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A site for members of the Horde to post their stories seeking beta readers, editing help, brainstorming, and story ideas. Also to share links to potential publishing outlets, writing help sites, and videos posting tips to get published.
Contact OrangeEnt for info: maildrop62 at proton dot me
60 Minutes' Smelly Leftist Scott Pelley Knows He's About to be Fired, So He Stages a Tantrum-Flounce to Make It Seem Like He Was Fired in Retalliation for #FightingThePower
—Disinformation Expert Ace
Nick Bilton, an investigative journalist working for magazines and newspapers, was appointed producer for 60 Minutes, replacing an old liberal.
Scott Pelley knows he's next so he's picking up on the Leftist Guild's attack on Bilton for not having experience in television reporting.
In other words, he doesn't know enough about male make-up as Scott Pelley.
Dylan Byers
@DylanByers
NEW: In @NickBilton's first all-hands meeting at 60 Minutes this morning, @ScottPelley told Nick he had "scant qualifications' for the job and pressed him to account for last week's firings.
Nick suggested conversation would be better held in private, Scott countered that he'd prefer to have them in front of his colleagues.
Nick told Scott, "they're my colleagues too," to which Scott replied: "that remains to be seen."
CBS News had hoped to keep Scott Pelley and the remaining correspondents tied to "60 Minutes" on the show, according to a person familiar with CBS News, before reports emerged of a blistering verbal donnybrook between the long-time journalist and Nick Bilton, who was named last week to lead the venerable newsmagzine.
Note the tense: Past perfect. They had hoped to keep him, previously.
It's not present tense. They do not currently hope to keep him.
Now I don't think they ever wanted to keep him. I think they always intended to fire him. I think they have not really attempted to re-sign him, which is why Scott Pelley is posing as Spartacus, as Curtis Houck says.
But now they can/will say "Gee we had hoped to keep him, but he seems so determined to leave! Aw filddlesticks! (kicks rock)."
In a meeting held Monday, Pelley lashed out at Bilton and current CBS News management, according to multiple press reports, alleging that Bari Weiss, the CBS News Editor in Chief who orchestrated an overhaul of the program last week, is "murdering '60 Minutes." Pelley also alleged that Weiss held "no qualifications for her job" and said Bilton that he has "slender qualifications for this job."
...
Bilton is replacing Tanya Simon, a longtime senior steward of the show and a daughter of one of its former correspondents, Bob Simon.
Oh a nepo baby, perfect.
Her deputy, Draggan Mihailovich, was also ousted, along with two of the show's correspondents, Sharyn Alfonsi and Cecilia Vega.
Pelley also demanded to know why CBS News fired former Simon, Alfonsi and Vega, asking Bilton "why should we expect any of this is going to be any better?" Status reported that Bilton attempted to deflect the queries and wound up ending the meeting prematurely. Charles Forelle, a new CBS News senior editor, recently hired by Weiss from The Wall Street Journal, told Pelley several times he was being "rude," according to Status, which reported the remarks based on an audio transcript of the meeting it obtained.
CBS News was eager to keep Pelley at the show, according to a person familiar with the situation. This person says senior CBS News executives had reached out to Pelley, Bill Whitaker, Lesley Stahl and Jon Wertheim -- the "60 Minutes" correspondents who remain on staff -- several times since last week in hopes of convincing them to stick with the program.
Well, now I don't know -- that makes it sound like Pelley and these other losers are leaking it that CBS really, really wants to keep them but they're Spartacus and cannot be bought and will not compromise with a biased newswoman like Bari Weiss.
Either way, though: They're gone, I think.
Pelley, Whitaker and Stahl did not respond to queries last week asking for their comments on the show's next steps. Wertheim did not respond immediately to a query sent Monday.
I have a feeling they called you themselves to leak this and offer their Spartacus spin.
Pelley is going full histrionic Woke Woman, accusing Bari Weiss of "murdering" 60 Minutes.
When Bilton told staffers that Weiss, who was brought in as the first ever editor-in-chief at CBS News under the direction of new owner and billionaire son David Ellison--"loves this institution," Pelley reportedly interrupted to say, "She is murdering '60 Minutes.'"
He went on to say Weiss "does not love this place," condemned the changes she's made to the network's evening news broadcast and added of the news division, "She was brought in to kill it, and she's been doing exactly that."
Bilton reportedly told Pelley he was "not going to intimidate me in front of this group of people" and ended the meeting after 15 minutes.
I wasn't fired, I quit in a blaze of glory!
So yeah, he's done and he knows it.
Have security escort him out of the building.
Check back with this post -- it seems like new "Fire Me Now So I Can Claim Victimhood and Promote My Podcast" quotes are being released minute-by-minute in real time.
Update! This was supposed to be part of the original post, but didn't get posted. User Error and all that.
It's so bitchy and effeminiate! I keep referring to Mean Girls in the comments but you don't know what I'm talking about because I accidentally omitted this.
As Bilton tried to move the meeting along, Pelley pressed him on "what was wrong" with the correspondents recently let go, including Sharyn Alfonsi, who was at the center of one of Weiss' first scandals at the helm of CBS when she chose to abruptly pull a 60 Minutes segment on deportations to El Salvador's CECOT prison last year.
"As Bilton started to say he would 'defer,' Pelley interrupted: 'This is not the crowd to dodge,'" reported Darcy.
The Group demands Apologies!
When Charles Forelle, managing editor of CBS News and Weiss ally, Pelley hit back, invoking Thursday's firings, which he referred to as "Black Tuesday."
"I'm not being rude," he said. "You know what was rude? Black Thursday was rude. That was the absolute definition of rudeness."
"This is not actually productive," Forelle said at one point in their exchange. "This is not an interview."
"It's working for me," shot back Pelley. "Anybody came into our house--this is '60 Minutes.' I guess you wandered in expecting to read a statement off?"
Later in the meeting, Bilton responded to another staffer's claim that it "takes years" to train new correspondents for 60 Minutes by claiming that no new hires would lack experience. Laughter reportedly erupted at this remark. Pelley then continued to hammer Bilton, asking him bluntly why he would take the job in the first place.
"Here's a question: Were you aware of how Black Friday was going to play out?" he asked. "I find it odd that you would take this job knowing that you would never be welcomed here."
Pure 9th-grade estrogen: "We think it's weird you would even try to sit at our table when no one at our table likes you!!!"
YOU CAN'T SIT WITH US!
"I have no problem taking a job in a place that I am not welcome, OK? I don't believe that will be the case," said Bilton in response.
The meeting might be best summed up by one especially poignant exchange between the two.
While describing his plans for the show, Bilton claimed at one point: "I care so deeply about this institution."
"Oh, please," interrupted Pelley.
Goodbye, Smelley,
it's been nice
enjoy your new
substack paradise
The firings last week included the old producer, Democrat political operative Sheryl Alfonsi, and Celia Vega, who announced that Woke Women being fired from media jobs to which they are Entitled is "censorship."
Yeah because there aren't literally thousands of Woke White Women in the media. Not a single one can be fired, or it's "censorship:"
"60 Minutes" correspondent Cecilia Vega accused CBS News of "censorship," saying she fears for the future of the network, after she was fired by editor-in-chief Bari Weiss in a bloodbath of top producers and reporters.
Vega sounded off Thursday night on social media about her firing -- which came even though her contract was not set to expire until next March -- after three years with the storied newsmagazine.
Wow, three whole years. She's an institution.
"I have the utmost respect and admiration for my colleagues at '60 Minutes' and the stories that air every Sunday," the journo wrote on Instagram. "But I very much fear what comes next for and the future of the legendary broadcast."
How can they go on without me? the narcissist fretted.
Though her blistering note did not mention Weiss by name, Vega claimed that network leadership "in recent months" has attempted to "insert political bias into our stories" and erode editorial independence at "60 Minutes."
A CBS News spokesperson told The Post in a statement: "We respect Ms. Vega and her contributions, but her claims are not based in reality."
Neither is her sense of entitlement or her belief that she is highly accomplished.
While the newly-fired and remaining staff CBS’s ‘60 Minutes’ continue to scream I AM SPARTACUS at editor-in-chief @BariWeiss, @CBSMornings kept up its ongoing commitment to spotlighting entitlement fraud, specifically in Gavin Newsom’s California.
CBS's Scott Pelley reportedly told new '60 Minutes' boss Nick Bilton that "I find it odd that you would take this job knowing that you would never be welcomed here."
What an eighth-grade girl thing to say! "I think it's weird you would come here when you know no one likes you. YOU CAN'T SIT AT OUR TABLE!!!"
Fire. Him. Now.
If this happened in just about any other profession, they'd be hauled out by security ASAP.
Yes that's what I said. This is unprofessional and unhinged. I would treat this person as a stalker and as potentially violent. You at least have to worry he's going to abuse his computer access to leak out damaging internal reports and correspondence.
🚨CBS/60 Minutes’ Scott Pelley raged at Trump in angry, unhinged commencement address at Wake Forest:
"In this moment, this morning, our sacred rule of law is under attack. Journalism is under attack. Universities are under attack. Freedom of speech is under attack."
An Illegal Alien Previously Deported Three Times was Blocked from a New Deportation by California's Sanctuary Law. Now He's Murdered Two Women -- and an Infant Baby
A deranged illegal migrant, deported from the U.S. three times, is accused in the triple murder of an infant and two other women after California's controversial state sanctuary law obstructed federal authorities who sought to deport him, The California Post has learned.
Joaquin Escoto, 28 a Mexican national born in Jalisco, was deported from the U.S. three times and arrested for driving under the influence once before he was arrested again in June for another DUI, a senior law enforcement official told The Post.
On the day of Escoto's DUI arrest in June, which occurred in San Joaquin County, federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials requested to be notified of the Modesto resident's release from jail so they could deport him again, according to the official.
But San Joaquin law enforcement officials hogtied by California's contested sanctuary law -- which limits how state and local law enforcement communicates with federal law enforcement -- failed to notify the feds, and Escoto was set free, the official said.
"Safe to say, California law prohibited the jail from complying," said the official, who shared police documents that substantiated his claims with The Post.
Now, less than one year after that request from ICE agents was ignored, Escoto is being held without bail on three counts of murder in the grisly knife slaying in Modesto of an infant and two women, including one with whom he allegedly had a child, according to police.
"Gavin Newsom has the blood of these women and this innocent little baby on his hands. Xavier Becerra is no better and Tom Steyer is even worse," candidate for governor Steve Hilton told The Post.
"These Democrats lecture us about "their values" and how "compassionate" they are while their sick sanctuary extremism sets monsters like this free to murder and terrorize our communities," Hilton said, "Enough is enough: this insanity must end, and it will on Day One when I am governor," he added.
Newsom has long championed the state's sanctuary laws, though he has opposed legislation that would further expand them.
Bonus: On TikTok -- "Amy.Pranks.22" set up an AI scam-call screener which replies to a foreign scammer trying to get her bank information with Trumpian bluster.
More: The Nazi Communist Stimulated by Poop Posted Lewd Photos on an App Used by Minors to Arrange Hook-Ups The App Is Called a "Predator's Paradise" For Allowing Hook-Ups with Minors, and Platner Had An Active Account Until This Past Weekend
Embattled Maine Democratic Senate hopeful Graham Platner finally addressed the infidelity scandal roiling his campaign after putting his wife forward to answer for him in a solo video that critics likened to a hostage film.
Platner, 41, and his wife, Amy Gertner, spoke briefly to News Center Maine Sunday after a campaign appearance in Portland, dismissing as "gossip" allegations that the horny oyster farmer exchanged sexually explicit messages with as many as a dozen women since the couple tied the knot in 2023.
...
"Amy and I have a very loving and very happy marriage. They would very much like to try to rip that apart," he claimed before rehashing his stump speech about closing hospitals, low pay for teachers and nurses and Mainers' paychecks not going as far as they used to.
"But of course, the powers that be do not want us to talk about that, and so they're just going to do gossip instead," Platner concluded.
Oh I get it, I'm the bad guy. I'm the one who violated the sancticty of your sham welfare-moocher marriage.
...
Gertner flagged to campaign staffers that her husband had been chatting up other women, including through private messaging app Kik, where it was revealed the Maine Senate hopeful's profile photo featured him wearing only a towel.
Platner's profile image on Kik was a bathroom mirror selfie featuring him wearing only a towel.
...
In a bizarre twist to the story, Gertner was the one who tipped off campaign staffers about her husband's activities.
All of his screen names are variations of P-Hustle or P-Hustler, which of course stands for "Pussy Hustler."
Or, maybe, given his eroticization of the shit-house, it means Poop Hustler.
Ladies, don't respond to DMs from someone calling himself Pussy Hustler. Or Mish Hunter, or Cooze Shooter, or Slam Scammer, or really anything other than a normal name.
People are saying online that the app he used to send his dicpics is 60% used by young people, 13-24. I don't know if that really means much because Yutes use most hook-up apps, but he's a dirtbag and I bet this teeny-tiny trace of thin smoke might lead back to actual fire.
Platner still has active account on anonymous app dubbed 'predator's paradise' amid cheating scandal
Platner's campaign says he deleted the app long ago, but Fox News Digital reviewed an active profile with a sexually suggestive image
...
Senate candidate Graham Platner has not deactivated his account on a private messaging app associated with casual sex and anonymous encounters -- despite facing mounting questions over infidelity and the platform's ties to sexual exploitation.
Platner, the presumptive Democratic nominee in Maine's 2026 Senate race, has an active profile on Kik, an anonymous chatting platform notorious for lax identification methods that have enabled the proliferation of child sexual abuse material.
The profile, reviewed by Fox News Digital, contains a sexually suggestive picture of Platner showing the candidate's naked torso with a towel draped around his waist. It is unclear when the image was taken, but Platner created the account in 2016.
Platner's presence on Kik was first reported by The Wall Street Journal, which reported that he sent sexually explicit messages to multiple women while married to his wife Amy Gertner, who wedded Platner in 2023. According to the outlet, Platner's wife first discovered the adulterous messages in the spring of 2025 and later divulged them to a since-departed campaign official.
Multiple child safety groups have criticized Kik due to its anonymous structure and public group chats that allow strangers to contact each other with little effort.
Users only need an email address to create an account, and there is no enforceable age-verification mechanism.
Roughly 70% of the platform's users are estimated to be between 13 and 24 years old, according to multiple industry reports.
The National Center on Sexual Exploitation designated Kik as a "predator's paradise" in 2023 for being rampant with "predatory behavior and child sexual exploitation."
The watchdog also placed the platform on its "Dirty Dozen" list for facilitating and profiting from sexual exploitation.
In 2024, Kik was rated the worst app for severe sexual content, according to Bark, a parental control and online safety platform.
Between 2023 and 2025, at least four Maine men were sentenced for distributing child pornography or soliciting nude pictures from underage girls by posing as minors while using Kik.
It is unclear who Platner messaged on the clandestine platform, but there is no evidence he communicated with minors.
We'll see. We'll see.
The Platner campaign said over the weekend that he deleted the app from his phone.
Just like he only papered-over his SS Totenkopf tattoo after it was exposed.
Meanwhile, Democrats who claim to be Anti-Nazi and Anti-Toxic Masculinity can't stop making excuses for Platner.
As Instapundit has said so many times: The people who are always telling you how passionately they believe the things they claim to believe actually believe none of the things they claim to believe.
It's all psychopathic Cluster-B manipulation and status-farming.
Democrats continue to defend Graham Platner even after his most recent scandal where he was found posting explicit pictures on an app known for exploiting teens.
Never before have I witnessed anything expose the left quite like this Platner controversy has. Platner is everything they’ve ever accused Trump of being but with a (D) after his name, and they’re twisting themselves into a pretzel trying to cover his ass so he can get elected… https://t.co/esVDYzdq3i
— Swag Jockey Fern (@GrantMa25066011) May 31, 2026
🚨🚨 Despite having a Nazi tattoo, being exposed as a serial adulterer, and posting lewd profile photos to minors on KIK, Democrats give Graham Platner a standing ovation. pic.twitter.com/5kCYm6WCxi
— Pro-America | Politics & Markets (@Pro__Trading) June 1, 2026
Made a career screaming about toxic masculinity. Now it's fine because it might cost her party politically. Just incredible stuff. pic.twitter.com/pgfbK2JRNQ
What has to happen for Democrats to stand up for the puritanical beliefs they all claim to hold?
Nothing will ever make them stand up for these beliefs, because these are all the manipulations of Dark Triad narcissists and psychopaths.
Democrats are again acting like they occupy the high moral ground of American politics.
But if 2026 has proven anything, it's that there's virtually nothing a left-wing candidate could say or do that would elicit condemnation from Democrats if doing so threatened their power.
Democrats, for example, demand credit for their opposition to Maureen Galindo, the Texas House candidate who proposed putting American "Zionists" (wink, wink) into concentration camps and castrating them.
Galindo lost her Texas primary last week, but still won 36% of the vote -- not a bad showing for a politician championing mass imprisonment of her political enemies.
The question, though, is whether House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, or Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, or anyone at Pod Save America or the Bulwark would have uttered a word in protest, had Galindo already won her primary before making those comments.
All the evidence strongly suggests no.
And by evidence, I mean their explicit support for slightly less offensive cranks, extremists, bigots and terrorism apologists like new party power broker Hasan Piker, or the socialist Hezbollah fan Abdul el Sayed in Michigan, or the Hamas apologist Chris Rabb in Pennsylvania -- a guy who suggested the massacre of Jews at Bondi Beach was a "false flag" operation by "Zionists."
Imagine telling someone 20 years ago that a leading House candidate in a New Jersey district right outside New York City had both volunteered for an al Qaeda front in Europe and spent years being friends with "Blind Sheik" Omar Abdel-Rahman, the longtime jihadi preacher who was sentenced for seditious conspiracy after planning a "day of terror" in 1993.
Adam Hamawy defended Abdel-Rahman during his trial -- and yet not a single notable Democrat has called him out on it.
Many of the same Democrats who expect Republicans to wring their hands over Republican Texas senatorial candidate Ken Paxton, a man tainted by corruption, have offered full-throated endorsement of a man who knowingly got and kept a Totenkopf SS Nazi tattoo for 20 years.
It's not just Graham Platner's mentally unstable ravings -- including saying a Purple Heart recipient didn't "deserve to live," or that "all cops are bastards," or that white rural Americans were "racist and stupid," or that the Virgin Mary was a "skank," or defending child killers of Hamas, or contending that sexual assault victims bring it on themselves.
It's that he still uses unhinged Marxist language right now.
Platner isn't the first skeeze to run for major office, but he might be the most extreme.
Only two elected Democrats, as far as I can tell, have spoken out about Platner's soft spot for Nazis.
One is Sen. John Fetterman, who is under relentless attack from his own party for supporting Israel over Islamists; the other is Massachusetts Rep. Jake Auchincloss.
And Auchincloss was bullied by Democrats and leftists for actually opposing a Nazi. Which, as a Jew, he's kind of duty-bound to do.
But instead they told him that he was a Nazi for opposing the Nazi.
Graham Platner, the Democratic candidate looking to unseat Republican U.S. Sen. Susan Collins in Maine, exchanged sexual texts with several women after marrying his wife two years ago, according to a report.
Platner's campaign confirmed the text exchanges to Politico following a report from the Wall Street Journal that claimed his wife, Amy Gertner, told a campaign aide about the texts after he launched his senate bid as they began looking into potential political liabilities.
Gertner discovered the messages months after the couple married in 2024, the WSJ reported.
She made the private revelation before Platner held a campaign rally last year supported by Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., but the aide decided the texts were a private matter for the couple, the campaign said, according to the newspaper.
Gertner said in a statement to the Journal: "I confided deeply personal details about my marriage to someone I considered a friend. In the months since, I have had to watch as she spread malicious gossip to anyone who would take her call. I trusted this person with the most private chapter of our lives -- the early days of our marriage before any campaign was on our mind -- and I am deeply hurt by her betrayal and the invasion of our privacy."
This report said she told a "campaign aide," so 1, this was well into the contemplation of a campaign and 2, the information wasn't shared "with a friend," but with a campaign aide for purposes of protecting the campaign.
Also -- what would it matter that he was unfaithful before any campaign was on his mind? Is this the Area Code theory of infidelity, applied to campaigns?
She added that she and her husband: "Did the hard work that marriage requires. We went to counseling. We were honest with each other in ways that weren't easy. And we came through it, not in spite of how much we've been through, but because of how much we love each other and the life we've built. Our marriage today is stronger than ever before."
He's a deadbeat living off you and your mother and, as many deadbeat men do, is trolling for sleazy women in a vain effort to boost his rightly-fragile ego.
Platner, an oyster farmer and veteran who served in Afghanistan and Iraq, has also faced a number of controversies before this, including a since-removed tattoo that resembled a Nazi symbol, and past controversial comments on Reddit minimizing sexual assault and making crude remarks about masturbation and a deleted post where he claimed a wounded soldier "didn't deserve to live."
Hello, sorry for the lateness, went out too late for my walk and then went to the market. Not really an excuse.
Crow update: Yesterday the crows saw me getting coffee and squawked and cawed until I gave them some snacks. I think the whole pack of crows has been alerted because a lot more are flying around, although just the male and female couple are actually landing to eat.
When I was out at the market I got kettlecorn for the crows. A significant amount of my life now consists of guessing what crows might like to eat.
THE MORNING RANT: Senators Cornyn & Cassidy Were My Fault, Because I Voted for Both of Them as the “Most Electable Candidate”; also, the Amazing Rhythm Ace of Spades
—Buck Throckmorton
Dear Texas and Louisiana voters: With a combination of gratitude and shame, I’d like to thank you for cleaning up the mess I helped create by putting Democrat-aligned RINOs in the Senate to represent your great states. I apologize for my role in putting duplicitous, faux-conservatives in a position to betray the actual conservatives who elected them, and I hope others will learn the lesson I learned – never, ever vote for the most “electable” candidate if it means empowering someone who may align with the left against conservatives.
Politics is not a sporting event where we simply cheer for whomever is wearing our team’s jersey. John Cornyn and Bill Cassidy were allegedly Team Republican, but they have spent the past nine years working with Democrats to undermine the man whom Republicans voted for in the past three presidential elections.
To my ever-lasting disgrace, while living in Texas I voted for John Cornyn in the 2002 Republican primary, because he was the “moderate” and “electable” Republican who was most likely to defeat the “popular” Dallas Mayor, Ron Kirk, in the general election. Cornyn won the primary and the general election, and he then proceeded to stab conservatives in the back for the next 24 years. The power of incumbency could no longer protect him this year, as disgusted Texas Republicans voted for Ken Paxton by a landslide in the Texas senate primary.
Even worse, while living in Louisiana in 2014, I voted for Bill Cassidy in the US Senate primary since he was the most “electable” Republican candidate running against the “moderate” and “popular” three-term Democrat incumbent, Mary Landrieu. Not only has Bill Cassidy been hostile to the MAGA agenda, he actually joined Senate Democrats in voting to convict President Trump in the farcical impeachment trial in early 2021. After Cassidy’s 12-year run of duplicity and betrayal against the Republicans who elected him, he too was just voted out of office, finishing third in the Republican primary.
These two senators who are routinely praised by Trump-haters for being men of high character are already making clear that they will finish out their term with middle fingers fully extended toward their constituents. They plan to represent national Democrats and the DC swamp for their final months in office, not the states that elected them to office. The “respectable Republicans” who advocated for Cornyn’s and Cassidy’s re-election are cheering on this score-settling, and blaming Donald Trump for the despicable character now on full display by Cornyn and Cassidy.
“Character”, to the modern voter, means “willingness and ability to faithfully represent the interests of the voters who elected them”
Anyone looking for something other than that should go to church.
There are plenty of other Cornyns and Cassidys running in Republican senate primaries across the country. Down in Georgia, Derek Dooley has already gone off-script and revealed that he plans to go “full Lankford” once elected and oppose Trump’s border-control policies. But there is already a Democrat Senator from Georgia (Jon Ossoff) battling Trump’s successful closure of the border, so there is absolutely no reason for Georgia Republicans to elect a guy wearing our jersey to vote in Washington like Ossoff. (Mike Collins is apparently the Georgia Republican senate candidate who is most likely to authentically represent MAGA if elected.)
*****
The Amazing Rhythm Ace of Spades
One of the fun things at the Ace of Spades blog is getting to know some of the unexpected people who are loyal readers. For me, one of them has been James Hooker, a founding member of the country-rock group The Amazing Rhythm Aces. After the Aces’ run had ended, Mr. Hooker spent two decades as the band leader for country-folk singer Nancy Griffith.
I was a fan of the Amazing Rhythm Aces when I was a teen in the late ‘70s and early ‘80s, incorporating the Aces’ music into my “Long-Haired Country” mix-tapes, along with the likes of Asleep at the Wheel, Rusty Wier, Charlie Daniels, and David Allen Coe. I was also a big fan of Nancy Griffith throughout her career, and my favorite song of hers was “Gulf Coast Highway,” a song co-written by Mr. Hooker and Ms. Griffith.
I was pleasantly surprised one day when I received a Twitter follow from James Hooker, who acknowledged being an Ace of Spades fan. We subsequently traded occasional pleasantries about music, or simple holiday greetings.
Mr. Hooker recently shared with me a new recording that is political in nature, “Mr. Smith (He Don’t Live Here No More).” The title refers to the straight-arrow, corruption-fighting senator played by James Stewart in the 1939 film “Mr. Smith Goes to Washington.” Mr. Hooker wrote the song about 15 years ago – but never recorded it – back in the era when the Tea Party had apparently been defeated by the Washington establishment. In reality, however, it was just creating further voter disgust that set the stage for MAGA.
That disgust toward swamp politicians who betray their constituents – e.g. people like John Cornyn and Bill Cassidy – is captured in this song, which is also a great, bluesy song stylistically, irrespective of the lyrics. The good news is that voters are now taking the initiative to terminate the political careers of these types of politicians.
— James Hooker - "The Fastest Man In Pompeii" (@THE_JamesHooker) May 7, 2026
Since we’re talking about the Amazing Rhythm Aces, here they are playing their biggest hit, “Third Rate Romance.” (James Hooker is in the peach-colored shirt playing the black piano.)
And finally, here’s Nancy Griffith along with James Hooker playing their sweet, sad song “Gulf Coast Highway”
Terrace and Observation Deck at the Moulin de Blute-Fin, Montmartre
Vincent van Gogh
He painted this about one year after he arrived in Paris to live with his brother. His palette is evident, but this work is clearly different than his typical popular stuff.
So if being an admirer of the Nazis as well as a philandering pervert and possible pedophile aren't enough of a definition of being a typical Democrat . . .
“People familiar with the matter” told the Wall Street Journal that Platner’s wife, Amy Gertner, reportedly shared with an aide in August that she had found the sexually explicit messages “early in their marriage in the spring of 2025.”
This astonishing level of illegal content might appear unique, but in recent years this kind of activity has become rampant across Kik. A joint Forbes and Point Report investigation has uncovered evidence of a vast number of child exploitation cases involving the use of Kik, where some of the most appalling material is being shared and young girls and boys are being targeted for grooming. Posing as 14-year-old girls, we also discovered just how quickly predators were on the prowl and how third-party apps for sharing profiles appeared to be facilitating access to minors. And we found that Kik hasn’t even been deleting the profiles of individuals charged and convicted of child abuse offenses.
An adviser to socialist Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders dismissed a Nazi-inspired tattoo Democratic Senate candidate Graham Platner received as a “skull and crossbones” during a panel discussion Sunday.
Amy Gertner, who married Platner in 2023, said that she was “deeply hurt” about the campaign’s former political director, whom she tipped off about the sexting, confirming the messages to the press.
The video drew widespread criticism from observers who said it appeared that Platner was letting his wife take the heat for him.
“It looks and sounds like a hostage video,” one X user posted. “Blink twice if you need rescuing, Amy.”
The randy oyster farmer is believed to have had sexting affairs with up to a dozen women, according to reports.
Yeah, she "defended" him alright! BANGOR, he hardly knew her!
Police arrested at least 20 protesters outside embattled New Jersey ICE detention center Delaney Hall Sunday night after they broke a new curfew imposed to stop the violent rallies from continuing for a third week straight, as the Department of Homeland Security vowed to show “ZERO tolerance for rioters.” . . . Several arrests were made in front of a wall disturbingly grafittied with “KILL ICE” across it. . . Chaos has engulfed the immigration detention facility in Newark since at least May 22, after top Democrat officials, including New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill, raised concerns about inhumane conditions in the facility and the lack of visitation hours.
Their "concerns" were a naked signal to their Antifa and other street goons as well as braindead dupes to engage in violent attacks on the facility.
More typical Democrat behavior: get others to do your dirty work by being cannon fodder for the media.
People across New England heard the sky clap back Saturday afternoon, and for a while, nobody knew why. Houses shook, windows rattled, and police departments fielded calls from worried residents. . . a natural meteor tore into the atmosphere, broke apart roughly 40 miles above northeastern Massachusetts and southeastern New Hampshire, and released energy equal to about 300 tons of TNT.. . Robert Lunsford, fireball report coordinator for the American Meteor Society (that's a job title!), described the object as roughly three feet wide. Reports reached the society from Delaware to Montreal, a huge footprint for a rock small enough to fit through many front doors. From the Associated Press:
Kaboom, indeed! And thanks for all the birthday wishes. It was a good one.
Other than a complete, unconditional reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, the world’s unlikely to see any complete, on-the-record list of each party’s obligations; Iran’s leaders don’t dare admit they’re doing everything our president demands. Then again, even if the regime does commit on paper to giving up the enriched uranium, Iran has repeatedly proved its promises mean nothing. What will it mean if Trump takes this Iran deal?
An Iranian official told the outlet that the “nonaggression pact” includes a U.S.-facilitated “international investment fund” for the country’s redevelopment. Other officials contacted by The New York Times (NYT) would not confirm an amount. (RELATED: US Strikes Iran As Top Negotiators Search For War Off Ramp) Draft US-Iran Peace Deal Includes $300,000,000,000 Investment Fund, Report Alleges
CIVIL WAR 2.0, LEFTIST PERSECUTIONS, DEMOCRAT PUTSCH, AMERICAN DISSOLUTION
Slavery enriched slaveholders but not societies, which is why slave economies consistently lagged in growth, innovation, and industrial development across history. The Myth of Slavery as an Engine of Growth
This is not the first time that a judge has been accused of making anti-white remarks. In February last year, it was revealed that U.S. District Court Judge John McConnell, who blocked an order by President Donald J. Trump to freeze federal grant spending at the time, went on an anti-white, anti-Trump tirade in an interview a few years prior. Later that same year, Richard Bennett, a federal judge, upheld anti-white admissions policies at the United States Naval Academy. “The Academy has tied its use of race to the realization of an officer corps that represents the country it protects and the people it leads,” Bennett argued at the time. Woke Judge Suspended Over Alleged Anti-White Racism.
The Biden DOJ paid off FBI anti-Trump plotters Peter Strzok, Lisa Page and Andrew McCabe, for instance, along with numerous convicted criminals, who alleged bad treatment by the Bureau of Prisons. By contrast, Trump allies and administration officials who suffered unjustly at the hands of Joe Biden’s weaponized FBI and DOJ, like Michael Caputo, Christina Bobb and Jeff Clark, are genuinely worthy victims who should be made whole. Miranda Devine: Dems can cry corruption all they want – the DOJ’s anti-weaponization fund has precedent and purpose
Hilton said, “People say he, when he was HHS Secretary for Biden he lost 85,000 migrant kids. No, he didn’t lose them. He pushed them out of the system without caring where they went, dismantled the vetting and pushed migrant kids into the arms of child sex traffickers. That’s what he did. That is going to come and get him when we were up against him in the general election.” Exclusive: Steve Hilton Says Xavier Becerra Pushed Migrant Children into ‘Arms of Child Sex Traffickers’
The order came from a panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, which sided with Texas over a lower court injunction that had blocked sections of Senate Bill 4, FOX 7 Austin reported. Judge Leslie Southwick was the lone dissenter and would have rejected the state’s motion. The brief order provided no detailed reasoning beyond pausing the prior block. Federal Appeals Court Allows Red State To Enforce Migrant Arrest Law
Sen. Andy Kim (D-NJ) called for prioritizing criminal illegal migrants being held at U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Delaney Hall detention center in Newark, New Jersey, calling them the Democrats’ “north star.” Democrat Senator Prioritizes Illegal Aliens: They Are ‘Our North Star’
DOMESTIC AFFAIRS, THE COURTS, WASTE/FRAUD/ABUSE
This sort of thing doesn’t inspire confidence in government. CIA gold
The Farmworker Housing Component of the Low-Income Weatherization Program is one of the state’s many climate change initiatives, and this one is aimed at farm workers — including those who are in the U.S. illegally, according to City Journal researcher and writer Christopher Rufo and his co-author Austen Hufford. California Program Gives Free Solar Panels to Illegal Aliens
Renovations may still move forward if the board reconsiders its decision in a manner the court considers balanced. President Trump considers a major overhaul necessary due to the center’s “tired, broken, and dilapidated” condition, proposing to “turn it into a World Class Bastion of Arts, Music, and Entertainment, far better than it has ever been before.” Obama Judge Married to Biden’s Personal Defense Attorney Blocks Kennedy Center Renaming, Renovations.
As The Federalist previously reported, the LinkedIn co-founder played a role in funding a legal nonprofit that defended Fusion GPS, the opposition research firm “behind the famously discredited Christopher Steele dossier at the heart of the Russia [collusion] hoax.” He’s also been all but forced to apologize for financially boosting a “Russia-style” disinformation operation in Alabama’s 2017 Senate race that sought to sway the election for the Democrat candidate. Reid Hoffman’s Left-Wing Antics Go Far Beyond Bankrolling E. Jean Carroll’s Anti-Trump Lawfare
FIRST AMENDMENT ISSUES, CENSORSHIP, FAKE NEWS, MEDIA, BIG BROTHER TECH
The rise of AI infrastructure has sparked a backlash fueled by local concerns, activists, and geopolitical competitors. But resistance to innovation has a long history. Data Center Resistance: Déjà Vu All Over Again
“You need Chevron, I need Chevron.” That’s the message from Democrat gubernatorial frontrunner Xavier Becerra, who’s making waves by breaking with the left on one of California’s most insane climate policies — as he refuses to fully back the state’s plan to phase out new gas-powered vehicle sales by 2035. Leading Dem California governor candidate announces massive break with the Left on key policy
Constitutional Carry’s march has slowed, but in states like North Carolina, Michigan, and Wisconsin, the next wave of Second Amendment victories may already be taking shape. The Pathway Forward for Constitutional Carry
DEMOCRAT/LEFTIST AND RINO SCANDALS, MESHUGAS, CHUTZPOCRISY, INSANITY
Up until 2022, Colombia had never had a left-wing president, at least not in modern history. But, for some reason, it tried to experiment with one between 2022 and 2026. Not only did they vote in a leftist, but they voted in a corrupt socialist clown. Four years of Gustavo Petro was, apparently, enough. Colombia to the Right? Anti-Crime Outsider Crushes Election Expectations.
ISRAEL vs IRAN & GAZA/HAMAS, HEZBOLLAH . . . AND LEFTISTS. . . AND HISTORY
How can anyone trust the CIA to get anything right after this? . . . It’s not clear exactly what Rush was up to — and don’t be too surprised if the details remain muddy — but nothing can explain how anyone in the intelligence community can request $40 million in gold bars “for work-related expenses” — and just get it. You need to steal 300 gold bars before the CIA even checks your resumé?
The reforms specifically concern college students who are looking to enlist in the Coast Guard and commission as officers. The College Student Pre-Commissioning Initiative (CSPI) has till now given preferred status to students coming from universities that meet arbitrary racial quotas for their student body. But no more. Coast Guard Eliminates Racially Biased Officer Commissioning Standards
In health care, vile hatred and threats against Israelis and Jews are patently ignored and even celebrated. Antisemitism in the Medical World
The rise in tick bites is increasing people’s risk of developing alpha-gal syndrome, potentially altering the diets and lifestyles of those affected. The National Pulse reported in March on claims that Lyme disease was partly the result of U.S. government and military attempts to develop tick-borne biological weapons in the 1960s. On Friday, Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced the government would be making a major push to treat Lyme disease, as well as alpha-gal, and bring the tick population under control. Tick Bites Linked to Rising ‘Red Meat Allergy’ Syndrome Cases.
. . . : a natural meteor tore into the atmosphere, broke apart roughly 40 miles above northeastern Massachusetts and southeastern New Hampshire, and released energy equal to about 300 tons of TNT. The Space Rock That Gave New England a Warning
Even as Hernandez was winning events inside, parents had gathered outside the venue to protest transgender athletes in girls’ sports. Parents held signs blasting the ruination of girls’ sports. Signs included, “No boys. No bias. Just fairness, and “Save Girl’s Sports.” (Real Name is HIS-nandez? - jjs) Outrage Mounts After Trans Athlete AB Hernandez Wins California Girls Track Championship
CULTURE WARS, NATIONAL SUICIDE
Thad McCotter: The American Revolution declared rights come from God, not government—and today’s Left seeks to reverse that creed in favor of secular state supremacy. ‘God and Country’ vs. ‘Secularism and State’
Today is Joan of Arc’s feast day. Her story says something profound about nations’ right to defend their borders. The Nationalism of St. Joan of Arc
There is a mob mentality that has been let loose in America, along with a coarsening of moral sensibilities. Deadly Pools
ALSO: The Morning Report cross-posts at CutJibNewsletter.com usually within an hour or so of posting here, if you want to continue the conversation all day.
The first is the Ryzen 5800X3D priced at $349. This first appeared in 2022 priced at $449, but was taken off the market in 2024 because it competed a little too well with the newer 7800X3D.
The second is the Ryzen 7700X3D, priced at $329. This is a 7800X3D, just 10% slower.
If you happen to have an unused AM4 motherboard and 64GB of DDR4 RAM sitting idle, the 5800X3D may be just what you need. Otherwise you're probably be better off with the newer, faster 7700X3D.
It uses Intel's low-end Wildcat Lake CPU, but one of the better ones with actually quite acceptable performance. And unlike many competing models it has a screen on par with Apple's MacBook Neo, a 2560x1600 IPS panel covering 100% of DCI-P3 colour and a variable refresh rate from 30 to 120Hz, at a healthy 500 nits brightness.
Basic model has 8GB of RAM (soldered) and 512GB of SSD. I/O consists of two USB-C ports and... That's it, really. Doesn't have the Four Essential Keys either.
It comes with a 6 or 8 core Ryzen processor with Radeon 840M or 860M graphics respectively - good if not great - the aforementioned keys which while not in my preferred layout are all present and unshared, and expandable memory and storage.
And a 2880x1800 OLED display... With 500 nits brightness and a variable refresh rate from 30 to 128Hz.
(A word of caution with these OLED panels: They look amazing but burn-in is real.)
Howdy Hordelings! Welcome to the Sunday night ONT. Appreciate you joining us for the waning hours of May 2026 and the beginning of June 2026. Open thread, as always. Fashion and music, as always. What's on YOUR mind tonight?
A massive American flag the size of a football field has been hung from the iconic Hoover Dam in the lead-up to the nation’s 250th birthday, after desert winds briefly forced it to come down for safety.
The enormous installation, measuring 300 feet wide and 150 feet tall, was first unveiled on Memorial Day as part of nationwide celebrations leading up to America’s semiquincentennial on July 4.
It is set to remain in place through the Fourth of July, weather permitting.
Sure to be "triggering" to leftists everywhere. Good.
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More Murica
THE DROUGHT CONTINUES
For the 33rd consecutive year, the Stanley Cup will NOT be returning home to Canada 😩🇨🇦 pic.twitter.com/skI7jXxs3f
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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Swim Week Spotlight: Premium Picks from Miami Swim Week 2026 That Actually Flatter
Miami Swim Week 2026 just wrapped and the premium runway delivered exactly what I love: sculptural pieces, beautiful fabrics, and flattering designs. Designers like Ema Savahl, B.FYNE, Monday Swimwear, Melissa Odabash, Honey Birdette, and Lila Nikole brought the heat with couture-level details and actual wearability.
These weren’t cheap bikinis, they were elevated, confident-making pieces with gorgeous embellishments, flowing overlays, and thoughtful cuts.
What Stood Out on the Runway
• Dramatic cut-outs and hand-embellished details (Ema Savahl’s signature drama)
• Textured crinkle fabrics and sculptural one-pieces (Monday Swimwear vibes)
• Curve-celebrating luxury with real coverage options (B.FYNE killed it)
• Resort-ready pieces that look glamorous
Flattering Styles + Brand Recommendations
Hourglass Figures (balanced curves with a defined waist):
You want plunge necks, tie details, and high-waisted bottoms that highlight without hiding.
Go-to Picks: Ema Savahl for show-stopping embellished sets and Monday Swimwear for supportive, textured styles that feel luxe and stay put.
Ema Savahl Seaglass Croc One Piece
Monday Swimwear MONTEGO ONE PIECE - MIDNIGHT CRINKLE
Pear Shapes (curvier hips, narrower shoulders):
Draw the eye up with ruffles, halters, or detailed tops and keep bottoms sleek.
Go-to Picks: Agua Bendita or elevated Maaji pieces for feminine prints and perfect balance.
Agua Bendita Dome One Piece Swimsuit
Maaji Golden Ray Dazzle Lace Up Bralette Bikini Top
Apple Shapes (fuller midsection, thin legs):
Ruching, wrap fronts, and smoothing one-pieces are your best friends.
Go-to Picks: Melissa Odabash or SHAN for tailored, sophisticated tummy control that still looks elegant.
Melissa Odabash MUNICH CHAIN SWIMSUIT
SHAN Classic high waist bikini bottom
Rectangle/Athletic Builds (straight lines, toned physique):
Add dimension with asymmetrical cuts, textures, and strategic ruffles.
Go-to Picks: Riot Swim for sporty-luxe energy.
Blaise One Piece - Chocolate
Plus Sizes & Busty Figures:
Supportive underwire, wide straps, and beautiful full-coverage options.
Go-to Premium Picks: B.FYNE for empowering curve-forward luxury and Monday Swimwear for inclusive sizing done right.
B.FYNE Denko Suit
Practical Tips
• Invest in quality fabrics that hold their shape (Monday and Ema Savahl excel here).
• Mix-and-match separates whenever possible for the perfect custom fit.
• Always check sizing guides or try in-store if you can—premium swimwear rewards proper fit.
• Look for pieces you can layer with a great cover-up or sarong for resort versatility.
Swim Week reminded me that the best swimwear makes you feel confident, strong, and beautiful. These premium brands get that. If you’re shopping for summer, start with one standout piece that makes you excited to hit the pool or beach.
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Wow - thanks, Piper! Those are the types of models we need to see more of! I think the Colombian goddess says it best.
Geddy, Alex, Anika Nilles, and Loren Gold (sonicperspectives.com)
Rush will kick off their much-anticipated Fifty Something reunion tour on June 7 at the Kia Forum in Los Angeles. This marks their first time touring in 11 years. Alex Lifeson and Geddy Lee will perform alongside drummer Anika Nilles, and the run makes this their first tour since longtime drummer Neil Peart died in 2020.
The tour spans the globe, and dates run into April 2027. Nilles played with the band at the Juno Awards, and that gig served as a soft launch for their comeback.
I already have tickets for Philly in August and DC in October. Who else has tickets? And who wants to put me up for a night or 2 if they're playing in your neck of the woods?
Jerry Pierce and Annie Dunn, a hippie couple who are the focus of a new Deadhead documentary, “Summer Tour,” weren’t even born when Jerry Garcia died in 1995. That makes them prototypical examples of a young generation of Deadheads who never went to a Grateful Dead show.
But they did the next best thing, following Dead & Company, the band formed by original Grateful Dead guitarist and singer Bobby Weir, on its last tour in 2023.
Director Mischa Richter tags along as the couple roams America in their old van, traveling from show to show and city to city with a wandering community of fellow Deadheads. Living in voluntary poverty, they are portrayed as looking out for each other as part of an idealistic hippie subculture of caring and sharing that has long been part of the Grateful Dead experience.
I'm the farthest thing from a Deadhead, but I will check out the documentary.
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Speaking of rock documentaries - if you're not familiar with "Heavy Metal Parking Lot", you need to fix that!
On May 31,1986, emerging filmmakers John Heyn and Jeff Krulik drove into the parking lot of the Capital Centre in Landover, Maryland — and into pop culture history — when they caught lightning in a bottle recording amped-up JUDAS PRIEST fans before a concert. Nobody could have imagined that 40 years later the resulting short film, "Heavy Metal Parking Lot", would be frequently cited among the greatest rock documentaries ever. On May 31, 2026, 40 years to the day since this much-heralded time capsule was captured on film, in Silver Spring, Maryland will screen — for the first time ever in public — the 60 minutes of original source footage, before the edit. Audiences will experience what was recorded that afternoon, in real time, while both Jeff and John provide live commentary as history is being made. The event will also feature the resulting 16-minute "Heavy Metal Parking Lot", plus a chance to meet some of the stars.
The Capital Centre (imploded many years ago) was a great place to see concerts. I saw quite a few great ones there. First time I saw Rush was there. Metallica with The Cult opening. Van Halen with Alice in Chains opening. Many more. Great memories!
The documentary mentioned at the link was filmed in the parking lot before a Judas Priest show. It was allegedly a favorite of the guys in Nirvana. They are rumored to have often watched it on their tour bus.
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DJ Doof - This Date in Music History Edition
from thisdayinmusic.com
On this date in In 1982: R.E.M. signed their first label deal with I.R.S. Records. The Athens, GA band, who had recently recorded their debut EP, Chronic Town, turned down an offer from RCA, instead opting to go with the indie imprint.
On this date in 2024: American musician Ed Mann died at the age of 69. He was known for his mallet percussion performances onstage with Frank Zappa's ensemble from 1977 to 1988, and his appearances on over 30 of Zappa's albums.
Hope you approve, Mis Hum!
Born on this date in 1948: English drummer John Bonham from Led Zeppelin -- Bonham died on September 25th 1980 aged 32 after choking on his own vomit.
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 Final May Edition?! June editions are just around the corner!
With that, step into the dojo and let's get to the gun stuff below, shall we?
Will you win the fight and still lose in the long-term?
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Our Pal Steel
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NoVaMoMe 2026
What - you thought there wasn't going to be a NoVaMoMe in 2026?
Note: One of the great joys of NoVAMoMe season, at least for me, is being able to cut and paste the entire block of text below and haranguing you to attend the event. Are you attending? Are you focusing on the fundamentals of attending?
Alright, guys and gals, the long awaited and highly anticipated details of the 2026 NoVAMoMe are here! That's right, I finally got my act together and updated the information page for 2026, and need to go over a few details. First, the date is June 20th, 2026 from 11am to 3pm. Nextly, my bestest blog buddy bluebell and I have decided 2026 will continue the longstanding tradition of NoVAMoMe simplification, and want to pass along the changes from prior years.
First, no registration and no advance charge for food. If you would like to attend, send an email to WeaselBell Productions, and let us know. You will be directed to a sekrit webpage with all of the details. We do ask once you have decided to attend to let us know so we can coordinate an expected count with venue management. Once there if you are hungry or thirsty simply order from the onsite menu and pay separately. Cash and credit cards accepted. Next, although fun, we have decided to again take a break from the raffles and mug sales this year. Depending on how it goes, that may be something we bring back in future years. While your generosity is always appreciated, with no prize table, please leave donations and contributions at home, but bring your appetite for a great afternoon spent with your imaginary online friends.
Next, a NoVAMoMe PSA from our pal bluebell
Hi folks - just a quick PSA. If you write for info about the MoMe, please give us a few words in the body of the email just so I know you are a Moron and not a spammer (moron). I do receive spam on this email account because it's sitting right here in my nic, so that's why I'm asking. I don't want to give our details to a spammer. Also, remember to check your spam folder if you don't receive a reply email.
Thanks.
bluebell
Seriously, just send an email then go to the website with the password provided. If you forget, a link to the email is on the main page, left sidebar. If you do not sign up, bluebell will be disappointed. Weasel will be disappointed, too, but it's bluebell you need to worry about.
This week our pal Diogenes sends us this excellent write-up on humidors.
We have had some great cigar reviews here on the Weasel's thread and I for one certainly appreciate them. I have discovered some great new sticks and I hope that some of my reviews have assisted others. And this brings me to my subject of the day. If you bother to check your credit card statement, you may discover the spending on cigars can, at times, be...ahhh...pricey. In order to protect these investments, it is necessary to store the news treasures properly. So, let's talk about humidors.
Buying a humidor requires balancing your collection size with storage conditions. Most vendors recommend purchasing a humidor capable of holding 20-30% more cigars than you currently own. This helps to ensure proper airflow. I just keep mine about 1/2 full and it works just fine. Standard wooden desktop options start around $150 to $300, but you can find some that are cheaper. Serious shoppers prepare for sticker shock. I've seen them as high as $5k. Yikes! You can also find electric/cabinet humidors and that regulate temperature and humidity and are good for greater numbers of cigars. These aren't for me as I typically buy just enough to enjoy over a few months, so I don't need something that fancy.
Here are some things to keep in mind when considering a humidor:
--Assuming you go for a wooden humidor, one thing you want to have is Spanish Cedar Lining. Any cedar will do, but this is the gold standard, and the wood is perfect for absorbing and releasing moisture.
--Use a Digital Hygrometer, not the analog (needle) version. The analog hygrometers are notorious for being inaccurate and I have found this to be true in each one I have owned. To track the temperature, just throw in a small thermometer. I keep my humidor at about 70% humidity and room temperature year-round.
--Ensure the humidor has a good seal. A weak seal will dry out your cigars. An easy way to check a wooden humidor is to do the dollar bill test. Close the lid on a dollar bill. If you can pull it out easily, the seal is too loose.
--If you purchase a wooden humidor you will want to season it before stocking it with your favorite smokes. Wipe the interior with distilled water, or use a high-RH Boveda pack. This prevents the wood from stealing the moisture from the cigars.
Lastly I clean mine once a year. Depending on where you live, mold could be a problem over time. Cleaning is simple and a great way to keep your cigars ready to enjoy.
The picture shows the three that I use frequently. The box is a typical office/desk style humidor. The travel case is handy, and this one is from Thompson Cigars. The small "single cigar" carrier is for the golf course. Pro Tip: DO NOT put this one in your carry-on bag if you fly. The TSA guys enjoy watching you drink the contents from the screw top side. ;-)
I hope this has been helpful. Enjoy.
Excellent, Diogenes! Thank you!
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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:The Unbearable Lightness Of Good Dough
—CBD
This is what is interesting and maddening about dough. I tried a new pizza dough recipe, which was suspiciously identical in ingredient proportions to the other one that was a modest success. The method was different, and the result was much, much better. Lots of lovely bubbles and flavor, and the texture was much more pleasant.
I understand how technique changes food, but this was a real surprise. I do need to work on shaping the dough, since it was quite springy, but that should be an easy fix.
Of course I burned the roof of my mouth on the first slice!
Well...to be honest...I burned the roof of my mouth on the second slice as well.
I wandered into the liquor shop attached to my local Wegmans a few months ago, and I was surprised to discover an allocated (around here at least) bourbon hanging out on the shelf...lonely and bored and calling out my name! I had been looking for it for months, and barely paid attention to the price.
And...it wasn't worth it. Don't get me wrong; it is a very nice bourbon, but there are plenty of bourbons for $10-$15 dollars less that are just as good.
It has a very nice caramelly nose, some sweetness and spice on the palate, but a thin finish that is a bit disappointing, and maybe a bit too much oakiness.
And that is the problem with bourbons that get hyped! They are rarely as good as that hype suggests. Imagine how good a Pappy van Winkle 23 would have to be!
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The UK is beyond help, except...Brit kids taste American Barbecue for the first time. They all seem like normal kids who can be convinced of the superiority of American cooking and the importance of having pork in one's diet!
Not to mention the innate sense of freedom that smoking meat imparts!
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This is one of a series of cooking videos from the folks at Fallow, an excellent restaurant in London. Most of their videos are excellent (check farther down the post) and well worth a watch, especially if you like to cook. Here is a Ragu Recipe that is a bit different, but it is impressively loaded with layers and layers of flavor. I'll even forgive them the browning of the meat, although Marcella Hazan would be rolling over in her grave if she saw that.
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Yeah...and you wonder why I bang on the Chinese for being a disgusting food culture and source?
China. It's truly frightening. Workers at a seafood market in China are applying a preparation made by mixing red yeast rice red solution (cochineal red dye) and formaldehyde onto the bodies of fish before shipment. This treatment method is intended to make old fish appear colorful and fresh.
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Misanthropic Humanitarian sent me this recipe for Husband's Braised Meatballs, and it's a pretty solid one. But he misrepresented it as "Husband's Braised Balls," which is an entirely different thing, and much funnier.
The garlic is doing well! For now. It was 42 degrees this morning, and I am unsure how well garlic will tolerate that. I know all of you are worried, but it is still tall and green and healthy! And if they survive the deer and squirrel apocalypse, and actually grow into something edible, I will be in garlic heaven! In case it doesn't, send all of your excellent home-grown garlic to: cbd dot aoshq at gmail dot com.
Rumor has it that the Bourbon Bubble is bursting. I have seen no evidence of decreasing prices, but maybe the bursting started somewhere else! I think the sweet spot is $40-$60 for excellent and interesting bottles, and bumping that to $100 gets you an incremental improvement in quality, but nothing mind-blowing. More than that and I think you are paying for hype and rarity, which may look good in your liquor cabinet, but doesn't translate to more quality in the bottle.
The problem...or the solution...is to buy lots of bourbon, take tasting notes, and eventually arrive at your favorites! It should take forty or fifty years, but it is worth it!
The best and highest expression of the snacker's art includes no utensils or vessels. No knives or spoons or plates or bowls...just the food containers and an appetite.
But for some unfathomable reason, the makers of peanut butter (Big Peanut) chose not to package their product in vessels that do not require a utensil, once the magic first 50% has been consumed.
We all know that the first portion of peanut butter, lovingly scraped up from the pristine surface with a mini pretzel, is a prized and rare experience.
But so is the last bit of peanut butter embedded in the corner of the jar, and Big Peanut has conspired to steal that from us, and require a spoon or a knife or some other backward tool to get at the mother lode.
We are not chimpanzees trolling for termites with long sticks! We have evolved past that, and I demand that Big Peanut keep up!
Yes, Our Elections Are Dirty, But How Exactly Does It Happen?
—CBD
Obviously the most secure election system is same-day voting in person, with paper ballots and mandatory ID checks against a master list that is reviewed every year, and purged of all names not of United States citizens.
Watchdog group Judicial Watch says it has identified almost a million voter registrations in California that have been inactive for at least three federal election cycles, and argues they must be removed to ensure potential cheaters cannot use the names on faked ballots.
[...]
Fitton said, “326,608 names have remained continuously inactive for at least three consecutive federal general elections. That means the person hasn't voted or otherwise communicated with the state or the county voting officials for … six years. At least 151,202 registrants have been enactive [sic] for four federal elections. That's over eight years.”
And finally, “33,922 inactive voters have been around just hanging on the rolls for 10 plus years. You know, and you can see why we do this in the back here. Look at that quote. ‘Dirty voting rolls can mean dirty elections.’ And that's the key issue here.”[bolding mine]
There are other security demands for a voting system that is secure against manipulation, because there are very clever people working tirelessly to subvert the will of the American voter.
As much as it is tempting to blame the voter rolls for the bulk of the fraud, a glance at the vote totals from the 2020 presidential election will disabuse one of the notion that the main issue is illegals voting, or nefarious characters voting multiple times.
The Democrat vote increased by 23.6% between 2016 and 2020, but decreased 7.7% in 2024. That is a huge discrepancy that simply cannot be reconciled with candidate popularity, population shifts, voter rolls being purged (spoiler: they weren't), or any other explanation that does not recognize massive cheating via the use of fake ballots that did not correspond to registered voters. That's why some precincts reported more than 100% turnout. That's why vote counting was suspended, then restarted after those fake ballots were inserted into the counting process.
And that's why recounts are of limited value. Sure, some ballots may be counted incorrectly, or not counted at all. But when the ballots themselves are fake, only a comprehensive audit of the votes will have any hope of identifying fraud.
The fight for clean voter roles is a noble cause, and it will go a long way toward improving Americans' opinion of the integrity of our political process. But it is not the whole answer, and we must recognize that the forces aligned against our republican form of government will continue to probe for ways to subvert the will of the people. They found a way in 2020, and we barely survived that attack on our country. The next time might be more clever, and not a brute force injection of millions of fake ballots!
Sunday Morning Book Thread - 5-31-2026 ["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 (just in time for summer!). 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...
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?
On the southeast coast of Tierra Del Fuego, is a tiny little literary outpost called Biblioteca del Refugio de Puerto Español. I discovered it purely by chance.
I was reading The Ice Limit by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child and I used Google Maps to scout out the physical location where the events in the novel take place, which is a fictional island amongst the Wollaston Islands off the coast of Tierra Del Fuego. I was just zooming around the area when I noticed the world "biblioteca" tagged on a small building on the coast, miles from anywhere else. Strange place to put a bookshop/library.
It seems to be labor of love by the man in the photo above. He is justifiably proud of the work he's put into creating a library out here in the middle of nowhere. It may be the southernmost public library on the planet.
Who is this man? What would drive him to live alone out here in the middle of nowhere with nothing but his books to keep him company? Seeing a picture like this can be a seed for a short story...What do YOU imagine his life is like out here? What secrets is he hiding? What is his motivation?
By a strange coincidence, he bears a striking resemblance to a professor who works at the same university where I work...That right there could germinate a story about two brothers who are estranged, but somehow have to find a way to reconcile their differences to resolve a conflict...
FEATURED MORON REVIEW [OrangeEnt]
Read "Johnny Carson," by Henry Bushkin, Carson's long-time "consigliere" as Johnny put it. Bushkin details his interactions with the Tonight Show legend, from his first meeting through his firing near the end of Carson's reign over late night.
Bushkin, who was only twenty-seven when Johnny hired him as his lawyer, said this about the man: "...he was endlessly witty and enormously fun to be around...and he could also be the nastiest son of a bitch on earth." We've heard insinuations about Johnny through plenty of videos, but this first-person account definitely sets you back on your heels when you see how often and how quickly Carson could change from generous and friendly to an insulting monster to his friends and family members.
Complex, because of his upbringing with a mother who never had much good to say about her son, he also seemed aloof from his own children. Johnny didn't like to be "volunteered" for anything. It made him angry when any of his wives or friends put him on the spot for a fundraiser or social event. He was upset at the Reagan inaugural when things didn't go his way. He would blow up and threaten to leave an event and never return multiple times.
We get to see backstage dealings with co-workers and Johnny's many married lives. He cheated on each of his four wives. The result of fame? Maybe, but it should be a cautionary tale for anyone who wants to be in show business. Bushkin recounts how he, Johnny, and a couple of other men broke into wife number two's love nest with someone who turned out to be Frank Gifford. We see woman after woman come into Johnny's life and exit soon after. Some, the next night. It even affected Buskin's life as well. He started engaging in the same things Carson did, and it cost him his marriage as well.
Although the book is about his life with Johnny, Bushkin's book is also about him. We see him change from the star-struck young lawyer into a highly skilled attorney and businessman. He did everything for Johnny: played tennis every day, made deals for him, gave him blunt advice when things started going wrong, and was an all-around confidant. There are some names dropped by Bushkin of women he had affairs with, such as Joyce DeWitt and Mary Hart.
All in all, an interesting look into the life of someone we thought we knew because we saw him nearly every weeknight. Recommended if you like Hollywood television history. The book is available on the Internet Archive.
++++++++++
++++++++++
WHY YOU SHOULD NOT READ ROBERT JORDAN'S The Eye of the World
A couple of weeks ago, the following comment caught my eye:
Let's see....well on my vacation I read and finished "Robert Jordan's" Eye of the World. This might be the best fantasy novel I've read.
I realize its the first book in a series, a series with a lot of high points and a lot of low points. Still, it is probably the peak of doorstopper fantasy since GRRM is incapable of finishing Game of Thrones.
But the first book, Eye of the World, is an excellent standalone story. It does not require sequels though it of course HEAVILY sets up a massive number of events to follow. But you can read the first book and be happy , especially if you have read the entire series or have tried to and got bored around book 7 or so.
Highly endorsed to all fans of epic Fantasy.
Posted by: Mark Andrew Edwards, Buy ammo at May 17, 2026 10:13 AM (xcxpd)
Robert Jordan's The Eye of the World has morphed into a highly divisive subject among fans of epic fantasy. Some, like Mark Andrew Edwards and myself, absolutely love this book. Full disclosure: Like Mark, I consider this book to be one of the best epic fantasy novels ever written. Far, far better than anything George R.R. Martin has ever written.
In the interests of satisfying my own curiosity, I asked Grok to share the five most common criticisms of The Eye of the World. Let's go through them and see how well they hold up under scrutiny.
1. Heavy Tolkien Derivative / Lack of Originality
Many readers and critics note that the book closely mirrors The Lord of the Rings in structure and elements: a rural farmboy (Rand ~ Frodo) pulled into adventure, a wise mentor (Moiraine ~ Gandalf), Trollocs as Orcs, Fades as Nazgúl, a long journey with dangers, a trip through a mystical forest (the Ways ~ paths in LOTR), and a climactic journey to a special site. While Jordan adds his own twists, early sections especially feel like a 1980s homage that hasn't aged as freshly for some.
Of all criticism of the book, this one I find to be the most unpersuasive. ALL genre fiction is derivative of some source material. That's why it's genre fiction in the first place. Using the same logic, I should not enjoy Agatha Christie's Hercule Poirot stories because they are highly derivative of Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes stories. I should also not enjoy Sherlock Holmes stories because they are derivative of Edgar Allan Poe's detective stories (he invented the genre).
Sorry, A.H. Lloyd, I'm not allowed to read your Man of Destiny series because it's derivative of George Lucas' Star Wars prequel movies. I know you wrote the series specifically to fix the narrative problems you saw in the prequels. If it makes you feel any better, I can't enjoy Star Wars because it's derivative of Akira Kurosawa's The Hidden Fortress.
This criticism also does not take into account the nature of the Hero's Journey, which is the actual pattern of storytelling that both Tolkien and Jordan are following. If anything, The Wheel of Time as a whole is far more derivative of other series, particularly Frank Herbert's Dune.
Tolkien himself was not beyond deriving his storytelling from other works, as illustrated by the comment below:
I'm re-reading the Silmarillion and also reading City of God and WOW. I always loved it as a heroic tale, but there is just so much going on. Tolkien is basically laying out the Council of God and the reality of spiritual warfare in laymen's terms.
Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at May 30, 2026 10:21 AM (ZOv7s)
We could spend all day dissecting the derivativeness of various stories, going all the way back to the Epic of Gilgamesh. That could be kinda fun! Have at it in the comments!
At the time Jordan was publishing his novel (1990), the epic fantasy landscape looked very different than it does today. Back then, there was an expectation from readers for a Tolkienesque fantasy story to kick off a new epic series. Tad Williams did it with The Dragonbone Chair in 1988, Raymond E. Feist did it with Magician in 1982, and Terry Brooks started the trend with The Sword of Shannara in 1977. Fans at the time responded overwhelmingly, and Williams, Feist, and Brooks all became some of the most successful fantasy authors of all time--because they started with a Tolkienesque fantasy novel. (Dennis L. McKiernan's Iron Tower trilogy was a little TOO Tolkienesque, as it was literally Lord of the Rings with the ISBN filed off, so he was not as successful as the other authors who took more creative liberties with the source material.)
2. Slow Pacing and Repetitive Travel
The novel is often described as a long road-trip/chase story with extended sections of walking, riding, camping, and moving between locations (Emond's Field to Shadar Logoth, to Caemlyn, etc.). Some find the middle sections, especially when the party splits or travels, meandering or dry, requiring patience before action picks up. The book is long (~800 pages in many editions), and the journey can feel padded.
I can understand this up to a point. Yes, when the main party splits up into three groups, there are chapters that seem like "filler" material because we have to follow three different storylines. These chapters do serve as sections where Jordan can provide *some* character development and readers get a better sense of the relationships between the main characters like Egwene/Perrin, Rand/Mat, and Nynaeve/Moiraine, all of which will be extremely important to the overall story. Personally, while the pacing does slow down in the middle section, I still enjoy those sections. Up until that point, the characters have been rushing through their adventure. Now we readers can get our breath back and start to focus on the actual characters. The pacing picks up at lightning speed at the end (see below).
3. Bland or Underdeveloped Characters
The main protagonists (especially the Emond's Field trio: Rand, Mat, and Perrin) are frequently called generic or uncompelling early on--naive, argumentative teenagers who make poor decisions. Supporting characters can feel archetypal, and some readers note a lack of humor, depth, or strong individual voices in the first book. Female characters are sometimes critiqued for description-heavy introductions focused on appearance.
So the main characters are behaving like teenagers--because they ARE teenagers? Color me shocked! Of course they are going to be acting immature and whiny from time to time. They are "diamonds in the rough." They have not been shaped by their adventures yet and they themselves have no idea who they are going to grow into as adults. That's part of the epic hero story. As it turns out, all of the teenagers from Emond's Field (Rand, Mat, Perrin, and Egwene) are going to develop into characters that will shake the very pillars of creation. Quite literally in Rand's case. But in the first book of a very long story, we are not going to get any of that. One of my absolute favorite scenes in the entire book occurs near the end of the series, in The Towers of Midnight. Perrin's story development concludes when he fully accepts his leadership role. He uses his blacksmith skills to forge a new weapon to be used in the fight against the Dark One, and in doing so he tranforms internally to become the man, the leader, the ruler he was always destined to be:
The tool he left behind was the hammer of a simple blacksmith. That person would always be a part of Perrin, but he could no longer afford to let him lead.
From now on, he would carry the hammer of a king.
That's where THIRTEEN BOOKS of character development takes you. Perrin goes from being an apprentice blacksmith in a small village to a general and a king, leading entire armies in the largest war seen in three thousand years. He then proceeds to unleash holy Light-blessed whoopass on the Shadow. It's awesome.
The supporting characters, being taken from the Hero's Journey, are there to provide guidance and training to the younger characters, to set them on their path. They have already accomplished much in their lives and are now passing on their knowledge to the next generation. Moiraine, Lan, and Thom (the older mentor characters) will have *enormous* influence on the growth and development of Rand, Mat, Perrin, Egwene, and, to a lesser extent, Nynaeve. But we won't see that until a few books later.
By comparison, the main young characters in George R.R. Martin's Game of Thrones(i.e., the Stark children and Daenerys Targaryen) are even younger than the Emond's Fielders from The Eye of the World. Harry Potter starts his epic journey when he's only eleven years old. Taran, the Apprentice Pig-Keeper from Lloyd Alexander's The Chronicles of Prydain starts out very young as well, though no age is given, nor do we even get a description of Taran's appearance.
4. Clunky Prose and Writing Tics
Jordan's style draws complaints for awkward phrasing, repetitive word choices (e.g., overuse of "though"), unnecessary adverbs like "wordlessly," and lengthy descriptive passages. While world-building is detailed, the prose can feel stiff or overly explanatory compared to more modern fantasy.
I can understand how the writing style might not be everyone's cup of tea. There are lengthy passages in later novels that could use tighter editing. No question about that. The Eye of the World is the first novel in the series, so there's always going to be some rough edges. Before Jordan wrote this novel, he'd been writing Conan stories. I have not read Jordan's Conan stories yet (on my TBR pile), but I have read many of Robert E. Howard's original stories, which feature the same stylistic choices that readers complain about in Jordan's writing. No doubt Jordan's attempts at emulating Howard's style to evoke a Conanesque story bled into his writing in The Wheel of Time.
There are plenty of successful authors whose style I don't enjoy, so I think it's very much a personal preference here. Which is fine. I tried reading N.K. Jemisin's The Fifth Season because I heard it was really good and I couldn't get past her writing style. I gave up after only a few chapters. I didn't even get far enough into the story to know what it was about.
5. Rushed or Anticlimactic Ending
After a long build-up, the final confrontation at the Eye of the World and resolution can feel abrupt, rushed, or less impactful than the preceding journey. Some readers sense the book was written to potentially stand alone while setting up a series, which weakens the payoff.
Of all the criticisms, I think this one has the best justification. Yes, the ending does seem quite rushed compared to the pacing of the earlier story. The first 43 chapters (over 500 pages) is spent just traveling from Emond's Field to the large city of Caemlyn, a journey that takes several weeks. Then the characters reunite and compare notes of their respective travels. At that point they have to rush to the very end of the earth to the climax, which takes up the last 100 pages or so of the book. It just moves so fast that readers can feel like the ending is very much rushed. All character development is dropped at that point and we are treated to numerous scenes of expository dialog as the meaning of the previous events is explained to the reader. This is a weakness that occurs in multiple novels of The Wheel of Time. I'd say that books 1, 3, and 5 in particular have weaker endings than books 2, 4, and 6. When Brandon Sanderson was tasked with completing the series after Jordan's untimely death, he broke up the finale into three books instead of Jordan's planned single novel, simply because the story NEEDED that much space to conclude the series.
And there you have it. Five reasons why you should NOT read Robert Jordan's The Eye of the World. I still say it's one of my favorite books of all time, but then I was Jordan's target demographic (a seventeen-year-old boy) when I first read it. It's stuck with me all these years. The second book, The Great Hunt, is even better.
ADDENDUM
Apparently YouTube is continually spying on me, because the following video showed up in my YouTube feed AFTER I wrote the above post. The YouTuber discusses his own thoughts on the subject of Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time series, and even addresses most of the same criticisms. Kinda eerie.
"What a joke," one Redditor recently wrote, claiming that, while they currently only pay around $29 per month, the new rate will balloon their costs to nearly $750 a month.
He posted this with a screenshot of his estimated bill... From a visibly unactivated version of Windows.
Another user posted "WOW, didn't expect new pricing model to be this ridiculous," sharing a screenshot that appeared to show that their costs had shot up from around $50 to some $3,000.
Both of them posted to Reddit, and both got dunked on for being obviously incompetent vibe-coders.
I use Claude Code. My company pays for the 5X plan, and I rarely hit the 1X mark. The people who do hit the limit are either experimenting - fair enough - or trying to tell the AI to generate an entire application with a single prompt, which just doesn't work.
A new x86-based laptop chip, specifically Medusa Halo, the successor to the Ryzen AI Max 395+. Up to 24 CPU cores and a bigger GPU upgraded from RDNA 3.5 to RDNA 5. Which would be great if anybody could afford a new laptop.
Updated handheld gaming things, using the new Panther Lake chips with the B390 graphics core, which is actually faster than AMD's mainstream integrated graphics. Which would be great if anybody could afford a new handheld gaming thing.
It has a 1920x1200 8" 120Hz display, up to 32GB of RAM, and an M.2 2280 slot for storage, along with Intel's new Arc G3 which is a low-power edition of the Panther Lake laptop chip with Arc B390 graphics.
What they're doing here is taking an existing multi-colour 3D printer (ideally you want a 5-colour model) and then feeding it CMYKW filament spools and printing your model in halftone using a 0.1mm screen.
That's not very high resolution but it helps that it's 3D so you get some colour from the obscured layers as well as from adjacent dots.
Really have to wonder what it does to performance though. 3D printers are slow enough as it is.
You can use it with existing filament, not just the new CMYKW spools designed specifically for the purpose, but you'll need to recalibrate the colour model.
Musical Interlude
Disclaimer: Eight nations though and all bets are off.
Saturday Night Club ONT - May 30, 2026 [D Squared]
—Open Blogger
Welcome to Club ONT - a collaboration of The Disco and The Dino. We built this place for you so you can have some fun. Or you can just relax like the doggeh above. Come in in, grab a drink or 3. Keep it light and friendly. Jerks need not enter the premises.
A man was sitting on a plane when the passenger next to him pulled out a laptop and started working nonstop.
After two hours, the man finally asked, "Wow... do you always work during flights?" The passenger sighed, "No, I'm just pretending to look busy so nobody talks to me."
The man nodded slowly and said, "That's smart." Then he sat quietly for a full minute before asking, "So... what are you working on?"
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Four beer company CEOs walked into a bar…
The CEO of Budweiser ordered a Bud Light.
The CEO of Miller ordered a Miller Light.
The CEO of Coors ordered a Coors Light.
The CEO of Guinness ordered a Coke.
The first three asked the CEO of Guinness why he didn't order a Guinness, to which he replied: "I figured if you 3 weren't ordering beer it would be rude for me to."
Mabon "Teenie" Hodges may have been small in physical size but his legacy was massive; his 50-year career and body of work serving as one of the cornerstones of the Memphis sound.
Mr. Hodges died Sunday night at Baylor University Medical Center in Dallas, from complications of emphysema. He'd been taken to Baylor following an appearance at Austin's South by Southwest music festival in March after coming down with pneumonia. He was 68 years old.
During Hi Records' glory years starting in the late '60s, Mr. Hodges wrote or co-wrote many classics of the R&B genre, including a succession of hits with and for Al Green: "Here I Am," "Full of Fire," "Take Me to the River" and "Love and Happiness."
In more recent years, Mr. Hodges had been the subject of a documentary by filmmaker Susanna Vapnek. Starting in 2008, Vapnek spent several years shooting Hodges in and around his Memphis home base, interviewing family, friends and collaborators, capturing recording sessions and piecing together a narrative of his life.
One of the documentary's funniest moments comes as Hodges lists the names of all the artists who covered his "Take Me to the River" (the Talking Heads, Annie Lennox, Tina Turner), before noting that the use of the tune by the animatronic singing toy "Big Mouth Billy Bass" had produced the biggest royalties. "What a world, what a world," Mr. Hodges would note, laughing at the brilliant absurdity of the situation.
*****
Club ONT Department of "I thought this was America"
A Pennsylvania man faces felony fraud, theft, and deception charges after state police accused him of illegally disguising a NASCAR race truck as street legal. Yancy Cupp of Williamsport allegedly swapped a Vehicle Identification Number plate onto the truck that did not belong to it originally. He reportedly then used that VIN to title the purpose-built track vehicle for road use.
Pennsylvania State Police issued a press release, saying the truck was advertised as a street-legal 1999 Chevy S10 in an eBay listing. The for-sale ad claimed the conversion was performed by its former NASCAR owner, though said former owner explicitly denied the claim. "A physical examination of the vehicle by investigators confirmed it was not street legal," the police wrote.
Photos show the truck when it ran at the NASCAR Bristol dirt race in 2023. It looks almost identical now, except the headlights and taillights are functional units; the truck's previous iteration only had stickers to make it look like they were present. The Silverado-bodied truck even runs the same 406-cubic-inch V8 as it did back in its glory days.
The major issue here, in the Pennsylvania State Police's eye, is that Cupp may have fraudulently installed a VIN plate from an unrelated vehicle.
That's why law enforcement has thrown the book at him. Officially, he's being charged with dealing in proceeds of unlawful activities; alteration or destruction of a vehicle identification number; theft by deception; forgery; criminal use of a communication facility; deceptive business practices; false application for a certificate of title or registration; tampering with public records; and board of vehicle violations.
Isn't the usual way to handle these kinds of situations to scrawl "FARM USE" on the side and carry on?
*****
Club ONT Department of Coincidental Locations
*****
Club ONT Department of Long Ago
If Club ONT could be teleported back in the 70s, which Hordeling do you think is most likely to want this vehicle?
In 1973, AMC and Levi’s teamed up for the wildest factory option ever: an AMC Gremlin with real denim seats, copper rivets, and classic jean stitching.
I usually talk about movies in the past. Movies in the long past most of the time.
But, I do keep abreast of current day movie news, and there have been some upcoming films that have intrigued me in certain ways.
But before I get to these specific examples, I wonder if I should be excited about movies in the future, movies that are sometimes not even in production yet and literally no one has seen (rough cuts aren't the film), or about movies from decades past that have existed for years and actually have great reputations but I just haven't seen yet.
Of course, online discourse trends towards the unseen. We know a movie is coming for months, even years, but no one can slam the door shut on the film in any way. Casting news, spy shots of set, rumors of story beats...it's just an endless stream of possibilities to grab onto for endless articles and videos whereas if you go and watch an old movie, well, that's it. You've seen it. You know if you like it or not, if you agree with the long-held generalized opinion, and it's done. It's a lot less fun than picking apart clues to try and come to a conclusion about if something is going to be good or not.
It's a game, a play in the zeitgeist, an effort to be part of an on-going conversation. It's not really about the movies themselves, but about connecting with other people. That's fine, but my concern is always about the movies themselves. So, I tend to be more excited about old movies I haven't seen than new movies that literally no one has seen (again, rough cuts without finished sound, effects, or music are not the film, they are rough cuts).
However, that being said, there are some movies I've heard about that have piqued my interest.
Roger Avary has been in the movie business for decades, mostly as a writer. He cowrote Pulp Fiction with Quentin Tarantino, for which he won an Oscar. He's apparently had a dream of making a big-budget movie production of John Milton's epic poem Paradise Lost for a long time.
And he's recently signed an agreement with Ex Machina Studios studio to make it. The twist is that Ex Machina is an AI production house. They use AI tools to make videos. The studio frames themselves this way: that they endeavor to create “expansive worlds to be realized at a responsible budget while preserving the primacy of real actors, human-authored narratives, and guild-aligned production practices.”
Avary, who wrote Robert Zemeckis' film Beowulf says that he is “taking a more faithful approach at a fraction of the cost, using cutting-edge generative AI to bring Milton's vision to life in ways unimaginable just a few years ago.” Beowulf, for comparison's sake, had a reported budget of $150 million. A fraction of $150 million could mean nine-tenths, or it could mean one-tenth. It's not specified, but I imagine something along the lines of $30-50 million.
Why does this excite me?
Well, Avary may not be a premiere creative voice in American cinema (he wrote Silent Hill for pete's sake), but the ambition of the film interests me. The poem of Paradise Lost is large, includes a lot of weird sights, angelic and demonic battles, all told in that Middle English patois. It's...unusual for movies to take on something this big, this Biblical, and this strange on this scale. If Avary can find good uses of AI generated assets to bring down costs so that we can see more extremely ambitious projects that don't require the funding of a major Marvel movie to accomplish, then that's a potential beginning of a general trend that interests me.
Maybe even the movie will be good.
Elden Ring
Alex Garland is an interesting filmmaker. He started as a writer, mostly working with Danny Boyle on movies like 28 Days Later, he started as a director on the set of Dredd where, according to just about everyone on set, he took over directing duties for credited director Pete Travis. He then went off to make movies like Ex Machina, Annihilation, Civil War, and Warfare (which he codirected with Ray Mendoza, his military advisor on Civil War). Even Men, while it might not be successful overall, is interesting, especially when it comes to mood.
Elden Ring is a video game from the company From Software, written by George R.R. Martin, and part of a genre of games called Souls-like that have spare, implied stories, and are extremely difficult to play, focusing on very tough boss battles. I haven't played it, but I have played other From Software games (the first two Dark Souls games).
And A24, the art house horror studio is funding Alex Garland to make an adaptation of the game with the highest budget the studio has ever fronted at over $100 million.
The tone that Garland commands, the ever-increasing control of large budgets, and the fact that Garland is...interesting (he wrote the new 28 Years Later movies which, again, are interesting), even if not always successful makes the upcoming project just seem like it could be a unique tale. I think of the weird sense of unease through Annihilation, the body horror of Men, the moral quandaries of Ex Machina, and awesome action of Dredd, and the strong sense of story from the 28 movies, and I see a combination of factors that will just go well with the kind of worlds that From Software make.
Should be fun.
Citizen Vigilante
I went through a handful of Uwe Boll movies a few years ago, and I was done fairly quickly. He's a bad filmmaker with a terrible sense of humor who was using an exploit in German tax law to fund his films. Once that exploit got closed, he stopped making movies and became a restauranteur.
Armie Hammer is the son of an entertainment executive who became a decent-sized movie star through the 2010s, starring in films like The Social Network and The Man from U.N.C.L.E.. His career completely derailed in 2018 when recordings of him playing out some weird cannibal fetish leaked, women accused him of abuse, and he lost all ability to get work in Hollywood. Reportedly, he sold timeshares for a little while to make ends' meet.
Well, both have come back with what looks like an absolutely awful vigilante movie. Trailer below.
I'm looking forward to this because it looks like an absolute trainwreck. Dialogue is bad and poorly delivered. Everything's too brightly lit and flat. The action looks unengaging. Should be fascinating to witness.
But, then again, I could just watch some other Uwe Boll film I haven't seen before and get the same experience without having to wait for it. Irony can be pretty ironic sometimes.
Looking Ahead
I tried to find some movies ahead that I am both looking forward to in some what (yeah, Citizen Vigilante looks very bad), but that aren't actually being talked about much. Discussion of Elden Ring will go up next year closer to its release. Paradise Lost should go up once production actually starts.
In the near term, I have some hope for Disclosure Day because the early word is that it's good (early word is often wrong), and some leaking that it was some kind of secret sequel to Close Encounters of the Third Kind (probably not true). Still, Spielberg walking away from pseudo-serious stuff to do some more suspense and scif-fi is something to look forward to.
In the Hand of Dante, which was bought by Netflix off the festival circuit, looks like it could be interesting, though I've heard it's something of a mess.
Young Washington is a movie by Angel Studios about George Washington in the French and Indian War that I'm mostly hoping stole the monster idea from my book Colonial Nightmare. I imagine the movie isn't going to be very good, but we'll see.
The End of Oak Street is the third film by It Follows director David Robert Mitchell, and the story of a neighborhood suddenly transported to a place with dinosaurs, and it could be fun.
The Uprising is the latest movie from Paul Greengrass, this time about a peasant revolt in England in 1381. No trailer or anything so far, but Greengrass interests me. He's like a less iconoclastic Costa-Gavras.
Wildwood is the latest stop motion movie from LAIKA studios, and the trailer looks good. The biggest letdown from LAIKA was The Box Trolls, but otherwise they've captured a bit of magic in a world that's largely forgotten that stop-motion animation can be wonderful.
Oh, and Robert Eggers has a new movie at the end of the year, Werwulf, which is going to be all Middle English monster movie. I'm not the biggest Eggers fan. I kind of find him frustrating (technically polished and intelligent while kind of empty emotionally), but he's unique and talented. I hope it does well.
The Revenge of Frankenstein (Rating 3/4) Full Review "I don't think the film is great. The drama isn't spectacular. It's mostly functional, but the effort is there and I think it all does come together in the end fairly well." [Roku]
I Only Arsked! (Rating 0.5/4) Full Review "Really, this is just kind of dreary. There's no anchor, no core, and no laughs. " [YouTube]
Yesterday's Enemy (Rating 3.5/4) Full Review "I did not expect this little bit of WWII detour to be the real height of Hammer artistically, but that's what it's ending up being." [YouTube]
The Mummy (Rating 2.5/4) Full Review "Still, that final act is really fun, Fisher flexing some genre muscles to bring some quality entertainment at the right time." [Library]
Never Take Sweets from a Stranger (Rating 3/4) Full Review "So, I think the end saves the film, in a weird way. It shouldn't. It's kind of horrible. But it's the right kind of horrible the story needs." [YouTube]
Please check out my videos from the last few weeks:
Email any suggestions or questions to thejamesmadison.aos at symbol gmail dot com.
I've also archived all the old posts here, by request. I'll add new posts a week after they originally post at the HQ.
My next thread will be on 6/20.
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) decided on a music logistics theme for this Hobby Thread.
As per usual Hobby Thread etiquette, keep this thread limited to hobbying. All (legal) hobbying is welcome. We have a theme, but no need to stick with the theme. Even if the theme does not speak to you, find something else or offer something else relating to hobbying. Leave politics and religion to threads elsewhere (unless your hobby is building or restoring a church). Pants are optional. 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.
I am otherwise occupied with our own hobbying activity, so unlikely to be very visible and active in the comments tonight. Please don't make a mess of the place.
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Your dino host couldn't carry a tune, even if it was wrapped securely and carried in a basket with handles. Reading music is a jumbled mystery of sharps, flats, circles, and squiggles. Your dino host is also unfamiliar with rigging, lights, sound boards, and pyro (but willing to learn more about the pyro). Dino has hidden rhythm that sneaks out from time to time, but we don't mention that in polite company.
The mechanics of music are fascinating. What does it take to make music? How does it all come together? What is the "click track" that musicians talk about? How do different instruments work? How are instruments made? How do acoustics work?
Looking for a lot of help in the gray boxes for this one. Rather than trying to describe further, the content should give you a better sense of the theme.
If you're saying "I can't keep a beat, I don't play music, I've never helped a musician, I don't know anything about instruments, I don't understand the logistics of putting on a show, and I have no interest in learning," feel free to turn this into a general music thread and seek professional help.
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Please stand for opening ceremonies.
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This is gibberish to me but apparently makes sense to people with knowledge of such things.
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Tried to find a good video that explains what musicians hear in their earpieces when playing a concert. Much harder than I thought it would be. Ended up with drummers and click tracks. Short answer - many bands use a digital metronome that plays a "click" to a set a steady tempo. Only the drummer (or sometimes others in the band) hear the click. Playing along with the click keeps the tempo steady for everyone. It can also keep the band in time with backing tracks and stage effects. (Every wonder how the lighting and pyro is timed to the music? A click track and a laptop allows pre-programming.) It isn't for everyone. Some bands improvise and the variability is part of the charm of playing live (looking at you Foo Fighters).
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Rick Beato seems to think this Abbey Road studio is a big deal.
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In 1976, Boston released one of the most iconic debut singles in rock history, but Boston wasn’t really a band. As Music Mongoose breaks down in their viral video essay, "More Than A Feeling" was almost entirely the work of one man, MIT-educated engineer Tom Scholz, who spent five years building the track in his basement, played most of the instruments himself, and convinced Epic Records they were signing a full group. Brad Delp's soaring vocals completed the illusion, and the result became one of the fastest-selling debut albums in history. It's one of rock's great origin stories.
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How does the Blue Man Group make their instruments?
Playing glassware (rather than drinking from them as God intended):
Can you break a glass with sound? Learn more here.
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Gotta have lots of bells to play something like this:
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Making cymbals:
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Doesn't everyone love a violin rescue story?
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Making sound:
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8000 pipes!
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Behind the scenes at a European dance festival:
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The Absurd Logistics of Concert Tours
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Time lapse from setting up a Rammstein show in Dresden:
Rammstein tours are a major project. Even if you're not a Rammstein fan but you like seeing the logistics of how a big tour is organized, you might like this documentary. Among other things, I learned they simulate the acoustics in each stadium and adjust the speakers to optimize the sound and avoid unwanted echoes.
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Did you miss the Hobby Thread last week? We did a color 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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If you have trouble finding something in the content or comments that resonates with you, contribute your own. Send thoughts, suggestions and photos of your hobbying to moronhobbies at protonmail dot com. Do mighty things.
— NiedermeyersDeadHorse aka NDH (@NiedsG) May 17, 2026
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Pet Science - there is quite a bit of detail if you follow the thread:
The research behind this is wild. A cat has about 470 taste buds. You have 9,000. A dog has 1,700. So the cat in this video can barely taste that pancake, and that is the whole reason it sniffs the thing like it might be poison while the dog just bites straight in.
All of our PetMorons this week are actually PetMoron Adjascent Animals!
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PetMoron Adjacent Animals
Encountered by Members of The Horde
This bobcat not really a pet but we see him regularly on the game cam.
- fd
WOW
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My wife watered her tomatoes this week, and noticed a few leaves were missing. We figured maybe the groundhog that lives under the shed may have munched on them, and put a little caging up to keep it out.
A few trail cam checks later...the groundhog had 6 babies. First time that's happened, and she's lived here for 4-5 years. Good thing I didn't plant much in the garden this year...they've demolished weeds around the raised beds, and are kinda cute and fun to watch (but not as cool as the fox babies we had last year).
Intrepid Liaison/Admiral Ackbar
So long tomatoes, hello groundhogs!
Might as well enjoy watching them!
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Guess who's back at By-Tor's house?
Thank you for sharing your pets and animal photos and stories with us today.
If you would like to send pet and/or animal stories, links, etc. for the Ace of Spades Pet Thread, the address is:
petmorons at protonmail dot com
Remember to include the nic or name by which you wish to be known when you comment at AoSHQ, or let us know if you want to remain a lurker.
I don’t know what this wild bush is but my mom used to say the strands looked like little chandeliers. Thank you for gardening thread. NorCal Sierra Nevada Foothills Lurker
Name that plant!
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History of Photography
From Dr_N0
Hi, KT … Here's a bit of interesting material about autochromes from Public Domain Review that the Saturday Readers will likely not have heard of - but will still be interested to learn about. There's so much to know and share about flowers that just never sees the light of day that it's good to see a venue like PDR present it for inspection. I hope things are going well for you, and you're still producing a KILLAH column every week. Good on ya!
Harold A. Taylor's Autochromes of California Flowers
(early 20th century)
Today, the Coronado Flower Show, hosted each spring in the small San Diego Bay resort town for which it is named, is the largest tented flower show in the United States. But when it began in 1922, the display was little more than a few shaded tables of wildflower arrangements; the pet project of the photographer Harold A. Taylor (1878–1960), who had arrived in California from England in 1896, at the age of eighteen.
A true working photographer, Taylor documented Yosemite National Park (developing in an onsite darkroom), historical Spanish missions up and down the Pacific coast, and took some of the earliest aerial photographs (many destroyed by a studio leak). As the Hotel del Coronado’s resident photographer, he captured visiting dignitaries; more informally, he immortalized sports teams for the local high school yearbook. His images illustrate volumes of poetry, a 1920 historical romance, and the 1916 “pictorial survey” of the San Diego Exposition. “No man has done more to exploit the attractions of southern California or to spread a more general knowledge of the beauty of its scenery”, wrote San Diego chronicler Samuel T. Black in 1913.
I hope you’ve had a wonderful day, another scorcher here ☀️ I have to say I was rather pleased with this bouquet 🙄😂 Clocking off early today. Enjoy your evening. Cheers 🥂 pic.twitter.com/cLYes7X1Rh
My cousin saved an amaryllis bulb from her grandmother’s funeral a decade ago. The blooms this year were spectacular. Wish this pic did them justice. Her granny would be so pleased.
A lovely flower. Amazing that it has persisted for a decade!
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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.
Funny -- if you don't mind clicking on TikTok. "Amy.Pranks.22" set up an AI scam-call screener which replies to a foreign scammer trying to get her bank information with Trumpian bluster. This might be fake because I don't see how a program can respond in real time, but it's funny.
The ULA rocket just launched Thanks to Joyenz The rocket's enormous engines are fueled by "the volcanic heterosexual lust between James Talarico and his Neighbor With a Uterus 'girlfriend'" I hope Amazon's rocket works better than the Amazon Prime app does as far as allowing people to watch the black and white version of "Spider-Noir"
From the CA Post:
Spencer Pratt is now Karen Bass' biggest headache.
A bombshell California Post poll conducted with McLaughlin & Associates shows the reality TV star-turned-mayoral candidate has surged to a statistical tie with the incumbent mayor.
And voters blame homelessness, affordability and the direction of Los Angeles as the reason for turning on Bass.
Pratt now leads the field with 30.1% support, compared with 29.5% for Bass, setting up a razor-thin race heading into next week's primary.
Socialist councilwoman Nithya Raman sits in third place at 23.4%.
Thanks to beckster
Just like "Spartacus" Corey Booker, now that James Talarico is running for a higher office, he unveils his previously-unknown "girlfriend" and hooboy, it just so happens she used to work for him, and, get this, likes to "dance the night away" at gay bars Gee I wonder where they might have met Oh and she's a vegan
When Corey Booker needed a "girlfriend," he conjured up known LGBTQ activist Rosario Dawson. How convenient that when these guys need a girlfriend to show off to the normies that just happen to find an activist with a strong history of and interest in Supporting Gay Men But seriously, this James Talarico romance with a Neighbor with a Uterus is a love story for the ages. The passion of their lovemaking is hotter than a blue star with a core of Primordial Sex Atoms created in the Big Bang
Radicalized white men are the greatest domestic terrorist threat in our country.
He's referring to three mass attacks committed by white men in, oh, the past six or eight years. There were a huge number of mass shootings and bombings he had to skip over to cherry pick three committed by white men. Which kind of makes me think that "white men" are not the greatest terrorist threat in our country.
No, I doubt he'll be a guest on Tucker Carlson. The only thing that Tucker clings to that he claims makes him "conservative" is a palpable hatred of gays. Any time there's a communist enslaving their population and executing dissenters and conservatives, Tucker praises that dictator by saying "at least he represses the homos!"
Podcast: CBD and J.J. Sefton discuss the newest iteration of the Iranian negotiations, with the hope that the President will stick to his guns and get rid of the nuclear material, Minneapolis mayor Frey is scum, and an idiot, Artificial Intelligence, and more!
Polls close in Texas at 7pm local (8pm for the East Coast). Vote the RINO out.
Those of you who are longtime Not Watchers of Stephen Colbert will not enjoy this flashback of Colbert dancing with Chuck Schumer while wearing ostentatious covid masks
Rush Limbaugh was an innovator in so many ways, including being among the first to not watch Stephen Colbert
DNI Tulsi Gabbard tenders her resignation for June 30, says her husband has been diagnosed with a rare bone cancer and she will have to help him through this
Podcast: CBD and Jim Lakely of The Heartland Institute chat about Heartland's two recent discussions: The affordability crisis in America, and The UN retreating from their most maniacal climate projections. Along the way we talk Democrat insanity and the changing electoral map...and more!
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