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A New York City program that Mayor Zohran Mamdani says will combat antisemitism involves a partnership with aggressively anti-Israel activists.
The city's "historic" plan to stop hate crimes will include increased funding for Partners Against the Hate, an initiative launched in 2021 with six leading advocacy groups, Mamdani's office said Tuesday. One of them is Arab American Association of New York, or AAANY, which had Palestinian firebrand and Mamdani supporter Linda Sarsour as its leader for over a decade. It also cheered on a violent 2024 encampment demonstration at Columbia University and other pro-Gaza protests following Hamas's Oct. 7, 2023, attacks, even when they led to arrests, its social media posts show.
When I think about casting a Theater Kid fake anti-antisemitism initiative, my mind immediately goes to Palestinian terrorist cheerleader Linda Sarsour.
Mamdani faces growing pressure to address antisemitism as city police report increasing hate crimes targeting mostly Jews since his January inauguration. The self-described socialist mayor faced rebuke throughout his 2025 campaign over anti-Israel advocacy, which was driven in part by Sarsour, his close political ally.
Mamdani's office and AAANY did not respond to the Washington Examiner's requests for comment.
...
Sarsour, AAANY's executive director until 2017, came under scrutiny during her tenure for comments perceived as antisemitic, such as declaring that "nothing is creepier than Zionism." She repeatedly denied the accusation.
$1 million for the physical protection of Jews in a city flared up by the mayor's rhetoric, $7.4 million (and probably far more) for vague "community-based organizations" that just means all the mayor's friends are gonna get PAID. https://t.co/b4MkZmbHzg
Related: Ten Hamas terrorists posed as journalists to claim that Israel targets "journalists."
The Israel Defense Forces posted a list of 10 individuals it alleges are terrorists in Gaza posing as journalists.
"The IDF has repeatedly been accused of targeting journalists, but a terrorist in a press vest is still a terrorist," the IDF said in a thread on X.
The list includes Mohammed Sami Abdullah Jarghoun, who worked as a journalist for Smart Media, but the IDF alleges he participated in the Oct. 7, 2023, terrorist attacks on Israel.
Another individual the IDF listed is Mohammed Manhal Ahmed Abu Armana, who reportedly worked as a journalist for Palestine Now, a news agency. According to the IDF, Armana case a comander in the military progaganda department of Hamas' Rafah Brigade.
And to be totally honest with you, I no longer care if "journalists" of all kinds are targeted. They are terrorist-promoting parasites -- even the ones not officially part of Hamas.
Jack Smith team tracked Trump defense lawyers' calls by monitoring his chief of staff's phone
Declassified memos reveal that Jack Smith's secret dragnet, codenamed "Plasmic Echo," monitored senior Trump associates and staff's contacts with lawyers, staff, and journalists during the 2024 campaign.
By John Solomon and Steven Richards
Already in the crosshairs for spying on Congress, ex-prosecutor Jack Smith and his team monitored the activities of President Donald Trump's legal defense team, journalists and campaign advisers using a pen register device that tracked the calls coming to and from his chief of staff Susie Wiles' phone, according to newly declassified memos that reveal some of the FBI's invasive tactics used to target Trump.
Just the News reported last week that Smith obtained the phone records of several senators through a subpoena and secured a non-disclosure order from the court preventing the mobile carrier from notifying the lawmakers affected. One of those senators, Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., filed a lawsuit against Smith arguing his spying constituted an unauthorized intrusion into her civil rights.
...
The three-year probe of the ex-president -- which put Joe Biden's administration in charge of the legal fate of his GOP rival in the 2024 election -- was approved at the highest levels of the Biden Justice Department, including by Attorney General Merrick Garland, Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco and FBI Director Christopher Wray, the memos show.
...
The probe also made FBI agents at times uncomfortable, with a senior official at the bureau's Washington, D.C. Field Office (WFO) counterintelligence unit and his team raising concerns that they did not have a justification to raid Trump's Florida home and wanted to use a less invasive solution than a search warrant, the documents show.
"WFO does not believe (and has articulated to DOJ CES), that we have established probable cause for the search warrant at Mar-a-Lago. DOJ has opined that they do, requesting a wide scope including residence, office, storage space," one Assistant Special Agent in Charge wrote in a July 13, 2023, update on the Plasmic Echo probe.
In that same memo, the agent laid out alternative methods for resolution, rather than executing a search warrant on Mar-a-Lago, President Trump's Palm Beach, Florida estate, including by asking "to speak with" the former president and his counsel directly.
...
The newly released memos show an intense focus on two constitutionally protected activities -- Trump's right to a legal defense and the normal activities of a presidential campaign. After the Justice Department and the FBI began their investigations into the then-former president, Trump announced his third campaign for the Oval Office in November 2022 and appointed Wiles to serve as co-campaign manager.
The memos released Monday by the White House show that FBI investigators were tracing Wiles' phone calls and text messages with at least 21 lawyers affiliated with Trump, numerous campaign staff, political advisors, and at least five journalists from at least February to May 2023.
...
In one instance, the FBI specifically targeted Wiles' communication records to understand who she was in contact with before and after her interview with FBI agents on April 7, 2023, in Jacksonville, Florida. "On 10 April 2023, WFO [redacted] reviewed WILES's telephonic activity to determine contacts of interest on the date of her FBI interview," one memo reads.
The records also show agents combed through entire filings of Trump's political action committee with its donors and campaign expenses, set up a social media monitoring effort and even used personal political endorsements as leverage against a key witness.
Jack Smith was asked at his recent Senate perjury session if being a Republican was illegal in his eyes.
Here's one of the predicates for that question: Smith's team treated a Trump National Security Advisor's endorsement of Republicans as an avenue for criminal investigation.
One memo recounts how the FBI sought to pressure former Trump National Security Adviser Robert O'Brien when he was declining to volunteer for an interview by checking his political endorsements of candidates.
"I'm going through all of it, and it looks like O'Brien is active in endorsing Republican candidates," one member of Jack Smith's team wrote on February 6, 2023. "Can FBI please look at his social media and see if there's anything of relevance we would want to ask him about? Has he endorsed Trump again? Thanks."
Jack Smith secretly met with the criminal architect of RussiaGate -- and the FBI left blank the pages that were supposed to document this meeting.
- Appears to use FBI investigative tool known as a "Pen Register" to target phone calls of then campaign manager @SusieWiles47
- Allegedly tracked nearly two dozen defense attorneys, five journalists, @FLOTUS, political advisers including @FBIDirectorKash
- Administration official characterizes as "intrusive tactics" by special counsel Jack Smith team
- Probe laid groundwork for classified records case against President Trump
Pen Register Trap and Trace or PRTT
- Surveillance tool collects non-content routing data
- Phone numbers dialed or received
- Call times and duration
Two Scenarios
- Used for criminal and national security investigations
- lower standard than probable-cause warrant
Potential Violations
- First (Freedom of Speech) and Fourth Amendments (unreasonable search and seizure)
NOTE: Former Senior FBI agent says it looks like a classic FBI "tickle the wire" operation.
After FBI agents contact Wiles, the bureau tracks phone calls to identify who she immediately contacts
"On 10 April 2023, FBI WFO (Washington Field Office) reviewed WILES's telephonic activity to determine contacts of interest on the date of her FBI interview."
Declassified records via @WhiteHouse transparency task force
So Hack Smith got a pen register on Susie Wiles. This, according to records released today by @jsolomonReports, enabled Smith to track calls between Wiles and anyone including the president’s lawyers in real time rather than a backwards look in time.
I’m guessing this refers to conversations with Todd Blanche, who represented the president at the time in both the Alvin Bragg indictment and docs indictment in FLA.
Bragg announced the indictment against the president the following week.
Paris Police Report: Riots Are Being Incited by Far-Left Politician and Perennial Presidential Candidate Jean-Luc Melanchon
—Disinformation Expert Ace
I mentioned this on Thursday, but the party "La France Insoumise" (France Unsubmitted/Unbowed) or LFI are openly cheering on the riots.
The Red-Green alliance is right out in the open, including in support for anti-normie terrorism.
A report from the Paris Police's intelligence branch has reportedly found that radical presidential candidate Jean-Luc Mélenchon's far-left La France Insoumise party instigated the youth riots which plunged much of the country into chaos this week.
Over 5,000 people were arrested this week as mayhem broke out around the so-called student actions at over a thousand high schools across France, in which multicultural youths ran roughshod, engaging in mindless destruction and wanton violence, including attacks on police and innocent bystanders, arson, and vandalism
According to Interior Minister Laurent Nunez, some 85 per cent of the arrests made during the riots were under the age of 18.
However, a report from the Paris Police Prefect claimed that other forces were likely pulling the strings behind the scenes, finding that "the origins of the movement clearly lie in the manipulation of student union structures and political movements close to the far left."
The report, obtained by Le Figaro, claimed that members of political organisations such as the Young Revolutionary Communists and the La France Insoumise (LFI/France in Rebellion) party of Jean-Luc Mélenchon may have a "strategy of igniting unrest on the part of the most radical union and political structures to impose their ideas as national elections approach."
While the students largely displayed "a clear desire for disorder, notably through the commission of urban violence, without any specific social demands," the police report said that "clearly, high school students are being pushed into these actions by far-left elements identified both within student union structures at Paris 8 University (Le Poing levé, FSE), or Paris Nanterre (FSE)."
The police report noted that some of the actions taken by youth rioters pointed to "remote control" from left-wing unions, including prompt mobilisation outside of police stations following arrests of rioters for mortar attacks, protests which they said were "common for these organisations but quite rare among young people."
Meanwhile, of the forty arrests detailed in the report, around a quarter were identified as far-left activists who had left high school long ago, having been born between 1999 and 2005.
...
Rather than backing down, LFI leader Jean-Luc Mélenchon appears intent on doubling down. In a blog post on Saturday, Mélenchon, who participated in the 1968 student riots in France, called on his supporters to join the planned "Act III" student protests this week.
The 75-year-old presidential candidate claimed that the involvement of his party over the past week on the ground at protests was necessary to protect the students from police violence.
"Our duty is to help and protect our young people. That's why I proposed, like others, deploying "white helmets" or white armbands around and within the demonstrations on October 6th, as was done in the past after the death of Malik Oussekine or to protect the high school student demonstrations of the 1990s," he wrote.
The youth riots have already proved costly, with initial estimates of damages ranging into the tens of millions. According to the leader of the Île-de-France regional council, Valérie Pécresse, some "seven million euros already gone up in smoke". The president of the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region, Fabrice Pannekoucke, said that his area likely saw between 25 and 30 million euros in damages.
However, this may be outweighed by the human toll, with some victims suffering life-altering injuries, including a woman who had her face burned with a homemade flamethrower while she was waiting for a bus in Marseille. On Sunday, local prosecutors announced that a 15-year-old had been arrested over the incident and "was brought before an investigating judge for formal charges of acts of barbarity".
Speaking to BFMTV, the victim said: "I didn't expect such violence... To see a kid you don't know, someone you were talking to normally, deliberately aiming at your face... He didn't aim for your clothes, he didn't aim for your legs. He aimed for my face. Why?"
The Islamist-Communist media is justifying these riots by saying the students, who are burning down their schools, just want their schools better "resourced."
I expected the coverage to change after Public, Le Point, and Le Figaro and many people on X had pointed out the contradiction between rioters saying they wanted more money for schools while burning them down. I pointed out on Friday that spending per pupil across all levels has nearly doubled in constant euros since 1980. And, since then, I noted on X that the French government provides $14,204 per secondary student in constant purchasing-power dollars compared to $6,643 in Algeria, $2,834 in Morocco, $1,490 in Senegal and $712 in Mali. Algeria and Morocco are the two largest sources of France's immigrants, and Senegal and Mali are among the largest in sub-Saharan Africa.
Instead, establishment news organizations continued to promote a leftist and globalist account of the protests as a response to insufficient funding for schools, which simply isn't true. CNN headlined its report "Police and high school students clash across France in protests over underfunded education" and gave no spending figure of any kind. Euronews listed the pupils' complaints on October 4 without once naming LFI.
National Public Radio ran its report on the 5,000 arrests with the summary "High school students say their classrooms are overcrowded, teachers are missing and buildings need repairs."
The Associated Press today described the protesting pupils as focused on "perceived inequalities in the school system." The AP article gives no figure for spending per pupil and does not mention the Paris police intelligence note that Le Figaro had published three days earlier. "Mélenchon, a fiery anti-capitalist," waxed AP, "says his party supports the movement but isn't organizing it and wants it to be non-violent."
Why the double standards? Why do reporters who warned for a decade about online incitement describe riots that a political party promoted on TikTok as a protest over school budgets?
Michael Shellenberger
@shellenberger
16h
The media have spent the last decade demanding online censorship of right-wing populists to avoid "real-world harm." Now, they're promoting left-wing disinformation -- including that migrant students are "deprived" -- that's driving street violence.
For more than a decade, the news media and establishment politicians have demanded that social media platforms censor "far right" and anti-migrant voices in order to prevent "real-world violence."
In a 2019 hearing at which representatives from Facebook and Google testified, the New York Democrat who chaired the House Judiciary Committee said, "White nationalism and its proliferation online have real consequences...Americans have died because of it."
After a gunman killed 10 people in Buffalo in 2022, the state's attorney general asked Congress to make the platforms' legal immunity depend on how they policed such content. "Online platforms should be held accountable for allowing hateful and dangerous content to spread on their platforms," New York's attorney general said in 2022.
In Europe, politicians stepped up their demands for censorship during the 2015 migrant wave.
A live microphone at a United Nations luncheon caught German Chancellor Angela Merkel pressing Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg about anti-immigrant posts. "Are you working on this?" she asked. Zuckerberg confirmed he was.
Eight months later, the European Commission announced that Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Microsoft had agreed to review flagged hate speech within 24 hours.
Over the next several years, the European Commission would secretly dictate terms to social media companies for what they would censor, which Americans only discovered earlier this year.
The media emphasized that the violence came from anti-migration forces. "Facebook Fueled Anti-Refugee Attacks in Germany," read a 2018 headline in The New York Times.
When riots followed the murder of three girls in Southport, England, in 2024, Prime Minister Keir Starmer told social media companies that the disorder had been whipped up online. "It's happening on your premises," said Starmer. "And the law must be upheld everywhere."
But when courts, prosecutors and legislatures trace violence to social media, the trail often leads to Islamists and the radical left....
If you're curious why the media is spreading so much false information about the riots, consider:
-- The French Culture Ministry paid [euros] 204.7 million in direct aid to the news media in 2023, of which Le Monde received [euros] 8.3 million, L'Humanité [euros] 6.5 million and Libération [euros] 6.3 million
-- The @afpfr runs "fact-checks" in 26 languages, received [euros] 120 million from the French state in 2025, against [euros] 200.3 million in commercial revenue. @AFP is French government propaganda and disinformation
-- European governments are committed through a UN agreement to spread pro-mass migration propaganda by funding it directly. The "migration compact," which 152 governments voted for in the UN General Assembly in 2018, commits them to "stopping allocation of public funding... to media outlets that systematically promote intolerance, xenophobia, racism and other forms of discrimination towards migrants," which is broadly interpreted to cover criticism of mass migration policies
-- To maintain control over news media, the European Commission funds a network of 15 fact-checking hubs with tens of millions of euros, and its rules require platforms to give priority to notices from "trusted flaggers."
-- Governments fund think tanks to produce reports, including ones demanding censorship, that the news media cover sympathetically and editorialize in support of.
-- The @ISDglobal in London -- which demands censorship of people it disagrees with on climate change, gender, and migration, refuses to speak with journalists, and lists a phony address -- lists among its funders the British Foreign Office, the U.S. Departments of Homeland Security and Justice, the German Foreign Office and the European Commission, along with Google and Microsoft.
https://isdglobal.org/partnerships-and-funders/
-- Public reported in 2024 that ISD and the German fact-checker Correctiv, both government-funded, had spread false claims about German farmers and opposition politicians.
🚨 INFO ALERT - Rioters set fire to the entrance of Vauquelin high school in Paris and block the exits while staff, students, and journalists are confined inside 😳🤯
We are witnessing an attempted murder live. All red lines have been crossed.
These images are terrifying.
🚨 ALERTE INFO - Des émeutiers mettent le feu à l’entrée du lycée Vauquelin à Paris et bloquent les sorties alors que du personnel, des élèves et des journalistes sont confinés à l’intérieur 😳🤯
On assiste à une tentative de meurtre en direct. Toutes les lignes rouges sont franchies.
France is in chaos ..
400 schools torched, mobs of immigrants going around trying to lynch police officers . 350 security guards injured . 2000 youths arrested ..
SO FAR !!
Stay tuned. https://t.co/zBJ07WvrRH
Tucker Carlson Says that Britain Did Not Gain from Defeating Hitler; When It's Put to Him That If They Had Not Beaten Hitler They'd All be Speaking German, He Says "So What?" and Adds "At Least They'd be Speaking a European Language"
—Disinformation Expert Ace
The demon scratches infected him with full-blown diabolism.
Jon Levine
@LevineJonathan
20m
Have to say I watched the full Tucker-Rees Mogg discussion and I've never seen Carlson so publicly owned in my entire life -- It was significantly more brutal than Crossfire / Jon Stewart
Tucker Carlson said it was wrong to fight Hitler because Britain wound up losing her overseas colonies.
That's a morally deranged argument.
I should also point out that this is entirely an argument pressed with all vigor by Adolph Hitler. It is true that Hitler repeatedly said he didn't want to go to war with Britain, though he said that with the threat that if Britain didn't allow him to capture all of Europe from the Urals to the Atlantic, he would go to war with Britain.
The pitch Hitler made to the UK, repeatedly, was that if the UK gave Hitler a free hand in conquering Europe, Hitler would allow the UK to maintain its overseas colonies and might even help. Of course, Hitler intended to capture all of the overseas colonies of the European countries he conquered. He was reassuring the UK that if they let him take over Europe and all of the overseas colonies maintained by Europe, he would not take further action to capture the UK's overseas colonies.
Of course... Hitler had repeatedly promised to not invade Czechloslovakia and then Poland and Russia and he had lied about all of that, so I'm not sure why Tucker Carlson keeps saying "but Hilter said, Hitler said" as if Hitler's word means anything at all. Except for that fact that Carlson is clearly a fan of Hitler.
Tucker Carlson defends Hitler’s decision to invade Poland, arguing that Britain shouldn’t have fought the Nazis:
“The UK had nothing to do with it, at all, and they destroyed their empire and their country fighting this war that they still pretend was a good idea, but it wasn’t” https://t.co/P5HgeMizlx
— Republicans against Trump (@RpsAgainstTrump) October 2, 2026
This is also a strange and childlike claim because Germany also lost of all of its overseas colonies after the war (and they had a bunch). (As did France, Spain, Belgium, Italy, etc. -- one might begin to suspect that the age of empires and colonies was drawing to a close, and would not have survived much past the 1950s with or without WWII.)
Correction: Bulg points out my error-- Germany lost its overseas colonies after World War One, not World War Two.
But apparently the UK is to be condemned for giving up its domination of third-world peoples just to make war on Hitler, whereas Hitler is excused for losing its own domination of third-world peoples just to make war on Czechoslovakia, and Poland, and Russia, and Belgium, and Norway, and Denmark, and of course, ultimately the UK.
It's the same shifting standards again that communists apply to the Soviet Union, only Tucker Carlson is increasingly showing his Nazi ass by performing the same service to Hitler.
Here's more of those shifting standards: The UK should be condemned for fighting Hitler but Hitler, Tucker Carlson states, had a solid "justification" for invading Poland and must not be condemned for doing so.
Tucker also continues insisting that it was wrong to end WWII in the Pacific immediately with the dropping of two atomic bombs, claiming that it's always wrong to take innocent lives.
Is it? As Max Nordau points out, Tucker consistently justifies and defends Hitler and Putin taking innocent lives, saying that their starting of wars was just acceptable Great Powers jockeying.
But America and of course Israel are not allowed the same "Great Powers jockeying for advantage" leeway; no, for America and Israel, the standard is you must never harm an innocent life, ever, and if you do, you must be condemned forever.
Note of course that this is the same kind of standards-shifting communists do when they attack America for, say, spiriting Nazi scientists to America to assist in our rocket program, while justifying Russia's doing of the exact same thing. After all, Russia was just engaging in some Great Power jockeying for advantage.
🚨 Extraordinary exchange between Tucker Carlson and Jacob Rees-Mogg on Hiroshima.
Rees-Mogg says the bombs were justified because they ended the war and saved far more lives than it took. Carlson refuses to weigh the lives saved at all. When Rees-Mogg says WWII couldn't have been fought without innocent people being killed, Carlson's answer is "I don't know, no one tried."
Tucker Carlson's two rules of war:
1. Never do anything that could cause the death of an innocent, even if the action would ultimately save more lives.
2. Unless you're Nazi Germany or Russia. In the same interview, Hitler "did not want war," and Russia invading Ukraine is "the state of play for all great powers."
He is condescending the whole way through: "So you can behave like an animal once the war starts." "I don't even understand what you're saying."
Then he asks, disingenuously, whether it's Christian to kill children. "I'm not Catholic, so I'm not an expert," he says, right after ruling for himself that the bombing fails Aquinas' just-war test.
Below is a speech from Hitler in which he openly declares his intentions for world domination.
“No people had more right to the concept of ruling the world (Weltherrschaft) than the German people. We would have had this right, and no other nation.”
(Stormy applause)
"Not England, not Spain, not Holland - no other nation could have had an inborn right, on the basis of its energy and competence, and also its numerical strength, to claim the domination of the world.
In the first division of the world, we fell short, but we stand now at the beginning of a new great shake-up of this world. Today, some people claim that we are entering an age of peace, but I have to say to them: Gentlemen, you have a poor understanding of the horoscope of our times, which points, as never before, not to peace but to war.”
Adolf Hitler, addressing his followers on 5 November 1930 in the Rhenish town of Mannheim.
The fact that Tucker Carlson is historically illiterate isn't surprising. What is harder to dismiss is how consistently that illiteracy manifests in making Hitler and the Nazis look better.
— Nathan Livingstone (MilkBarTV) (@TheMilkBarTV) October 2, 2026
Max Klinger
@MaxE2review
Oct 3
Here's a quote from Mehdi Hasan, arguably the most prominent Islamo-leftist influencer in the West: 'A lot of Muslims and Arab Americans... see him [Carlson] now as this great champion of Palestine...Wherever I go, literally, wherever I go in this country, I do a lot of live events, I do a lot of public events, people come up to me, 'When are you going on Tucker Carlson? When are you going to do an event with Tucker Carlson? Why don't you do a collab with Tucker Carlson? We love Tucker Carlson.' Wherever I go, people ask me more about Tucker Carlson, even in my own family, than they ask me about my wife and kids."
By the way: The Groyper/Hitler-adoring pseudoright keeps arguing that we must embrace a little bit of Naziism to attract younger voters, whom they assert are super Hitler lovers.
If you wish to understand the Groyper/Tucker Carlson phenomenon with data, this poll is very instructive.
- Yes, there's a rehabilitation of Hitler afoot, especially among younger people, and it should alarm you.
- That said, the so-called "Zoomerwaffen" is also a tiny and extremely disliked minority of young people: only 2% of 18-29 year olds, which maxes out at 14% if you include the Groyper-curious "somewhat favorable."
- Hitlerism is still extremely disliked among a 66% supermajority of Zoomers, and that percentage approaches unanimity among Gen Xers and Boomers.
- When stories break about "groyper interns" and Hitler chatgroup leaks implicating DC staffers on the right, it's not because there's a hidden voter army of these sleazeballs invading the conservative camp. Rather, it's the consequence of certain irresponsible persons on the right who have both failed to screen out the bigots from their hiring processes and, in some cases, have actively courted applicants from this tiny but vocal postliberal sewer.
What this means: if you hear people defending Tucker Carlson's talking points from the Jacob Rees-Mogg debate, or if you hear someone arguing that these sorts of viewpoints are representative of what the younger generation wants, you are almost certainly listening to someone who lives inside an echo chamber (or fuehrersewer) that is completely detached from political reality. And more often than not, the people who want to cater to the Zoomerwaffen crowd are engaged in postliberal wishcasting about an emergent right wing radicalism among the youth that only exists on its extreme periphery. That right wing radical element is also utterly despised by an overwhelming majority of young people and everyone else.
Accurate:
fe Heydel-Mankoo
@RafHM
7h
Here is what many are missing:
Tucker Carlson does not believe much of what he says
He is a clickbait grifter manipulating his audience to maximise earnings
Evidence: When he was at Fox he was 100% Team Trump & said the 2020 election was stolen
But, in private, emails and messages revealed that Carlson detested Trump and thought the idea Trump had won the 2020 election was a ridiculous conspiracy theory and accused Trump's lawyers of "lying".*
"I hate Trump passionately", he said, calling him "demonic". Yet, on camera Carlson was Trump's biggest cheerleader.
He is up to the same tricks again.
Lacking any scruples or principles whatsoever, he will parrot whatever line maximises engagement with his content, no matter how damaging the consequences.
He has calculated that being pro-Putin, pro-Hitler and most recently pro-Islam will generate more revenue than if he is anti-Putin, anti-Hitler and anti-Islam like most others.
This makes him a dangerous menace, as there are so many gullible people who believe what he says.
He's obviously a shapeshifting grifter but I don't think you can say "he doesn't believe what he's saying." I think he does.
I also think that he's a fairly stupid man with a imbecilic teenager's capacity for complete self-reinvention every half-year. Now I'm into Backstreet Boys. Now I'm into N'Sync and Backstreet Boys are lame. Now I'm into Green Day and all that kid stuff is for babies. Now I'm into real punk like Butthole Surfers and Green Day is for posers.
Except, you know, with more Hitler Adoration.
A serious man ought not be so promiscuous and changeable in his core beliefs. He changes his beliefs like a girl changes clothes.
"Clevinger was already on the way, half out of his chair with emotion, his eyes moist and his lips quivering and pale. As always occurred when he quarreled over principles in which he believed passionately, he would end up gasping furiously for air and blinking back bitter tears of conviction. There were many principles in which Clevinger believed passionately. He was crazy."
THE MORNING RANT: Trump’s Education Department Cuts Off Low-Paying Degrees from Federal Student Loan Program – Exploitative Universities Hardest Hit
—Buck Throckmorton
Universities have been enriching themselves by financially exploiting naive teenagers with unconscionable levels of student debt. It is evil how the predators in financial aid offices have been saddling teenagers with six-figure debt loads for degrees that won’t even produce jobs that can repay those loans.
President Trump is finally pushing back on this abuse. His Department of Education is going to use IRS data to gauge income for the first four years after graduation. For degrees that don’t produce a baseline compensation equal to high school graduates’ income, those degrees will no longer be eligible for federal student loans. These targeted degrees will likely include social work, teaching, and various artistic degrees.
Trump is banning students majoring in degrees that don’t make enough money from taking out college loans. Degrees for social work, art, religious studies, teaching aides, and music will be hit the hardest. https://t.co/6tV30STfyc
The left’s loyalty to the education cartel has them up in arms, as if this action is punishing social workers and teachers rather than protecting them. The New Republic echoes this view, ”While the Trump administration is framing the policy as ‘accountability’ for higher education, and some are welcoming the move, others see it as an attack on those whose work is important regardless of salary.”
This is actually just the opposite. Rather than being “an attack on those whose work is important regardless of salary,” Trump’s actions will stop the exploitation of those students by universities loading them up with debt.
It is also exploitative that many of these low-paying jobs require Masters degrees. While there is a real-world need for social workers, it is beyond preposterous that a social worker must have six years of higher education to get the masters degree necessary for a clinical position. An engineering, architecture, or accounting degree doesn’t require that much class time. It may feel flattering to a social worker that the job is deemed so important that it requires a masters-level education, but the reality is that the social worker is being bankrupted by a corrupt system.
Be it social work, teaching, accounting, or finance, there is no need for the legacy university model. I have hired plenty of people with accounting and finance degrees over the years. They went through the very expensive four-year (or longer) college credentialing process, even though they only took a handful of classes specific to their degree. A much better system would be specialized schools providing the core education in just 12 or 18 months. (Much of this could obviously be done online.) As for the fine arts, it is well past time to divorce them from universities and bring back conservatories.
The commercial pilot training pipeline is already pretty much divorced from universities, and it works well. It is not necessary to have a college degree to become a commercial airline pilot, and it is possible to get all the training, certification, and flight hours that are necessary within two years. Yes, there is a cost, perhaps $100k or so, but this compares favorably to the cost of college, especially when considering the compensation once employed. Entry-level pay for a commuter pilot is now about $90k, rising to about $200K as a First Officer at a major airline, and much higher than that when Captain level is achieved.
Trump’s ban on providing student loans for degrees that lead to low-wage careers is a start. The next step is to eliminate all federally-backed student loans. If universities believe that their students should be taking on debt to get a degree, those schools can go ahead and guaranty privately-funded student loans.
But what about “the college experience?” It should be considered another artifact of the post-war 20th Century. No matter how nostalgic Boomers and Gen-Xers may be about their college years, the modern version of “the college experience” (e.g. overpriced political indoctrination by day, and intoxicant-fueled bacchanal by night) is not worth the suffocating debt burden that will impede homeownership, family formation, and wealth accumulation.
It’s also preposterous that a Social Worker must have a Masters Degree for most positions. It takes more years of higher ed to become a social worker than to get a degree in architecture. That is unnecessary & exploitative.
Throckmorton’s First Law of Live Music: “If There’s an Upright Bass in the Band, It’s Probably Going to be Good”
If you were online over the weekend, there’s a good chance that Buddy Mac (the Ten-Gallon Troubadour) found his way into your feed.
If you haven’t heard him yet, take a listen to this short clip and you’ll understand why Buddy and his voice have gone viral, stirring a blood memory of America’s heritage for so many Americans.
I was in college in the ‘80s when I saw a campy cowboy band named Riders in the Sky perform at the university’s student union, bringing old western music to a new audience. The Riders have since become beloved members of the Grand Old Opry, but they are no longer young buckaroos. I wondered if anyone would come along with a style that could keep that music alive. I think we’ve found our man.
Here is another great clip of Buddy Mac performing with his band, The Ten-Gallon Troubadors.
My Ten-Gallon Troubadours and I are hitting the recording studio later this month to begin recording an EP of honky Tonk heartbreak songs. Here’s just a small snippet of our original song “Heaven Knows”. https://t.co/Fjgy6fRoOR
Conservative Sen. Flavio Bolsonaro won Sunday night’s presidential election in Brazil, defeating incumbent socialist President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva – but did not pass the 50 percent threshold necessary to win the presidency outright, triggering a runoff election. . . In Brazil, for a candidate to be elected president in the first round, he or she must obtain over 50 percent of the vote. Sen. Bolsonaro did, on occasion, appear to be over the 50 percent threshold as the votes rolled in, but his lead over Lula dwindled as votes from the leftist strongholds in the nation’s northeast rolled in. The winner of the runoff election is the candidate who receives the highest number of votes, regardless of how many. . . The two frontrunners arrived at the top of the polls following an arduous and typically chaotic presidential campaign season in Brazil that arguably began in late 2025, when Brazil’s top court sentenced Lula’s expected rival, former President Bolsonaro, to 27 years in prison on dubious “crimes against democracy” charges and banned him from running for public office for 35 years, or until he is 105 years old. The Bolsonaro family, with several members already in politics, mobilized rapidly to shift away from the original plan of patriarch Jair running against Lula. Sen. Flavio Bolsonaro announced in late December 2025 that he would challenge Lula, cementing support from potential rivals such as Sao Paulo Gov. Tarcísio de Freitas. Tarcísio was reelected on Sunday.
As you may know, Bolsonaro has historically been a staunch ally of President Trump and as such Leftists here and abroad, especially Joey Sponge-Brain Shits-Pants henchmen and minions in and out of Foggy Bottom have spent much time and effort over the years attempting to destroy Bolsonaro. Democrat/Leftist election fraud and thievery is their stock in trade and given Brazils weird election laws, they could potentially derail Bolsonaro if not foisting criminal commie Lula on the Brazilian people and staving off the wipeout of Communists in Latin America that President Trump has engendered or at a bare minimum helped to bring about these past few years, which is arguably one of if not his greatest foreign policy accomplishments in his second term. Restoring true small "d" Democracy across vast swathes of Latin America might very well at long last result in the liberation of the Island gulag of Cuba, after close to 70 years of hellish Communist tyranny. And that would make all the right wrong heads explode. We've written and talked about this here and elsewhere, and that would be just incredible to witness, especially as the Anti-American Left does everything it can to "transition" America into a Communist gulag via the DSA and Democrat Party itself. All one has to do is read and listen to its platform to understand what they have planned should, God-Forbid, they gain any kind of electoral/political majority either nationally or at the State level. Even locally, as we can see with Mamdani among others, the disaster that would befall us would be the final nail in Uncle Sam's coffin.
More than 200 people have entered forced quarantine after a Russian laboratory worker died from reported exposure to the plague in an incident evocative of the origins of the coronavirus pandemic. . . At least one prominent Russian epidemiologist has cast doubt on this narrative, according to The Moscow Times, claiming that the broken test tube story is evidence of a cover-up. . .
So, a few things come to mind with this "story," first is that the Russians perhaps are prepping a coup de grace against the Ukrainians who they were supposed to roll over in 48 hours and yet here we and they are Four Years Later, humiliated and exhausted. That is they're the ones humiliated and exhausted. And we're just here watching the spectacle play out.
Or else, this is Russian disinformatsitya targeting the Ukrainians and their allies in the West, or perhaps even vice versa, as a way for them to generate political, financial and even military assistance that has been on the wane, despite their holding the Red Army at bay for a long while now.
The FBI knew the Trump-Russia collusion narrative was utter bunk even as it suggested otherwise to Congress, the courts and the public early in 2017. Evidence revealed by special counsel John Durham proves it beyond dispute... For years, the media lionized these people as saviors of the Republic, even after special counsel Robert Mueller’s probe turned up zero evidence in support of their claims. . . Of course, most media have no interest in sharing the truth. They won Pulitzers and endless clicks from hyping Russiagate, using it to kneecap a president they despised.
At this point, it’s up to Durham to keep exposing this unprecedented abuse of power for nakedly personal partisan ends, though Congress may help out once Democrats no longer run it.
Until the plotters are held accountable, there actually is good reason to worry about the future of democracy in America.
So with the heat being turned up on Jack Smith, and the revelations that are in fact confirmations of the evil corruption and criminality of the Deep State in the form of federal law enforcement, Intelligence and the Judiciary and their attempts to overthrow the will of the people as expressed by their election twice if not THRICE of Donald Trump, and the exposure of the Russia Collusion Hoax as concocted by them and Hillary, what better way to derail them than by engineering a so-called lab leak in Russia, as if to underscore the threat from them that Trump is either too inept or worse, uncaring about and so he must be removed from office along with everyone associated with him and their preeminence restored.
Naturally, if what's happening with this outbreak is for real, as it might very well be given Russia is capable and quite willing to develop any and all forms of WMD, let's hope they get a handle on this ASAP.
On that nightmare note, I bid you all to have a good day.
CIVIL WAR 2.0, LEFTIST PERSECUTIONS, DEMOCRAT PUTSCH, AMERICAN DISSOLUTION
Investigators reviewed nearly 6 million searches from 2022 through November 2025, and found that 52 IRS employees conducted 86 suspicious accesses involving 30 high-profile taxpayers. Those searches have been referred for investigation, so they shouldn’t yet be described as proven violations. IRS Couldn't Detect Suspicious Searches of Politicians, CEOs, and Celebrities
Allowing deportations to these third countries destroys any leverage over the United States that countries have by rejecting the deportation of their nationals. It also greatly reduces the incentives for migrants to obstruct their return by destroying their papers and otherwise refusing to help facilitate their removal, as the consequence can be deportation to somewhere like the Central African Republic rather than release into the United States. ‘Third Country’ Deportations Could Transform Immigration Enforcement—and Close One of the System’s Biggest Loopholes.
Vance is gradually expanding his criticism of the white-collar replacement programs, in step with expanding support from Silicon Valley investors who want a compromise reform amid increasing public opposition. JD Vance Is Building Coalition for H-1B Reforms
Much like Captain Machchhar and his passengers, Israel and India are becoming a dynamic duo. Although India still expresses plenty of sympathy for the residents of the West Bank and Gaza, the Jewish state's value is too obvious to miss for a country with hostile neighbors and severe terrorist threats. India is Israel's top destination for defense exports, and it has reciprocated with nearly 3,000 shipments of defense equipment and components since October 7. Israel’s Growing Allies on the Ground—and in the Sky
The “context” for October 7 is not Judea, Samaria, or Gaza. It is 14 centuries of jihadist conquests.October 7 Was a Slave Raid
Miranda Devine: At one of his off-the-record dinners with religious leaders at a “high-end tasting menu restaurant” in San Francisco in April, Olah and colleagues talked about Claude as if it were a “conscious being,” with “moral status” equivalent to a human, according to Rabbi Mois Navon, a former computer engineer interviewed by the Times. In that case, the rabbi told the nerds, Anthropic was creating slaves. Boom. Anthropic’s idiot savants are trying to play God while pushing frightenting utopian fantasies
Director of National Intelligence Jay Clayton will head the Super Intelligence Force, a selection that aligns with previous reports indicating he was the likely choice for an AI oversight position. CBS News had reported days earlier that sources expected Clayton to receive the AI czar appointment. President Trump Appoints Jay Clayton as AI Czar, Head of ‘Super Intelligence Force’
After the 2024 election, a faction of Democrats concluded that their party had lost the argument over who can deliver best to the American people. Their answer was “abundance”: the claim that blue governments fail voters because process and veto points smother supply, not because liberals/socialists spend too little. This article asks and answers a pointed question: judged by the movement’s own yardstick, who has actually delivered abundance? How Trump Became the Abundance President
The cratering in America’s trust in higher education began plummeting in 2013 when 70 percent of those polled felt college was important. By comparison, today, only 31 percent feel that college is “very important.” Gallup also says the negativity is four percentage points lower than last year’s results. American Support for College Education Craters to Record Low
Until the midterms, we will be watching a massively coordinated attack denigrating all the good that has happened since Trump won in 2024 Toward A Better America
Along with New Hampshire, the state has become an overlooked Senate pickup opportunity, which is remarkable, given that Minnesota hasn't backed a Republican for president since 1972. Minnesota Can Go Red This Year. Here’s Why.
The next few days are likely to clarify whether the riots are a brief eruption of chaos or become a prolonged issue over the coming weeks and months. They follow a historic breakthrough for the National Rally in the French Senate elections, securing enough seats to form a Senate group for the first time in its history. France is Burning Again. Here’s Why.
The Cornell Seven case reflects a deeper cultural collapse, where the Sexual Revolution, pornification, and the loss of moral boundaries have made exploitation increasingly commonplace. The Cornell Seven and the Sensate-Pornographic Society
An unforgettable encounter and unmerited gift from a future saint. Fulton Sheen and Me
An Indian pilot and a handful of heroic Israelis performed a miracle in the skies that saved 182 people, a miracle that has made aviation history. Vichy France to the Miracle of Flydubai FZ1073
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.
It will work on a regular RTX 5070. Or indeed a Radeon 6700 XT from two generations ago. The Hacker News link has everyone talking about the RTX 4090 for some reason, but it's a lot more general than that.
You do need a good amount of system RAM for decent performance, but I have that, and it works on any Nvidia or AMD graphics card from the last few years with at least 12GB of RAM, something I also have.
Howdy Hordelings! Welcome to the Sunday ONT. Appreciate you stopping by. Open thread, as always. Fashion and music, as always. What's on YOUR mind tonight?
Bob Denver Refused to Let the Professor and Mary Ann Be “The Rest”
If you watched the first season of Gilligan’s Island, you may remember something odd about the theme song.
After naming Gilligan, the Skipper, the millionaire and his wife, and the movie star, it ended the roll call with:
“And the rest.”
“The rest” were Russell Johnson and Dawn Wells — the Professor and Mary Ann.
There was a reason. Tina Louise, who played Ginger, had a contractual billing arrangement that put her at the end of the opening credits. Johnson and Wells had signed later and wound up in the closing credits instead. So when the theme song was written, their characters were simply bundled together as “the rest.”
But before Season 2, Bob Denver decided that wasn't right.
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Years later, Dawn Wells said she hadn't even known the full story at the time. She remembered Denver as the one who went to bat for them.
Bob Denver didn't make a big production out of it.
He just refused to let two of his fellow castaways be treated like “the rest.”
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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What Paris is telling us to wear next
Spring/Summer 2027 week opened on September 28 and closes Tuesday with Nicolas Ghesquière at Louis Vuitton. The useful takeaway is not the spectacle. It is which ideas already translate: metallic shine, tailoring stripped of structure, color used as the whole outfit, and jackets that cinch instead of swamp.
Saint Laurent went all in on gold, and I am not mad at it.
Anthony Vaccarello staged the collection under the Eiffel Tower, beneath oversized chandeliers, in what was widely read as a possible farewell after a decade at the house. Almost everything was gold: crinkled metallic sahariennes and trenches, gilt brocade jackets and trousers, metallic lace cocktail dresses, broken up by classic Saint Laurent black.
The wearable version is not a head-to-toe lamé suit. It is one metallic or brocade jacket with denim and flat shoes, or a gold scarf against black. That is opulence a normal person can leave the house in. The rest is theater, and theater is fine, as long as you understand you will be the one paying for the chandelier.
Dior made the New Look weightless
At the Tuileries, Jonathan Anderson rebuilt Dior’s Bar jacket and full skirts in chiffon, silk mousseline, Chantilly lace, and gauze, with pinstripe and tweed effects printed onto sheer fabric. Tiny layered circle skirts, ribbon tailoring, pastel florals, striped shirting, and pajama pieces sat next to gardening clogs, which is a sentence I did not expect to type about Dior.
The idea to steal is the one I would actually wear. A soft jacket. A skirt that moves. One decorative thing, not twelve. Sometimes safe and pretty is exactly right. This is that, with the bones still visible.
Balenciaga answered with color and craft
A year into the job, Pierpaolo Piccioli is still pulling Balenciaga away from the joke this house became. The Summer 2027 show leaned on colorful tailoring, acid-bright City bags, oversized cummerbunds, capes, and dense stitching that turned a white shirt into a fitted waist and peplum.
Elsewhere, Stella McCartney built an ocean collection with floaty fabrics, bubble hems, wave motifs, and dolphin prints. Victoria Beckham went for liberation via sheer georgette dresses, open-arm volumes, and oversized suits with wide trousers. Hermès, under Nadège Vanhée, closed the weekend with airy knits and slit skirts.
Outside the tents
Paris has been warm, high 20s Celsius, so the pavements skipped heavy coats. What showed up anyway is the October wardrobe: blouson jackets with a cinched waist, balloon and cargo pants, dark-rinse denim, animal print, pinstripes, and red layered over pastels.
Five formulas worth copying before the week ends:
• A blouson or leather bomber over a sweater, with cargo pants and heels.
• Balloon pants, a white tee, an oversized jacket, ballet flats.
• Head-to-toe plaid, kept sleek rather than costume.
• One animal-print coat as the whole outfit.
• A cropped jacket with high-rise trousers, so the proportion stays balanced.
What will actually stick
Gold and brocade as a single statement piece. Sheer or fluid tailoring instead of rigid power dressing. Color worn loudly, not as an accent. And the blouson as the jacket of the season, sportier than a barn coat and easier than a bomber.
Gun Thread: It's October and October Means TXMoMe Edition!
—Weasel
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 October Means TXMoMe Edition? That's right folks - the big event is less than #two weeks away! I hope you are rushing your TXMoMe attendance preparations to completion!
With that, step into the dojo and let's get to the gun stuff below, shall we?
Q: Weasel, I found a machine gun. Whatever shall I do?
A: See below
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2026 TXMoMe
They Mome'n down in Texas!
The time has come to begin the discussion of the upcoming TXMoMe in Corsicana, TX on October 16-17. This is the eleventh annual TXMoMe, or Conservative Burning Man as it's popularly known, and it promises to be a doozy. A double-doozy even. A bigly double-doozy! If you're in either the Northern or Southern Hemisphere of the Planet of the Earth, contact Ben Had for details on attending. The dates and email links for all MoMes are always helpfully included on the blog's main page, left sidebar.
What started years ago as a small get-together and informal plinking session lasting a couple of hours has matured into a full scale jamboree-hootenanny including a program of shooting activities for both handguns and rifles over two days. I have to thank Ben Had, Cow Horse Queen and RancherBob for making this whole thing happen and providing the opportunity for the shooting to comprise such a significant portion of the event.
But wait! There's more! Combine that with world class food and drink, and the even world classier company of your fellow Morons, and you have a weekend that legends are made of. For those not inclined to shoot (?), there are non-stop opportunities to relax in the shade of the carport or under a handy nearby tree with a beverage and visit with your online pals to your hearts content, which is really what the whole damn thing is about in the first place..
Allow me to be serious for a minute, and I have said this probably nine hundred and twelve times now. These gatherings are a really good time, and I know of no one who expresses regret after having attended one. Actually it goes beyond that. It's not just a weekend of laughs, it's an opportunity to connect with lots of like-minded people and create lasting friendships and priceless memories. No kidding. Think that's hyperbole? It snot. Would your ol' pal Weasel lie to you? Well, yes he would, but not about this. TXMoMe veterans will attest to the funness and completely laid-back nature of the event. Don't be a dork, do yourself a favor and get yo' ass to Texas!
TXMoMe veterans: please jump into the comments to encourage the scairdy-cats to join in the fun! What was your first MoMe like? What were you expecting? Were you surprised? Did you have a great time?
If you are attending the TXMoMe this year, and all the cool kids are, please keep an eye on this section for important information and updates in the coming weeks. I also want to reiterate the TXMoMe is not a gun thing with some socializing attached, but rather is a social thing with some shooting attached. If you aren't a shooter, I guarantee you will not feel out of place and will have a great time. No fooling!
Are all y'all getting excited? Weasel are!!
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10/04/26 Update/Reminders/New Stuff
No big changes this week. However, our pal Piper did such a fantastic job with a TXMoMe fashion Guide in last Sunday's ONT that I thought it should be included again here in case anyone missed it. Thanks Piper, very nicely done!
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What to Wear to the AOSHQ Texas MoMe
The short version: comfortable picnic clothes. The long version is below, because a Texas ranch in the sun will punish anyone who treats this like a cocktail reception, even those of us who are inclined to treat everything like a cocktail reception.
This is an outdoor meetup on a ranch. You will be standing, sitting, walking, eating, and possibly wandering toward whatever shade you can find. Dress for heat, dirt, grass, and a long stretch of being outside. If it looks good at a backyard cookout and you can still move in it after three hours, you are in the right neighborhood.
The basic uniform
Wear something you would actually picnic in.
• Breathable shirt: cotton, linen, or a light performance tee. Light colors help in the sun. A button-down you can leave open over a tee works if you want a little coverage.
• Shorts or casual pants: shorts, jeans you already know are comfortable, or lightweight pants. Remember, if you wear shorts, there are bugs and taller grasses out there. If this bothers you, think more light weight pants.
• Closed-toe shoes you can walk in: sneakers, trail shoes, or broken-in boots. Ranch ground is not a manicured lawn.
• A hat with a brim. Texas sun is not a suggestion.
That is the whole look. Comfortable. Outdoor. Picnic. Ranch.
What “comfortable” actually means here
Comfortable does not mean “I just rolled out of the car in pajama pants.” It means you can sit on a bench or the ground, stand in a cluster talking, walk to the next activity, and not spend the afternoon tugging at clothes that were a bad idea.
Bring a light layer. Even on a hot day, shade, wind, or evening can change the temperature. A hoodie or light flannel stuffed in the car is cheap insurance.
Sun, sweat, and ranch realities
Assume sun. Sunscreen, sunglasses, and a hat will do more for you than any outfit choice.
Assume you will get dusty. Do not wear anything you would be sad to see with grass stains or ranch dirt on it.
Assume bugs. If you are the person mosquitoes treat like a buffet, long sleeves in a light fabric or a bit of repellent.
What not to wear
The brand-new white sneakers you want to keep white, and anything that needs dry cleaning. When walking around the property, you don’t want open toed shoes, unless you are okay with surprises from the grass in the form of stickers or bitey things. This is not the moment to channel Johnny Cash. All black leather is cool, but not when it’s really hot!
A simple packing list
• Breathable shirt and comfortable bottoms
• Walking shoes, closed toe
• Hat and sunglasses
• Sunscreen
• Lip balm – guys too! The air can be VERY dry
• Light extra layer
• Water bottle
• Hearing protection if you are going to shoot
• Safety glasses if you are going to shoot
• Raincoat or poncho because you never know!
You are going to a ranch picnic with the Horde, not a photoshoot. In fact, we don’t even like to take photos! Dress like someone who plans to stay outside, eat, talk, and enjoy people outside of grey boxes.
Thanks again, Piper!
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Call for ideas: I have been doing the same class on rifles Friday morning for years now. Are you getting tired of it yet? I would like to have the session be more of an open forum where your particular questions can be answered with a discussion by the group. I am perfectly willing to keep doing the same presentation, or parts of it, but think a roundtable forum would be interesting and informative. Please let me know what you think in the comments.
Volunteers: If you are interested in helping out, please send me a note (gunthread at protonmail dot com) on when you plan to arrive (day and approximate time). It is really critical to have this information for scheduling and to make certain we have the proper coverage to make the shooting portion safe and enjoyable for all concerned. Thank you in advance!
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2026 TXMoMe Schedule
Here is an outline of the schedule of events. Times are tentative and subject to modification/change. This schedule will be included in the Gun Thread with any changes incorporated going forward until the event, so please check back weekly.
Friday, 10/16
Rifle Program
8am - 10:30am: Rifle Clinic (carport)
10:30am - 11am: Combined Range and Safety Briefing - Mandatory for Friday Shooters! (carport)
Noon: Light lunch provided (carport)
11am - 4pm: Live fire (rifle range - targets to 1,000 yds)
Handgun Program
10:30am - 11am: Combined Range and Safety Briefing - Mandatory for Friday Shooters! (carport)
11:00am - 12:00pm: Static live fire (pistol range)
Noon: Light lunch provided (carport)
1pm - 4:00pm: Static live fire (pistol range)
Saturday, 10/17
Rifle Program
9am - 10am: Combined Range and Safety Briefing - Mandatory for Saturday Shooters! (carport)
9am - 1pm: Live fire (rifle range)
1pm(ish) Lunch (carport)
Handgun Program
9am - 10am: Range and Safety Briefing - Mandatory for Saturday Shooters! (carport)
9am - 1pm: Live fire (pistol range)
1pm-ish Lunch (carport)
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Shooters: Bring your own hearing and eye protection, and wear sensible shoes as the ground on the ranges can be uneven! Also, please plan on stopping somewhere along your way to Texas and picking up some ammunition if you plan to shoot and aren't bringing your own weapons/ammo. Everyone is very generous with sharing, but please don't rely on the generosity of others to provide everything for you. You can really help out by grabbing a box of 9mm or 5.56mm or whatever you want to shoot. Here is a link to Brinson Power Sports in Corsicana which sells ammo. They also sell ATV's if you want to grab one of those while you're there.
Anyhoo...
For a while I have been conducting a Rifle Clinic on Friday morning followed by range time Friday afternoon and then again well into Saturday. Most of you (I think) have endured this presentation before, so if there are other topics you would like to have covered, speak up in the comments and I will try to address your request.
We have also been steadily refining the handgun portion of the program and this year will be focusing on the static pistol range as well as continuing to offer a separate setup for gun-curious beginners desiring one-on-one supervision and instruction. If you are a novice shooter, or even have never been to the range before and think guns are icky, you are welcome to shoot! Just see an RSO and they will set you up with an experienced shooter to help you.
These times are approximate and programs may change as weather conditions and participation warrant. We anticipate a hard stop on both ranges at 1pm on Saturday to allow everyone to participate in the bigly fun TXMoMe festivities.
Range Safety
You will note there are combined rifle and handgun range safety briefings both days and attendance is mandatory if you want to shoot. We take your safety seriously and ask everyone who wants to shoot plan on attending this important briefing. Again, we are conducting one combined safety brief each day. No exceptions.
At the conclusion of each day's safety briefing you will be asked to sign a general liability waiver, after which you will receive a color-coded wrist band. The color is different each day, and it is your ticket onto the range(s) for the day. No wrist band, no shooting that day. Don't want to sign the waiver? No problem, just do not expect to shoot. If you miss the mandatory range safety briefing which is mandatory and must be attended, you are welcome to watch the live fire activities from designated observation areas.
All shooters are asked to check in with an RSO (sporting an Orange Cap of Dorkiness for easy identification) upon your arrival at either of the ranges who will answer questions and direct you to an open firing position. The RSOs wield unspeakable power so it is in your best interest to be nice to them. Want to do things your way? I suggest that your own personal range on your own personal property is a good place for expressing your individuality.
IMPORTANT: I would hope this goes without saying, but anyone failing to immediately and politely follow RSO instructions will be removed from the range(s). Period. No exceptions. This means YOU.
I will probably think of more things to yell about in the coming weeks so please stay tuned.
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Our Pal The Steel Rule
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Trucks And Your Town
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Highway Patrol!
This week's episode: Desperate Men
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Flight to Mars!
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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?
Food Thread: Fat! Fire! Not Necessarily A Bad Combination
—CBD
Everyone knows that fat is flavor, and it certainly isn't the main culprit in the insidious expansion of our midsections.
But it also presents challenges in cooking, since it both flammable (all food is) and energy intensive, so that flame is going to burn hotter, start quicker, and will be more difficult to extinguish than an errant strand of pasta that falls into the burner.
But in moderation it adds marvelous flavors to food, and is the reason we grill things!
So how to manage that balance between combustion and cinders?
It is tempting to trim the exterior fat from meats that are to be grilled, because that will go a long way toward preventing those flare-ups and the occasional conflagration.
And I don't do that! Because those chunks of fat on the edges of steaks are absolutely delicious when properly grilled, and can be the highlight of a well-cooked steak!
Sorry, but I have no magic technique, other than being careful and moving the steak around the grill to avoid a beef bonfire. But that's really the point...being attentive, especially while grilling, is the best way to become a good cook!
Food and cooking websites are not immune to the ridiculous clickbait that other websites produce in their frantic desire to remain solvent. But this one was particularly stupid: The Best Way to Store Canned Tuna, According to Bumble Bee is actually, "The Best Way To Store Tuna If You Want It Cold."
Yes...that is it. The brilliant discovery made by this earnest retard (or the AI system they use to write articles) is that putting cans of tuna in the refrigerator will make them cold.
Do we really deserve opposable thumbs if this is what they have led to?
[Hat Tip: Misanthropic Humanitarian]
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Lurker "59X53" (really!) has decided to rub my nose in his obvious talent at growing garlic. He wasn't content to email me and say, "Hey ...dude... it's really not that hard." No, he had to send photographic evidence of his success!
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Wow!
He tells me that the crop has been improving because he selects the best and biggest from the previous year's crop for planting. No surprise, but I am still impressed!
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This recipe isn't going to win any awards, but it looks like it would be tasty, and easy. Oven-Baked Southwest Chicken is simple, although I would swap the boneless-skinless breasts for ... you guessed it ... thighs! And yes, I would skin them, although I don't think boning them is worth the trouble.
[Hat Tip: Misanthropic Humanitarian]
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Commenter (and grilling aficionado) "Gunslinger" sent this, along with calling me out for using bottled Ranch dressing as a marinade for chicken (See last week's Food Thread). He is, of course, incorrect about the bottled stuff, but he also demonstrates real skill with these pork tenderloins, which he says are moist!
Tie up the thin ends with butchers twine to join them into the main bulk of the cut.
Poke a zillion holes in it with a fork.
Slather with oil. I use avocado oil because it's Hi-temp, but olive oil should be OK here.
Cover with your favorite rub.
Grill /smoke at 225 for 1-2 hours. Use a temp probe and get to 145* internal.
Low temperature cooking for a long time? For a lean cut? And it turns out juicy? I am impressed.
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I know...I know...I am on a "Fallow" kick, but their cooking really appeals to me.
And I love Sticky Toffee Pudding!
I'm going to make it soon, and since I found a great vanilla ice cream recipe, I already know what I am serving it with!
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As much as I would like to chuckle over this photo, I must remind myself that I just had to clean some unknown food splatter off the top of a pass-through window in my kitchen.
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The great garlic experiment of 2025-2026 was a resounding...meh. Send all of your excellent home-grown garlic to: cbd dot aoshq at gmail dot com.
About the Bourbon Bubble...I think it has burst, but the category is also suffering from the inflation that affected everything else (Thanks Biden!). I think the sweet spot is still $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!
Reverse Assimilation...70 Years Old And Going Strong
—CBD
The standard -- and correct -- complaint about the immigrants of the last few generations is that they do not assimilate. Never mind the illegal ones...even legal immigration policies have lost sight of the basic concept that preservation of our traditional culture is a good thing.
We need no justification to try to protect traditional American culture; that is the right and obligation of every sovereign nation. But if one were to attempt it, a cursory glance at the stupendous achievements of America would be enough. American Exceptionalism, which can be used as a placeholder for traditional American culture, is unparalleled in world history. No country has achieved nearly as much, especially with massive legal immigration that demanded only one thing! And that one thing was to embrace American Exceptionalism and become American. Tens of millions of people came to our shores and accepted that arrangement, and the results speak for themselves.
But starting in the 1960s with the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965, Assimilation became secondary, as did maintaining the approximate ethnic makeup of the country. So we were flooded with immigrants from countries that had none of the cultural basis that created American Exceptionalism. And LBJ's "Great Society" took away the social pressure to succeed...expanding welfare and other government support programs far beyond their original intent.
With no pressure to assimilate, these immigrants created their own worlds within America. But that wasn't the most destructive aspect of this sea change in immigration. Our feckless governments began to cater to each of these foreign enclaves within our cities. Don't speak English? No problem! Comfortable with multiple generations on welfare? Fantastic! Vote for us!
And if that sounds bad, these anti-American-Exceptionalism cultural norms began to creep into the larger American culture. Black America, which before LBJ's destructive policies was entering the American middle class at an astounding rate, was destroyed by the creation of a cradle-to-grave welfare state.
We now have embedded foreign cultures, plus Black American culture that is functionally identical to a foreign culture. And instead of assimilating and embracing American Exceptionalism, these cultures have co-opted large swaths of traditional American culture. Black American and Hispanic slang has degraded normal English among many people, as has clothing and other cultural markers. Even smaller immigrant population's behavior has entered American culture. For instance, the odd Muslim affectation of a beard but no mustache can be seen on the streets of American cities, and even among professional athletes, in particular in the NBA.
More destructive is the modes of behavior, in particular the casual violence of the ghettos, which once was confined to the inner city, but has now exploded into much of America.
What we have done is not only allowed large immigrant populations to maintain their own cultures, which are empirically less successful than American culture, but we have embraced some of the worst aspects of those cultures...thus the term "reverse assimilation."
We are in an existential fight for the future of our country, and these large populations of of supposed Americans who nonetheless are completely foreign is bad enough, but accepting those cultures' worst excesses as some sort of post-modern talisman of moral superiority is, frankly, insane!
Sunday Morning Book Thread - 10-04-2026 ["Perfessor" Squirrel]
—Open Blogger
Welcome to the prestigious, internationally acclaimed, stately, and illustrious Sunday Morning Book Thread! The place where all readers are welcome, regardless of whatever guilty pleasure we feel like reading (dedicated to TRex). Here is where we can discuss, argue, bicker, quibble, consider, debate, confabulate, converse, and jaw about our latest fancy in reading material. As always, pants are required, unless you are wearing <these pants...(be sure to brush and floss!)
So relax, find yourself a warm kitty (or warm puppy--I won't judge) to curl up in your lap, and dive into a new book. What are YOU reading this fine morning?
This Sunday Morning Book Thread is dedicated to the memory of Kaylee the Calico Kitty Cat (the cutest little cat of them all. I had the unfortunate task of having her put to sleep a week-and-a-half ago.
Unlike Allie the Calico Kitty Cat (the *other* cutest little cat of them all), Kaylee was never much of a literary critic. She didn't pay much attention to me when I was reading. I just happened to have a rare picture of Kaylee sitting on the bookshelf that's behind my office chair. She's guarding F. Paul Wilson's Secret History of the World.
SECRET WORLD OF RARE BOOK DEALERS
I thought this was an interesting video about a world that most of us will probably never get a chance to experience. These are among the most valuable books in the world. Each rare book has its own history of provenance as it's been transferred from owner to owner across the decades and centuries. At the dealership exhibition in the video above, there are also huge collections of memorabilia around authors and books.
So for those of you lucky Morons and Moronettes who win the Powerball lottery, you now have a place to go to spend your newfound wealth!
Have any of you been to the New York International Antiquarian Book Fair? If so, tell us about your experience!
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(My students' first major assessment was due on Friday...)
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MORON RECOMMENDATIONS
In Dreadful by Caitlin Rozakis, the wizard Gavrax wakes up in a smoke-filled, fire-damaged workshop with no memories, no idea who he is, and no eyebrows (he finds a container with spare eyebrows that crawl up his arm like caterpillars and attach themselves, painfully, to his face -- apparently singed eyebrows are a hazard of the job). He gathers, from the fearful and/or obsequious responses of his flunkies, that he is something of an asshole.
He learns there is a princess being held in the dungeon for some nefarious plan cooked up with other evil wizards. All he can do is fake it until his memories return. But with his real personality memory-holed, he isn't responding with his default nastiness, and it's frankly puzzling to those around him.
This is a fun read.
Posted by: All Hail Eris, She-Wolf of the 'Ettes 'Ettes at September 20, 2026 09:26 AM (kpS4V)
Comment: The amnesiac main character can be interesting because he (or she) literaly has no idea of who they are as a person. Are they good? Bad? They often feel a very strong motivation to recover their identity, which would only be natural. Unfortunately for them, they often learn a lot about their previous life that might better be left buried. What was the cause of their amnesia? Who are their enemies? Will the be able to restore themselves to their full identity before the villain carries out their evil plan? Is the main character actually the villain?
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whew! well I finally finished (all of) House of Leaves. it was a slog but a very interesting slog. it's weird because it's not like the writing is difficult per se ...
Since I did finish HoL I watched Backrooms (the film) and really enjoyed it. I don't think you HAVE to have read House of Leaves but I think it added something. the film is from an online thing (post) that was written after reading HoL and the author openly credits the book with "inspiring' Backrooms.
lol well. it's pretty heavily inspired.
that said it's a neat little film. with the content of HoL I'm not sure the guy doesn't have an argument in favor of using that world freely
Posted by: Black Orchid (j+aD2) at September 20, 2026 09:19 AM (j+aD2)
Comment: I've had House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski sitting my shelf for years. I'm afraid to read it. It's a very, very strange book. It's NOT a standard linear story structure where you start at page 1 and end at page 300 (or whatever). No, it's a tangled skein of a story, with little side quests sprinkled throughout the text. In some parts you have to literally turn the book upside down to read the notes. Oh, and parts are even written in BRAILLE (but the editor provides a translation footnote). It's a weird book.
Hierarchy II - The Strength of the Few by James Islington
We find out what happens to Vis after the climax of the first book in the series. Turns out he was split into three distinct copies across three different worlds that are connected (somehow). Each world has a distinctive flavor based on Earth cultures. The main world from the first book is mostly Romanesque. The second world that Vis 2 starts out on in this book is based on Egyptian mythology. The third world in which Vis 3 ends up is clearly based on Celtic mythology. In each world, the different versions of Vis have to solve various challenges as they all try to understand what happened to them. Apparently Vis is the "Chosen One" destined to face the main villain of the series, but we don't see much about the villain yet.
New Cthulhu 2: More Recent Weird edited by Paula Guran
I hadn't read Lovecreaftian horror in some time, so I decided to do a re-read of an anthology based on H.P. Lovecraft's distinctive mythos. Most of the stories were pretty good in their own way. I was surprised to see that around half of them were all inspired mostly by "The Shadow over Innsmouth," a Lovecraft story where the main character finds out he's part of a cult of Dagon worshippers (Deep Ones) that live in a small fishing village on the coast of Massachusetts. The cult was supposedly destroyed back in the 1920s, but there were survivors, who show up in many of the short stories in this book.
They Thirst by Robert McCammon (WARNING: SPOILERS BELOW!)
For some reason, I could picture a "Pitch Meeting" scenario around this book:
Editor Guy: So, you have a new book for me?
Author Guy: Yes, sir, I do. It's Dracula but instead of Victorian England, he's come to modern day Los Angeles in 1980. Oh, and the main villain is a Hungarian vampire lord instead of a Transylvanian Count.
...
Author Guy: At the climax, the four main characters are captured by the head vampire and he takes them to his lair where there is no possibility of escape.
Editor Guy: It's going to be tough for them to get out of that situation!
Author Guy: Not at all. Super easy. Barely an inconvenience. There's going to be a massive earthquake that collapses the castle, dropping it off a mountain, but sparing the two real main characters. And a flood will sweep over LA, killing all the vampire minions, who are susceptible to seawater, which acts just like holy water.
The Shadow of the Avatar 1 - Shadows of Doom by Ed Greenwood
This series takes place shortly before the Avatar Trilogy, which is set in the Forgotten Realms campaign setting for Advanced Dungeons and Dragons.
Mystra, the goddess of magic, senses that her doom is swiftly approaching. But armed with this foreknowledge, she's able to divest herself of most of her power amongst her Chosen, humans who have been granted great boons by Mystra as a reward for being her champion in the Realms. Foremost among her Chosen is Elminster the Sage, the greatest archmage in the Realms.
Unfortunately for Elminster, being the receptacle for Mystra's power means that he's now unable to use his own magical powers. Seeing as he's one of the main forces for good in the Realms, this causes quite a few problems once his enemies discover he's been magically neutered. Now they can unleash their own schemes without having to worry about Elminster meddling in their plans. Elminster does have a very large network of friends and allies to support him, however, and it's up to them to take on the burden of protecting Shadowdale and the Realms at large from the forces of evil until the current crisis is resolved.
Tips, suggestions, recommendations, etc., can all be directed to perfessor -dot- squirrel -at- gmail -dot- com.
It's a book that's bigger on the inside...
Disclaimer: "This is the first time I've seen a Word document eat a man's soul." -- Laundry Agent Bob Howard
Another "safety" employee has left the company, saying it needs to be run "like nuclear-power plants or busy airports, with layers of redundancy and careful, time-consuming planning, so that the occasional and inevitable human error does not open a door to disaster."
But that's missing the point. If you pour toxic waste into a reservoir of drinking water, you go to jail.
It being spring and all, I made my pilgrimage to the hardware store's gardening section to see what native plants they had on offer. I needed to replace the boronia that died over winter and start finding new plants to substitute those lost to wallaby predation.
Came back with a boronia already in flower, a kangaroo paw likewise, another westringia to complement the one I planted this time last year which is absolutely thriving, and an aca-cia.
Saturday Night Club ONT - October 3, 2026 [Disco & Dino]
—Open Blogger
Welcome to Club ONT - a whelming collaboration of The Disco and The Dino.
Open thread - bar is open, too. Come in in, grab a drink or 2. Or 3. Keep it light and friendly. The Moose is working undercover tonight while fighting crime, so acknowledge him but don't let on that you know his true identity.
So while traveling, a Texas businessman steps into a pub in Ireland. "So I hear you Irishmen are a bunch of hard drinkers! Well I'd like to see that! I've got $1,000 in hard cash for anyone who can do 10 pints of Guinness back-to-back!"
A guy at the end the bar snorts, a couple in the corner goes back to their conversation, and for the most part he's largely ignored. One man leaves the bar.
So the Texan snickers to himself and goes about having his drink at the bar.
About a half hour later, the man that left earlier comes back in, and taps the Texan on the shoulder. "Excuse me, but is your bet still good?"
"Why, hell yes, boy!" he says. The bartender rounds up 10 pints of Guinness on the bar and it's on.
The Texan watches in shock and amazement as the man slams down pint after pint, until the last empty glass hits the bar, and all 10 pints are down in what seemed like seconds. "Well hell, that was easily worth $1,000 to see. If I may ask though- where did leave to earlier?"
"Oh," says the man, "I had to go to the bar down the street to make sure I could do it."
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A guy walks into a bar, and order 5 shots. Bartender says, "Jeez, you look like you just got some bad news." Guy says, "Yea, just found out my dads gay and he's leaving my mom." So the guy downs the 5 shots and drinks the rest of the night.
The next day he comes back, and orders 5 shots again. Bartender says, "What happened now?" Guy says, "Just found out my brother's gay and he's leaving his wife." So the guy downs the 5 shots again, and drinks until closing time.
The next day he comes back again, and orders 5 more shots. Bartender says, "Jesus, doesn't anybody in your family like women?" Guy says, "Yeah, my wife".
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Drink of the Night
Tonight we drew the 8 of Spades from our decl of playing card cocktails
The last Batmobile to hit auction was George Barris' original 1966 TV series car which sold for $4.6 million in 2013, a price that stood as the benchmark for movie vehicles for over a decade. The Batman Returns Batmobile carries a $5 million to $7 million estimate.
Maybe a scale model is more your speed?
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Club ONT Jukebox
Hat tip on the last one to OrangeEnt
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Top 10ish Comments of the Week
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Club ONT is brought to you by good ideas
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Safety is our priority. There has been [7] days without a safety incident in Club ONT. The previous record was [7] days. Let's be careful out there.
What is it about old movies that appeals to me so much? I almost watch exclusively old films, you know? Movies from decades before I was born, sometimes decades before my parents were born. It's my main focus. I absorb these movies in very chronological and systemic ways. I pick a director and watch them from beginning to end. More recently, I picked a studio and started watching it from beginning to end. And this excites me. It excites me in a way that new movies don't.
I'll be honest: I've tried to have this discussion before, and every time I did, I found myself constantly trying to intellectualize what I was feeling. I would try to come up with some grand theory about why old movies were better, or why I was somehow more interested in movies from the past than movies being made today. But that isn't really what I think. It's not that I think old movies are inherently better than new movies. There are plenty of films from the last twenty years that I genuinely love and that I think hold up. Moneyball is a great movie. The Ballad of Buster Scruggs is a great movie. There are great films being made recently. The difference is somewhere else.
When I look out into the future and see what is coming, I don't feel that much. When I look backwards and think about what I'm going to discover, I feel a lot more. That's the strange thing I've been trying to figure out. The prospect of discovering something that already exists is much more exciting to me than anticipating something that doesn't exist yet.
I've done some pretty big experiments with this. I watched all of the Best Picture winners. I watched all of John Ford. I watched all of Alfred Hitchcock. Right now, I'm watching all of Hammer Films-not just Hammer horror, but everything Hammer made. That's roughly 170 movies. And no, all of Hammer Films is not great. Most of it is mediocre. A lot of it is perfectly passable content. It's cheap, it's quick, and most of it isn't very good. There is definitely good stuff in there, and there are movies that I've really enjoyed, but there is also a tremendous amount of stuff that is simply bad. And that doesn't bother me.
That's probably the most important part of this. I was never daunted by a bad Hammer movie because the point was never the individual films. The point was the overall journey. If I watch one terrible movie, that's not a failure. I simply move on to the next movie. Maybe that one is better. Maybe it's worse. Maybe I discover something completely unexpected. The individual movie matters, obviously, because I'm watching the movie and evaluating it, but it exists within a much larger experience.
That is really just a jumping-off point for why I tend to prefer older movies. It isn't necessarily that the movies themselves are better. It's the experience of discovering older movies. I see this journey through Hammer as a way to discover even more cinema. One movie leads to another. One actor leads to another. One director leads somewhere else. One studio leads to a completely different period of filmmaking. The further I go, the more there is to discover.
And how did I find all of this? It was just through exploration. Nobody told me what I was supposed to watch. There wasn't necessarily some algorithm deciding what I should see next. Ultimately, it came from myself, from this desire to go looking. I wanted to know what was there. I wanted to see the whole thing. That experience is fundamentally different from looking forward to a new movie.
If I decide that I'm going to discover Hammer Films, Hammer is not the dominant conversation. I can expose myself to as much or as little material beforehand as I want. I can read about the movie, or I can know absolutely nothing about it. I can see a poster and recognize an actor, or I can stumble into something completely blind. I have control over the experience. More importantly, there is an enormous amount of material waiting for me that I have never seen.
Anticipation
Compare that with something like Dune: Part Three. I'm looking forward to Dune: Part Three. I like Denis Villeneuve's Dune movies, and I want to see the next one. But the overall experience of looking forward to it doesn't produce a huge amount of excitement for me. Part of that is because of what happens around a major upcoming movie now.
If I spend my time looking forward to Dune: Part Three online, I'm going to encounter trailer breakdowns, behind-the-scenes information, casting speculation, interviews, theories, rumors, and people picking apart creative choices before anyone has actually seen the movie. As I'm writing this, in early August 2026, no one has seen the movie. The movie isn't finished. Everyone is arguing about a hypothetical. And that conversation doesn't interest me. I want to see the movie. Then I want to discuss the movie.
There is something strange about the way we talk about movies now, particularly the biggest movies. Cinema is so much bigger than opening weekend, but so much of the conversation around movies is built around opening weekend. How much did it make? How much did it make compared to the previous movie? Was it a success? Was it a disappointment? What does this mean for the franchise? What does this mean for the studio? What does this mean for Hollywood?
And at that point, we're not really talking about the movie anymore. We're talking about everything surrounding the movie. We're trying to rush into a conversation about something before we've actually had the opportunity to experience it. The movie becomes an event, and the event becomes more important than the movie itself. I don't find that particularly interesting. It feels like a distraction. That's why I tend to recede into my own little journeys.
I like being able to say that I'm going to watch all of John Ford. I like being able to start at the beginning and work my way through his career. I like seeing the early movies, the good movies, the bad movies, the movies that reveal something about where he was going, and the movies that seem like dead ends. I like watching a filmmaker change. I like discovering the actors who keep appearing. I like seeing genres develop and disappear. I like finding connections that I could never have known existed before I started.
That's what excites me. It's the journey. I kind of want the complete picture. I want that journey to be complete. I want to know what the whole thing looks like. Agonizing over whatever new detail gets released about The Batman Part II or whatever the next major movie happens to be simply doesn't interest me very much. I don't want to spend months constructing an idea of a movie in my head before the movie exists. I want the movie. What I care about is the movie.
What's Really Important
That might be why I spend most of my viewing time watching old movies. It isn't because I think everything old is automatically better. It certainly isn't because I think everything new is bad. It's because when I look backwards, I find an enormous avenue for discovery. I can move through decades of filmmaking and find things I've never seen before. I can discover movies that nobody is talking about anymore. I can watch the great films, the mediocre films, the terrible films, and everything in between.
And there is something liberating about that. I don't have to participate in the conversation. I don't have to know what everybody else thinks. I don't have to worry about whether something is going to be a hit, whether the studio is happy with it, whether the franchise is going to continue, or whether the opening weekend represents some kind of cultural referendum. The movie already exists. The conversation about it can wait.
In fact, the conversation can wait forever. I can just watch the movie.
That's why I keep finding myself drawn to old movies. It's an avenue for discovery, and I get to find out so much more by going backwards than I ever do by looking forwards. The past is enormous. There are decades of movies sitting there waiting for me, and every time I finish one, there is another one waiting. That is what I find exciting. Not knowing what is coming next, but knowing that there is still so much that I haven't discovered yet.
Let Me In (Rating 3/4) Full Review "It's very solid, extremely well made and acted, and handsome. Just kind of icky at the same time." [Kanopy]
To the Devil a Daughter (Rating 1/4) Full Review "The script is a mess. The director does what he can. The lead is...not my favorite. But we do have efforts at style and Lee doing his professional best." [Hoopla]
The Legend of the Seven Golden Vampires (Rating 2.5/4) Full Review "The script was in desperate need of a rewrite and those bookends needed to have never been filmed, but Baker did the absolute most with what he had. It's something that it's as entertaining as it is." [YouTube]
Shatter (Rating 1.5/4) Full Review "But, it does have some small entertainment here and there. It's not much, but it's something. I needed something." [YouTube]
Welcome hobbyists! Pull up a chair and sit a spell with the Horde in this little corner of the interweb. This is the mighty, mighty officially sanctioned Ace of Spades Hobby Thread. For this week, the Wheel of Hobbies (TM) is feeling spooky and decided on a Halloween hobbying theme for this Hobby Thread.
Fall is a big time for hobbying. Halloween is a big time for hobbying.
Crafting, decorating, carving, costumes, pumpkin patches, and more. Now that we're in October, are you busy hobbying for the fall? Are you working on Halloween projects? If not, why not!? Get planning and building and crafting!
Are you planning fall outings? If not, why not?! Get planning and traveling!
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What are you hobbying?
The theme may not be your favorite but give it a chance before you judge and bail out. Any adjacent hobbying is in scope, so jump in with your interests, stories and questions.
In any event, the thread is not limited to to the theme. Anything (legal) you are hobbying is welcome. Even if the theme does not speak to you, you might learn something or be entertained. If not, offer something else relating to hobbying. If all of that fails, just check in and say hello.
As per usual Hobby Thread etiquette, keep this thread limited to hobbying. Leave politics and religion to threads elsewhere (unless your hobby is building or restoring churches). Pants? Nope. As always, puns are welcome and encouraged.
Play nice and do not be rude. Do not be a troll and do not feed the trolls.
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The Great Jack O'Lantern Blaze, Croton-on-Hudson, NY
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Part I.
Part II.
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This isn't the gardening thread but I couldn't resist a pumpkin video titled "I Tried Growing a Giant Pumpkin Using a Chicken"
Seems like the kind of thing a dinosaur needs, right?
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Walt knows hand tools:
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Interesting scale model project:
This channel is going to be in an upcoming Wednesday ONT as a niche YouTube channel feature for reasons, so stay tuned.
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Did you miss the Hobby Thread last week? We did a fall scenic drives theme. The comments may be closed, but you can re-live the content.
Notable comments from last week:
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Words of wisdom:
"Because despite all our troubles, when things are grim out in that wide round world of ours, that's when it's really important to have a good hobby." Posted by: tankascribe at June 22, 2024 07:41 PM (HWxAD).
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Reminder: if you put links in the comments, use a URL shortener and describe what you're linking to. Failing to do either or both makes you barrel-eligible. Don't make people click to find out what you're linking.
Send thoughts, suggestions and photos of your hobbying to moronhobbies at protonmail dot com. Or just email to say hello. Do mighty things.
Hi, KT, here's a butterfly (I think it's a "Cloudless Sulfur"). I saw it feeding on some of the flowers in an outside flower exhibit at the local Lowes here in East Tennessee. I wonder, is this the equivalent of going to the food court at the mall?
I walk this route all the time and yesterday I saw these flowers for,the first time. Like they magically appeared. They were so pretty I stopped to take a picture. They kind of look like morning glories except it seems the wrong time of year. Anybody have any idea?
Sharon (willow's apprentice)
Sharon also says it was at three in the afternoon. I have a couple of guesses: Ipomoea muricata or Ipomoea macrorhiza (has edible roots). Any other ideas?
Anybody grow this?
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Morning light on a sage, most of the time it is just a silver bush, then it explodes in color.
AZ deplorable moron
Wonder what kind of sage it is? I think the silver form would be nice, too.
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Hope everyone has a nice weekend.
If you would like to send photos, stories, links, etc. for the Saturday Gardening Thread, the address is:
ktinthegarden at g mail dot com
Remember to include the nic or name by which you wish to be known at AoSHQ, or let us know if you want to remain a lurker.
Tonight, the first full moon of autumn rises. September’s full moon is the Harvest Moon, named because it falls closest to the autumn equinox in the Northern Hemisphere.
Nearly one thousand Roman silver denari found in woods near Cologne, Germany, probably deliberately buried in 125 AD It's about seven pounds of ancient silver. Alas, it's not an artifact of the massacre of the XIXth Legion at Teutonburg Forest, which is about a hundred and fifthy miles away.
Podcast: Vote Early...Vote Often! Oil exports are returning to normal, Trump relaxes CAFE standards, ChiComs fund AI backlash, the descendants of our business titans are anti-American, Boston is nuts, and more!
Podcast: CBD is solo and just checking in! Trump's UN speech is a success, the Last Ditch Bar in Western MA keeps their lunacy in the spotlight, and the White House plays hardball with the media and the judiciary...as it should!
Somebody should write a book about the greatest drinking stories of O'Toole, Burton, Harris, and Caine. One of my faves was Richard Harris went on a six week bender in the South of France without telling wifey. Upon return, she's screaming, and he simply replied "why didn't you pay the ransom"?
Podcast: Did the SCOTUS leftists slow-walk the USPS decision, Newsom's mendacious pledge not to run if Harris does, Canada's return to the trade negotiations, AI fear-mongering, The Goo Goo Dolls are adults, and more!
Forgotten 80s Mystery Click, Guitar Hero Edition Oh here it comes
That funny feeling again winding me up inside
Every time we touch
Hey I don't know
Oh, tell me where to begin cause I never ever
Felt so much
Okay, that was pretty easy. Here's one that's 3% harder. But still easy. Ooh, can you feel the static?
So many contacts being made
We've got up-front fanatics
Tearing down the barricade
To reach the stage
Can you feel the rage?
