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A site for members of the Horde to post their stories seeking beta readers, editing help, brainstorming, and story ideas. Also to share links to potential publishing outlets, writing help sites, and videos posting tips to get published.
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Good morning kids. Hopefully the sudden bizarre formatting bugs over the past couple of days have been ironed out and when this posts you should be free of the black diamonds or other distracting crap and see normal text, so thanks for bearing with it.
“I am deeply sorry to my family, staff, and constituents for mistakes in judgment I’ve made in my past. I will fight the serious, false allegation made against me. However, I must take responsibility and ownership for the mistakes I did make,” he said.
“I am aware of efforts to bring an immediate expulsion vote against me and other members. Expelling anyone in Congress without due process, within days of an allegation being made, is wrong. But it’s also wrong for my constituents to have me distracted from my duties,” Swalwell added. “Therefore, I plan to resign my seat in Congress. I will work with my staff in the coming days to ensure they are able, in my absence, to serve the needs of the good people of the 14th congressional district.” Swalwell dropped out of the California governor’s race on Sunday night, after losing nearly all of his endorsements.
Absolutely galling if not completely unsurprising is his hollow remonstration that these are "false allegations" even as he calls it quits in not only the governor's race but in ankling from Congress itself! Well, hell, if he's innocent then why head for the emergency exit?!
Despite the fact that he's not only a Democrat but a California Democrat, which in theory should've made him utterly invulnerable; there have been musings over the past few weeks that California may not be so ironclad Democrat, and with their electoral system a hot mess there is even a chance, slim though it may be, that a Republican could win the statehouse or even swipe one or more House seats come November? So maybe there is something that the party bosses fear could be extremely damaging to the Democrats both as the race for the midterms heats up and perhaps longer term and, more crucially for the Leftist movement in general over the longer haul?
UPDATE: Swalwell has not actually resigned but only announced his intention to resign. And that day might be tomorrow or the 12th of Never-JJS
The Department of Justice under former [s0-called quote-unquote[President Joe Biden “withheld evidence” and approved “aggressive arrest tactics” when targeting pro-life defendants — and then slapped them with longer prison sentences than pro-abortion ones, according to an explosive internal review released Tuesday. The DOJ revealed the stunning abuses in a nearly 900-page report after examining more than 700,000 records related to the Biden administration&'s prosecutions under the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act.
The 1994 law was passed to protect access to houses of worship, religious institutions, abortion clinics and pregnancy resource centers.
But the Biden DOJ was found to have engaged multiple times in “biased enforcement” of it — while also collaborating with and even seeking to fund pro-abortion groups, according to the DOJ Office of Legal Policy report.
Emails show the task force, led by civil division trial attorney Sanjay Patel, worked closely with Planned Parenthood Federation of America, Feminist Majority Foundation and the National Abortion Federation (NAF) Security Team to initiate investigations and “monitor” pro-life activists — sometimes for years — before requesting arrest warrants and filing charges.
In a Nov. 17, 2021, email, before the task force was launched, Patel had already praised NAF’s security director, Michelle Davidson, to colleagues as an “MVP” at “bringing incidents to my attention, often in real-time, which usually result in an investigation/prosecution.”
The task force director was not nearly as chummy with defense counsel for one of the first pro-lifers indicted for illegally blocking access to an abortion clinic after the Dobbs decision, writing in a Feb. 22, 2023, email that he didn’t “keep the kind of records” the lawyer requested about the total number of “prosecutions for vandalisms of pregnancy centers. . .
. . . The task force director claimed the “main reason” for the public show of force was “in hope of seizing phones” pursuant to search warrants, an Oct. 4, 2022, email disclosed.
“I think the unspoken reason is bc the FBI really likes to make arrests,” Patel added.
The Biden DOJ also liked to seek higher prison sentences against pro-lifers charged with non-violent FACE Act violations.
On average, its prosecutors sought 26.8 months in prison for pro-life defendants, compared with 12.3 months averaged for pro-abortion ones.” . . . Judges also sentenced those pro-lifers at higher rates, 14 months to 3 months.
President Trump, on his third day in office, signed pardons for 23 pro-lifers convicted of FACE Act violations under the prior administration, many of whom he said were “elderly” and should not have been prosecuted.
Houck was acquitted by a federal jury in January 2023 and later reached a settlement with the Biden DOJ
“This Department will not tolerate a two-tiered system of justice,” Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said in a statement Tuesday. “No Department should conduct selective prosecution based on beliefs.”
These new revelations should wake Americans up to how the deep state and a complicit media sought to thwart their electoral will. . .
. . .The House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence ('HPSCI')released two transcripts Monday morning from the 2019 closed-door interviews of the then-Inspector General of the Intelligence Community, Michael Atkinson. The just-released transcripts reveal new details behind the scheming that led to the first impeachment of Donald Trump.. .
... In addition to all the backdoor scheming between the “whistleblower,” Vindman, Democrats on HPSCI, and, through at best, his willful ignorance, Atkinson, the transcripts released Monday also highlight the politicization of the FBI that continued under Trump 1.0 after Director James Comey’s firing.
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Victor Davis Hanson: America’s leverage in the Strait exposes Iran’s weakness—turning its greatest asset into a liability and reshaping the balance of power without a ground war. Iran: A Longer View
President Donald Trump’s blockade of Iran could be poised to deliver a staggering blow to the Iranian economy, including the cash flows needed by the regime to pay the host of soldiers and thugs it requires to stay in power. Trump Blockade Threatens Iran’s Military-Industrial Complex
The failure of the Pakistan peace talks raises the likelihood of renewed military conflict in the region. Trump’s impending naval blockade aims to pressure Tehran into concessions, but, if unsuccessful, air strikes could be back on the table, further destabilizing the Middle East and global oil markets. Netanyahu Warns Iran War Could Restart ‘Very Quickly.’
This incident has intensified discussions on Islamist separatism in Italy, prompting legislative efforts to introduce stricter penalties for forced marriages and to monitor foreign funding for mosques. The deportation underscores Italy’s commitment to upholding laws and human rights against practices deemed incompatible with Western values....Over 20,000 Muslims live in Brescia, leading it to be called Italy’s “Islamic Capital.” Italian law gives cops the power to remove foreigners “considered a threat to public order or the security of the State” or has been involved in sex-related crimes... Imam Who Endorsed 9-Year-Old Girls Getting Married Gets Deported.
OFFICIAL DEMOCRAT PARTY/LEFTIST-ENDORSED, AND OTHER ANTI-SEMITISM, ANTI-CHRISTIANITY
Gavin Newsom is lying about Israel to curry favor with extremists in Minneapolis, Dearborn, and New York City. And that is just one Democrat, there are many more. Democrats Go Full Anti-Semite
Western media remain utterly incoherent ahead of Tuesday’s Israeli-Lebanese talks in Washington because their Israel Derangement Syndrome renders them unable to acknowledge basic facts. For starters, the Jewish state is not at war with Lebanon, but with Hezbollah, the terror group that occupies the country’s south and until recently had the government bullied into complete submission.It’s a war Hezbollah started... How Israel Derangement Syndrome blinds media to basic Mideast facts
A Balanced Budget Amendment ought to embody enduring principles for fiscal continence. Instructions on what spending to cut and by how much, or what automatic enforcement mechanisms to adopt, do not belong in constitutional law. The text should be the opposite of a procedural manual, it should be broad and concise, providing standards to which Congress must adhere while not micromanaging implementation. A Constitutional Fix For Fiscal Disorder
CRIME & PUNISHMENT, NON-DOSTOYEVSKY
The Chicago Tribune noted that gun-related violence was up during the first quarter of 2026, with Chicago “[recording] 105 homicides through the first week of April, up slightly from the 98 killings seen in the same time period in 2025.” Mayor Brandon Johnson’s Chicago: At Least 28 Shot During Weekend
EDUCATION, AND WHAT PASSES FOR IT
A progressive rabbi’s opposition to an Oklahoma religious charter school rests on faulty constitutional reasoning and a misguided commitment to strict separation of church and state. Jews Against Jewish Education
Despite what gun control advocates would have you believe, the right to keep and bear arms plays a vital role in public safety. Americans use their firearms to defend themselves and others far more often than many people realize. Even the notoriously anti-gun Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has acknowledged that most studies on the issue find that between 500,000 and several million defensive gun uses occur every year in the United States. An extensive 2021 national survey conducted by a Georgetown professor further substantiated this reality, concluding that Americans used their firearms defensively an average of 1.2 million times a year. Gun Control Advocates to Victims: Just Bring a Knife to the Gunfight THE 2020 AND 2022ELECTION HEISTS & AFTERMATH
The Senate’s failure to pass the SAVE America Act highlights a deeper divide over election rules, while Congress retains constitutional authority to oversee federal election integrity. No SAVE Act? Congress Still Holds the Trump Card
There is a structural weakness within the “fusionist” center-right. As long as we ignore it, the left will always come out on top. The Center-Right’s Long March Backward
Of Massie’s 20,665 donors in the first quarter, approximately 76% were first-time contributors while 993 donors from Kentucky contributed a total of $190,399, including 401 from his 4th Congressional District, the figures showed. The first-quarter showing comes as Massie faces a competitive Republican primary on May 19 against former Navy SEAL Ed Gallrein, who has received backing from President Donald Trump. Massie has repeatedly clashed with Trump since the latter’s return to the White House in January 2025. EXCLUSIVE: Massie Rakes In $2.5 Million In Q1 As Trump Escalates Primary Fight
Robert Spencer : Zohran Mamdani is not a head of state. He can’t go all-in on his socialist inclinations. But he is anxious to show, during his tenure as mayor of the nation’s largest city, that socialism works, and that means he has been busy from his first moments in office implementing as much of it as he possibly can. That includes the cult of personality. And so the New York Post reported Sunday that Mamdani is doing all he can to set himself up as a larger-than-life socialist hero. He even “threw himself a great big bash to celebrate his first 100 days in office, and even launched a website so his faithful comrades can track his ‘achievements’ across the city — despite reneging on numerous campaign promises.” Comrade Mamdani Gets to Work on His Cult of Personality
FOREIGN AFFAIRS, INTERNATIONAL
“Well, we’re going to see with Cuba. Cuba is another story.”
The Strait of Hormuz in the Middle East is hardly the only waterway on President Donald Trump’s mind at the moment. While Trump and the international media may be talking about the Strait of Hormuz nonstop, the broader questions about other sea lanes and shipping waterways have very much dominated the geopolitical discussion worldwide upon Trump’s return to the White House and have been at the center of tensions between the U.S. and China, set for a worldwide primetime showdown when Trump visits Beijing in May. Exclusive — Waterway Wars: Greek Official Reveals How Trump, Guilfoyle Severed China’s ‘Dragon’s Head’ Port Advantage in ‘Gateway to Europe’
Hegseth and Indonesian Minister of Defense Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin agreed to strengthen an existing agreement between the two countries to a Major Defense Cooperation Partnership (MDCP. . . the Strait of Malacca, a key waterway between the Indian and Pacific Oceans running between the Indonesian island of Sumatra and Malaysia and Singapore, could see a strengthened U.S. presence as a result. New Defense Deal Could Tighten US Control Over Another Critical Seaway
The European Union (EU) is funding nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) accused of working to discredit right-wing election observers ahead of Hungary’s tight election Sunday, according to Republican international election observers and right-leaning party leaders.Sources told the Daily Caller that these leftist NGOs raised concerns about election fraud and discredited Republican international election observers before Serbia’s March elections had even taken place. They fear the same tactics are now being applied in Hungary’s elections. The EU Picks Up USAID’s Slack In Funding Foreign Election NGOs Across Europe
Globalists are hailing Orbán’s defeat as a signal that the “populist tide has turned,” but Péter Magyar was a member of Orbán’s party until 2024, and ran to the right of Fidesz on immigration and natalist policies, signaling that Orbán has shifted the Overton window on policy. Magyar is praised abroad mainly for his pro-European Union, pro-Ukraine stance, while Orbán has frequently been at odds with the EU and Ukraine, particularly over illegal immigration and the need to secure Hungary’s supply of Russian pipeline oil. Despite Magyar’s anti-Russian stance, there is widespread acknowledgment that some pragmatic energy cooperation with Russia must continue. Here’s Why Orban’s Ouster Might NOT Be the Victory the Left Thinks.
Nigeria’s Air Force allegedly struck down over a hundred civilians following a botched operation to eliminate terrorists that the U.S. has already offered to help eliminate, reports say.
The strike decimated a remote market, believed to often be used by Boko Haram jihadis. . . Allegedly Botched Counterterrorism Operation Leaves Over 100 Dead After Refusing US Aid
AMERICA AND THE WORLD IMPRISONED: CHINESE+Fauci-created CORONAVIRUS FICTIONS AND FACTS
The ability to afford health care has emerged as a key concern across the nation ahead of November’s midterm elections. Several analysts told the Daily Caller News Foundation that some Main Street businesses are struggling due to skyrocketing health costs, including having to scrap bonuses, facing difficulty hiring new employees and conducting layoffs. American Small Business Owners Feeling The Pinch From Surging Health Care Costs
CULTURE WARS, NATIONAL SUICIDE
Bill Maher declared Western civilization superior to its alternatives on Friday’s “Real Time” and challenged anyone who disagreed to prove him wrong. “No, it was a clash of civilizations — the civilizations are very different and ours is better,” Maher said to loud applause from his studio audience, according to the New York Post (NYP). “And if you’re not clapping, spend a week in a Muslim capital, you wouldn’t last — especially as a woman.” ‘Spend A Week In A Muslim Capital, You Wouldn’t Last’: Bill Maher Defends Western Civilization
ALSO: The Morning Report cross-posts at CutJibNewsletter.com usually within an hour or so of posting here, if you want to continue the conversation all day.
The main dome of the observatory houses an 8.25 inch refracting telescope, on a German equatorial mount. The ashes of the astronomer Daniel Walter Morehouse, and those of his wife Myrtle, are interred within the wall of the observatory rotunda.
Observatory sits in the middle of Waveland Golf Course, Des Moines, IA. Got a few good pictures of it over the weekend (and one golf ball a bit closer than I'd have liked).
*****
Happy Monday. Hope you all tried to behave over the weekend. Misanthropic Humanitarian took the evening off, and I've been thawed out from my cryogenic ONT retirement freeze. Please adjust your expectations accordingly.
“I get some pretty random commission requests, but when the National Catholic Educational Association contacted me about doing a live butter sculpture during their conference this year, I was interested,” Kulzer said. “After working out the logistics of keeping the butter cool, they decided they wanted a bust of Pope Leo and another butter block carved into their logo.”
Scampywife knows Gerry Kulzer, the sculptor. He is kind enough to share some butter with us on occasion - which is damned good. Here is some additional reading - light history of his journey and work.
What’s it like sculpting something that you know will somehow be used and eventually destroyed?
All pottery is meant to be used. So use it. Drink out of it. Eat off the plate. Use that pottery. It’s the same with the butter here, I think. It’s butter. Let’s use it. Take that and use it for what it’s meant for.
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It is April 13. For those who have not yet completed their taxes: Are you in a committed relationship with TurboTax? May you have the best of luck with your internet connection, the missing forms that were ‘right there,’ and your race against time.
Remember, a good accountant can find humor in depreciation.
Looks like people are running behind this year. And/or less tax filers. 2026 returns filed (so far). Link goes to irs.gov. Total returns e-filed through 4/8/2010 were 78.4M, with $61.4B in direct deposit refunds. As of 4/3/2026 98M returns have been e-filed, with $242.8B in direct deposit refunds.
Each year the IRS provides weekly cumulative statistics for returns filed, returns processed and refunds issued during the filing season and then at certain points after the filing season. The statistics compare totals as of Friday compared with the corresponding Friday in the prior year.
While filing activity has been slower, taxpayer engagement has surged. IRS.gov has recorded 435,926,000 visits so far this season, a sharp 58% increase over the same period last year. Taxpayers appear to be checking their refund status more frequently or seeking clarity on tax law changes thanks to the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA).
Perhaps the most anatomically decisive feature is the forelimb. Nanotyrannus possesses arms and hands that are absolutely longer than those of T. rex, not just longer in proportion to body size. This distinction is critical: as animals grow, limb bones lengthen—they do not shorten.
The hands appear more functional than the famously reduced arms of T. rex, suggesting a greater role in prey handling or stabilization. While still small relative to body size, the forelimbs of Nanotyrannus fit a predator that retained more versatility in its front limbs.
A full-size replica would fit nicely in a yard next to the full size T-Rex.
*****
Unexpected / stood out. Was in the Charlotte airport on Easter Sunday, dodging Bloody Marys and Screwdrivers while housing a glazed cinnamon donut, when over the intercom came an announcement for a 10:30 a.m. Catholic Mass in the airport. Looked around for reactions and either everyone was deaf or the easily offended were not around. They repeated the announcement two more times before I boarded my flight - and for a moment, Gate A39 felt almost like holy ground.
In that spirit, let’s take a look at some interesting churches and chapels.
Within the modest-looking St. Batholomew's Church (also called the Kaplica Czaszek) are the skulls and bones of over 3,000 people, decorating the ceiling and walls, and arranged in various patterns—mostly in a repeating crossed bones Jolly Roger-style—with another 21,000 skeletons stuffed in the church crypt below. Collected by Czech priest Vaclav Tomasek and J. Langer, the local gravedigger, it took the pair some 18 years, from 1776 to 1794, to collect, clean, and arrange as many as 24,000 human skeletons that pack the church. While the majority of the skeletons are stacked in a 16-foot-deep crypt beneath the church, the rest are beautifully displayed in what Tomasek saw as a "sanctuary of silence."
I don't even know where to begin with this. I am imagining the chaos of the Horde with the Professional Fortune Cookie Writer job. And that is queuer - please note the additional vowel.
Hit the link - there are some pop ups, but it's worth a skim.
4. Dog food taster
12. Iceberg mover
17. Professional queuer
18. Fortune cookie writer
May as well...let's hear your best fortune cookie writing efforts in the comments.
He said he wasn’t entirely sure how they broke from the rest of the flock, but he speculated the group was distracted by acorns on the ground and eventually wandered in the vicinity of the store before spotting someone carrying a tote that resembled one of their feed bags and following them inside.
Golfed with a guy over the weekend that took a Waymo taxi while in Phoenix. Not this one, however.
A Phoenix business owner captured a scary scene involving a Waymo driving on a light rail track with a passenger inside.
Enquête purchased five cans of Bourdeau's syrup at random from different stores and from different batches and took them to the provincial laboratory responsible for testing and assuring quality control for maple syrup in Quebec, le centre ACER, for analysis.
The results were unequivocal.
All five cans, each labelled pure maple syrup, contained at least 50 per cent cane sugar.
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This ONT was brought to you by your Airbnb hosts: Tim Walz, Gavin Newsom, and Justin Trudeau.
Eric Swalwell Attempts to Short-Circuit Investigation and Effort to Expel Him, Saying He "Plans" to Resign (No Date Given)
—Disinformation Expert Ace
SWALWELL STATEMENT ON CONGRESSIONAL RESIGNATION
"I am deeply sorry to my family, staff, and constituents for mistakes in judgment I've made in my past. I will fight the serious, false allegation made against me. However, I must take responsibility and ownership for the mistakes I did make.
"I am aware of efforts to bring an immediate expulsion vote against me and other members. Expelling anyone in Congress without due process, within days of an allegation being made, is wrong.
But Trump is an Agent of Putin who should resign, right whinybaby?
"But it's also wrong for my constituents to have me distracted from my duties. Therefore, I plan to resign my seat in Congress.
"I will work with my staff in the coming days to ensure they are able, in my absence, to serve the needs of the good people of the 14th congressional district."
Not that I think he's a sneaky lying conniving little shit or anything, but I think he's claiming he "plans" to resign to cool off the torch-carrying mob. I think he will plan to un-resign if this succeeds in taking off the heat.
So: Expel him.
Jonathan Turley discusses something I was thinking about.
Usually former Democrat politicians are guaranteed either a job in the leftwing propaganda media or a job as a lobbyist or "lawyer" (really just a lobbyist) with a Democrat firm.
But is Fartwell going to get that?
Conversation
Jonathan Turley
@JonathanTurley
In one week, Eric Swalwell was forced to drop out of the California race, put under criminal investigation in New York, and is the subject of a bipartisan expulsion effort. He was even kicked out of the home of a billionaire who was letting him crash. However, that is not all...
...Swalwell is unlikely to avoid expulsion, but he may not have his law degree to fall back on. If these rape and sexual harassment claims are established, he is likely to face disbarment demands. Even his prior boosters at MS NOW and CNN are unlikely to offer him a media deal...
...I will be discussing Swalwell on America Reports today. However, the collapse of Swalwell is accelerating with the opening of what appears to be an expedited House Ethics Committee investigation.
...I have been one of Swalwell's most persistent critics through the years. He has always been shielded by the Democratic establishment and the media. Now, he is persona non grata without a friend in the world.
When I read Fartwell's compelled apology, I read it as him accepting that this phase of his life is now over and that he's attempting to build a bridge to the next phase, whatever that is. He's done with elective politics, and is apologizing (cynically) to regain some of the public goodwill he'll need to get his next Guaranteed Democrat Position.
But is there any amount of goodwill that will get him one of the prized Consolation Jobs in media, fundraising, "consulting," or acting a fixer at a Democrat law firm?
The Trump Curse takes another victim. It's more powerful than the curse that protected King Tut's Tomb.
Plus: Blaze Journalist Savanah Hernandez Violently Assaulted by Male "Peace and Harmony" "Protester" Previously Feted by Jen Psaki and the Bulwark
You're not going to get away with this. I am going to do everything in my power to make sure you're charged for the brutal attack you committed against me. pic.twitter.com/SvuaMTdl7z
Here is yours truly, Jen Psaki, featuring Chris Ostroushko, who preached about “peace, love, and harmony,” while yesterday, along with his radicalized daughter, assaulted and battered conservative journalist Savannah Hernandez. pic.twitter.com/ktfK9UELrp
In January, Eric Fartwell promised that if he were elected governor, he would strip ICE officers of their California drivers licenses. I guess they're safe for now.
The first Star Wars movie to be released in nearly seven years, The Mandalorian and Grogu, is tracking for a low opening weekend. It's projected to take in a mere $71 million over the three-day Memorial Day weekend frame. (I learned the term "frame" from these stupid box office reports and wanted to use it so that I sound smart.)
Headcase Ruby Rose claims that Katy Perry sexually assaulted her years ago and I'm just rooting for injuries.
Katy Perry has denied Ruby Rose's accusations that the singer sexually assaulted her two decades ago.
The "Orange Is the New Black" actress, 40, claimed in a series of Threads posts on Sunday that the alleged incident occurred at a nightclub in Melbourne, Australia when she was in her 20s.
"Katy Perry sexual assaulted me at spice market nightclub in Melbourne. Who gives a s--t what she thinks," Rose wrote in response to Complex Music's post about Perry,
In her next Threads message, Rose said it's taken her "almost two decades" to make the accusation public.
"Though I am so grateful to have made it long enough to find my voice, it just shows how much of an impact trauma and sexual assault takes. Thank you for seeing me," she stated.
Perry's rep denied Rose's claim in a statement to Page Six.
"The allegations being circulated on social media by Ruby Rose about Katy Perry are not only categorically false, they are dangerous reckless lies," the rep said.
"Ms. Rose has a well-documented history of making serious public allegations on social media against various individuals, claims that have repeatedly been denied by those named," the statement continued.
Reps for Rose did not respond to Page Six's request for comment regarding Perry's denial.
On Threads, Rose gave more details about the alleged incident.
"She didn't kiss me. She saw me 'resting' on my best friend's lap to avoid her and bent down, pulled her underwear to the side and rubbed her disgusting vagina on my face until my eyes snapped open and I projectile vomited on her," she claimed about Perry.
Rose alleged, "After it I threw up on her, I told the story publicly but changed it to be a 'funny little drunk story' because I didn't know how else to handle it. Later she agreed to help me get my US visa. So I kept it a secret. But I DID tell yall she wasn't a good person. "
Brent Baker
@BrentHBaker
Don't want Iran to lose if it means Trump wins. @TomFriedman of @NYTimes really wants "to see Iran defeated militarily because this regime is a terrible regime for its people and the region," but on CNN's @Smerconish he fretted "the problem is I really don't want to see Bibi Netanyahu or Donald Trump politically strengthened by this war because they are too awful human beings. They are both engaged in anti-democratic projects in their own countries. They're both alleged crooks. They are terrible, terrible people doing terrible things to America's standing in the world and Israel's standing in the world."
One of the most corrupt episodes in American public life, and that's a very crowded field, is the way legacy media, social media platforms, and Big Tech all colluded to prevent anyone from naming, let alone publishing, the Ukraine whistleblower's name.
Given this guy's history as an anti-Trump operative, that blackout robbed the public of hugely important information and directly fed into the false impeachment of a sitting president. But it goes even further than that. The same fake news outlets enforcing that silence had previously run stories defending him against reporting that later turned out to be eerily accurate.
Take for instance what @Cernovich was saying in 2017, specifically that Ciaramella wanted to sabotage Trump, that he was a leaker, and that he was strongly pro-Ukraine and anti-Russia. All of that later turned out to be exactly right, and there is little doubt that if the public had been told that people had warned in advance about Ciaramella and his role in targeting Trump, it would have collapsed the impeachment effort very quickly. That is why his name was kept hidden. It had nothing to do with privacy or any of that other nonsense.
Amazing: Even though the propaganda media covered up for Eric Fartwell for a decade, and even though the story was only published due to Democrat-connected partisans organizing the hit on Fartwell for cynical political reasons, Brian Stelter actually claims the story represents a triumph of "investigative reporting" by the media that covered it up!
This is probably the dumbest thing Brian has ever said, which is no small feat. It is so breathtakingly stupid that you instinctively assume it must be satire or some kind of elaborate joke, only to discover that no, this is simply what he thinks passes for a serious point. https://t.co/eq0Yfr2b2T
Flashback: Fartwell made a sarcastic joke about Ben Shapiro's statement that while he may wish to sleep with many women, he can exercise his free will and morality and control his behavior. "I'm sure it's very hard to restrain yourself," Fartwell said, implying that Shapiro couldn't get the hookers and Chinese spies that he can get.
🇮🇪 WOW! Hundreds of police officers across Ireland are calling in “sick” to work because they refuse to break up peaceful protests.
We are witnessing a major revolt against the Irish Government right now.
Respect to those brave officers for standing with the Irish public! 👏👏 https://t.co/0dXRMsJ9zK
It had been a grueling day at work, and by the time the 22-year-old from Provo, Utah, got home, panic was bubbling in her chest as her thoughts raced and her cheeks flushed red.
"I was starting to get super overheated and I couldn't calm myself down," Fowles told The Post. "Nothing that I normally do, like breathing exercises or lying down in a dark room, was working."
Then she saw the bag.
Just weeks earlier, Fowles and her therapist had put together a small, grab-and-go kit filled with items to help calm her mind when anxiety strikes -- an idea she'd first come across while scrolling on TikTok.
She now reached for it, swallowing her anxiety medication and pressing a cold pack to the back of her neck. She flicked on a small portable fan, letting the cool air wash over her face, while in her other hand, she gripped a spiky fidget toy, feeling its prongs dig into her palm as the panic began to ebb.
"Within 10 minutes, I was able to calm down and go to sleep. It normally doesn't happen that quickly," Fowles said. "I never would have thought to have these things until I made the bag. It's been a game-changer -- I use it all the time."
Others her age are finding relief in the same way.
Call them anxiety bags, panic pouches, calm-down kits -- whatever the name, these DIY creations are rapidly gaining popularity online, especially among Gen Z women.
Oh young women are adopting this viral trend? I didn't see that coming.
It's easy to see why. In a survey of nearly 1,000 Americans aged 18 to 26, 61% reported having a diagnosed anxiety condition, and 43% said they experience a panic attack at least once a month.
And while many turn to talk therapy and medication to cope, those tools don't always work in the heat of the moment.
"Stuff like mindfulness and body scans are great, but you have to remember to do them," said Dr. Kyra Bobinet, a physician and behavioral neuroscientist. "When you're in an environment like ours, this storm of hyper-stimulating triggers, you won't necessarily have the ability to remember to do those things anymore."
That's where anxiety bags come in. Keeping self-regulation tools within reach during moments of high stress and sensory overload is, in Bobinet's words, "genius."
"It's a way of distracting and soothing," she explained. "It creates other sensations to focus on so that you don't feel completely taken over by the rapid firing of your anxious or depressed mind."
The "body scan" thing that's mentioned works for reducing stress and falling asleep. There's a "guided meditation" here. The basic gist is that you focus on one part of your body at a time (I just do parts of my head) and imagine the nerves and muscles switching off and going slack. I think it's the same principle as counting sheep -- it's not what you're thinking, it's all the stuff you're not thinking about by focusing on this boring, repetitive, non-stressful thing. By making your brain focus on this one boring thing, you keep your brain from buzzing or catastrophizing.
I only tried it because someone said they tell special ops guys to do this. They have limited time to sleep in, and are usually very keyed-up, and this protocol helps them fall asleep in the few hours they're allowed to sleep.* That sounded bad-ass and Not Gay to me, so I tried it, and it does work.
I don't bother to do this any more. Now I just put on episodes of Always Sunny I've seen 50 times before. Same idea again: Your brain is trained on this boring thing (every show is boring after 50 watches) and that's just enough to keep you from thinking about more exciting things.
* I also knew a spec op medic who said he's very loose with ketamine and other tranquilizers to make sure people can sleep even after coming off 10 hours of combat. So I guess there's that, too.
Call them anxiety bags, panic pouches, calm down kits... whatever the name, these DIY creations are rapidly gaining popularity online... amongst the liberal crowd no doubt. 🙄😏 pic.twitter.com/LvS2eA0Ir1
— Jannine.. #MagaMemeQueen ™️ 👑🇺🇸 (@janninereid1) April 10, 2026
Gen Z is carrying around ‘anxiety bags’ packed with tools to calm their nerves “An anxiety bag is like your very own superhero toolbox,” one Gen Zer told The Post. Experts approve. https://t.co/WoaL8k3dmIpic.twitter.com/HRlyj62VJG
Tulsi Gabbard Declassifies Documents Relating to the Fake Ukraine "Whistleblower"
—Disinformation Expert Ace
Some background:
Hans Mahncke
@HansMahncke
22h
In anticipation of tomorrow's release of the IG Michael Atkinson transcript, here is the TLDR of the story.
In August 2019, a supposed "whistleblower" filed a complaint with the Intelligence Community Inspector General, Michael Atkinson, targeting President Trump for his July 25 call with Ukrainian President Zelensky. The complaint was based on second hand hearsay information and triggered the process that led to Trump's first impeachment.
The allegation was that Trump demanded a quid pro quo, specifically military aid in exchange for an investigation into Biden family corruption in Ukraine. That claim was untrue, as the transcript later proved (I visualized the ridiculousness of the claim below).
I've linked that below. Basically, he stitched together a fragment from the beginning of a call with a sentence coming five minutes later. Like the BBC stitch-up.
But for Atkinson that part was no problem. He could just claim it was true. His problem was that the claim was hearsay and therefore didn't meet the requirements under his own rules. So Atkinson secretly changed the IG complaint form to allow hearsay.
This was sharply identified by @MZHemingway, @climateaudit, and others in real time, by comparing the form to archived versions. They showed that Atkinson made an unannounced, backdated revision to rig the process and greenlight a politically motivated hearsay complaint that otherwise wouldn't have cleared even the most basic credibility bar.
I know this is old news, but I personally needed the refresher, and I'm sure some other 29-year-old memories did as well.
Atkinson was never held to account, but he did testify under oath behind closed doors to the House Intelligence Committee in late 2019. While all other transcripts related to the Ukraine impeachment process were eventually released, this one has been guarded like radioactive material. It is now finally being made public, and will hopefully shed light on the internal mechanics of how Atkinson, Schiff, the Vindman brothers, and whoever else carried out the Ukraine impeachment scam.
Update: Atkinson claimed, under oath, that it was all just a big coincidence of timing that he happened to change the rules at the same time this Democrat fake whistleblower wanted whistleblower protections the actual rules didn't allow him:
Hans Mahncke
@HansMahncke
2h
One of the key episodes in the Ukraine impeachment saga was that, just as the fake “whistleblower” came forward with second- and third-hand claims, Inspector General Atkinson secretly changed the process to allow hearsay complaints, whereas previously only first-hand accounts were permitted.
So now we know that when Atkinson was confronted about it, his explanation was that it was all just a giant coincidence. The problem is that even if someone wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt, the fact that he concealed the change makes it obvious to anyone with two functioning brain cells that it wasn’t a coincidence at all.
Catherine Herridge: the fake "whistleblower" was a registered Democrat who had worked previously with one of the 2020 Democrat presidential candidates. I'm going to guess it was Eric Swalwell, but that is just a guess.
Also, the fake "whistleblower" improperly met with Adam Schiff to plot out strategy before going through official channels.
Catherine Herridge
@C__Herridge
2h
NEW: WHISTLEBLOWER 2019 TRUMP IMPEACHMENT
- Registered Democrat
- "had a prior professional relationship with one of the Democratic Presidential candidates," according to newly released transcripts from the Intelligence Community watchdog Michael Atkinson.
In a 2019 briefing to the house intelligence committee, Atkinson added, "I did not find the complainant (whistleblower) was biased."
After seven years, the Atkinson records have been finally released @DNIGabbard
@RepRickCrawford
Catherine Herridge
@C__Herridge
NEW RECORDS VIA @DNIGabbard @RepRickCrawford
ATKINSON TRANSCRIPTS
- First Trump Impeachment + Whistleblower Motive
Whistleblower met with Democrats on House Intelligence Committee (then led by Adam Schiff) BEFORE reporting his allegations to the Intelligence Community Inspector General.
October 2019: then Congressman now @CIADirector Ratcliffe nailed the timeline in a closed door briefing with Intelligence Community Watchdog Michael Atkinson.
- Trump/Zelensky call July 25th 2019
- Whistleblower complaint filed August 12th
- Ratcliffe questioned what happened during those 18 days.
Ratcliffe: The whistleblower did not disclose to you that he or she had contact with HPSCI (House Intelligence Committee)?
Atkinson: The answer to that is yes. The answer to that is yes.
Atkinson: On the urgent disclosure form, there's a question that the complainant is asked about who they have reported the violation to...and one of the boxes is the congressional intelligence committees. The complainant did not check that box.
The 2019 Trump impeachment effort was a sham -- we all know this. There were traces of truth peeking through this Democrat-manufactured push, which alleges a quid pro quo based on hearsay. The details of this fiasco involved then-Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA), who chaired the House Intelligence Committee and lied about having contact with the whistleblower who started this circus. The allegations were based on hearsay, with the analyst admitting he was a committed Democrat. As you might expect, he also had a history of political bias. He fit right in with the Deep State actors trying to derail the first Trump presidency.
Now, newly declassified documents from the Director of National Intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard, reveal that even this whistleblower's colleagues were skeptical of the spy craft, despite supporting the impeachment effort. One of the witnesses, identified as "witness #2," worked with disgraced FBI agent Peter Strzok, who was one of the main figures behind the Russian collusion hoax, and co-authored the 2017 Intelligence Community Assessment, ordered by Barack Obama before leaving office, which was full of flawed information to support the collusion narrative.
To add, the whistleblower admitted to working closely with then-Vice President Joe Biden. This person also told the inspector general that he failed to mention he had spoken with Schiff before filing his complaint, apologized for this omission, but it was never made public.
The documents declassified by Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard at the request of Just the News provide a starkly different portrait of the alleged whistleblower whose name and face were never shown to the public and whose lawyerly written letter accusing Trump of hijacking Ukraine policy for political gain was heralded by Democrats to launch impeachment proceedings.
Investigators for the Intelligence Community Inspector General documented several concerns about the Trump accuser's political motives, noting he admitted he was a "registered Democrat" who had worked closely with Joe Biden on Ukraine issues and who disliked some of the conservative figures in the president's orbit, the memos show.
The investigators also elicited an apology from the Trump accuser for misleading the probe and were acutely aware his allegations were based solely on second- and third-hand accounts about what Trump was alleged to have said and done.
"I do not have direct knowledge of private comments or communications by the President," the alleged whistleblower, who claimed Trump improperly tried to pressure Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to investigate Hunter Biden, admitted in his initial August 2019 intake form.
That stunning line on the limitations of the whistleblower's knowledge was not included in the nine-page letter then-House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff, D-Calif., released in late summer 2019 that touched off a months-long political maelstrom and led to Trump's impeachment by a Democrat-led House and his eventual acquittal in the Senate.
The newly-released memos also laid out multiple self-admitted potential biases tied to Ciaramella's Democratic registration, his work for Joe Biden, his knowledge of corruption-related discussions on Ukraine, his view that he had been pushed out of the Trump NSC because of right wing bloggers and more.
Some of the revelations were not made public until Sunday, and many were concealed from House investigators when the intelligence community inspector general appeared before members in October 2019.
During the second since-declassified House Intelligence Committee session, on October 4, 2019, the newly-released transcripts show Atkinson stated: "As part of the complainant's interview, I had directed the interviewers to ask the complainant to self-disclose potential bias information.
The complainant self-disclosed that the complainant was a registered member of the Democratic Party. The complainant also self-disclosed that the complainant had a prior professional relationship with one of the Democratic Presidential candidates for the 2020 election."
...
The inspector general did not include details relating to Ciaramella's work with then-Vice President Joe Biden, the whistleblower's long-term focus on Ukraine, Ciaramella's travel to Ukraine with Biden, and the whistleblower's presence at discussions about the alleged corruption of Ukrainian prosecutors -- all admitted by Ciaramella to watchdog investigators, all related to the allegations raised by Trump with Zelensky, and all redacted from what was provided to the House Intelligence Committee at the time in 2019. Atkinson redacted other potential biases too.
...
The redacted questioner told Atkinson during the 2019 session, "You've now said today that the complainant worked closely with one of the presidential candidates for the 2020 election" and asked "is that what is redacted in the first bullet point here?"
"Yes," Atkinson told the House investigators.
The redacted questioner noted to Atkinson in 2019 that "the second" section on Ciaramella's biases "is entirely redacted."
"Second, Complainant worked for the President Trump White House for [Redacted] as an [redacted] was then asked by [Redacted] to be [redacted]," the more unredacted version of the memo made public on Sunday said. "Complainant said this was a very stressful job and [redacted] became the target of right-wing bloggers, such as [Redacted], and conspiracy theorists, and later received death threats, which caused [redacted] to leave [redacted] White House position and return to CIA. [Redacted] then accepted [redacted]. Complainant believes that [Redacted], a former colleague at the NSC and current HPSCI staffer for Nunes, provided [Redacted] with information about Complainant for use in his threatening blogs."
What an absolute cowardly faggot. Now we see why the entire Democrat-Media Complex was so determined to hide his identity -- he's a shrieking sissy who's terrified of phantoms.
The memos also disclose numerous other details about the whistleblower and the intelligence community's assessment of his claims that weren't available to the public, including that the CIA analyst:
* Appeared interested in thwarting then-Attorney General Bill Barr from probing Hunter Biden, even though Barr wasn't a member of the intelligence community covered by the complaint;
* Disliked Republicans around Trump, including former House Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes and current FBI Director Kash Patel. The documents show the alleged whistleblower even went so far as to make a "request for Nunes not to view the disclosure" as a member of Congress even though he was a member of the "Gang of Eight" leadership entitled to see such intelligence;
* Impugned then-top Trump National Security Council staffer Michael Ellis, now the deputy CIA director, as "slippery and untrustworthy" during a voluntary interview;
* Claimed he was a victim of an intimidation campaign carried out by "right-wing bloggers"; and
Worked on his whistleblower complaint with a witness whose name was redacted and who told investigators he was connected to Peter Strzok, the former FBI agent who was fired in 2019 for his role in leading the now-discredited Russia collusion probe.
In anticipation of tomorrow’s release of the IG Michael Atkinson transcript, here is the TLDR of the story.
In August 2019, a supposed “whistleblower” filed a complaint with the Intelligence Community Inspector General, Michael Atkinson, targeting President Trump for his July 25… pic.twitter.com/MVjvro02gb
CIA Director John Ratcliffe: “Adam Schiff covertly conspired with the fake whistleblower Eric Ciaramella in an attempt to overthrow the sitting President.” (2025)
Accused Charlie Kirk killer Tyler Robinson's full handwritten confession to his trans lover reveals just how twisted his plot was, according to newly unsealed court documents.
The sick note -- in which Robinson refers to roommate lover Lance Twiggs as "Luna" -- was made public in full Thursday, as Robinson remains held for allegedly shooting the popular conservative media personality from a rooftop at Utah Valley University in September 2025.
"Luna, if you are reading this per my text, then I am so sorry," the note begins, presumably referring to a text Robinson had reportedly sent Twiggs moments after the assassination, telling his partner to "drop what you are doing, look under my keyboard."
A search warrant affidavit obtained by Fox 13 confirmed the handwritten note was found under Twiggs' keyboard at a St. George, Utah, townhouse he and Robinson shared.
The letter continues, "I left the house this morning on a mission, and set an auto text.
"I am likely dead, or facing a lengthy prison sentence. I had the opportunity to take out Charlie Kirk, and I took it.
"I don't know if I will/have succeeded, but I had hoped to make it home to you. I wish we could have lived in a world where this did not feel necessary. I wish I could have stayed for you and lived our lives together," Robinson wrote, according to court docs.
"I lack the words to express how much I love you, and how very much you mean to me. Please try and find joy in this life. I love you, always, -Tyler," he concludes.
Texts between Robinson and Twiggs, 22, have shown that the capital-murder suspect had been planning the grisly killing "a bit over a week," and offered insight into his train of thought in the moments afer the shooting -- as law enforcement launched a sweeping manhunt for the perpetrator.
"I had planned to grab my rifle from my drop point shortly after, but most of that side of town got locked down. Its quiet [sic], almost enough to get out, but theres one vehicle lingering," Robinson wrote in one text to Twiggs, the documents show.
"Three hours ago there was an officer with a k9 walking nearby the area, hoping that pooch has a bad sniffer," another reads.
"Im wishing I had circled back and grabbed it as soon as I got to my vehicle, because it sounds like the police couldn't get in for a long while because of the traffic."
The accused killer then alludes to passing the time by brazenly scouring social media: "guess im just sittin in my car watching reels for another hour, hopin this guy f--ks off [sic]."
Robinson and Twiggs, who authorities have said was transitioning from male to female, then make a plan to rendezvous at their home.
"I'm sorry, but I think this might be it," reads a text from Robinson, according to the docs.
"If the way is clear I can try and come your way to say goodbye, after that I have a spot in mind that I'll call police to...I have no doubts they will be on me within the hour. And I will be giving my location up and going out on my own terms I have no intention of being drug through the courts in front of the country. Can I come see you?"
A pair of gray Converse sneakers with white shoelaces helped authorities nail Tyler Robinson for Charlie Kirk's assassination, newly surfaced court documents reveal.
Utah Valley University surveillance video captured Robinson, 22, sporting the kicks as he bizarrely moved around the campus in the moments leading up to the Sept. 10, 2025, fatal shooting from a campus building rooftop, according to a search-warrant affidavit unsealed Thursday.
Investigators later found a shoe impression from the rooftop that was "consistent with the shoe sole characteristics of a Converse/Chuck Taylor shoe" that Robinson was wearing at the time, the affidavit stated.
A separate court document noted that police later recovered a pair of "grey Converse shoes with white laces" from Robinson's St. George family home while executing a search warrant.
The accused capital-murderer was captured on video footage 33 minutes before the fatal gunfire, when he was seen walking through a grassy area on campus, then through a parking lot and pedestrian tunnel.
Unbelievably -- by which I mean, completely believably -- Me-Again Kelly "reported" on the handwritten confession before concluding that it would not change the minds of the conspiracy theorists, going on to repeat Cavernous Nostrils' objections as if they were grounded in reality, to wit, that because the letter is written in a "formal" tone that means it must be a planted fedslop fake.
Me-Again doesn't endorse that claim -- she just describes it and suggests it's a real and reasonable objection.
Anything to keep hold of Cavernous Nostrils' audience, now that all of her respectable non-deranged Republican audience has fled her.
The U.S. on Monday said it began blocking ships from entering or exiting Iranian ports in the Strait of Hormuz, attempting to ratchet up pressure on Iran to reopen the key oil route after peace negotiations collapsed.
As the 10 a.m. ET deadline passed for the blockade to take effect, President Donald Trump warned Iran's "fast attack ships" not to come near the U.S. forces enforcing the closure.
"If any of these ships come anywhere close to our BLOCKADE, they will be immediately ELIMINATED, using the same system of kill that we use against the drug dealers on boats at Sea," Trump wrote on Truth Social. "It is quick and brutal."
A White House official confirmed to CNBC that the blockade has taken effect.
Trump had announced the blockade plan Sunday in a social media post slamming Iran for refusing to give up its nuclear ambitions and accusing Tehran of "WORLD EXTORTION" by continuing to throttle traffic through the strait.
The U.S. blockade applies to "any and all Ships trying to enter, or leave, the Strait of Hormuz," Trump said.
The U.S. Central Command later added the caveat that American forces "will not impede freedom of navigation for vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz to and from non-Iranian ports."
"The blockade will be enforced impartially against vessels of all nations entering or departing Iranian ports and coastal areas, including all Iranian ports on the Arabian Gulf and Gulf of Oman," CENTCOM specified.
U.S. to Blockade Ships Entering or Exiting Iranian Ports
TAMPA, Fla. -- U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) forces will begin implementing a blockade of all maritime traffic entering and exiting Iranian ports on April 13 at 10 a.m. ET, in accordance with the President's proclamation.
The blockade will be enforced impartially against vessels of all nations entering or departing Iranian ports and coastal areas, including all Iranian ports on the Arabian Gulf and Gulf of Oman. CENTCOM forces will not impede freedom of navigation for vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz to and from non-Iranian ports.
Additional information will be provided to commercial mariners through a formal notice prior to the start of the blockade. All mariners are advised to monitor Notice to Mariners broadcasts and contact U.S. naval forces on bridge-to-bridge channel 16 when operating in the Gulf of Oman and Strait of Hormuz approaches.
This is a very Trumpian move. It flips the script -- you're blocking our ships? Okay, now we're blocking yours.
I think this is an improvisation, a gamble made because Iran just will not agree to any of Trump's ceasefire demands.
What's the goal? Miad Maleka explains:
Miad Maleki
@miadmaleki
1/10 The U.S. naval blockade of the Strait of Hormuz would cost Iran approximately $276M/day in lost exports and disrupt $159M/day in imports, a combined economic damage of ~$435M/day, or $13B/month.
Over 90% of Iran's $109.7B in annual trade transits the Persian Gulf. Oil/gas accounts for 80% of government export earnings and 23.7% of GDP. Kharg Island alone generates ~$53B/year, or as I noted to @TIME, "$78 billion a year in energy revenue.
2/10 CRUDE OIL: Iran was exporting ~1.5M barrels/day, earning $139M/day at wartime pricing (~$87/barrel), though with minimal proceed repatriation due to banking sanctions. A blockade zeroes this out overnight. Kharg Island, which handles 92% of crude exports, sits deep inside the Gulf with no viable alternative. That's $139M/day, gone.
/10 PETROCHEMICALS: Iran exported $19.7B in petrochemicals in 9 months of 2024/25, ~$54M/day. Virtually all of it ships through Assaluyeh, Imam Khomeini, and Shahid Rajaee, all inside the blockade zone. No overland route can move these volumes. Another $54M/day, gone.
4/10 NON-OIL EXPORTS: Iran's non-oil trade hit $51.7B in 2025. After subtracting petrochemicals, ~$88M/day in goods (minerals, metals, etc.) flow through Persian Gulf ports. Roughly 90% would be blocked. That's another ~$79M/day in lost revenue.
...
7/10 IMPORTS: Iran imported $58B in goods in 2025, ~$159M/day. A blockade chokes off industrial inputs, machinery, and consumer goods. Food inflation already hit 105% by February 2026. Rice prices are up 7x. This gets dramatically worse under blockade. Blockade will hopefully allow offloading of the humanitarian cargos.
/10 Extremely important topic is the storage clock: Iran has ~50-55M barrels of total onshore oil storage, roughly 60% full. Spare capacity: ~20M barrels. With 1.5M bbl/day of surplus production that normally exports, storage fills in ~13 DAYS. After that, Iran must shut in wells.
This is tough: The IRGC will wind up destroying much of Iran's future oil production to cling to power.
Why is this very important: when mature oil wells shut down, bottom water rushes in, a process called water coning. Oil droplets get permanently trapped in rock pores. This oil can never be recovered. Iran's fields already decline 5-8% annually. Forced shut-ins could permanently destroy 300,000-500,000 bbl/day of production capacity, that's $9-15B/year in revenue, gone forever.
9/10 CURRENCY COLLAPSE ACCELERANT: The rial has already cratered from 42,000 to 1.5M per dollar. Banks are limiting withdrawals to $18-30/day. Overall inflation: 47.5%. A blockade eliminating all forex earnings pushes the rial into terminal hyperinflation. The regime issued its largest-ever banknote, 10M rials, worth about $7.
10/10 BOTTOM LINE: A naval blockade imposes ~$435M/day in combined economic damage. Storage fills in 13 days, forcing well shut-ins that cause permanent reservoir damage. The rial enters terminal collapse. Iran's alternatives outside the Strait can replace less than 10% of Gulf throughput. The blockade makes continued resistance economically impossible.
In addition, Iran has been collecting "tolls" from ships it allows to pass, most of which are, I assume, taking oil to Iran's allies like India and China. The blockade not only strips Iran of this "toll" money, but will cause Iran's allies to pressure it into conceding.
Will this work? I don't know. Another question is, will it cut into the IRGC faster than it punishes the people suffering under the tyranny of the Islamic Occupational Army? Again, I don't know.
Now that he's out of the race, I anticipate them defending him and permitting him to remain in the House. Just like they did with Biden -- they forced him out of a race for tactical and cynical political reasons, but then kept him in office for equally tactical and cynical political reasons.
Reps. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., and Tony Gonzales, R-Texas, are expected to face an immediate expulsion threat when the House returns from a two-week recess on Tuesday.
Swalwell, who dropped out of California's 2026 gubernatorial race Sunday, is facing multiple sexual assault and misconduct allegations, including at least one involving a former staffer. The Manhattan district attorney's office has also opened a criminal investigation into an incident that allegedly occurred in New York City.
Swalwell has repeatedly characterized the allegations as "false," though he acknowledged a lack of judgment on Sunday. He has pledged to vigorously defend himself.
Swalwell suspends governor campaign amid sexual misconduct allegations
His exit came after allies and staffers abandoned him en masse.
...
"I am suspending my campaign for Governor," Swalwell wrote on X on Sunday. "To my family, staff, friends, and supporters, I am deeply sorry for mistakes in judgment I've made in my past."
He wrote, "I will fight the serious, false allegations that have been made -- but that's my fight, not a campaign's."
The Democratic congressman's exit completed a stunningly swift collapse for a candidate who had shown signs in recent weeks of pulling ahead of a crowded Democratic field, with prominent interest groups and elected officials beginning to coalesce behind him.
But an ex-staffer's allegation that Swalwell had sexually assaulted her, detailed in a San Francisco Chronicle report and followed by more misconduct allegations in a CNN report, led those allies to abandon Swalwell en masse as high-level staffers departed his campaign.
Swalwell started last week vehemently denying accusations against him as nakedly political attacks on the race's frontrunner. He ended it politically isolated, his top campaign surrogates and prominent endorsers withdrawing their support or urging him to exit the race.
By Friday afternoon, Swalwell's two campaign co-chairs, Reps. Jimmy Gomez and Adam Gray, called on Swalwell to drop out, as did Sens. Adam Schiff and Alex Padilla. Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi issued a statement saying the accusations "must be appropriately investigated with full transparency and accountability," and that, "As I discussed with Congressman Swalwell, it is clear that is best done outside of a gubernatorial campaign."
Swalwell had come under enormous pressure not only in the governor's race, but in the House, too, where he now is facing calls for his expulsion. Meanwhile, the Manhattan District Attorney's Office is investigating allegations that he sexually assaulted a former staffer in a New York City hotel room in April 2024.
I know that some of you object to this political hit based on the fact that there is no actual evidence of rape introduced against him yet, just allegations.
But I cannot help but apply Eric Fartwell's own evidentiary standards against him. Here is Fartwell repeatedly accusing Trump of being an "Agent of Putin," and when asked what the evidence is for this conspiracy theory, he just says "the evidence is right in front of your nose" and "the evidence is hiding in plain sight."
This turned out to be a line cribbed from Adam Schiff: When Schiff claimed he had secret evidence that Trump was a RUSSIAN ASSET, he only meant "you can just tell by looking at him."
So is it right to spare Fartwell by insisting on a higher evidentiary standard than the one he inflicts on whoever he's politically targeting?
I think I agree with the Boromir Principle here: "This is a gift... Why not use the enemy's weapon against him?"
I don't know if using the power of the Ring for one's own purposes works out because I haven't finished LOTR yet. But I'm sure it'll be fine. Why wouldn't it? It's just a Ring after all.
Speaking of Schiff: Here's Schiff endorsing his literal partner in crime just a short time ago.
California gubernatorial candidate Eric Swalwell will find himself in more legal crosshairs if he or his team "disparages" one of his accusers of sexual misconduct, her husband warned on Saturday night.
Adam Parkhomenko, who is married to Ally Sammarco, said on social media he wished the congressman's family well and hopes he gets the help he needs.
"But if Eric Swalwell or his attorney makes a single statement that disparages my wife, I will be filing a lawsuit against him," Parkhomenko went on. "I've already made clear that if he believes anything I've said is untrue, he should sue me immediately."
He warned Swalwell "he should be very careful about what he chooses to say" before calling on him to resign from Congress.
...
In a report published by CNN, Sammarco alleged that Swalwell had sent her inappropriate messages on Snapchat in 2021, including unsolicited nudes.
Swalwell would also go for jogs in her neighborhood and ask her to come downstairs from her apartment to chat, she alleged.
"It made me feel gross and uncomfortable," she said of the nudes. "I didn't ask for that."
...
Other accusations made more serious claims, including alleged rape. The Manhattan District Attorney's Office in New York launched an investigation Saturday into the incidents.
"Movin' sloppy," as BCP says.
Nancy Pelosi said she had "no concerns" about Fartwell banging a Chinese spy when she put him on the tip-top secret clearance Intelligence Committee.
Maybe she should have had some concerns. In unverified video, Eric Fartwell supposedly videotaped himself attempting to kiss a woman who was plainly uninterested him, despite her allegedly being a sex worker. The video has been deleted but you might still see it here. The fact that it has been deleted suggests that it's an AI deep fake, but, as Boromir might say, "The evidence we should use the ring is right in front of your nose."
Grok says it looks real...
@grok
Apr 11
Modern AI-generated videos can be virtually indistinguishable from real ones, making definitive determination difficult or impossible from visual inspection alone.
That said, the short clip shows fluid movements, consistent lighting/shadows, natural skin textures, and no obvious artifacts like distorted hands or flickering faces. The man strongly resembles Eric Swalwell. It appears to be authentic footage rather than AI-generated, though external verification (e.g., source metadata or statements from those involved) would be needed for certainty.
But I have no confidence in AI answers about whether something is AI. I asked grok or chatGTP a year ago about very suspicious videos and it assured me they were real. I didn't believe it, and kept re-asking, and with each new answer the AI backed away from its initial confidence and eventually admitted "They're fake."
I think AI is good at figuring out what you want to hear and telling you just that.
But there are other reasons he should never have been placed on the Intelligence Committee: A 2017 FBI report concluded he was guilty of leaking "a lot of leaked information."
Eric Swalwell: Allegations of sexual misconduct, leaking sensitive information and more.
According to this 2017 FBI report, "(Redacted) noted Swalwell has been the source of a lot of leaked information and had to be counseled to be more careful.”
Media "reporters" are now all saying "everyone knew" about Sloppy Swalwell but making excuses why they couldn't report the story. One woman says she knew but couldn't "chase down the story" because she was not on the politics beat nor the women's issues beat.
This excuse was so unbelievably bullshit that she deleted that post.
Boy I tell you what you give the journos 10 years to chase down leads and a half dozen whistle blowers on a silver platter and political expediency and by god they will break the story. pic.twitter.com/RBAEsk6JOn
There is talk of expelling not just Fartwell but the Republican who cheated on his wife -- seems less serious than rape -- and the Stronk Empowered Black Woman who embezzled millions of dollars in covid funds to use in her campaign and buy a big diamond ring for herself.
Bipartisan furor over sexual misconduct allegations against Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.) is cascading into calls to expel not only him, but three other members -- two Republicans and a Democrat -- accused of wrongdoing.
The dynamic could upend the House in the coming weeks with forced votes, intense debate, and at least one public House Ethics Committee hearing on the books.
Swalwell ended his gubernatorial bid on Sunday after being accused of sexually assaulting a former aide and other instances of misconduct.
Lawmakers calling for his ouster from Congress immediately also pointed to Rep. Tony Gonzales (R-Texas), who admitted he had an affair with a former congressional staffer who later died after setting herself on fire, and is accused of sending sexually explicit messages to a former campaign aide.
Gonzales's affair was reported earlier this year, leading to an Ethics Committee referral and the Texas congressman ending his bid for reelection in March. It is against House rules for a member to have a sexual relationship with a member of their staff.
Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.) said over the weekend she will file a motion to expel Swalwell and is inquiring to see if she can pair that with a motion to expel Gonzales. It takes support from two-thirds of the House to expel a member from Congress.
A growing number of Democrats -- including Rep. Teresa Leger Fernandez (D-N.M.), Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.), and Rep. Jared Huffman (D-Calif.) -- have said they would be in favor of expelling both Swalwell and Gonzales. On the Republican side, Rep. Byron Donalds (R-Fla.) said he would vote to expel both.
But the demands for punishing lawmakers accused of wrongdoing aren't stopping there. Members are also pointing to Rep. Cory Mills (R-Fla.) and Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick (D-Fla.).
Mills -- whose former girlfriend obtained a restraining order against him last year for harassment, and whose other simultaneous girlfriend accused him of assault before quickly recanting -- is being investigated by the House Ethics Committee for allegations of dating violence, campaign finance violations and more.
Report from Heartland Institute’s “Climate Realism” Conference: A Celebration of the Tide Turning Against Climate Alarmism
—Buck Throckmorton
I was in attendance at the Heartland Institute’s “Climate Realism Rising” conference last week. It was a triumphal event, with green energy having fallen out of favor, the EPA’s Endangerment Finding now rescinded, auto manufacturers abandoning EVs, wind farms kneecapped by President Trump, and the public now tuning out the climate hysterics’ failed prophesies of doom.
To be clear, despite the celebratory mood, there was agreement that the left will never relent in their war on fossil fuels, and that we are just one bad election from being put on defense again.
The highlight was a keynote speech by EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin, who is one of the most consequential political figures of my lifetime, because he aggressively retook political ground lost to the left, restoring freedom and prosperity in the process. Having the head of the EPA proudly affirming “climate denial” in front of a group of “climate skeptics” sent the legacy media into paroxysms of partisan anger, as if a heretic had occupied the most holy temple in their church.
It might have seemed like a fringe event, except for the high-profile opening speaker: Lee Zeldin, the administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency and one of President Trump’s possible choices for the next attorney general. The mood in the room was celebratory. The roughly 220 attendees at the gathering at the Hotel Washington, which is a short walk from the White House, treated Zeldin like a rock star, giving him a standing ovation before he had even spoken.
The legacy media is adamant that the politically approved science has been settled, and that only command and control of all economic activity can save the planet. Further, the legacy media demands that the scientific method be prohibited when it comes to climate, so that no climate theory may be challenged nor hypotheses tested.
Getting back to Heartland’s Climate Realism conference, here are a few quick overviews of interesting topics that were covered. (There was a lot of additional great material which I’ll likely discuss further in future posts.)
Amidst all the applause for the scientists and activists who helped turn the tide against the climate cult, Marc Morano pointed out that there is one superhero who should receive special recognition for his contribution to our cause, specifically Anthony Fauci. His politically motivated fabulations during Covid brought disgrace to government scientists, and to pretty much anyone else claiming “expertise” in service to the left’s political agenda. The long track record of “climate scientists” falsifying historical temperature records and predicting weather catastrophes that never came to pass makes the comparison to Fauci appropriate.
In short, Covid hysteria killed off climate hysteria. Thank you Anthony Fauci for helping us to fully understand the malevolent dishonesty of government-funded “experts.”
*****
One of the talking points of the climate doomsday cult is that “extreme one-day precipitation events” in the U.S. are increasing.
David Legates gave an informational presentation on the various forms of rain gauges, how the data is collected and measured, and how they differ in accuracy. Historically there has been some degree of under-measurement. This is due to wind, evaporation, pressure changes as air hits the gauges, the timing of measurement, etc. Legates discussed how NOAA rolled out the all-new Automated Surface Observing System (ASOS) as the official gauge in the early 1990s, replacing manually tested bucket gauges. ASOS is more accurate, therefore it is now capturing higher rainfall totals.
This chart shows that the trendline of extreme precipitation events jumped dramatically upward right when ASOS was launched in the early 1990s, but then quickly leveled off. The only change in “extreme one day precipitation” was the change in the measuring tool, not the amount of rain falling from the sky.
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Anthony Watts (wattsupwiththat.com) discussed NOAA temperature gauges and how scientifically flawed they are.
NOAA has official protocols about where its temperature sensors must be stationed so as to avoid the influence of heat retained in parking lots, rock walls, etc. A survey of these stations by Watts’ team found that fully 96% of NOAA’s temperature gauges are improperly situated, causing higher readings than would be recorded if properly placed in a field of grass.
Even more disturbing is that many of NOAA’s official temperature gauges don’t even exist! There are hundreds of old stations that were decommissioned or have mechanically failed. Rather than replace them, NOAA has continued to simply estimate the daily temperature readings from these ghost stations, and then incorporate these fabricated temperature readings into their official temperature database that shows a warming trend.
Mr. Watts has developed his own temperature station and was able to properly place one at the Reno airport. Because NOAA’s improperly placed sensor is picking up retained heat from the tarmac and runways, NOAA consistently captures overnight temperatures more than two degrees warmer than the actual air temperature as measured by Watts’ own temperature gauge situated away from the asphalt.
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The great Steve Milloy (junkscience.com) spoke at several conference sessions about various topics. I appreciated his caution about being too celebratory regarding our recent political victories.
The 2009 Obama Endangerment Finding, which was just reversed by Trump and Zeldin, was made possible by the 2007 Supreme Court decision “Massachusetts vs EPA,” which found that greenhouse gases, including CO2, are pollutants, and that the EPA can regulate anything involving CO2.
Milloy stressed that as wonderful as it is that the Endangerment Finding is reversed for now, the ultimate prize is overturning Massachusetts vs EPA. He expressed some disappointment that the case of “West Virginia vs EPA,” a victory for our side, could have been used seek the reversal of Massachusetts vs EPA. Instead, it was just a narrow victory that limited the EPA’s regulation of power plants.
*****
There were some interesting discussions about nuclear energy, and the challenges and costs of building new nuclear. As clean and reliable as nuclear energy is, it’s still more expensive than coal and natural gas. For now, there is nothing cheaper than natural gas, which is also wildly abundant. Natural gas also burns clean, which has greatly reduced carbon emissions (for those who focus on “greenhouse gases.”)
So, the challenge in building new nuclear is that it may make sense as part of a strategy of diversifying fuel options, but it is a hard sell since it will still cost ratepayers more than natural gas.
The “all-in” cost per mWh (including transmission lines, land, construction, engineering, etc) of various forms of electricity production are as follow:
Reliable energy sources are not only cheaper than “green” sources, they have a lower impact on the environment. Wind energy needs 300 times the land footprint to produce the same electricity as one conventional power plant (if the wind is even blowing.
*****
Much gratitude to Jim Lakely, James Taylor, Cameron Sholty and all the rest of the Heartland team for their lead role in fighting the climate hoax. By establishing and perpetuating this regular gathering of eminent scientists debunking the climate scare, we “climate skeptics” are winning the climate battle.
But we can’t let up. The left never does. We need to keep the pedal to the metal in continuing to fight for and celebrate a high-carbon lifestyle. As Jason Isaacs of American Energy Institute likes to point out, “Carbon is life.”
Good morning kids. Yet again it's the international scene that's grabbing all the attention this morning. we'll get to the latest developements off the Iranian coast in a moment, but first there are a couple of bit stories happening in Europe that might otherwise get lost in the sauce. The disappointing news first comes fromHungary.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban conceded defeat in the parliamentary elections on Sunday, bringing an end to 16 years of governance in Budapest. . . Conceding defeat on Sunday evening, Orbán said: “The election result is painful for us, but understandable. I congratulated the Tisza Party.
“No matter how it turned out, we in the opposition will serve our country and the Hungarian nation,” he declared, adding: “We never give up!”
I'm not necessarily in tune with the attitude of the Hungarian people but that they sent a true patriot and a staunch defender of western values, civilization and sanity packing is a head scratcher considering the madness of open borders especially with the invasion of Islamic hordes that have ravaged a significant portion of the rest of the continent. Orbán was a tough, passionate and vocal critic of the EU on this and other issues of national sovereignty, especially the insane push to go to war with Russia over Ukraine, as well as earning the enmity of the homosexual/transexual pervert lobby for his staunch criticism of them and the EU's drive to push their ideology on the Hungarian people. From what I have gathered, the new regime in Hungary will do a very abrupt about-face on all these issues and President Trump and America my lose, at least in the near term, a very key strategic ally.
So you say you want a revolution? Well, take a look at what’s happening in Ireland right now. Tens of thousands of farmers, truckers, and other fed-up “normies” are taking to the streets of Dublin to protest fuel taxes, mass immigration, and poverty-inducing “climate change” policies. For the most part, corporate news propagandists in both Europe and North America are intentionally ignoring the combustible situation. Just when I had begun to think that all the “fighting Irish” had moved to America, the Old Country has started to show signs of life. Perhaps there are still a few irascible pugilists willing to bash heads and take on the globalist empire after all. . . Although few people saw the present brouhaha coming, Ireland makes a natural “ground zero” in the war between Big Government globalists (aka, the “international rules-based order” club of World Economic Forum totalitarians) and ordinary citizens willing to defend their nation’s sovereignty and their own personal freedoms. For two decades, the globalists have been taking over Ireland and stripping it for parts.
Would or could something like this ever happpen here in the USA. I Mean among real Americans and not leftist Antifa rent-a-goons agitating for revolution and committing acts of terorism to overthrow our Republic once and for all?
Turning Point USA’s “Frontlines” reporter Savanah Hernandez posted multiple videos of mob members opposed to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operations in the Minneapolis area seemingly attacking her Saturday. After Hernandez posted photos of one assailant — a man charged in connection with the storming of a St. Paul-area church — Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Harmeet K. Dhillon responded in to the post on X. (RELATED: Democrat Candidate Calls For Banning MAGA From Internet)
The only reason Antifa et al can get away with what they get away with, the corruption of the courts and Political cover by their overlords in the Democrat Party aside, is that they know that kyle Rittenhouse notwithstanding we will never preemptively hunt them down and take them out as is their strategy, let alone take up arms to defend ourselves. Because if we ever did, look out.
Whoever’s calling the shots in Iran wasted yet another chance for peace over the weekend, and now President Donald Trump will again call Tehran’s bluff.
Iran’s negotiators refused to satisfy America’s demands Saturday in talks in Pakistan, as regime leaders bet that playing the Strait of Hormuz card would get Trump to blink.
Instead, he played it right back at them — announcing his own blockade, so that Iran’s oil exports (which had continued despite the war) will also be blocked.
The prez is thinking outside the box with this blockade and his plans to escort ships through the Strait; if necessary, he can later order US forces to take Kharg Island and eviscerate the regime’s power base.
This also guarantees that Tehran’s effort to charge a toll on all tankers crossing the Strait will fail — honoring an American commitment to freedom of the seas that goes back to President Thomas Jefferson, the Barbary Pirates and the US Marines’ triumphant excursion “to the shores of Tripoli.”
Of course Iran’s rulers (whoever they are at this point) responded with fresh bluster, vowing a “strong and forceful response” to Trump’s move and huffing that it would end the cease-fire.
Utter bull: Tehran has almost no offensive capabilities left except those that threaten Strait shipping, and those assets can now be eliminated as completely and readily as the rest of its Navy, missile launchers and drone capabilities already were.
It can’t seriously mine the Strait without choking off its own exports, nor can that blockade last once America and its allies’ minesweepers, backed by the US Navy, get down to work.
Trump’s blockade won’t much impact Europe or the Americas, while our Middle Eastern allies are switching to export routes that don’t rely on the Strait; it’s Iran and its allies (mainly China) that will now suffer most. Beijing and its dependents in Moscow will soon regret vetoing the UN Security Council measure to reopen the Strait.
Meanwhile, the Iranian hardliners behind this lunacy will face more internal pressure from other regime factions; everything they’ve tried to do has blown up in their faces.
They assumed America would be help captive by conventional wisdom; our president proved them wrong.
Trump once again tried to reach a peaceful settlement; the Iranians again refused: Now they’ll pay yet a higher price for thinking they could get him to chicken out.
Have a great day!
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The prez is thinking outside the box with this blockade and his plans to escort ships through the Strait; if necessary, he can later order US forces to take Kharg Island and eviscerate the regime’s power base. This also guarantees that Tehran’s effort to charge a toll on all tankers crossing the Strait will fail — honoring an American commitment to freedom of the seas that goes back to President Thomas Jefferson, the Barbary Pirates and the US Marines’ triumphant excursion “to the shores of Tripoli.” Trump brilliantly calls Iran’s bluff — with his own Strait of Hormuz blockade
Iran thought they had the world over an (oil) barrel. Turns out they signed their own economic death warrant. The blockade is an inspired tactic pushed by Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and former Green Beret-turned-UN Ambassador Mike Waltz as the logical next step after the Chinese and Russians last week vetoed the UN Security Council resolution led by the Gulf States for international cooperation to reopen the Hormuz Strait. Miranda Devine: Playing the Trump card vs. Tehran
Criticism of strikes on Iranian infrastructure clashes with claims that the IRGC controls much of the economy, making such targets central to degrading its military power. The IRGC’s Control of Iran’s Economy
The details of the amazing search & rescue effort to recover a downed American pilot in Iran last weekend has been covered quite thoroughly in the media, especially the alternative press. This video gives us the compelling perspective of the men and women who made that rescue happen. Even if you oppose Trump’s present actions against Iran, Steeve’s reveals a fundamental aspect of the American way of war that illustrates again the best part of America. The key quote, “Will you be worth the trip?” A military pilot’s perspective on downed pilot rescue in Iran Easter weekend
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Roger Kimball: Trump’s “outrageous” rhetoric unnerved critics, but it masked a blunt strategy: overwhelm Iran militarily, force leverage at the table, and leave opponents scrambling to keep up. Trump, Iran, and the Theater of Moral Panic
Democrats accuse Trump of weakness or recklessness as it suits them—revealing less about him than their own shifting standard for American power. Democrat Perfidy Knows No Bounds
CIVIL WAR 2.0, LEFTIST PERSECUTIONS, DEMOCRAT PUTSCH, AMERICAN DISSOLUTION
Turning Point USA’s “Frontlines” reporter Savanah Hernandez posted multiple videos of mob members opposed to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operations in the Minneapolis area seemingly attacking her Saturday. After Hernandez posted photos of one assailant — a man charged in connection with the storming of a St. Paul-area church — Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Harmeet K. Dhillon responded in to the post on X. (RELATED: Democrat Candidate Calls For Banning MAGA From Internet) DOJ Signals Probe Into Brutal Assault Of Conservative Journalist Filming Anti-ICE Riot
Immigration’s true cost isn’t seen in stagnant wages, but in natives pushed out of opportunity—masking displacement, distorting data, and quietly eroding mobility and growth. Moving Targets
It makes perfect sense that Democrats freaked out when DOGE started following the money. Look at what they’ve been up to all these years. It’s Always the Money That Gets Them
John Stossel: Why give the government and politicians power over our lives? You Don’t Own Me (Channeling Lesley Gore - jjs)
Robert Spencer: What happens when someone dissents from the leftist establishment narrative in a way that is so compelling and convincing that the continued wide acceptance of that narrative is imperiled? What happens is that the leftist media establishment deploys its strongest rhetorical weapons against the offender, hoping to destroy or at least cripple the dissident before he or she is able to amass a significant following, or to dishearten and disperse that following if it already exists. This is why the April 2026 issue of Tablet magazine contains a massive article, over 6,000 words long, damning with faint praise the pioneering scholar of dhimmitude, Bat Ye’or. Truth-Teller Encounters the Buzz-Saw of the Establishment Narrative
CBS News reported the attack occurred about 8:45 p.m. A man whose girlfriend works at the restaurant indicated “a group of men came into the restaurant and went directly behind the counter, where they fired multiple shots.” Numerous Injured After ‘Masked Suspects’ Storm Chick-fil-A, Opens Fire
“Carbon credits are a very particular type of asset... “The scale of these crimes is owed first to brute geography... "This marriage of speculative capital and loose land markets bodes ill for Brazil.” Carbon Credits Are Destroying the Amazon
Trump’s endorsement of Steve Hilton in California’s governor’s race risks muddying a GOP primary where Sheriff Bianco may offer a stronger path to victory in a fractured state. Trump Needed to Stay Out of the California Primary
Following a hotly contested campaign against his rival, Member of European Parliament Péter Magyar, and his upstart Tisza Party, a record turnout of over three-quarters of voters decided to turn the page from Viktor Orbán’s Fidesz party, which had ruled the country since 2010. End of an Era: Viktor Orbán Concedes Defeat in Hungarian Elections to Upstart Rival Magyar
“I don’t want a Pope who criticizes the President of the United States because I’m doing exactly what I was elected, IN A LANDSLIDE, to do, setting Record Low Numbers in Crime, and creating the Greatest Stock Market in History.” Trump blasts Pope Leo after pontiff’s veiled jabs over Iran war, immigration
A half-century pause in spaceflight wasn’t technological—it was economic; without property rights and profit incentives, the path from the Moon to Mars will remain grounded. The Lost Half-Century
Though many will call this lunar fly-by “historic,” it will likely be little remembered by future generations. It did little to move the settlement of the solar system forward. No truly useful engineering was tested. The rocket and capsule are engineering dead-ends. Neither will be of much use for establishing colonies on the Moon or Mars, as SLS is still too expensive and too difficult to stack and launch and Orion is too small for any interplanetary missions, being nothing more than an overweight and very expensive ascent/descent capsule Orion survives re-entry, crew splashes down saf
The first stage (B1063) completed its 32nd flight, landing on a drone ship in the Pacific. With this flight, 43 days after the stage’s previous flight, it moved into a tie for fourth place in the rankings of the most reused launch vehicle. Three launches, two by SpaceX and one by China
FEMINAZISM, TRANSGENDER PSYCHOSIS, HOMOSEXUALIZATION, WAR ON MASCULINITY/NORMALCY
The change is part of Philz’s effort to create “a more consistent, inclusive experience across all our stores, including removing a variety of flags and other decor,” CEO Mahesh Sadarangani told the San Francisco Chronicle. Sadarangani has served as CEO since 2021. (RELATED: How Come Nobody Is Willing To Say The Obvious About The Modern LGBT Community?) Philz Coffee Getting Rid Of Rainbow Flags And Baristas Are Losing It
A pro-policing vibe is creeping back into popular culture. Cops Are Cool Again
Usha Vance is revolutionizing maternity fashion, not just with her pastel spring fits, but with how these ensembles showcase her love for her family. Usha Vance Is Making Maternity Fashion Hot Again
ALSO: The Morning Report cross-posts at CutJibNewsletter.com usually within an hour or so of posting here, if you want to continue the conversation all day.
AI makes it easy to generate millions of lines of code.
What it doesn't make it is a good idea.
It used to be that laziness by itself placed a brake on the wheel of code churn. Now you also need to know what you are doing. And that is hard work to begin with.
Dell's new XPS lineup comes in Ultra 5, Ultra 7, and Ultra X7 models.
The Ultra 5 and 7 have almost indistinguishable performance. The X7 is significantly faster for CPU-intensive tasks, and enormously faster for graphics.
Sunday Overnight Open Thread - April 12, 2026 [Doof]
—Open Blogger
Howdy Hordelings! Welcome to the Sunday night ONT. How has the springtime weather been treating you? Enjoying baseball and golf? Suffering from allergies? Planting flowers yet? It's an open thread, as always. What's on YOUR mind tonight?
By the way - in case you missed the announcement on the Gun Thread, this year's NoVa MoMe will take place on Saturday, June 20th, 2026 from 11am to 3pm. Same signup method as the past several years -- Send an email to WeaselBell Productions to get the registration details. Info is also on the left sidebar of the main page. There is NOTHING like a MoMe! Veteran MoMe attendees - please attest to this!
Rory McIlroy had to wait more than a decade to win the Masters and complete the career Grand Slam.
He only had to wait a year to take home a second green jacket.
After squandering a six-stroke lead in Saturday's third round, McIlroy briefly lost the lead again Sunday before taking control on the second nine at Augusta National to become the first back-to-back Masters champion since Tiger Woods in 2001-02 and the fourth overall (Jack Nicklaus, Nick Faldo).
Quite an accomplishment. Though I was disappointed that the presentation of the coveted green jacket came from the chairman of Augusta National instead of a previous champion. Or even better - one of the other 3 who were repeat champions. When I win back to back Masters, I will demand my 2nd jacket be presented by Jack, Nick, Tiger, or Rory!
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Pittsburgh Pirates announcers had some fun on Masters Sunday
The Pirates broadcast recreated the Masters intro perfectly. ⛳️
Featuring legends John Madden, Tommy Heinsohn, Bubba Smith, Dick Butkus, Steve Mizerak, Bert Jones, L.C. Greenwood, Mickey Spillane, Bob Uecker, Ben Davidson, Red Auerbach, Billy Martin, and Rodney Dangerfield pic.twitter.com/1q3lX34jjt
Alex Ovechkin was the man of the hour as the Washington Capitals defeated the Pittsburgh Penguins by a score of 3-0 in the final home game of the 2025-26 NHL season. As the Caps stayed alive in the playoff race, the Russian star kept every option on the table with a comment on his future.
***
If Capitals fans hoped to see more signs that Ovi may return next season, there was another after the final horn went off. As Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, and the Penguins waited on the ice to shake hands with Ovechkin after the game, the Russian star waved them off.
During his postgame press conference, Ovechkin made that clear with a concise statement. “[I waved them off] because I haven’t decided yet. Thanks to them for waiting out there,” Ovechkin, who also thanked Crosby after a potential final game, told reporters after the 3-0 win.
If Ovechkin ends up retiring after the 2025-26 NHL season, several players on the Penguins may regret they couldn’t share one last moment with Ovechkin on an NHL rink. However, Ovechkin revealed—to no one’s surprise—that he met privately with Crosby and Malkin after the game.
The Caps are still in the hunt for a playoff berth. They need to win their last game on Tuesday and get help from Carolina and Montreal, the final 2 opponents for the Flyers.
A U.S. appeals court on Friday declared unconstitutional a nearly 158-year-old federal ban on home distilling, calling it an unnecessary and improper means for Congress to exercise its power to tax.
The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans ruled in favor of the nonprofit Hobby Distillers Association and four of its 1,300 members.
They argued that people should be free to distill spirits at home, whether as a hobby or for personal consumption including, in one instance, to create an apple-pie-vodka recipe.
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Andrew Grossman, who argued the nonprofit's appeal, called the decision "an important victory for individual liberty" that lets the plaintiffs "pursue their passion to distill fine beverages in their homes."
"I look forward to sampling their output," he said.
I imagine some of you may have experience distilling your own hooch. Anyone care to fess up?
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I enjoy onion rings. Do you? Well, someone likes them WAY too much!
A Steak n" Shake employee was shot and killed during an argument over onion rings.
A Steak ’n Shake employee was shot and killed in north St. Louis County late Wednesday night following a confrontation at the drive-thru, according to police.
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Community leaders say the shooting reflects broader concerns about rising violence in the region.
“We should no longer be surprised,” James Clark of the Urban League of Metropolitan St. Louis told KMOV. “The rate of violence that is happening in the St. Louis metropolitan area should be alarming to all of us.”
Clark told KMOV outreach efforts such as violence de-escalation programs are making progress, but added that cultural attitudes toward violence are shifting.
“Crime and violence is becoming a more and more accepted and expected culture,” he told KMOV. “How do we begin to look at what we’re currently doing that is getting results? How do we begin to come up with new adaptations to what we’re doing?”
He told KMOV part of the solution could include businesses incorporating de-escalation techniques into customer service training.
De-escalation techniques?? AYFKM??? Maybe get back to actual punishment for crime and stop letting criminals back out on the streets!!
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'Ette Couture (Courtesy of Piper)
It's that time of the week - when we turn the ONT over to our good friend Piper for a bit. Here's this week's fashion pr0n.
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A Little Different: Why This Fashion Girl Is All In on Colored Sinks, Tubs & Fixtures
Normally we’re talking runway trends, how to mix prints like a pro, or the perfect denim jacket for spring. But today we’re doing something a little different—and I’m owning it right up front.
Before I ever styled a look book, I staged houses for real estate as a job while in college. My sole purpose was to make strangers fall in love with a space in 60 seconds flat. I learned fast that color is the ultimate mood-setter, whether it’s a bold lip or statement wallpaper. It has been almost 5 years since we built this house and I am ready to make a few changes. The trend that has me obsessed? Colored sinks, tubs, toilets, and faucets. Designers are playing with soft pastels, candy-bright pops, and earthy tones that feel fresh, fun, and surprisingly sophisticated. I’m here for every single second of it.
After a long run of all-white everything, 2026 is embracing personality, warmth, and heritage. I love a clean spa moment, but just like my house, it starts feeling a bit… anonymous. Designers are calling it a “heritage revival” or “nostalgic comfort”—think dopamine décor with a grounded, biophilic twist. Pantone’s 2026 Color of the Year, Cloud Dancer (a soft, weightless off-white), is a super neutral backdrop for these colorful statements. If you prefer a warmer, more yellow undertone neutral, Greek Villa by Sherwin Williams is tried and true.
The colored-fixture comeback is the perfect way to add “look-at-me” energy without committing to a full overhaul. A single jade green vanity sink or a blush-pink clawfoot tub instantly makes the room feel curated and collected.
Current color stars for 2026 bathroom fixtures:
• Sage, jade, and forest green — calming yet modern (huge with black or brass hardware)
• Blush pink and peach — flirty and feminine without being twee
• Teal and turquoise — bold but still spa-like
• Warm terracotta or biscuit tones — tying into the bigger earthy-neutral wave
How do you actually use colored fixtures and avoid it feeling chaotic? Let the color be the hero, then build everything else around it.
1. Pick one statement color. Don’t do a rainbow explosion. And while matching all the fixtures is very cool, one colored sink or tub is fine, too. Everything else (tiles, walls, hardware) should play support. PS. Don’t be afraid to add a matching toilet , a toilet is a lot easier to change than tile, so what’s the big deal?
2. Balance with neutrals and texture. Pair your colored fixture with warm whites, greige, or natural wood. Matte black or brushed brass/gold hardware looks killer against pastels. Add texture—linen towels, woven baskets, stone countertops—to keep it grounded.
3. Echo the color subtly elsewhere. Pull the hue into a shower curtain, art, or even grout.
4. Scale matters. In small baths, a colored pedestal sink or wall-mount faucet keeps things airy. In larger spaces, go for a freestanding colored tub as the showstopper.
If you’ve been stuck in neutral-land or just craving a little more you in your home, this is your sign. Colored fixtures are the easiest way to inject personality without starting over.
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Thanks, Piper - glad to see color re-emerging after the overload of monochromatic stuff from the past 10-15 years!
On this date in 2011: Foo Fighters released their seventh studio album Wasting Light. The album was preceded by the successful single 'Rope' which became only the second song ever to debut at No. 1 on Billboard's Rock Songs chart.
On this date in 2025: English record producer, songwriter and arranger Roy Thomas Baker, died at the age of 78. He is best known for producing five out of the first seven albums by Queen and the first four albums by The Cars.
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Weekly commenter stats for week of 4-12-2026
AoSHQ Commenter Statistics:
Number of posts: 90
Number of comments: 23082
Number of unique hashes: 1623
Top 10 commenters:
1 [500 comments] 'man' [71.01 posts/day]
2 [408 comments] 'Stateless - He ain't heavy, he's my dog. Old, but full of life.'
3 [360 comments] ' Braenyard - some Absent Friends are more equal than others _'
4 [356 comments] 'Anna Puma'
5 [338 comments] 'runner'
6 [322 comments] 'Sponge - F*ck Cancer'
7 [312 comments] 'Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere '
8 [293 comments] '...'
9 [285 comments] 'Skip'
10 [272 comments] 'Oldcat'
Top 10 sockpuppeteers:
1 [140 names] 'Mark VII Limited' [19.88 unique names/day]
2 [114 names] 'Quarter Twenty '
3 [108 names] 'Dave Ramsey, boomer meme incarnate'
4 [61 names] 'European Limpdicks are not reliable allies'
5 [55 names] 'Intercepted Reddit Transmissions brought by the Intrepid AoS Liaison'
6 [55 names] 'SSBN 656 (G)'
7 [48 names] 'Duncanthrax'
8 [48 names] 'mindful webworker - deliver the letter the sooner the better'
9 [36 names] 'Count de Monet'
10 [35 names] 'mikeski'
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Tonight's ONT brought to you by groovy Masters threads
On this date in 1975, one of the hardest golf photos ever.
Howdy, Y'all! Welcome to the wondrously fabulous Gun Thread! As always, I want to thank all of our regulars for being here week in and week out, and also offer a bigly Gun Thread welcome to any newcomers who may be joining us tonight. Howdy and thank you for stopping by! I hope you find our wacky conversation on the subject of guns 'n shooting both enjoyable and informative. You are always welcome to lurk in the shadows of shame, but I'd like to invite you to jump into the conversation, say howdy, and tell us what kind of shooting you like to do!
Holy Shitballs! How in the ever-loving Hell did it get to be the 2026 NoVaMoMe Announcement Edition? Seems like only last week was the Happy Easter Edition!
With that, step into the dojo and let's get to the gun stuff below, shall we?
Fundamentals 'O Safety, that is. The art of not killing yourself or those around you.
Are you being safe at the range (and elsewhere)? What's the closest disaster with regard to firearms handling you have seen?
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Dumb Idea?
Would you go into a gunfight with something like this?
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Knife Stuff
Recently the comments turned to knife sharpening and I mentioned the OUTDOORS55 YouTube channel. Watching and listening to this guy is how I finally learned to properly put an edge on cutting tools. In addition to being a useful skill to have, it also opens an entirely new rabbit hole of obsession and compulsiveness.
His channel has a lot of content and he gives very good and easy to understand advice. Weasel recommended.
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Daisy BB Guns
Interesting story.
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NoVaMoMe 2026
What - you thought there wasn't going to be a NoVaMoMe in 2026?
Note: One of the great joys of NoVAMoMe season, at least for me, is being able to cut and paste the entire block of text below and haranguing you to attend the event. Are you attending? Are you focusing on the fundamentals of attending?
Alright, guys and gals, the long awaited and highly anticipated details of the 2026 NoVAMoMe are here! That's right, I finally got my act together and updated the information page for 2026, and need to go over a few details. First, the date is June 20th, 2026 from 11am to 3pm. Nextly, my bestest blog buddy bluebell and I have decided 2026 will continue the longstanding tradition of NoVAMoMe simplification, and want to pass along the changes from prior years.
First, no registration and no advance charge for food. If you would like to attend, send an email to WeaselBell Productions, and let us know. You will be directed to a sekrit webpage with all of the details. We do ask once you have decided to attend to let us know so we can coordinate an expected count with venue management. Once there if you are hungry or thirsty simply order from the onsite menu and pay separately. Cash and credit cards accepted. Next, although fun, we have decided to again take a break from the raffles and mug sales this year. Depending on how it goes, that may be something we bring back in future years. While your generosity is always appreciated, with no prize table, please leave donations and contributions at home, but bring your appetite for a great afternoon spent with your imaginary online friends.
Next, a NoVAMoMe PSA from our pal bluebell
Hi folks - just a quick PSA. If you write for info about the MoMe, please give us a few words in the body of the email just so I know you are a Moron and not a spammer (moron). I do receive spam on this email account because it's sitting right here in my nic, so that's why I'm asking. I don't want to give our details to a spammer. Also, remember to check your spam folder if you don't receive a reply email.
Thanks.
bluebell
Seriously, just send an email then go to the website with the password provided. If you forget, a link to the email is on the main page, left sidebar. If you do not sign up, bluebell will be disappointed. Weasel will be disappointed, too, but it's bluebell you need to worry about.
Here are some different online cigar vendors. You will find they not only carry different brands and different lines from those brands, but also varying selections of vitolas (sizes/shapes) of given lines. It's good to have options, especially if you're looking for a specific cigar.
A note about sources. The brick & mortar/online divide exists with cigars, as with guns, and most consumer products, with respect to price. As with guns - since both are "persecuted industries", basically - I make a conscious effort to source at least some of my cigars from my local store(s). It's a small thing, but the brick & mortar segment for both guns and tobacco are precious, and worth supporting where you can. And if you're lucky enough to have a good cigar store/lounge available, they're often a good social event with many dangerous people of the sort who own scary gunz, or read smart military blogs like this one. -rhomboid
Anyone have others to include? Perhaps a small local roller who makes a cigar you like? Send me your recommendation and a link to the site!
Please note the new and improved protonmail account gunthread at protonmail dot com. An informal Gun Thread archive can be found HERE. Future expansion plans are in the works for the site Weasel Gun Thread. If you have a question you would like to ask Gun Thread Staff offline, just send us a note and we'll do our best to answer. If you care to share the story of your favorite firearm, send a picture with your nic and tell us what you sadly lost in the tragic canoe accident. If you would like to remain completely anonymous, just say so. Lurkers are always welcome!
That's it for this week - have you been to the range?
I was given that bottle by a well-meaning relative, because...I have no idea, other than that she drinks a lot of gin cocktails when she comes to our house.
The company is co-owned by Ryan Reynolds, who is a comedic actor who is from Canada, so he doesn't matter at all. But I shy away from celebrity endorsed products, and definitely from celebrity-owned companies. So I have never bought a bottle of the stuff.
But I am also a cheap bastard and will absolutely drink celebrity gin if it is free!
SO I made a martini (stirred, not shaken!), and while it was fine, the gin absolutely does not deserve the hype, or the premium price. Commenter and amateur bartender (I won't insult him by calling him a mixologist) naturalfake, who has a better palate than mine, thinks it is too sarsaparilla forward, but will work well in an ... AVIATION! I don't know about that, but it's not worth the money if you are making martinis.
Now, I prefer the classic London Dry Gin flavor profile, so take my review with a few grains of salt.
That is homemade pastrami, courtesy of commenter "gunslinger," who is enjoying his new pellet grill, and the amazing temperature control it affords cooks. He says it's a game-changer, and judging by that photo, he might be right!
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Sliders are great, and very easy to make, especially if you don't mind the mess. Yeah, they splatter and spit, but it's worth the few minutes of cleanup. And if you have an outdoor grill...even better! Here is Alton Brown's recipe, but it's really just a technique. Beef Sliders with Griddled Onions punches way above its weight. There is a great joint in Hackensack called White Manna, that has been around for years, that makes maybe the best ones I have ever had, including from my own kitchen. There is always a line, which makes it less appealing, but still, they are mighty tasty!
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These are some of the flavors that a well-known UK chocolate company sells. They teeter on the edge of weirdness, but the chocolate itself is excellent, so they are forgiven. Actually, TArragon & Mustard is firmly on the weird side.
But these? What the hell? Apricot & Wasabi? Mulled Wine?
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I don't know if adding horseradish to your deviled eggs will make them the best ever, but I do know that you are going to be irritated by this recipe, because it is one of those horrid ones with the interminable filler before you get to the actual recipe. So cut to the chase and just add some horseradish to your standard recipe, and you won't have to be pissed off while reading The Best Deviled Eggs.
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I'm just not a big fan of donuts. Sure...the 3:00AM fresh and hot apple fritter from Kingpin Donuts on Durant Avenue is a glory, as were the fresh donuts at the apple orchard outside of Ann Arbor that my parents took us to, but in general, donuts are meh. Does that make me a communist?
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Well, the garlic is out in the sunshine, probably soon to be eaten by those vile rodents with bushy tails and a penchant for damaging my home. But if they survive the squirrel apocalypse, and actually grow into something edible, I will be in garlic heaven! In case it doesn't, send all of your excellent home-grown garlic to: cbd dot aoshq at gmail dot com.
Rumor has it that the Bourbon Bubble is bursting. I have seen no evidence of decreasing prices, but maybe the bursting started somewhere else! I think the sweet spot is $40-$60 for excellent and interesting bottles, and bumping that to $100 gets you an incremental improvement in quality, but nothing mind-blowing. More than that and I think you are paying for hype and rarity, which may look good in your liquor cabinet, but doesn't translate to more quality in the bottle.
The problem...or the solution...is to buy lots of bourbon, take tasting notes, and eventually arrive at your favorites! It should take forty or fifty years, but it is worth it!
This is the most ridiculous packaging I have encountered in a very long time. These batteries are encased in plastic that has no seam to make it easy to peel apart. Then they are wrapped in another layer of plastic before they are wrapped in thin but stupidly tough cardboard.
Oh...they are also flavored. I shit you not! They have a "non-toxic bitter coating" so that you don't accidentally confuse them for mints and pop one into your mouth, and then chew them up. I guess.
I get that the company is trying keep kids from eating batteries, or maybe keep adults from eating batteries! But how about a little bit of personal responsibility? Like putting them on a high shelf. Yeah...that's a complex operation, but I managed to do it!
Podcast: CBD and Sefton talk Orban losing, but is it the end of Hungary? The Irish start a brawl, but is it enough, Pope Leo wades into politics, Trump calls Iran's bluff and blockades Hormuz, Artemis II! Swallwell is scum, and more!
People say that the bearded man in the video of Fartwell molesting a hooker looks like Democrat Arizona Senator Rueben Gallego, said to be Swalwell's "best friend" and known to take vacations with him.
Politico is reporting that multiple people have abruptly resigned from Eric Swalwell's gubernatorial campaign: "Members of senior leadership have departed the campaign, including Courtni Pugh, a strategic adviser who served as Swalwell's top liaison to organized labor groups."
So the campaign is collapsing due to the truth of the sexual harassment allegations.
That hissing sound you hear is the air going out of the Swalwell campaign. UPDATE: No it wasn't, it was just Swalwell one-cheek-sneaking out a fart on camera
Eric Swalwell more like Eric Farewell amirite
thanks to weft-cut loop.
This is the dumbest AI bullslop I've seen in a while: the CIA can use "quantum magnetometry" to track an individual man's heartbeat from twelve miles away I wouldn't click on it, it's not interesting, it's just stupid clickslop. I just want to share my annoyance with you.
Classic Rock Mystery Click This is super-obscure and I only barely remember it. Given that, I'll give you the hint that it's by the Red Rocker. And I guess you think you've got it made
Oh, but then, you never were afraid
Of anything that you've left behind
Oh, but it's alright with me now
'Cause I'll get back up somehow
And with a little luck, yes, I'm bound to win Now twenty people will tell me it's not obscure, it was huge in their hometown and played at their prom. That's how it usually goes. When I linked Donnie Iris's "Love is Like a Rock," everyone said they knew that one and that his other song (which I didn't know at all) Ah Leah! was huge in their area.
Podcast: CBD and Sefton talk birthright citizenship, the 14th Amendment and SCOTUS, no boots in Iran, Artemis II and refocusing NASA, the NBA's hatred of everything non-woke, and more!
In more marketing for Project Hail Mary, scientists say they've found the biosigns indicating life growing on an alien planet. It's not proof, just signatures of chemicals that are produced by biological metabolism, and it could be nothing, but scientists think it's a strong sign that this planet is inhabited by something.
In a paper published in the Astrophysical Journal Letters, a team of scientists announced the detection of dimethyl sulfide (along with a similar detection of dimethyl disulfide) in the atmosphere of an exoplanet called K2-18b. This is actually the second detection of dimethyl sulfide made on this planet, following a tentative detection in 2023.
Tons of chemicals are detected in the atmospheres of celestial objects every day. But dimethyl sulfide is different, because on Earth, it's only produced by living organisms.
"It is a shock to the system," Nikku Madhusudhan, first author on the paper, told the New York Times. "We spent an enormous amount of time just trying to get rid of the signal."
He means they tried to prove the signal was caused by things other than dimethyl sulfide but they could not.
