The Left is Now at Its Most Unpopular at Any Time Since the the Cold War
Update: CNN Has Settled With Young

—Ace

Leftism is now more unpopular than when the Soviet Union was still kicking around.

Good job, Donkey-Chompers.

Lefty political parties across the world are now more unpopular than any time since the Cold War, a staggering analysis of recent elections shows.

The Left suffered a record-low average of just 45% of votes in dozens of ballots held globally last year, according to the analysis of 73 democratic elections, conducted by the Telegraph.

In the United States and Western Europe, progressives were even more unpopular -- with the left-leaning parties securing only 42% of their respective votes.

The Right, meanwhile, won 57% of the average votes -- representing the widest gap since 1990, the analysis found.

Trump, who will be inaugurated on Monday, secured the popular vote with 77 million votes compared to the 75 million his Democratic rival, Vice President Kamala Harris, raked in.

The Left's declining popularity is only expected to continue, too, experts say.

In the wake of Harris' defeat, leftist parties in Canada, Australia, and Germany are already predicted to suffer similar losses in upcoming ballots.

"The trend is up. There is no real reason to expect that it will stop anytime soon," Prof. Matthijs Rooduijn, a political scientist from the University of Amsterdam, told the outlet.

Update: Settled. Before I mentioned that the lawyer excused himself "to call my client." (AlextheChick pointed this out.) I thought maybe he was calling CNN to tell them, "We have to settle, what's the most you can offer?"

Unfortunately, this means that the size of the award will be protected by an NDA and we won't know how much they paid out. I guess maybe we can take guesses about it based on corporate filings, but they'll hide the amount in general "legal expenses" sums. Unless it's like a half billion dollars, I doubt we'll ever be able to have a good idea of how big the settlement is. The stone of the settlement will be hidden under too much general legal expenses sand.

Posted by Ace at 05:30 PM Comments

In a "Huge Win," the Woke Corporate Cartel "Net Zero" Stops Operations as Corporations Back Away from Toxic Wokeness

—Ace

This was the group of financial services companies using their immense power to force countries to immiserate themselves by not producing energy.

The Net Zero Asset Managers (NZAM) coalition -- a United Nations--sponsored collection of financial services companies that have pledged to negate their portfolio's greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 or sooner -- suspended activities after investment firm BlackRock announced its departure from the group, according to a press release.

BlackRock, which manages over $10 trillion and has been a leader in environmental, social and governance (ESG) investing, announced its exit from NZAM Thursday, with its vice-chair Philipp Hildebrand saying the firm's involvement in the environmental coalition "caused confusion regarding BlackRock's practices and subjected us to legal inquiries from various public officials." Now, NZAM has pressed pause altogether, halting operations while it conducts a review of its activities, an NZAM press release published Monday stated.

"Recent developments in the U.S. and different regulatory and client expectations in investors' respective jurisdictions have led to NZAM launching a review of the initiative to ensure NZAM remains fit for purpose in the new global context," NZAM reportedly wrote in the letter. "As the initiative undergoes this review, it is suspending activities to track signatory implementation and reporting. NZAM will also remove the commitment statement and list of NZAM signatories from its website, as well as their targets and related case studies, pending the outcome of the review."

A slew of other financial services had left NZAM prior to BlackRock's Thursday exit, including Goldman Sachs Group, Wells Fargo & Co., Citigroup, Bank of America, Morgan Stanley and JPMorgan Chase & Co. BlackRock's exit came amid a broader corporate strategy shift away from environmental, social and governance (ESG) investing, with the firm only supporting about 4% of the 493 environmental and social investment proposals shareholders put forward between the end of June 2023 and the end of June 2024, down from a rate of 47% in 2021.

BlackRock was a major supporter of ESG investing in years prior, with CEO Larry Fink claiming in 2020 that "climate risk is investment risk" and that climate change would lead to a "fundamental reallocation of capital."

Oh you mean Larry Fink, who's been using financial power to pressure companies and entire nations to follow the Global Socialist Movement's line?

Like an... oligarch, almost?

Alternative energy continues to dazzle.

- A fire broke out at Vistra Corp.'s Moss Landing complex in California, one of the world's biggest battery storage facilities, prompting evacuations. Local officials said a fire suppressant system failed.

Every rack of batteries at the facility has a fire suppressant system fed by an on-site system, and this system failed, Chief Joel Mendoza with the North County Fire District, said during a press briefing Friday. The county declared a local emergency.

Vistra executives acknowledged the system failure at the briefing. Pete Ziegler, who manages the facility, added, "We don't know what started this event yet."

Related:

Trump Bashing WaPo Cartoonist -- the First Black American to Win a Pulitzer for Cartooning -- Arrested for Possession of Child S*x Exploitation Materials

—Ace

Oh, you don't say.

You don't say.

A leftwinger? And a cartoonist?

Likes looking at naked children?

You don't say, you don't say, you don't say.

A Trump-bashing, Pulitzer Prize-winning political cartoonist -- whose illustrations have been published by the Washington Post, New Yorker and Los Angeles Times -- was arrested for possession of child pornography.

Darrin Bell, the first African American to win the Pulitzer Prize for editorial cartoons, was busted Wednesday and booked in California's Sacramento County after detectives from the Internet Crimes Against Children unit were tipped off by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, law enforcement officials said.

In a search of Bell's home, detectives found 134 videos of child pornography linked to an account owned and controlled by the 49-year-old married father of four as well as computer-generated artificial intelligence child pornography, authorities said Thursday.

From the "How Could We Have Known?" Department:

One troubling cartoon that Bell created was posted to his X account in 2022 and resurfaced on the social media platform after his arrest. Titled "The Groomer," it shows an elephant-like person flashing a group of children in front of a mirrored storefront, which reflect the word "BIGOTRY" tattooed on the subject's chest.

Groomers and pedophiles really hate the words "groomers" and "pedophiles," I've noticed.

Bell's more well-known illustrations have touched on politics, culture and race, and have been syndicated to major outlets around the country.

Oh really? The black guy in media talked a lot about race?

You don't say, you don't say, you don't say.

The Pulitzer Prize committee hailed Bell for "beautiful and daring editorial cartoons that took on issues affecting disenfranchised communities, calling out lies, hypocrisy and fraud in the political turmoil surrounding the Trump administration" in honoring him with the venerable award in 2019.

Darrin Bell, the cartoonist who made this, was just arrested with child porn on his computer pic.twitter.com/lVuUVhRfB0

— Joel Berry (@JoelWBerry) January 16, 2025

"Don't call Joe Biden a pedophile. I've known pedophiles, I've worked with pedophiles, I am a pedophile -- and Senator, Joe Biden is no pedophile. At least not one acknowledged by the community."

Close it up

Demented Tyrant Biden Now Presumes to Change the Constitiution By His Kingly Pronouncement, Adding an Amendment to the Constitution Via a Tweet

—Ace

The Equal Rights Amendment or ERA had a provision requiring the amendment to pass, or not pass, by 1982. It did not pass.

Some states have since ratified it. But others have reversed their initial ratification.

The left takes the position that the states which reversed their ratification had no power to do so, and that once you ratify, it's forever. Strangely, they do not take the position that the states that refused to ratify it are stuck with their non-ratification forever.

It's all immaterial anyway, as the ERA amendment process expired forty-two years ago. To pass it, people would have to submit a new amendment.

Biden just announced that he was using his Kingly Authority to recognize the amendment as "ratified."

He made this pronouncement two days before he's to be booted out of office, and via a Twitter post.

Mark Hemingway @Heminator

It's all projection.

Declaring *a constitutional amendment ratified* based on a wish is the kind of tyranny team blue has been warning about for eight years, but then they go and do it.

Auron MacIntyre @AuronMacintyre

"I can change the Constitution on Twitter" is a fun precedent to set right before Trump takes office

I always consider presidencies to be defined by two different baskets:

One, the basket of general Goods which everyone accepts are good, like managing the economy well and keeping the peace (or winning wars). It's hard to put eggs in this basket. This is the basket that makes presidents great, or failed.

The other basket is just all the partisan shit a president can do, like invoking or canceling the Mexico City policy. I'm not saying these partisan initiatives aren't important. I'm saying they're relatively easy. They take no effort it they're just executive orders, and legislation is easy enough if you control the Congress.

Biden obviously is a huge failure. He drove the economy into the ground, locked people in their homes for a year, mandated a dangerous experimental non-vaccine, set the government to prosecuting citizens for their political beliefs, and set the government to censoring citizens and making them afraid to speak their minds.

He also botched the Afghanistan withdrawal, resulting in 13 servicemen's deaths and countless Afghan allies left to be killed by the Taliban, and his senile weakness provoked two wars, one begun by his political donor Putin, the other one by Hamas, who knew Biden was too weak to defy the Michigan Arab vote.

So he is a failure by the real measure -- he has nothing in the basket of general goods.

But he's a vain, egotistical and extremely stupid man who craves a legacy.

So what does he do as the lights fade on his miserable usurped presidency?

He just starts shitting out partisan declarations, declaring an amendment shall be Deemed Passed on his authority, or rewriting Title IX to not protect women, or once again usurping the power of Congress to make the laws, declaring that people don't have to pay back student loans because he says so.

All of this to generate some kind of "legacy" for himself. The rest of the country will continue to hate him and rank him among the worst presidents in US history, but he wants to at least create a base on the far, far left who will recognize him, favorably, as the most extremist leftwing president the country ever had.

Convicted Disinformation Outfit CNN: Our Finances Are In Tough Shape and If You Hit Us With Major Punitive Damages We Won't Be Able to Cover Hurricanes and Earthquakes for You

—Ace

CNN's own lawyer says that CNN is in "a subtle decline" so that the jury doesn't crush them.

CNN Moves Superstar Jim Acosta to a Hot New Time Slot More Worthy of His Towering Stature
BREAKING: JURY FINDS CNN LIABLE

—Ace

Having a show at midnight is a high-status thing, right?

CNN is apparently plotting to exile star anchor Jim Acosta -- a longtime antagonist of President-elect Donald Trump -- to the "Siberia of television news" in a bid to "throw a bone" to the incoming commander-in-chief, according to a former colleague.

The network's boss, Mark Thompson, this week called in Acosta to propose shifting his show, "CNN Newsroom with Jim Acosta," from 10 a.m. to the graveyard midnight slot, ex-CNN senior media reporter Oliver Darcy reported in his Status News newsletter.

"The move would effectively exile Acosta to the Siberia of television news," Darcy wrote.

It's like the hospice of television. CNN will just try to "make Jim comfortable" as he prepares for his departure.

Acosta was caught "off guard," Darcy said -- with the anchor later using his airtime for some self-promotion to send a message to Trump to go easier on journalists.

"He had no reason to believe that his current show would be on the chopping block. In fact, his ratings have historically been some of the network's strongest," Darcy pointed out.

LOL, sure.

The spin is that this move is necessary so that... Wolf Blitzer can be moved to mornings.

That makes no sense. Blitzer is on in the afternoon. Why do they have to move Acosta's ten p.m. show to move Blitzer from 5pm to 8am?

Acosta was told his possible move was to accommodate moving veteran anchor Wolf Blitzer from primetime evenings to a morning show -- and nothing to do with his ratings or editorial style, Darcy said.

...

"They want to get rid of Acosta to throw a bone to Trump," an unnamed media executive told the newsletter.

"Midnight is not a serious offer when his ratings are among the best on the network."

UPDATE: The Jury reached a verdict -- CNN is liable for defamation.

They are now Convicted Defamers. I think that's what we say now, right?

Even better -- They requested a calculator for determining damages.

You'll have so much winning you'll be tired of winning.

Update: The jury awarded five million in compensatory (that is, real) damages. But it's the punitive damages where the big money can come in.

Sean Davis @seanmdav JUST NOW: A jury has found CNN liable for defamation against Zachary Young for lying about his efforts to rescue people from Afghanistan. The jury has awarded Zachary Young $5 million in compensatory damages. The jury will next decide how much CNN must pay in punitive damages.

I think that there's probably some limit to how much a jury can award in punitive damages, limited by compensatory damages. Maybe 10-to-1? So the five million in real damages may point to a much-smaller-than-we'd-hope punitive damages award.

Punitive damages are damages intended to punish the wrongdoer, not compensate the victim.

THE MORNING RANT: Buck Shots – January 17, 2025

—Buck Throckmorton

Target Going to Court for Fiduciary Negligence with its Pride Campaign

The legal pushback against woke capital continues, as investors are finding judges receptive to allowing lawsuits against companies pursuing DEI and ESG at the expense of profit and investor return, thus engaging in fiduciary negligence. A few days ago I wrote about American Airlines being found in violation of federal law for prioritizing ESG in a manner that caused harm to its employees’ 401ks.

Target is also heading to the courtroom to try to defend its promotion of LGBTQ garments targeting minors, since the consumer backlash to that vulgarity was predictable and very costly in lost sales.

“Target must face shareholder lawsuit over Pride backlash, judge rules” [USA Today]

A lawsuit against Target over its controversial 2023 Pride Collection can move forward, a Florida judge has ruled.

"Target embraced a radical transgender agenda targeting children and families through the corporation’s infamous 2023 'Pride' campaign," conservative group America First Legal, which filed the lawsuit, said in a statement, adding that the backlash "led to billions in losses."

Illegal Wind Farm Must be Removed for Violating Osage Mineral Rights

Back in 2010, some wind energy hustlers leased the surface rights to 8,400 acres in Oklahoma to develop a wind farm. 84 wind turbines were erected. However, the mineral rights to that land belonged to trust a for the benefit of the Osage Nation. The developer never received permission to excavate the Osage’s sub-surface land when installing the foundations for the turbines.

The Osage sued, and a federal court has now ruled that the wind farm must be removed.

“Federal judge orders removal of wind farm developed on Osage Nation's Mineral Estate” [Fox 23 Tulsa – 12/19/2024]

The excavation for 82 of the wind turbines involved explosives to create craters over 10 feet deep and 60 feet wide to install reinforced concrete foundations. "Significant amounts of Osage minerals were engineered and used as backfill for, and positioned around, the wind turbine foundations.”

The United States brought two declaratory judgement claims and additional claims for conversion, trespass, and continuing trespass of the [Osage Mineral Estate].

On Thursday, Judge Choe-Groves also ordered the defendants to remove the wind farm from the OME and return it to its pre-trespass condition on or before Dec. 1 of next year.

Maybe one reason Native Americans swung hard to the right in support of Donald Trump in the 2024 election is because they hate those giant bird-killing cuisinarts as much as Donald Trump does.

5,900 Years Ago the Earth Was Much Warmer than Today

More than 30 pine trees that have been buried in ice for more than 5,000 years were recently discovered in Wyoming in a patch of melting ice. A climate cultist might want to believe that this thawing terrain is proof of a warming climate. But the problem is that this piece of land is high above the timberline, in an area too cold for trees to grow. But it didn’t used to be. The climate was once warmer than it is now.

“Melting Ice Reveals Remains of 5,900-Year-Old Trees in Wyoming, Uncovering a Long-Lost Forest” [Smithsonian Magazine – 01/13/2025]

[Scientists] found the previously hidden stand of trees on the Beartooth Plateau in northwest Wyoming, which is part of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. The whitebark pines were lying flat but had been preserved in good condition, suggesting they were rapidly enveloped by ice. The trees were recently exposed when the ice patch began melting due to hotter temperatures related to human-caused climate change, reports New Scientist’s Taylor Mitchell Brown.

If “human caused climate change” caused the ice patch to melt, what caused the warming 6,000 years ago that allowed pine trees to grow there? Perhaps it was all the buffalo flatulence that caused warming in the mid-Holocene era.

This Smithsonian article does at least note that, This suggests the region’s climate was once warmer than it is today. Correct. We are actually living in an historically cool period for planet Earth.

Brown University’s $46 Million (and Growing) Deficit

Another Ivy League University is swirling the drain in a financial crisis of its own making. This time it’s Brown University. Predictably, Brown caused this crisis by hiring a bloated corps of administrators.

“Brown will restrict faculty, staff growth and reduce PhD admissions to address budget deficit’ {Brown Daily Herald – 12/17/2024]

In the last 20 years, faculty headcount has grown by over 20%, and the number of unrestricted staff — staff not funded by grants or gifts — has grown by 28%, according to the announcement. But during this time, undergraduate enrollment has grown by only 13%. This has placed “considerable pressure on the University’s tuition-dependent budget.”

Brown’s operating deficit could hit $90 million next year. It sounds like it’s time for Brown to start liquidating its $7 billion endowment since the school is still avoiding the obvious solution of terminating the administrative deadweight that it hired.

*****

The Gulf of America

Once upon a time, I would have objected to renaming the Gulf of Mexico to the “Gulf of America,” but that was before the America-hating left (e.g. Democrats) started trying to erase history by toppling statues and renaming iconic American landmarks.

With Fort Hood having been renamed Fort Cavazos, and Fort Bragg renamed Fort Liberty, and Mount McKinley renamed Denali, those of us who actually love our country need to start renaming things too.

I’ve spent more vacation time in my life on the Texas Gulf Coast than anywhere else, and I never once stepped foot into Mexican coastal waters. Why the heck should Mexico get the name. The Gulf of America it is!

(h/t Michael Berry Show)

*****

At Texas A&M: Segregation Now, Segregation Tomorrow, Segregation Forever

Texas A&M is still actively engaging in racial discrimination, but its President thinks it’s all cool, because it’s the “good” kind of racial segregation that discriminates against Asians and whites.

Unfortunately for him, Christopher Rufo just exposed Texas A&M’s practice of restricting participants in certain conferences to those attendees identifying as members of preferred races.

EXCLUSIVE: Texas A&M is sponsoring a trip to a DEI conference that prohibits whites and Asians from attending. The university falsely claims that this use of taxpayer funds does not violate the state's DEI ban.@TAMU is supporting racial segregation and breaking the law. pic.twitter.com/pFWYnZdweE

— Christopher F. Rufo ⚔️ (@realchrisrufo) January 13, 2025

Mr. Welsh III is a cowardly man who quickly bows to the latest pressure applied to him. He first bowed in obedience to the DEI brigade at Texas A&M. Then rather than defend his DEI-driven support for racial segregation, Mr. Welsh III pretended to acquiesce to Gov. Abbott so as not to lose his job. He canceled Texas A&M’s racially segregated participation in this specific event.

WINNING: The president of Texas A&M has terminated the university's participation in a segregated conference. He admits that the university initially approved students to go to a conference that "limited attendees by race." But after he got caught, he changed his mind. pic.twitter.com/kUSRe68Zfx

— Christopher F. Rufo ⚔️ (@realchrisrufo) January 14, 2025

But if you read President Welsh’s letter of capitulation, he is still not acknowledging any wrongdoing. He wrote, ”While the proper process for reviewing and approving attendance at such events was followed, I don’t believe we fully considered the spirit of our state law in making the initial decision to participate.”

If Welsh believes the “proper process” allowed for overt racial discrimination, and if he believes “the spirit of our state law” also allows for overt racial discrimination, then this man is not fit to be the President of Texas A&M University. He’s not fit to show his face in polite company in the state of Texas.

Please, Governor Abbott, fire this man. Mark Welsh III has made it abundantly clear that he cannot serve another day as President of Texas A&M. If you have to fire university regents to get them to take action against Welsh, then do that. Mark Welsh III and his promotion of racial segregation cannot be tolerated in 21st Century Texas.

[buck.throckmorton at protonmail dot com]

Close it up

Mid-Morning Art Thread

—CBD

Sunset on the Coast
Jules Dupre

The Morning Report — 1/17/25

—J.J. Sefton

Good morning kids. Well, the Democrats continue to reveal themselves as the scummy low-lives and deranged tyrants that they are and have been for 200 years in their petty, puerile and pointless line of questioning of Donald Trump's cabinet nominees. Hitting the rewind button a few days ago, regarding Pete Hegseth and all the wetting of panty-girdles about his alleged white supremacist slip showing because of a (horror of horrors!) Christian tattoo on his arm revealing him to be a Nazi racist or something, commenter Beverly notes:

Delicious detail: the Jerusalem cross is, in tilework about 20 feet by 20 feet, at the center of the nave of the National Cathedral! AND it was on the drape over Goober Carter’s coffin as he lay in state in the Cathedral during his funeral! I so wish Pete had known about/said that.

And Carter could never have been elected piss boy let alone governor in Georgia had he not had the approval of what was originally called the Armed Militant Wing of the Democrat Party: The KKK. And yet. Yeah, go figure. Tell me again who the party is that desires to put us all "yall back in chains" as (Sponge-Brain Shits-Pants farted out to frighten black voters) with them holding the whip hand as we hand over our blood and treasure. Literally.

At yesterday's struggle session with Comrade Bernardo Sandersnista of Vermont, the self-gassing cancerous commie momzer spouted this drivel:

Treasury secretary nominee Scott Bessent turned the tables on independent Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders at his Thursday confirmation hearing by pointing out that President Joe Biden awarded “oligarchs” with the highest honor.

Sanders cited President Joe Biden’s statement made in his Wednesday farewell address that “an oligarchy is taking shape in America of extreme wealth, power and influence,” and questioned the nominee on whether he agrees that tech moguls Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg and Jeff Bezos have overarching influence on the country. Bessent cited that Biden recently awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom to Democratic mega donor George Soros and The Carlyle Group co-chairman David Rubenstein, who he referred to as the president’s “oligarchs.”“When you have a small number of multi-billionaires who have enormous economic, media and political power, would you agree with President Biden who last night stated and I quote, ‘an oligarchy is taking shape in America of extreme wealth, power and influence that threatens our entire democracy, our basic rights and freedoms.’ That’s what President Biden said last night. I agree with him, do you?”

“Look, the three billionaires who you listed, they all made the money themselves. Mr. Musk came to the country as an immigrant,” Bessent said.

Sanders said to forget how they made their money and suggested that a limited amount of people having significant political power creates an “oligarchic form of society.”

. . . Soros has poured hundreds of millions of dollars into his organization, the Open Society Foundations, and other groups to elect soft-on-crime district attorneys and judges. Political action committees linked to the billionaire spend large sums of money to fund left-wing candidates in virtually every state throughout the U.S.

Yes, we must forget that George Soros and his father got paid handsomely by the Nazi Germans for helping them round up Hungarian Jews (some of them my relatives), with money taken from their victims heading off in cattle cars to the gas chambers and crematoria of Auschwitz. We have to forget that because Soros' noble aim is for the dismantling of America and western civilization and its bedrock foundation of Judeo-Christian values, morals and ethics that advanced human development more in the past near 250 years via the American Revolution than in almost all of human history since Magna Carta.

The only oligarchy is the academic/political/media axis of evil that has been in service exclusively to advance the counter-American Revolution with its political epicenter in the Democrat Party going back for sure since the 60s if not as far back as Woodrow Wilson and the insultingly misnomered "Progressive" movement which will progress us back to the 10th century if they succeed.

May Sanders live long enough to see Soros repatriated to Hungary or perhaps Malaysia where, correct me if I'm wrong, he faces a death sentence for destroying their currency (as he did the British pound and a few other nations), and every rotten, evil communist thing he believes in utterly dismantled, discredited and mocked. Oh to be a fly on the wall as the Lord passes final judgement on Sanders' contemptible corrupted soul and he heads for the Infernal Reaches. No, not Los Angeles.

While Biden and Sanders and a number of others in the Gerontocratic kleptocracy of our government are poised to go the way of Jimmy Carter in the not too distant future. Before I say please God, lest we forget, they have prepared for their own demise by protecting the seeds of our destruction that they planted or tended for the commie bastards that preceded them.

This was Trump's problem when he shocked the world in 2016, as the shampeachments, kangaroo court trials and the stolen election and DOJ/FBI/CIA+Pelosi Deep State 1/6 false flag operation have shown beyond all doubt. And it has not gone away.

Sure, every one of Trump's nominees can and likely will be approved. There's still this to deal with:

Can we consider this an insurrection? Perhaps election subversion? Maybe an attempt to undermine our “democracy”? (Yes, I know we’re a republic, but since we did just deliver Trump a majority of the nation’s votes, “democracy” conveniently, for argument’s sake, applies.)

It’s not like we need any more examples of how evil, corrupt, and lawless those on the left are, but here it is anyway: According to the results of a recent survey conducted by RMG Research, 73% of federal bureaucrats who identify as Democrats plan to “resist” Trump and his directives, and around 64% plan to directly defy his policies if they disagree with them. Here’s the story, from a report on the by Tyler O’Neil at The Daily Signal:

While the vast majority of government employees who identify as Republicans plan to support the administration (89% ‘somewhat support’ or ‘strongly support’), almost three quarters of Democrat bureaucrats plan to resist (73% ‘somewhat resist’ or ‘strongly resist’). More than half of Republican managers (52%) said they would ‘strongly support’ the administration, while 40% of Democrats said they will ‘strongly resist’ it. . . The survey also asked Federal Government Managers what they would do if Trump gave them a lawful order that they considered to be bad policy. Only 17% of Democratic managers who voted for Harris would follow Trump’s order. Three times as many (64%) said they would ignore the order and do what they thought was best.

. . . Walter E. Williams famously said, “I prefer a thief to a Congressman. A thief will take your money and be on his way, but a Congressman will stand there and bore you with the reasons why he took it.” Well, I think I prefer a Congressman (and that’s saying something!) to a federal bureaucrat who will steal your money, bore you with why he’s entitled to it, and actively and intentionally work against your best interest and what he’s been hired to do.

It's not necessarily your money they're stealing. They're stealing your liberty. Can there be mass-firings for cause, if not prosecutions for this, on the grounds of malfeasance or whatever? More crucially, will there be, considering the potential political ramifications. Let's say Border Patrol, DHS refuse the orders to start rounding up and deporting illegal alien invaders? Or military and intel soldiers, agents, Diplomats, whoever refuse to do their jobs because of policy differences. That risks our national security, no?

And there's this angle:

"It will take time to feel the full impact of all that my Administration has done," Presidentish Joe Biden claimed in Wednesday night's farewell address to the nation. "The seeds we planted will grow and bloom for decades to come."

I'm afraid he's right, for once.  "Cancer. He's describing cancer," Dan Franck quipped on X in response — and it's already begun to metastasize. Biden came into office promising — and then delivering — a spending and regulatory spree that made Barack "Mr. Stimulus and Obamacare" Obama look as parsimonious as John Adams. Well, according to the latest figures, Biden's chickens are coming home just in time to roost on Donald Trump's watch.

The cancer in this case is not merely policy, but the little Eichmann apparatchik lifers, the vast majority Democrat/leftist who will do their damndest to slow walk, sabotage or otherwise rebel against Trump, which is against the will of the people. And because of their chosen profession and perhaps education, have a deep disdain if not hatred for.

Cancer like that is fatal and unless the most radical of surgeries is employed to excise it, at best we will have a four year period of respite from a fatal prognosis.

Have a great weekend, and let's celebrate as we wait for Inauguration Day when Orange Mandela is primed to liberate Lady Liberty once again!!!!!

And lastly, a quick shout-out and thank you for your continued support in hitting our tip jar. It truly is appreciated more than you can know.

ABOVE THE FOLD, BREAKING, NOTEWORTHY
• Daniel Greenfield: The enemy within is already trying to burrow inside.
  The Imam on Trump’s Inauguration Program

Daily Tech News 17 January 2025

—Pixy Misa

• New York passed legislation requiring ISPs operating within the state to offer service for $15 to low-income customers. AT&T said "okay, bye". (Ars Technica)
  
  AT&T only offered wireless internet in New York.
  
  AT&T no longer offers wireless internet in New York.
  
  The communists at Ars Technica are extremely upset that the entirely predictable outcome of such a law... Happened.
  
  

Ask Not For Whom The ONT Tolls

—WeirdDave

Howdy Horde! Welcome to Thursday night!

Headline Of The Week

How naked World War II sailors ended up riding Mongolian ponies in the Gobi Desert to shoot bazookas at the Japanese

SACO’s operation in India grew as needs in China evolved. It proved easier to manufacture some materials in India than ship them from the United States. A new plant in Jorhat produced liquid oxygen, converting some into gas for flights over the Hump. Most of it was transported in liquid form to conversion stations near where it would be used to avoid airlifting the heavy canisters. A Navy factory made batteries for the hundreds of radios scattered across China. With a shelf life of nine months, batteries made in the United States were nearly spent by the time they finished a six-month journey to China, but they arrived only a few weeks old when made in India. At Camp Knox in Calcutta, new arrivals got their first taste of the exotic, riding around in rickshaws while preparing for duty in China. They exchanged their crisp Navy whites for Army khakis without insignia or rank.

Interesting stuff about the “Rice Paddy Navy”

Another One Bites The Dust

MSNBC president exiting network amid ratings tailspin

Rashida Jones, the president of MSNBC, has announced she is stepping away from the network after four years at the helm.
On Tuesday, Jones sent a letter to staff, announcing her departure and thanking them for their work.
"The people here at MSNBC are what make this place truly special, and our shared mission is what has always united us: to keep our viewers, readers, and listeners well-informed, provide critical context, ask tough questions, speak hard truths, say the quiet part out loud, and always adhere to the facts, without fear or favor," Jones wrote, according to the Daily Beast.
Jones' resignation as president is effective immediately, though she will remain on board in an advisory capacity until March.

Not tired of all the winning yet.

Set Them Free

Pardon Every Single J6 Political Prisoner – Every Single One

It is a feature and not a bug that the Democrats and the regime media lackeys will be outraged by this righteous act of justice. They need to be angry and shown that they cannot win. This is an important object lesson. The J6 vendetta was a disgraceful crime far exceeding the fake crimes in American history – like “McCarthyism” – the leftists always whine about. But there will also be Republicans who are going to cry about this, and they’re wrong to do so. They’re wrong to do so because the vital issue is not whether some individual went too far on January 6. This is about a systemic persecution of American citizens not resulting from an individualized consideration of their exact circumstances but simply because they were affiliated with the out-of-power party. You cannot tolerate this in a free society. If you do tolerate this, it stops being a free society. 

And to tolerate this because of some lame cliche like “respecting the rule of law” is ridiculous – these prosecutions themselves are a direct assault upon the rule of law. To give these charges and convictions any credibility at all, whether the person is accused of trespassing or punching a flatfoot, is to accept a two-tier justice system. That’s why the notion that people convicted of “violence” should not be pardoned is so misguided. To accept the validity of any J6 judicial proceeding is to accept that these biased, tyrannical prosecutions could ever generate a just result. A two-tier justice system targeting our people in a biased venue in front of biased judges via misapplied statutes can never deliver a just result. None of the proceedings undertaken against these J6 defendants could ever be just. Every single prosecution was and is absolutely corrupt. Every single trial verdict was fatally tainted. Every guilty plea was presumptively coerced. 

Every word.

Musical Interlude

A young drum prodigy steals the show with his incredible performance! ?￰ﾟﾍﾀ Talent knows no age! pic.twitter.com/5yeoZHKl3J

— Classical Music & Opera (@Ducnghia16) January 14, 2025

Outstanding!

Wildfires

Bone-Chilling “Conspiracy Theory” Emerges as California Burns

As devastating wildfires once again consume California’s landscapes, a growing number of skeptics are pointing to an eerie coincidence: the fires are burning in regions earmarked for major redevelopment under the controversial “SmartLA 2028” initiative.
Critics allege that these fires might not be mere acts of nature but intentional acts to fast-track a dystopian agenda where artificial intelligence governs daily life.

…

One user wrote on X, “LA fires clear the way for SmartLA 2028 and 2028 LA Olympics. The SmartLA 2028 blueprint contains a map of the Pacific Palisades, Santa Monica, and Hollywood regions, all seriously fire-damaged, showing their special importance in the coming city restructuring.”
The “SmartLA 2028” strategy, outlined in a document published by the City of Los Angeles, envisions a highly digital and connected city by 2028 under the United Nations’ 2030 Agenda.
From 5G infrastructure to AI-assisted public safety measures, SmartLA 2028 promises sweeping transformations, including ultra-efficient transportation, digital governance, and AI-driven decision-making systems.

At this point, I'll believe anything.

Neil Gaiman Is Going Down

There Is No Safe Word

Gaiman led Pavlovich down a stone path into the garden to an old-fashioned tub with a roll top and walked away. She got undressed and sank into the bath, looking up at the furry magenta blossoms of the pohutukawa tree overhead. A few minutes later, she was surprised to hear Gaiman’s footsteps on the stones in the dark. She tried to cover her breasts with her arms. When he arrived at the bath, she saw that he was naked. Gaiman put out a couple of citronella candles, lit them, and got into the bath. He stretched out, facing her, and, for a few minutes, made small talk. He bitched about Palmer’s schedule. He talked about his kid’s school. Then he told her to stretch her legs out and “get comfortable.” “I said ‘no.’ I said, ‘I’m not confident with my body,’” Pavlovich recalls. “He said, ‘It’s okay — it’s only me. Just relax. Just have a chat.’” She didn’t move. He looked at her again and said, “Don’t ruin the moment.” She did as instructed, and he began to stroke her feet. At that point, she recalls, she felt “a subtle terror.” Gaiman asked her to sit on his lap. Pavlovich stammered out a few sentences: She was gay, she’d never had sex, she had been sexually abused by a 45-year-old man when she was 15. Gaiman continued to press. “The next part is really amorphous,” Pavlovich tells me. “But I can tell you that he put his fingers straight into my ass and tried to put his penis in my ass. And I said, ‘No, no.’ Then he tried to rub his penis between my breasts, and I said ‘no’ as well. Then he asked if he could come on my face, and I said ‘no’ but he did anyway. He said, ‘Call me ‘master,’ and I’ll come.’ He said, ‘Be a good girl. You’re a good little girl.’”

If these allegations are true, he's a sick fuck, and a rapist. Which is a damn shame because I've loved just about everything he's ever written from Sandman through his novels.

Second Order Effects

This post is worth a read, and the conclusion is...interesting

Elon Musk thinks Mars should have a government. He thinks it should be a direct democracy. This, right here, is why it shouldn't. Because of this paragraph of text: Scarcity occurs when people want more of something than there is. When that happens, the price goes up. When the price goes up, there is more money to be made selling that thing. People who want money start figuring out ways to make more of that thing. So they can sell it. Then there is more of that to go around, and the price comes down. Did you understand all that? Then congratulations, you understood the concept of second and higher order effects. Your IQ is at least one standard deviation above the mean. Also, you are outnumbered five to one at the voting booth . By people who think you can pass a law to make things free. Lotsa luck, smart guy.

Food for thought. I used to think “of course everyone should have a vote”. I don't think that anymore, but I'll be bumped if I can figure a way back from a world where everyone has the vote, and everyone thinks it's their right.

Muslim Rape Gangs

Another good post about the situation in Britain

This is the Muslim culture in Britain. I have multiple sources for these attitudes. A follower writes. "A Muslim friend of Muslim was explaining to me that basically white girls are seen as just something to f**k, like prostitutes. Mainly married men & fathers can carry on being good dad's & fathers & just rape white girls like a release. "They don't see it as rape, like they don't see shagging a goat as rape. "She said "like some white blokes watch porn, they go & 'shag' a white girl". She's said it so flippantly. To them, "rape" would be to force yourself on a "pure" Muslim woman. To them, this isn't "rape" - these girls are nothing. Just shit on their shoes. They barely see them as human.

Another huge mistake the west has made is the stupid idea that all cultures are equal. They are not.

Tonight's ONT has been brought to you by holding a grudge:

Close it up

All Kinds of Dogs Cafe

—Ace

"The Stronghold," by Jim Scott
I'm pretty sure it's Smailholm Tower in Northumberland

You will believe a dog can fly.

You will believe a dog has bionic legs.

Firemen render first aid to two dogs rendered unconscious and near-death by smoke from a fire. They make it!

Climbing dog.

Amazon For Cats just delivers empty boxes.

Skunks sound like Muppets? You hear them when the get to the cameraman near the end of the video.

Serious dog, not recommended for amateurs. An x user says it's "the Central Asian Shepherd Dog, also known as the Alabay, Alabai and Turkmen Wolf-Hound is a livestock guardian dog breed."

Another gentle giant.

Dog clerk.

Dog alarm clock.

This doesn't look fun to me but I guess if you're poor, this is a decent replacement for a waterslide.

(not a dog)

Just a hop skip and a jump.

Doggie's first kiss.

Quick Hits

—Ace

Daniel Penny is riding the subway again,
and he's bringing hell with him

Supposedly, the rat-infested criminal organization the FBI shut its DEI office in December.

By which they mean: We shut down the office as an acknowledged node on our organizational chart, and reassigned all the DEI Monitors to places where they can really do damage, like in FBI field offices.

"In recent weeks, the FBI took steps to close the Office of Diversity and Inclusion (ODI), effective by December 2024," the agency told Fox News Digital on Thursday.

The agency didn't specify why it had closed the office, although many Republicans have been critical of it prioritizing DEI, saying that had overshadowed national security.

Earlier this month, Republican Sen. Marsha Blackburn sent a letter to FBI Director Christopher Wray claiming that "radical" DEI practices had "endangered" Americans following the New Year's Day terrorist attack in New Orleans.

Just shut them down:

Ron "The Meatball" DeSantis (and I use "The Meatball" to mean "Awesome") has appointed Ashley Moody to take over for Marco Rubio.

Moody is DeSantis' AG and people who follow Florida politics say she's a rock.

From the gaywads at Axios:

Why it matters: Moody is a DeSantis and Donald Trump loyalist. Her appointment will set off a chain-reaction of office-seeking and Florida political drama heading into 2026.

...

What they're saying: "I want somebody that's going to work with President Trump to deliver on the mandate he earned from the American people," DeSantis said.

That means cutting spending, stopping inflation, reining in the "federal bureaucracy," fighting against illegal immigration, and "putting Americans first" by not "bringing foreigners in to displace our own people in key positions," DeSantis said.

DeSantis also noted Moody, a fifth generation Floridian, was a corporate lawyer, judge and, as a teen, was even elected "queen of the famous Strawberry Festival" in her hometown of Plant City.

"I'm ready to show up and fight for this nation and fight for President Trump to deliver the American First agenda on day one," Moody said. "I've got the backs of the American people, DOGE and President Trump."

AG Ashley Moody @AGAshleyMoody

As a former judge, I will take my role confirming judges and justices seriously to ensure that, like Justices Thomas and Alito, they share the values and concepts of law as our Founding Fathers understood them. I will work through the Senate confirmation process to ensure those who get confirmed are strong nominees and know that it is their duty to interpret the Constitution as it is written.

Democrat Congressional staffers are crusading for what's really important -- a four-day workweek. Not for everyone, just for these best-of-the-DEI-brightest world-beaters.

The group asking for this perk is called the Congressional Progressive Staff Association (CPTA), and they sent a letter to Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (R-LA) and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) Thursday pleading with them to "consider adopting a proposal that would improve worker satisfaction, increase staff retention in Congress, and model a more sustainable approach to work on a national level."

That proposal? A 32-hour workweek when Congress isn't in session.

The proposal actually goes further, giving district-based staffers at least a 20 percent reduction in their working hours when their House member is in D.C.

Under the proposal, congressional staffers would still work long hours when their boss is around. But when Congress is in session, district office staffers would be entitled to an abbreviated, 20-percent-lighter schedule, and when it is not, D.C.-based staff would have a lighter week.

LA's DEI Mayor wasn't just in Ghana during the wildfires, despite being warned beforehand that the Santa Ana winds would be particularly strong and the city was in "extreme" danger of fires.

She also attended a cocktail party, and posed for pictures, after she was told the city was in fact on fire.

Embattled Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass is once again at the center of controversy after social media photos showed that she was at a cocktail party in Ghana as the Palisades Fire exploded. Bass was in the African nation as part of a delegation sent by the Biden administration for the inauguration of Ghanaian President John Dramani Mahama, the Los Angeles Times reported on Tuesday.

Bass appeared to be posing for photos just before 8:00 p.m. local time, which was 12 p.m. in Los Angeles, according to the Los Angeles Times. Moments later, evacuation orders were issued due to the Palisades Fire.

"The presidential delegation was hosted by the United States ambassador to Ghana on the way to the plane," said Bass spokesperson Zach Seidl said, according to the LA Times. "For the majority of the time, the mayor was in a different room on calls from LA."

A spokesperson for the US ambassador to Ghana told the LA Times that Mahama held the reception for the American delegation before they were set to return to the United States on a military plane.

On Jan. 2, days before Bass left for Ghana, the National Weather Service warned of the potential for "extreme fire weather conditions" due to the Santa Ana winds. Just days later, the Palisades were burning, and residents were ordered to evacuate.

Karen Bass's staff responded by deleting pictures of the cocktail party.

After the Election, Paul Ryan Calls For "Unity" and Begrudgingly Says He Wants Trump to Succeed

—Ace

"You know who that sounds like? It sounds like a Democrat!"

Trump recently banned a bunch of people from working in the Administration:

In order to save time, money, and effort, it would be helpful if you would not send, or recommend to us, people who worked with, or are endorsed by, Americans for No Prosperity (headed by Charles Koch), "Dumb as a Rock" John Bolton, "Birdbrain" Nikki Haley, Mike Pence, disloyal Warmongers Dick Cheney, and his Psycho daughter, Liz, Mitt Romney, Paul Ryan, General(?) Mark Milley, James Mattis, Mark Yesper, or any of the other people suffering from Trump Derangement Syndrome, more commonly known as TDS. Thank you for your attention to this matter!

Biden, Who Demanded that Tech Oligarchs Censor Any Speech Critical of Him or the Democrats, Now Warns Nation Grimly of a "Tech-Industrial Complex" Controlling the Country

—Ace

Before getting to that, I suppose it's just a total coincidence that Biden's SEC just decided to persecute Musk some more for giving Americans some of their free speech back.

NBC "News:"

The SEC filed a lawsuit against Elon Musk on Tuesday, alleging the billionaire committed securities fraud in 2022 by failing to disclose he had amassed an active stake in Twitter, a secrecy that allowed him to buy shares at "artificially low prices."

Musk, who is also CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, purchased Twitter for $44 billion in late 2022 and changed the name to X the following year. Prior to the acquisition, he'd built up a position in the company of greater than 5%, which would've required disclosing his holdings to the public within 10 calendar days of reaching that threshold.

According to the SEC's civil complaint, filed in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., Musk was more than 10 days late in reporting that material information, "allowing him to underpay by at least $150 million for shares he purchased after his financial beneficial ownership report was due." Investors may have bid up the stock had they known about Musk's purchases and interest in the company.

Below, in his halting, lie-filled "farewell address," Biden claims that it's other people who fill the discourse with lies and other people who want to control your speech:

U.S. President Joe Biden warned on Wednesday in his farewell address that an American oligarchy is taking shape among a few tech billionaires who have amassed a "dangerous concentration of power."

Biden warned Americans of a "tech industrial complex," words that echoed President Dwight Eisenhower's farewell address in 1961. Eisenhower, closing out eight years as president, had warned of the dangers of a "military-industrial complex" gaining power in the United States.

"Today, an oligarchy is taking shape in America of extreme wealth, power and influence that really threatens our entire democracy, our basic rights and freedom and a fair shot for everyone to get ahead," Biden said from the Oval Office.
He did not mention names, but Tesla CEO Elon Musk, the world's richest man, has amassed not just vast wealth but has become a powerful adviser to Donald Trump, the Republican who will take over as president from Biden on Monday.

Did he forget names like Mark Cuban, Reid Hoffman, Larry Fink, and George Soros, who have paid billions to the Democrat Party? Did he forget Mark Zuckerberg, who paid $400 million to turn out the vote in left-leaning areas?

No? Just Elon Musk? A one-man oligarchy, huh?

"Six decades later, I'm equally concerned about the potential rise of a tech industrial complex. It could pose real dangers for our country as well. Americans are being buried under an avalanche of misinformation and disinformation, enabling the abuse of power," he said.

"The free press is crumbling. Pillars are disappearing. Social media is giving up on fact checking," Biden said.

Update:

𝙺𝚒𝚖𝚋𝚊𝚕 𝙼𝚞𝚜𝚔 @kimbal

It’s also good to double check what politicians say. Kamala was supported by 83 billionaires. Trump was supported by 52.

If there really is a fear of the wealthy influencing our elections, maybe they should do some self-reflection first.

Closing Arguments in Billion-Dollar CNN Defamation Trial: CNN Just Can't Stop Digging All the Holes

—Ace

In the billion-dollar CNN defamation trial, the lawyers are offering closing arguments. The judge issued juror instructions just before that.

Nicholas Fondacaro @NickFondacaro

If they find CNN liable and they proceed to punitive damages, they need to determine if CNN engaged in express malice, actual malice, and outrageous behavior.

...

Freedman notes that Axelrod's claim in opening that every word in CNN's report was "true."

He notes that every CNN witness claimed used the same false definition for "black market."

CNN is attempting to weasel its way out of defaming Young as working for the "black market" of human smuggling by now claiming they had no idea "black market" meant an illegal market, and they thought it only meant an... "unregulated market."

That's what CNN has instructed all of its employees to say -- they have suborned perjury, telling their employees to invent a fictitious definition of "black market" which they all claim they always believed.

Allegedly, you understand. I'm sure it's perfectly possible that a bunch of people independently and organically came to believe in a definition of "black market" that appears in literally zero dictionaries. (Until leftwing dictionary editors update their definitions to support CNN's court position, that is.)

He notes that every CNN witness said they had no remorse and they would publish it again.

Freedman recalls that the jury asked Marquardt if he was sorry and he said no.

Freedman says that everyone saw CNN senior editor Tom Lumley's conscience was eating him up on the stand because CNN was forcing him to lie.

Lumley is one of the two editors who ripped the story before CNN went ahead and published it anyway:

"The story is full of holes like Swiss cheese," Lumley wrote.

"Agree. The story is 80% emotion, 20% obscured fact lol," Trimble responded.

Nicholas Fondacaro @NickFondacaro

Freedman is reminding the jury of who Young was before the CNN report.

Freedman is walking the jury through the timeline of Young's evacuations from Afghanistan.

He save 22 women and a baby.

Freedman notes that Young had warned CNN that they didn't have the facts straight and that "they would face you [the jury]" and they did it anyway.

Freedman says it takes expressed and actual malice for CNN to do what they allegedly did.

Freedman note that CNN's headlines and article said Afghans faced "exorbitant" fees from people like the only person they named, Young. When they weren't paying his fees.

Major corporations like Bloomberg were paying the fees. This is just a complete lie.

Freedman is showing the jury the CNN teases where they set the story up as showing viewers how "desperate Afghans" were being "preyed" on by people who want them to pay up "big"

"We watched as they imposed their hypocritical moral values on Zak," Freedman proclaims, noting that CNN makes money off of war, which they targeted him for.

"Do they think we're all stupid?" Freedman asks.

Freedman points to the comments of CNN's Nicole Gaouette who said their own story's claims "were not fair."

"Do not let CNN tell more lies ... for their own self-righteousness." - Freedman.

Freedman shows the definition of "black market" in several dictionaries and they all call it an illegal market or implies illegality.

He notes that every CNN employee who has testified has used a definition that "cannot be sourced" to a dictionary.

He calls it a "conspiracy."

...

Freedman notes that CNN editor Fuzz Hogan insisted they intended to say Young operated on a black market while all the others said no they didn't.

Freedman argues that it was evidence that the truth slipping out in the face of CNN's "conspiracy" to have the same claims.

"CNN deserves punishment. Look at what they did. Look at what they caused. They did it on purpose. Do not let them get away," said Freedman.

He also urged them to "fight fake news," which I love.

This is amazing:

Jury is back in the courtroom. CNN attorney David Axelrod has taken the stand to deliver the closing arguments for the network.

Axelrod says that throughout his closing arguments he will emphasize the CNN story is" accurate," and "tough but fair."

Axelrod is arguing that the plaintiff should've gone out of his way to try to convince the CNN journalists he wasn't "shady" (putting the burden of proof on the plaintiff). The jurors don't seem particularly convinced about the argument.

CNN's defense hinges entirely on disclaiming responsibility, shifting the burden onto the plaintiff to prove he is not 'extorting' 'desperate Afghans.' However, true journalism operates differently; it's CNN that should have substantiated its allegations, not the plaintiff.

CNN: Where we publish baseless accusations, and our victims are required to prove their innocence to us.

Young's lawyer also pointed out that CNN itself has made a lot of money on the Afghanistan war, so they have no right to complain about an American special forces soldier working there to evacuate people out of that hellhole.

He also points out that CNN "never saved a baby from Afghanistan."

Not even Jake Tapper, who loves the troops and attempts to smear himself in their glory!

I mentioned earlier that CNN's editors found a lot of faults in this story, and did not want to publish it. Let me repeat that:

"The story is full of holes like Swiss cheese," Lumley wrote.

"Agree. The story is 80% emotion, 20% obscured fact lol," Trimble responded.

So how did Axelrod handle that?

In his closing argument, Axelrod said that CNN's editors are, essentially, nasty little troublemaking bitches who just want to complain and ruin everything:

Jessica Costescu @JessicaCostescu

CNN's lead attorney just threw one of its editors under the bus:

"Does anyone have someone in their lives that just likes to complain?"
"That may have been Mr. Lumley, and you saw that...all of his complaining...Mr. Lumley had a beef with the story, he wanted to go further."

A little more: CNN's lawyer Axelrod showed that he did a great job:

Nicholas Fondacaro @NickFondacaro

Axelrod is apologizing to the jury for being annoying and asking them to not to "take it out" on CNN.

LOL.

Well, at least he apologize for being annoying, unlike Jake Tapper.

Give this man his billion dollars!

Latrine John-Pissoir Pisses Off Lapdog Press By Bumping John Kirby and His "Peace Deal" Briefing to Focus on Her "Goodbye Party"

—Ace

It's all about ME! Me, the incompetent DEI hire!

Journalists and aides to President Biden are seething over White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre's refusal to let a national security expert discuss the tentative Israel-Hamas cease-fire at her final briefing Wednesday -- deeming the occasion her "goodbye party."

The press secretary's spotlight-stealing forced the nation to wait an extra hour to learn details of the American hostages being released, including their names -- with Jean-Pierre herself providing no new information at her 306th and last briefing and referring reporters to a National Security Council background call that got underway after she left the stage.

National security adviser Jake Sullivan personally asked for his top spokesman, John Kirby -- a former press secretary at both the Pentagon and State Department -- to take the lectern moments after Biden announced the long-sought deal and cast it as a signature achievement of his team.

Sullivan made the request of White House chief of staff Jeff Zients -- but Jean-Pierre refused to allow it, citing her own prearranged plans to celebrate herself, two sources told The Post.

"She basically said it was her goodbye party," one person recounted.

"She kinda marketed it as a celebration of her and her tenure and unfortunately that took precedence over huge breaking news -- and we haven't had this kind of news in this administration for a long time."

Jean-Pierre spent 51 minutes skirting details about the looming end of the war in Gaza, as exasperated journalists waited to learn the names of two US citizens who are set to be released in the first wave of prisoner exchanges as early as Sunday.

"Sources" were harsh on the incompetent DEI hire:

"I thought at the last minute she would just break and say, 'OK, fine, [Kirby] can just come at the top and he can leave, and then I can wax poetic about my time here, and then I don't really even have to answer any questions and be grilled on anything,'" the first source said.

"But she really wanted to make a point that the briefing room was 'hers.' And so that's why she pushed so much, and in the end, she feels like she won, and I guess she kind of did.

...

"Not allowing actual news to be delivered from the podium on such an important day for the president and the world for your own ego is disgraceful," a longtime Biden aide told The Post of Jean-Pierre's antics.

"I am not sure there is someone that did more damage to the president's reputation than her -- it is really sad."

One outraged reporter who attended Wednesday's briefing said it was "totally unsurprising behavior from someone who was either incapable of recognizing her own shortcomings or unwilling or unable to put in the work required to overcome them."

How did she keep her job?

This might explain it:

Jean-Pierre has at times threatened to call in powerful allies, such as the Rev. Al Sharpton, to back her up, this person said, explaining: "It gets kind of scary for someone like Jeff, who is a white man, who is like, 'I don't want this kind of smoke.'

"She's thrown some serious temper tantrums over this kind of stuff ... and when Anita left, there was no way Jeff was going to have the negotiating skill to bring both of these people to the table and to muscle Kirby back into that briefing room."

Below, Latrine John-Pissoir thanks everybody as if she's won an award. I wouldn't watch this whole clip, just some of her thank-yous in the beginning and then her tearing up at her own self-praise at the end.

She really thinks she's accomplished something.

Judge in CNN's Billion-Dollar Defamation Case Blasts CNN's Lawyer, Calling Him a "Liar" and Telling Him His "Credibility With Me... Is About None"

—Ace

CNN's lawyer is a liar with zero credibility?

Did they promote him from within?

Note that CNN's lead lawyer is named David Axelrod. It would be just wonderful if this liar with zero credibility were Obama's campaign manager and Astroturf Engineer David Axelrod, but unfortunately this is an entirely different asshole.

The facts are a little complicated. I believe this is the gist: Young alleges that after CNN's defamatory hit-piece, he was unable to secure work for a number of years. CNN's lawyer David Axelrod called him a "liar" repeatedly in court, brandishing a piece of paper which he claimed was a "smoking gun" representing Young signing an employment contract.

But it turns out that Axelrod lied utterly about what this paper was. It was not proof that Young had secured a job. In fact, it was just a form Young signed to keep his security clearance.

And Young just found out that his security clearance had been ended -- possibly due to CNN's hit-piece. Young's lawyer moved to allow evidence to this effect, including a witness who would confirm Young's security clearance was canceled.

David Axelrod objected to this evidence, leading the judge -- exasperated by Axelrod's lies -- to blast him.

Fox:

Young's lead counsel Vel Freedman informed Judge Henry on Wednesday that his client had just learned he lost his security clearance, which had been previously renewed right after the CNN report aired. CNN's legal team had earlier suggested that Young maintaining security clearance was proof that he lied about being able to work in the wake of the CNN segment.

Freedman said Young checked his security clearance status after testifying, and discovered that he actually lost it in 2022. As a result, Freedman sought to add a witness from Helios Global, the firm that held Young's now-defunct security clearance, in order to tell jurors that the relationship "dissolved" in 2022.

CNN lead counsel David Axelrod, who shares a name with the CNN political commentator, objected to the last-minute effort. However, Freedman insisted the "jury should not be misled" and said Bay County jurors were left with the impression that Young still holds a security clearance to this day.

Axelrod insisted that he didn't mislead the jury, but Judge Henry blasted the "blatant misrepresentation" of CNN's legal team implying the security clearance document was an employment contract.

Judge Henry read aloud a transcript of Axelrod's comments from last week, in which he called the lawsuit a "fraud" and insisted Young "lied" about being able to earn income in the wake of the CNN report.

"You called him a liar multiple times there," Judge Henry said.

Judge Henry seemed annoyed that Axelrod used the security clearance document to insist Young was a "liar," but then objected to a witness who would be able to explain that Young did not actually have the clearance. Freedman told the judge that CNN "knew" Young no longer had security clearance but didn't tell the court.

"They knew it was not true," Freedman said. "CNN knew that relationship ended, knew Mr. Young did not know that relationship ended, had proof of it, failed to disclose it to the other side, and then put an expert on the stand to say he still has it."

Much like last week when similar chaos erupted, Judge Henry then called for a recess because he wanted to return to his chambers and think things over. He returned and promptly scolded Axelrod.

...

"Mr. Axelrod, I don't know how many times in this transcript, I didn't bring the paper back with me, how many times you called Mr. Young a liar. But yet, in his deposition, he acknowledged having his security being held by Helios Global. Which is exactly what that document is and exactly what he testified to," Judge Henry said.

"I think an apology from you is clearly in order to Mr. Young for the number of times in front of this court, and streamed around the world, that you called Mr. Young a liar," the judge continued.

Judge Henry reminded Axelrod that he previously said he wasn't going to decide the case based on "who can sling the most mud" or who can make the other side look worse.

Judge Henry then ruled that the Helios Global representative was permitted to testify.

"I'm troubled by all of this. I'm overly concerned with the level of professionalism, or lack thereof," Judge Henry said, adding that both sides were at fault.

Judge Henry noted that Axelrod previously implied the document was a "smoking gun" in the case but contradicted himself later to suit his argument.

"Right now, your credibility with me, Mr. Axelrod, is about none," Judge Henry said.

Axelrod then apologized.

"I apologize and if you feel that I misled you, that certainly wasn't my intention," Axelrod said.

It looks like CNN should start limbering up its check-writing fingers.

That's not all the bad news. From John Sexton, CNN will also have to explain texts from its own editors expressing their profound discomfort with airing this smear-job made WITHOUT EVIDENCE:

"The story is full of holes like Swiss cheese," Lumley wrote.

"Agree. The story is 80% emotion, 20% obscured fact lol," Trimble responded.

So CNN's editors themselves say this was a bad-faith hit-job and malicious intent.

Israel Delays Approving "Peace Deal" As Hamas Continues Changing the Terms

—Ace

First of all, don't expect those American hostages to be returned alive:

Open Source Intel @Osint613

SAD NEWS

U.S. State Department Spokesman Matthew Miller reports that out of the 7 American hostages in Gaza, only 3 are believed to be alive, while the remaining 4 are confirmed dead.

Hmm, what do you call a kidnapper who kills the victim? I think you call that kidnapper a "murderer," don't you?

We learned yesterday that while Israel agreed to release 30 terrorists for each living Israeli civilian released, and 50 terrorists for each living Israeli soldier released, Hamas changed that deal point when they "accepted the deal" and count dead "bodies" as released living hostages.

They're changing the deal terms further: Israel said that they would never, ever release any terrorists involved in 10/7, but Hamas says that they can specify which of the terrorists are released, and of course they want their Murderous Death Cult Heroes of 10/7 to be the first released.

Quoting the WSJ:

...Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused Hamas on Thursday of reneging on parts of the agreement during negotiations taking place in Qatar, creating what his office called "a last-minute crisis."

...

Overnight, the PMO said that the purported dispute was related to the identity of Palestinian security prisoners slated for release. It said Hamas was "demanding to dictate the identity of these murderers," contradicting agreed-upon terms.

Hamas is also renegotiating Israel's withdrawal from key strategic places -- Israel said they'd withdraw from those chokepoints if Hamas abode by the other parts of the "deal," but now Hamas is demanding a withdrawal whether Hamas abides by the "deal" or not. And they're not abiding by the "deal." They're changing the terms every few hours.

The Morning Rant: Minimalist Edition

—CBD

The 2nd Amendment is clear:

A well-regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed

Hell...at this point in my 2nd Amendment evolution I am unsure about felons being denied those rights! They are tried, convicted, and sentenced. When they are released, it should be as citizens with the rights (and obligations) of everyone else. They paid their debt to society...why keep them as second class citizens?

But Pam Bondi seems to think that even people who have not been convicted of any crime can be denied those rights, using so-called "red flag laws," and that is a profoundly flawed interpretation of the Constitution.

And even more troubling is her suggestion that finding some accommodation with the gun grabbers and the Democrat/Progressive cabal in the interest of (you know what's coming!) THE CHILDREN, is okay.

Pam Bondi on gun control: It's about finding common ground

Watch the video.

"Finding common ground" is what has gotten us to this point. I want no part of the common ground of the Democrat/Progressive machine and its 100 year drive to destroy American Exceptionalism and the rule of law, and replace it with a communitarian, freedom-destroying, socialist miasma.

Does America want the pseudo-safety of East Germany of the 1980s, or the Soviet Union of the 1950s? Or even worse, as societies move along the arc of socialism, and even basic services (such as they are) break down, that temporary safety and security disappears completely. Just look at Venezuela for a fine example! And of course the reality in socialist countries is that there was and is plenty of crime, just no means to protect oneself from it!

Am I suggesting that Pam Bondi is a crypto-communist who is just itching to bring Stalinism to America? No, of course not. And will she be a welcome change from the true Stalinist we have had for four years? Absolutely.

But... I would prefer that Bondi respects the plain language of the Constitution and the 2nd Amendment, and avoid the temptations of throwing more constitutionally suspect laws and more restrictions on our freedoms at problems that are perfectly well covered by existing law. I would prefer that she respects the primacy of the individual and his rights, and refrain from accepting any constraints on the 2nd Amendment, and in fact roll back the insanity of ATF regulations that were designed by those "common ground" folk across the aisle to do one thing; restrict our rights so that government has all of the power.

[Crossposted at CutJibNewsletter]