS, WASTE/FRAUD/ABUSE
• President Donald J. Trump chastised Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell in person over the nearly $1 billion in cost overruns for renovations and new office construction undertaken by the American central bank. On Thursday, July 24, 2025, Trump became only the fourth President in American history to visit the Federal Reserve, and the only President to enter the building for nonceremonial purposes. Previously, former Presidents Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Gerald Ford, and George W. Bush each visited the Fed.
  Trump Hits Powell Over Renovation Costs During Historic Fed Visit.
  
• “The American people need an emergency management system that works quickly and effectively."
  New Bill Would Overhaul FEMA, Ban Political Discrimination In Disaster Relief
  
• To reduce the taxpayer cost and locate the USDA “closer to the people it serves,” much of the Agency’s headquarters and employees will be relocated from the D.C. area to one of five hubs with lower living cost pay adjustments: Raleigh, North Carolina (22.24%)Kansas City, Missouri (18.97%) Indianapolis, Indiana (18.15%) Fort Collins, Colorado (30.52%) Salt Lake City, Utah (17.06%)
  USDA Flees D.C. Area ‘Plagued by Rampant Overspending, Decades of Mismanagement’
  
• The real goal of DOGE is the return the government to the limited, constitutional order envisioned by the founders.
  There Are Three Good Reasons To Cut Bureaucratic Bloat, And Only One Is About Money

• The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) has released a new report laying out how it will evaluate budgetary proposals to end the government’s control of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Although the report is officially nonpartisan and descriptive, its implications are clear: the best deal for taxpayers—the cleanest and most fiscally responsible path forward—is to put the government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs) into receivership. (and Barney Frank, Franklin Raines and Jamie Gorelick in leg irons - jjs)
  Breitbart Business Digest: CBO Sees Fannie and Freddie Receivership as Best for Taxpayers

  "BIDEN/HARRIS BORDER BLOODBATH," AMNESTY, IMMIGRATION, BORDER SECURITY, NEWSOM/DEMOCRAT VIOLENT INSURRECTION RIOTS

• The ruling marks a significant legal setback for the Trump White House; however, it does clear the path for the administration to bring the matter before the U.S. Supreme Court.
  Federal Court Strikes Down Trump Order Ending Birthright Citizenship.
  
• New records show ex-DOJ lawyer Erez Reuveni advising his colleagues on how to possibly ‘sway’ the agency’s handling of a deportation case.
  Docs: Fired DOJ Official Sought To ‘Sway’ Trump Admin’s Handling Of Venezuelan Deportation Case

• 'These violent thugs have committed a smorgasbord of crimes and been arrested multiple times.'
  EXCLUSIVE: Illegal Alien Released Under Biden Charged With Stabbing ICE Officers
  
• By far, the most dramatic testimony from the hearing came during an exchange between Rep. Eli Crane (R-AZ) and witness Ali Hopper, the president and co-founder of GUARD Against Trafficking. Crane asked Hopper what, if any, guardrails did the Biden junta put in place to monitor the well-being of UACs after they were placed with sponsors.
  65,000 Calls to Biden Junta Hotline for Unaccompanied Alien Children Reportedly Ignored
  
• “President Trump is keeping his promise to the American people to carry out the largest mass deportation operation in history!” a White House spokesman said, adding: “American communities will be safer with these dangerous criminal illegal aliens gone. Promises made. Promises kept.”
  Arrests of Criminal Illegals Are Up by Triple Digits.
  
• Daniel Greenfield: A lawsuit by vast majority of Dem states shows how bad the problem is.
  90% of Dem States Sue to Fund Welfare for Illegal Aliens

• Kurt Schlichter: There is cringe, and then there is the DIGNITY Act.
  Read Our Lips – No Amnesty Ever

  CIVIL WAR 2.0: J-6 FBI FALSE FLAG "RIOT" & AFTERMATH, LEFTIST PERSECUTIONS, DEMOCRAT PUTSCH, AMERICAN DISSOLUTION

• The nation’s largest oil refiner added racial hiring goals to its bonus compensation formula while eliminating a safety metric.
  Did Marathon Petroleum Prioritize DEI Over Safety?

  SHAMPEACHMENTS, 2016 CLINTON/OBAMA COUP, CONGRESSIONAL PERSECUTION, SPYGATE, DEEP STATE, MUELLER DECEPTION

• Margot Cleveland & Mollie Hemingway: Officials warned the Steele dossier suffered from ‘POOR SOURCE TRADECRAFT’ and compared it to the National Enquirer.
  EXCLUSIVE: ‘This Should NOT Be Included’ — Read Intel Officials’ Objections To ‘Extremely Sketchy’ Steele Dossier
  
• Fred Fleitz: Tulsi Gabbard's release of the hidden House Intel report exposes how Obama officials and intel chiefs rigged a 2017 assessment to kneecap Trump before he took office.
  Five Crucial Facts from the House Intel Report on 2016 Russian Interference
  
• There is nothing wrong with seeking the truth.
  Put Obama In The Dock
  
• Tulsi Gabbard is unafraid to stand up to the tyranny that has been hiding under the guise of compassion and democracy.
  Democrats framed Trump for Russia collusion and still think they're the good guys
  
• Tulsi Gabbard’s bombshell confirms Obama, Brennan, and Comey rigged the Russia narrative—turning a Clinton hoax into the biggest intel scandal in American history.
  How Gabbard’s Revelations Complete the Case Against Comey and Brennan
  
• For all his feigned concerns about the state of ‘democracy’ in America, Obama has shown himself to be one of the biggest threats to it.
  There Was No Peaceful Transfer Of Power In 2017
  
• A series of interviews and media reports from the “Russia Russia Russia” era show Joe Biden’s total and complete deception.
  Obama? What of Biden’s Complicity?

  THE ECONOMY, STUPID

• The Democrat National Committee (DNC) drew widespread mockery Thursday over a since-deleted social media post that showed how the cost of groceries skyrocketed under former [so-called quote-unquote] President Joe Biden. 
  Democrat Party tries to pin ‘record high’ 2025 grocery prices on Trump – but it completely backfires
  
• President Donald Trump announced on Wednesday via Truth Social that his administration had secured a trade deal with Japan, which included a $550 billion investment in the United States. Lutnick explained to Daily Caller Editor-in-Chief Dylan Housman how he thought up the deal and negotiated with Japan for six months to secure the historic investment.
  Howard Lutnick Reveals How Trump Admin Secured Massive Trade Deal With Japan

• U.S. beef producers gain greater access to the Australian market, marking a significant trade breakthrough.
  After 20 Years, Australia Reverses American Beef Ban.
  
• Socialism doesn’t work.
  City-Funded Grocery Store in Kansas City has Empty Shelves, Plagued by Crime

  ISRAEL AND USA vs Hamas, IRAN, et al

• Mediators have been working for over two weeks to facilitate discussions between the Israeli and Hamas delegations, but the talks have not yielded results. The humanitarian situation in Gaza remains dire, with warnings of “mass starvation” spreading among the population.
  U.S. and Israel Leave Gaza Ceasefire Talks, Blame Hamas.
  
• Despite stalled ceasefire talks and Hamas' refusal to compromise, Macron says recognition is key to “just and lasting peace.”
  Macron Announces Plans To Recognize ‘Palestine’ As Hamas Upends Ceasefire Talks
  
• The Ynetnews: “Hamas has backtracked on several agreements in the negotiations on a ceasefire and the release of hostages.” 
  Israel Recalls Hostage Negotiating Team From Qatar as Hamas Makes New Demands 
  
• From sleeper cells to propaganda networks, Tehran has been working for decades to attack the U.S. homeland from within.
  Trump Must Address the Iranian Threat Within Our Borders
  
• What the U.S. needs to do about it.
  Iran’s Fatwa Against Trump a Declaration of War
  
• Iran’s explanation for Israel’s big win.
  Iran, Israel, the Jinn, and Other ‘Occult Forces’
  
• The peculiar narrative of “settler violence”.
  Weaponized Tragedy: The Curious Pattern of American Deaths in Judea and Samaria
  
• More anti-Israel lies. This time by omission.
  That Israeli ‘Internment Camp’ to Be Built in Rafah

  OFFICIAL DEMOCRAT PARTY/LEFTIST-ENDORSED ANTI-SEMITISM, ANTI-CHRISTIANITY

• New documents obtained by the Committee show that the 2023 Richmond memorandum from former FBI Director Christopher Wray that described traditional Catholics as “racially or ethnically motivated violent extremists,” wasn’t an isolated incident.
  Rep. Jim Jordan: Biden Administration’s Targeting of Catholics ‘Worse Than We Thought’
  
• Two high-profile cases of Christians targeted under the law—Masterpiece Cakeshop and 303 Creative—resulted in losses for Colorado at the U.S. Supreme Court.
  Colorado Hit With Another Lawsuit Over Controversial Anti-Discrimination Law

  FIRST AMENDMENT ISSUES, CENSORSHIP, FAKE NEWS, MEDIA, BIG BROTHER TECH

• Gilbertson said that “the establishment media, I got the sense yesterday, they’re going to fight tooth and nail to just make this go away. There were murmurings in the briefing room as Gabbard was laying some of this out. I heard somebody murmur liar in the back of the room, there was some grandstanding from some veteran establishment journalists that were in the back of the room, too.”
  The Cover-Up Begins: Establishment Media Is Going to Fight Tooth and Nail to Bury Obamagate
  
• For months, many of us raised the red flag about woke AI. 
  Trump took the first step to kill woke AI—the tech industry must finish the job

  RED-GREENS, CLIMATE CHANGE HOAX, DEMOCRAT-LEFT WAR ON FOSSIL FUELS,

• Zeldin met with his Mexican counterpart, Alicia Bárcena, in Mexico City on Thursday to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the countries to stop the flow of raw, untreated sewage polluting southern California.
  Trump’s EPA Secures ‘Win’ with Mexico to Solve Tijuana River Sewage Crisis

  CRIME & PUNISHMENT, NON-DOSTOYEVSKY

• What’s the alternative to Zohran Mamdani’s socialism, especially when ‘capitalism’ has a bad reputation? Here it is.
  Cops, Not Commissars Brings Affordability

  
  EDUCATION, AND WHAT PASSES FOR IT

• States say school districts have no interest—much less a compelling one—in concealing minor students’ social sex transitions from their parents.
  22 States Back NJ Father’s Fight Against School For Keeping Daughter’s Sex Transition Secret

• The deal was controversial both inside and outside the Trump administration. While the president is getting a pound of flesh and the university was forced to commit in writing to complying with a multitude of federal laws, the agreement did not include several structural reforms to the school that the parties had previously discussed.
  Trump’s Columbia Deal

  ABORTION

• Studies show that abortion — whether by scalpel or pill — kills babies and leaves physical, mental, and emotional scars on women and girls.
  Planned Parenthood Sues In Nevada To Keep Teens’ Abortions Secret From Their Parents

  L'AFFAIRE EPSTEIN

• Oversight Chairman James Comer said the committee’s new ranking Democrat, California Rep. Robert Garcia, joined Republicans in authorizing subpoenas for Bill and Hillary Clinton, James Comey, Loretta Lynch, Eric Holder, Merrick Garland, Robert Mueller, William Barr, Jeff Sessions and Alberto Gonzales.
  Oversight Committee Moves To Subpoena The Clintons, Comey, Garland And Others In Epstein Probe
  
• The Jeffrey Epstein political football bounced back and forth between Republicans and Democrats in the U.S. Senate Thursday, with both sides blocking each others’ resolutions to release the files.
  Political Football: GOP and Democrat Senators Block Each Others’ Resolutions Calling For Release Epstein Files

  POLITICS

• Another democrat(ic) socialist just won the primary for NYC mayor.
  Meet Omar Fateh, The Radical Somali American Socialist Poised To Be The Next Mayor Of Minneapolis

  THE UKRAINIAN "FRONT"

• All the reasons, however, for shifting away from the Biden administration’s plan to fund an endless war in Ukraine—and for finding ways to talk to Russia about other issues—are still valid.
  Trump Should Resist Russia Hawks
  
• The initial law weakened the independence of Ukraine’s anti-corruption institutions, raising fears that Zelensky is not serious about reforming the country at best, and attempting to actively cover up his government’s misdeeds at worst. Zelensky’s justification, that the law protected against Russian influence, was criticized as contradictory and self-defeating.
  Zelensky Backtracks After Gutting Anti-Corruption Bodies.

  FOREIGN AFFAIRS, INTERNATIONAL

• State-run press indicated that the Islamic Republic is worried about the prospect of a second round of U.S. or Israeli strikes after the successful operation to take out Tehran's nuclear program
  Iran and Russia Conduct War Drills 'In Order to Send a Message to the United States,' Iranian Media Report

• Today, the United States informed Director-General Audrey Azoulay of the United States’ decision to withdraw from UNESCO. Continued involvement in UNESCO is not in the national interest of the United States.
  Trump Administration Pulls U.S. out of UNESCO — Again — Reversing Biden
  
• The UN building would make a nice hotel by the river. 
  We gotta get out of this place (From the East River to Dag Hammarskjold Plaza, the Parking will Be Free! - jjs)
  
• If this behavior doesn’t prove Sheinbaum’s lust for power and control, nothing will. She doesn’t really care about Mexico’s beaches or environment. If she did, she would celebrate SpaceX’s salvage operations. What she really doesn’t like is that someone is doing something without her permission. She is the boss, and SpaceX better remember that!
  Mexico’s president says it will investigate SpaceX for doing salvage operations off its coast

  DEFENSE, MILITARY, SECURITY AFFAIRS

• Chinese state-affiliated hackers have exploited a critical vulnerability in Microsoft SharePoint software to infiltrate several U.S. government agencies, including the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), which is responsible for America’s nuclear weapons. According to multiple cybersecurity reports, the cyberattack began on July 18 and also affected organizations across Europe and the Middle East.Microsoft has linked the attackers to groups it tracks as Linen Typhoon, Violet Typhoon, and Storm-2603. These groups reportedly took advantage of a zero-day flaw in SharePoint to gain unauthorized access, enabling them to steal cryptographic keys. This theft may have allowed them to impersonate legitimate users or services within affected systems. Microsoft has since issued security patches to mitigate the vulnerability and is urging all users to update their systems.
  China Exploits Microsoft Flaw to Hack US Nuclear Agency.
  
• Former Air/Space Force Lieutenant Colonel F-15 pilot becomes #2 person in the Air Force, and Legal Insurrection couldn’t be happier
  Massive Upgrade to DoD: Matthew Lohmeier Confirmed as Under Secretary of the Air Force

  HEALTH AND HEALTH CARE

• States are also enacting MAHA agenda items, including Nebraska (which just secured a waiver to prohibit the purchase of soda and energy drinks with SNAP benefits).
  ‘Make America Healthy Agenda’ Scores More Wins on Froot Loops and Flu Vaccines

  ACTUAL SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY

• Ultimately, this means that Mars’ glacial ice deposits are nearly pure across the globe, providing a clearer understanding of Mars’ climate history and a possible resource for future utilization.
  The glaciers on Mars are almost pure ice with only a thin cover of dust and debris
  
• iRocket’s Shockwave launch vehicle is uniquely designed for recovery and reuse of all of its stages. Just as airplanes fly multiple flights, iRocket will Recondition, Reload, and Relaunch™ its rockets in under 24 hours. iRocket’s patented liquid rocket engines will maintain high efficiency through descent as well as ascent. iRocket’s engines will be fueled with sustainable liquid oxygen and methane, which burns cooler, imparts less stress on components, and further supports iRocket’s unique 24-hour turn-around time. Being on a leading edge with its rocket engine expertise, iRocket is also developing solid rocket motors that will transform boosters, missiles, and interceptors.
  Rocket startup IRocket mergers with investment company

  FEMINAZISM, TRANSGENDER PSYCHOSIS, HOMOSEXUALIZATION, WAR ON MASCULINITY/NORMALCY

• Kmuel King is serving an 80-year sentence inside the Logan Correctional Center in Lincoln, Illinois — supposedly a women’s facility — while the state labels him as “male,” according to prison records first reported by Reduxx. The Illinois Department of Corrections (IDOC) declared in 2021 that inmates would not be separated based solely on “anatomy” and that it would respect “gender identity,” though the prison records do not say when or why King was placed in the Logan facility. (RELATED: DOJ Says It’s Pulling Funding From State That Let Male Murderer Into Women’s Prison)
  Illinois Keeps Man Who Murdered His Mother In Women’s Prison

  CULTURE WARS, NATIONAL SUICIDE

• My apologies for the glib headline on such a serious topic. But I decided early on, if only for one moment, that I'd treat the most deadly serious topic in history with as much seriousness as those currently throwing around the word "genocide" like confetti at a parade. I promise you the headline is as glib as I'll get today. Mostly. 
  Thursday Essay: Hey, Kids — Let's Talk About Genocide!
  
• Colbert ran the Letterman legacy into the ground as his act became more ridiculous with each passing year.
  Stephen Colbert ran late night TV into the ground
  
• Politically correct ‘thinking’ dulls the wits.
  Leftists Can’t Take a Joke
  
• Cosmetic retailer Ulta Beauty just partnered with a gay man dressed in drag to peddle their latest line of - wait for it - hair products for women. Because nothing says "Buy this, ladies!" like a bearded dude in a dress and heels bouncing around like an over-caffeinated chihuahua and making a mockery of their entire gender.
  Ulta Beauty Partners With Dude in Drag to Peddle Women's Hair Products
  
• All mainstream culture is now created by and for resentful geek losers. Everything sucks now, and it’s because of Reddit.
  How Reddit Destroyed Mainstream American Culture
  
• Conservative thinkers Edmund Burke and Roger Scruton share a belief that civilization is a delicate inheritance, not a machine to be engineered.
  To Love and Preserve
  
• Christian Toto: Marvel's First Family finally comes alive with warm, witty reboot (of a reboot)
  ‘Fantastic Four’ – Pro-Family, Pro-Life and Pro-MCU

  HITHER & YON

• The pro wrestling legend passed of a cardiac arrest on Thursday at 71, after serving as a wrestling focal point for more than 40 years.
  ‘MAGA All the Way’: President Trump Mourns the Loss of ‘Great Friend’ Hulk Hogan
  
• Mangione is perhaps best known for his most popular hit, the 1978 single “Feels So Good.”
  Jazz Legend Chuck Mangione Dead at 84

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Tech News

• AMD reports that equivalent chips made in TSMC's US factories are between 5% and 20% more expensive than those made in Taiwan. (Bloomberg) (archive site)
  
  Which they state is worth it for not relying on a single overseas source, even if it is nominally the same company.
  
  
  
• Guess it's finally tech news: VShojo is gone. (The Verge)
  
  All those "allegedly" claims I mentioned in the first announcement a couple of days ago now seem to have been confirmed by the company officially - including misappropriating half a million dollars of funds raised for a charity drive.
  
  Which is a big no no.
  
  
  
• Indiegogo is being acquired by board game funding platform Gamefound. (The Verge)
  
  Which is one of those acquisitions which just seems backwards.
  
  
  
• The Honor Pad X7 is cheap junk. (Notebook Check)
  
  It's a small Android tablet with a crappy low-resolution screen, which is not something in short supply.
  
  
  
• The GPD Win 5 is a handheld gaming device... With a Ryzen AI Max 395+. (Liliputing)
  
  What.
  
  That chip uses 80W in low power mode.
  
  Does it come with oven mitts?

Whatta You Know, The Market Works

Milei’s Man-made Miracle

When he was sworn in as president in December 2023, the Argentine economy was a seemingly incurable basket case. In 2023, its gross domestic product had shrunk by 1.6 percent, according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Perhaps more strikingly, per capita gross domestic product (GDP) on an inflation-adjusted basis was lower than it had been in 2007. Public finances were in disarray. The last time the government had run a surplus was in 2008. The IMF estimated total public debt at around 90 percent of GDP, but the important thing was how much of that debt—more than $40 billion—Argentina owed to the IMF, the culmination of no fewer than 22 programs.

The previous Peronist government’s reckless fiscal and monetary policies had created annualized inflation exceeding 200 percent. Indeed, wholesale price inflation in December 2023 was 54 percent month over month—technically hyperinflation, according to the widely accepted definition. To give you some idea, in 2023 the price of a latte roughly tripled from around 1,500 pesos to around 4,500. For the last three years, Cuervo Café—the coolest coffee shop in Buenos Aires—had to adjust its prices twice a month.

After less than 20 months, Milei has eliminated the fiscal deficit, cutting it from 5 percent of GDP to zero. He has reduced the number of government ministries from 18 to 8. (“Ministry of Tourism and Sports—out!” he declared in a campaign video, tearing its name off a whiteboard. “Ministry of Culture—out! Ministry of the Environment and Sustainable Development—out! Ministry of Women, Gender, and Diversity—out! Ministry of Public Works—out, even if you resist!”) With Executive Order 70, issued a few days after his inauguration, he deregulated key markets, including property rentals, commercial airlines, and road freight transport. Labor market reforms took longer but were enacted after a fight in Congress.

It truly is amazing what he's done. I wish politicians up here were paying attention.

It's What's For Dinner

Is Your “Made In the USA” Beef Actually Made In the USA?

When the average American is at the grocery store shopping for beef, you are likely to see labels that say, “MADE IN THE USA.” Sadly, and outrageously, these labels mean next to nothing:

The USDA has passed new regulations that won’t take effect until 2026, that are aimed at tightening up the rules around “Made in the USA” labeling on beef and pork. Shockingly, however, labeling the country of origin is totally voluntary! Beef and pork are almost the only food products where country of origin labeling isn’t required:

The rest of the article is an ad. But you should do what I do: Buy a ¼ or a ½ from a local rancher. No only do I know my beef is from the USA – I met the cow it came from before it went off to the slaughterhouse.

Dance Break

Taking Out The Trash

The Deep State Is in Real Trouble Now

Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard just lit a fuse under the deep state—and it’s about time.

Appearing Sunday on “Sunday Morning Futures” with Maria Bartiromo, Gabbard dropped a stunning accusation: that Barack Obama personally directed a “treasonous conspiracy” to undermine Donald Trump’s presidency before it even began. And now, according to Gabbard, the floodgates are opening—whistleblowers who were sickened by what they witnessed are starting to come forward.

“The implications of this are frankly nothing short of historic,” Gabbard said. She pointed to more than 100 newly released documents that she says show how Obama, just weeks before leaving office, greenlit a coordinated effort to sabotage Trump—after he was elected. “This is not a Democrat or Republican issue. This is an issue that is so serious it should concern every single American.”

According to Gabbard, Obama and his inner circle simply refused to accept the outcome of the 2016 election. Instead of stepping aside and respecting the will of the people, they weaponized the intelligence community and pushed a phony Russia narrative to kneecap Trump before he even took office.

“They decided that they would do everything possible to try to undermine his ability to do what voters tasked President Trump to do,” she said. “So, creating this piece of manufactured intelligence that claims Russia had helped Donald Trump get elected contradicted every other assessment… that said exactly the opposite—that Russia neither had the intent nor the capability to ‘hack’ the United States election.”

I'd like to think there will be consequences, but my hard won cynicism tells me there won't be.

Leaping Lizards!

Webster officials are warning residents to be on the lookout for a potentially dangerous water monitor that is on the loose in the lakeside town. 

“There is a water monitor loose in the area of Blueberry lane off from upper gore,” Webster Animal Control wrote on its Facebook page Friday. “If you spot this reptile, please immediately contact animal control or the police department. Please DO NOT approach and let the professionals handle the animal.”

Florida man laughs.

She's The Worst

The Judicial Tyranny of Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson

How can you tell if the newest Supreme Court Associate Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson is an "activist" judge? She admits it. Worse, she appears to think it is her job, if not her duty, to engage in (left-wing) judicial activism.

In an interview with CBS News, Jackson explained what she hopes to accomplish in her many dissents. "I just feel that I have a wonderful opportunity to tell people in my opinions how I feel about the issues," she said, "and that's what I try to do." She added, "And I'm not afraid to use my voice." This sounds like a podcaster rather than a judge.

You might be forgiven for thinking judges are supposed to interpret the law as intended by the legislature and apply the law to resolve disputes before the court.

When even Sotomayer is disagreeing with you, you've got issues.

War Never Changes?

Kill Russian soldiers, win points: Is Ukraine's new drone scheme gamifying war?

The images come in every day. Thousands of them. Men and equipment being hunted down along Ukraine's long, contested front lines. Everything filmed, logged and counted. And now put to use too, as the Ukrainian military tries to extract every advantage it can against its much more powerful opponent. Under a scheme first trialled last year and dubbed "Army of Drones: Bonus" (also known as "e-points"), units can earn points for each Russian soldier killed or piece of equipment destroyed. And like a killstreak in Call of Duty, or a 1970s TV game show, points mean prizes. "The more strategically important and large-scale the target, the more points a unit receives," reads a statement from the team at Brave 1, which brings together experts from government and the military. "For example, destroying an enemy multiple rocket launch system earns up to 50 points; 40 points are awarded for a destroyed tank and 20 for a damaged one." Call it the gamification of war.

Call of Duty: Kiev

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