Daily Tech News 9 May 2025

—Pixy Misa

• Who is winning the war between search engines and AI chat bots? Search engines, and it's not even close. (WCCFTech)
  
  In fact, if you add up all the search engines and all the AI services, 90% of the activity is Google search and everything else is just noise.
  
  
  
• Meanwhile Alibaba has release new AI code that allows AI to act as a search engine without needing a search engine. (VentureBeat)
  
  Called ZeroSearch, a 7-billion parameter version outperformed Google Search in undefined and indefensibly stupid scenarios. It's the equivalent of claiming that you managed to condense the Encyclopaedia Britannica down to a bowl of alphabet soup. I don't know what you actually did, but I know you're not worth talking to until you grow up.

ONT Leo XIV

—WeirdDave

Welcome to Thursday night! How about we open with some feel-good content?

A Smart Military Blog

Army secretary says US tanks will have to hang back to avoid getting killed by cheap drones

The heavy losses have led to assessments that tanks may be obsolete in wars dominated by drones. However, Driscoll recently told BI that the role of US tanks will change rather than disappear. Instead of combined-arms assaults led by armor, where tanks are the first to hit the front lines and lead breaching operations, uncrewed systems may spearhead the charge instead.

Driscoll said that tanks will stay in safe, defended positions until there is a clear path that allows them to move forward. This is a break from the traditional role of tanks, but it is seen by military planners as necessary in a world where armored vehicles worth millions can be easily picked off by drones worth as little as a few hundred bucks.

Using cheap drones to destroy expensive armored vehicles has proven to be an effective asymmetrical warfare tactic. US forces have enjoyed air superiority in recent conflicts, not needing to be constantly looking up for enemy airpower. That's changing with drones.

It seems to me, armchair general that I am, that we may be at an inflection point in warfare, much as WWI was an inflection point. Drones change everything. Or do they? I think we may be close to being able to deploy mobile, Iron Dome type defensive vehicles, armed with lasers, that completely nullify or severely mitigate, the drone threat. What do y'all think?

Useless

What Is The Point Of Having A GOP Congress?

But now that they’ve been given the reins of power, many congressional Republicans have shown little interest in actually governing in accordance with the pitch they made to voters just a few short months ago.

On Wednesday, reporting surfaced that a cabal of House Republicans is fighting efforts to end the flow of federal taxpayer funds to Planned Parenthood, the nation’s largest abortion provider, which also offers harmful chemical and surgical castration procedures. According to NOTUS, this group of lawmakers — which reportedly included Republican Reps. Mike Lawler, Brian Fitzpatrick, and Jen Kiggans — “made it clear to House GOP leadership that they oppose adding a measure to cut federal funding to Planned Parenthood” to the House’s reconciliation package.

So, if slashing the taxpayer subsidization of entities that terminate unborn babies isn’t on the budget chopping block for Republicans, then what is?

It’s apparently not fully repealing Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act or making significant reforms and reductions to Medicaid. Congressional GOPers have come out opposing both options over the course of the party’s reconciliation negotiations.

We've made progress, but it's plain that we need a long march through our own institutions to rid our ranks of GOPe scum. I just don't know if we have time.

Interlude: Tool Time!

pic.twitter.com/GxENFuCWAx

— ONT WTF (@OntWtf) May 9, 2025

First An American Pope, Now This

American tourist becomes the first man in over 1,500 years to be impaled at the Colosseum

But at 5 p.m. on Friday, when the 47-year-old tourist (who has American citizenship but is a "resident of Taiwan") climbed the fence at the Piazza del Colosseo, impaled himself, screamed until he passed out, and nearly bled to death, the crowds had a different reaction: Visitors looked on in horror, according to Italian news outlets. ‘It was terrible,' commented one tourist, an eyewitness of the tragedy. ‘I saw that man skewered on a railing, and he couldn't free himself on his own.'

Speaking of the pope, since he is now an elected official from Chicago, does that mean that it's inevitable that he'll be arrested on federal corruption charges? We'll see how he does, but I'm not a big fan. He's one of the guys that was behind removing the wonderful Bishop Strickland from his post for publicly stating that the church should, I dunno, maybe follow the teachings of Christ.

Liberal Women: A Theory

Why so many woman get manipulated into being liberals

George Orwell once wrote women are always and inevitably on the side of the state. He wasn't being misogynistic, he was making a psychological observation. In his view, women, particularly in their role as caregivers and moral enforcers, tend to prioritize safety and compassion over risk and freedom, and that instinct, while natural, is easily weaponized by totalitarian systems. When conformity is marketed as compassion, control is rebranded as care, the state taps into the feminine psyche to enforce ideological obedience.

More at the link, what do you think?

I Like Trains

Sir Rod Stewart reveals his epic model railway city

He told Railway Modeller he worked on the skyscrapers and other scenery while on tour, requesting an extra room for his constructions in his hotels.

"We would tell them in advance and they were really accommodating, taking out the beds and providing fans to improve air circulation and ventilation," he said.

The scenery and structures are his forte, rather than the locomotives and tracks. "I find beauty in what everyone else sees as ugly - rugged skyscrapers, beaten-up warehouses, things that are very run down."

Photos of the layout show dozens of highly detailed buildings plus bridges, ships, vegetation and streets teeming with vintage cars and taxis.

"When I take on something creative like this, I have to give it 110%," he said. "For me it's addictive. I started, so I just had to finish. I'm lucky I had the room. If I'd have realised at the start it would have taken so long, I'd have probably said, 'No! No! Nah!'"

Pictures at the link, it's pretty epic.

Road Rage

This road-rage incident is seriously one of the worst things I've ever seen (don't worry, he survived)

Video at link. I make it a point not to antagonize other drivers when I'm on four wheels, much less when I'm on two.

Tonight's ONT has been brought to you by scenic San'aa:

Background, if you don't get the reference.

Close it up

Water Hazard Cafe

—Ace

Steve Woods Photography

Freeing a whale tangled in a fishing net.

Dog action photography.

News you can use: Distinguishing a seal from a sea lion.

Osprey struggles to reel in a big fish.

Bringing your best friend to the beach.

Dog gives a boost to his disabled owner.

Just a couple of animal buddies out on an adventure.

Tilt-shift photography of cars turns them Matchbox-sized.

Quick Hits

—Ace

It's official: The FBI is investigating Letitia James for repeatedly falsifying her financial and real estate records on her mortgage applications.

I hope they hit her with 35 counts of fraud, one for every single signature.

The FBI has opened a formal criminal probe into New York Attorney General Letitia James for alleged mortgage fraud after a request to investigate James was sent to the Department of Justice last month by Federal Housing Finance Agency Director William Pulte.

According to a report from the New York Post citing a source familiar with the matter, the investigation into James is being led by US Attorney John Sarcone III, who has been an ally of President Donald Trump.

James allegedly "falsified records" that enabled her to get more favorable loans on a home in Virginia that she purchased in 2023, according to the letter to the DOJ from Pulte.

The referral from Pulte stated, "Based on media reports, Ms. Letitia James has, in multiple instances, falsified bank documents and property records to acquire government backed assistance and loans and more favorable loan terms. This has potentially included 1) falsifying residence status for a Norfolk, Virginia-based home in order to secure a lower mortgage rate and 2) misrepresenting property descriptions to meet stringent requirements for government backed loans and government assistance."

It is delicious that these crimes are almost exactly the same ones she falsely accused Trump of.

Hamas' "University" Columbia actually bothered to arrest the radical terrorists shutting down the school and preventing real students from using it.

Columbia did a better job handling the pro-Hamas activists on campus yesterday than it has previously. In the evening nearly 80 students who had refused to identify themselves were arrested.

...

Hopefully, at some point during booking, the headscarves were removed and mugshots were taken of all of them.

But arrests of leftwing criminals mean nothing in Alvin Bragg's Manhattan. The last time police arrested violent Hamas terrorist kidnappers -- they kidnapped janitors in a Columbia building -- Alvin Bragg dropped charges for 31 of 46 offenders, claiming it would be too difficult to prosecute them.

But there is a Back-Up Plan, if the local Soros prosecutor protects terrorists:

Secretary Marco Rubio @SecRubio

We are reviewing the visa status of the trespassers and vandals who took over Columbia University's library.

Pro-Hamas thugs are no longer welcome in our great nation.

Trump strikes a trade deal with the UK, opening it -- supposedly -- to imports of US beef.

We'll see if they really do open their markets or if this is another stab-in-the-back from our European "allies." Really our ungrateful bratty dependent Goth teenagers.

The announcement allows the sale of U.S. beef into the U.K. for the first time in decades and ensures an increase in the purchase of Boeing commercial jetliners.

Flanked by Vice President J.D. Vance and on a conference call with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, President Donald Trump announced an agreement "worth billions of dollars" with the U.K. that reconfigures tariff prices on goods, expands the market for American farmers and ranchers, and added a phalanx of Boeing jetliners to that nation's commercial fleet.

The Trump White House called it "a breakthrough" and "a good deal."

The "unprecedented" deal not only includes U.S. tariffs but also a reduction in tariffs by the U.K. The deal introduces a reset of the baseline framework for trade, which will create a $5 billion in exports opportunities for American farmers, ranchers, and other producers can sell into the U.K. That includes beef.

Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said that the beef deal with "exponentially" increase the amount of beef that ranchers sell.

Guess who's funding the "grassroots uprising"?

Dozens of lefty groups behind the country's supposedly "grassroots" May Day protests have been largely bankrolled by two billionaires and a dark-money network of progressive nonprofits.

More than $500 million from Swiss billionaire Hansjorg Wyss' organizations, hedge-fund tycoon George Soros' Open Society Foundations and the dark-money Arabella network flowed to the progressive groups between fiscal years 2016 and 2023, according to an analysis shared with The Post.

The funding wasn't intended for the May Day protests per se, but it has been propping up many of the self-styled "grassroots" progressive activist groups over time.

"The hypocrisy of the May Day protests is glaring," said Caitlin Sutherland, executive director of Americans for Public Trust, to The Post.

"These organizations project the illusion of being driven by everyday Americans, but in reality, they're being bankrolled by some of the biggest dark-money megadonors in politics."

Starting Thursday, on May Day, organizers put together more than 1,000 protests across the country to demonstrate against President Trump, activity that spilled into the weekend.

...

The "50501" movement -- or "50 protests, 50 states, 1" effort, an anti-Trump organization that formed in January -- is widely credited for trying to move that international energy into the US by orchestrating the widespread stateside protests last week.

...

About three dozen of the participating groups have raked in about $293.6 million from Wyss' groups, $47 million from the Arabella network and $194.2 million from Soros' Open Society Foundations, according to an assessment reviewed and checked by The Post.

Some of the most prominent left-wing activist groups in the anti-Trump demonstrations last week were the Sunrise Movement, Indivisible and Planned Parenthood.

...

Because of his Swiss citizenship, Wyss, 89, is precluded from donating to US political candidates. But he has emerged as a top backer of lefty causes in America nonetheless, by pumping cash into dark-money groups.

DRUMPF!!! is pushing that dangerous racist school choice policy. The policy that is good for students and parents, but which is objected to by the teachers unions because it would force them to allow their worst-performing teachers to be fired.

Corey A. DeAngelis, school choice evangelist @DeAngelisCorey

BREAKING: The Department of Education just released guidance on school choice options for kids stuck in "persistently dangerous" public schools.

States must establish a list of "persistently dangerous" schools.

Districts MUST provide a school choice option for these kids

The Elementary and Secondary Education Act requires states to provide school choice options for kids:

* In "persistently dangerous" schools

* Victims of violent criminal offenses at school

After Democrat Senators Tillis, Cassidy, Collins, Murkowski, McConnell, and Linsdsey Graham Balk, Trump Withdraws Ed Martin from Consideration for US Attorney from DC

—Ace

Isn't it great having a "Big Tent Party" where all the political positions are filled by Democrats who despise the base and whose greatest mission is to thwart us, contain us, and control us?

Katie Pavlich @KatiePavlich

NEWS: Trump seemingly says he's pulling the nomination of Ed Martin for DC U.S. Attorney, but will find a place for him at DOJ. Trump says he's disappointed Martin didn't get enough Senate support, but that he has a good back up who will be named in the coming days."

Asked About His Steep Cognitive Decline on Propaganda Yenta Show The View, Biden Babbles Incoherently and Needs His Wifenurse to Step In

—Ace

"Joe worked hard every single day," non-doctor Jill Biden said.

After the debate, you'll remember, she praised Biden as if he were a retarded child saying "You answered all the questions."

Video below.

I know you'll have trouble believing this, but The View offered easy questions, lobbing them underhand like fluffy marshmallows.

After proving themselves to be his greatest sycophants with their gushfest of an interview last September, former President Biden reciprocated by giving the liberal ladies of ABC's The View his first post-presidency interview. Of course, as Democratic propagandists, they swaddled him in love and softball questions, largely teeing up questions about controversies in easy-to-knock-down ways, and helping him rehabilitate his image.

Moderator Whoopi Goldberg opened up questions with a fast ball about how he was doing, which Biden used to hawk the book he was supposedly writing himself. Pretend independent Sara Haines followed up by ignoring the fact that Biden didn't drop out willingly but was forced out by Democratic Party insiders and donors, and commended him on his "selfless and very difficult decision" to drop out.

When asked why Vice President Kamala Harris lost despite Democratic optimism, Biden seeming suggested that America was sexist:

HAINES: Democrats were feeling optimistic about the vice president's chances of winning the presidency, but then election night came, and it was like 2016 all over again. So, why do you think the vice president lost and were you surprised?

BIDEN: I wasn't surprised, not because I didn't think the vice president was the most qualified person to be president. She is. She's qualified to be president of the United States of America but I was surprised -- I was surprised because they went the route of the sexist route the whole route.

As Biden's biggest fan on the set, Joy Behar had the gooiest things to say about him. Completely ignoring how both President Obama and Biden blamed their Republican predecessors for their own failings until they left office, Behar whined that Trump was blaming Biden after the first 100 days.

"As of late April, he had mentioned you and your family and your administration at least 580 times. That's -- we're talking shrink land now," Behar declared, suggesting there was something wrong with Trump's brain (something she refused to entertain with Biden). Of course, it was an easy softball for Biden:

BEHAR: Why is he so fixated on you and blaming you for everything?

BIDEN: I beat him.

In a follow up question sometime later, Behar admitted that Biden's handlers had requested she ask him a specific question about his use of an autopen to sign his family's pardons and admitted that she promised to do it:

BEHAR: I promised I would ask this question, because --

[Whoopi Goldberg gestures to the producers]

They want me to ask it. Not only is he obsessed with you and blaming you for everything, he's also obsessed with the fact that you used an autopen to sign the pardons, you issued right before you left office for members of your immediate family. Now, he's calling for investigations and claiming the pardons are void and vacant!

BIDEN: Oh, he's vacant.

Previously, The View cast cheered Biden's pardon for his son Hunter. They praised how Biden gave his son a "great gift, the gift of freedom."

As one of the fake conservatives on set, Alyssa Farah Griffin's question regarding the books detailing Biden's cognitive decline never drilled down on any of the specific examples. She simply asked: "What is your response to these allegations and are these sources wrong?"

"They are wrong. There's nothing to sustain that," Biden answered.

...

At the very end of the show, Goldberg wanted viewers to know "you're not in this alone, we're all in it together" against Trump. "We got them!" Behar proclaimed as she jumped up to hug Biden.

More at the link.

Byron York:

There is an inside story of Biden's decline and an outside story of Biden's decline. The inside story is the effort by the White House staff, plus its Democratic allies, plus its supporters in the press, to conceal Biden's problem. The outside story is the many public appearances -- moments of Biden appearing confused, lost or frozen -- during which millions of Americans could see for themselves that the president had a serious problem.

Another way to put it would be to say that the inside story was the effort to deny that the outside story existed.

That was the strangest thing about the whole situation. Biden's decline happened in public. People knew about it. Opinion polls revealed that large numbers of Americans believed Biden was not up to the job of president, or at least not up to a second term in the White House. If it was a secret, it was the world's best-known secret.

And yet those in the White House denied that there was a problem, and their allies outside the White House echoed those denials. And they went beyond simple denial. They also attacked those who said Biden had a problem. Remember "cheapfakes"? That was what Biden's defenders in the Democratic Party and the media called the clear video evidence of Biden's problem.

When Biden drifted away from a group of leaders at the Normandy anniversary in France; when he appeared lost and had to be guided by former President Barack Obama at a Hollywood fundraiser; and when he froze at a Juneteenth event at the White House, the administration accused Republicans of manipulating videos of each moment. And many in the press went along with it, as if the GOP were the problem and not the White House effort to fool the public.

One example. On June 17, 2024, a reporter asked then-White House spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre, "There seems to be a sort of rash of videos that have been edited to make the president appear especially frail or mentally confused. I'm wondering if the White House is especially worried about the fact that this appears to be a pattern that we're seeing more often?"

"Yeah," said Jean-Pierre. "And I think you all have called this the 'cheapfakes' video. And that's exactly what they are. They are cheapfakes video. They are done in bad faith. And some of your news organizations have been very clear, have stressed that the right-wing critics of the president have a credibility problem because the fact-checkers have repeatedly caught them pushing misinformation, disinformation."

In just a few words, Jean-Pierre managed to give a pat on the head to those news organizations that displayed little curiosity about Biden's condition but real energy in denouncing those who did.

And then, just 10 days after that exchange, Biden met Trump for the debate in Atlanta. It was no longer possible to hide the extent of Biden's senility. The inside story failed to suppress the outside story, and Biden was doomed as a candidate.

Bernie Sanders on Using Expensive Private Jets -- Paid for by Billionaire Pals -- While "Fighting the Oligarchy:" "You Want Me to Wait in Line at United With 30,000 People?"

—Ace

"No apologies," the Noted Oligarchy Fighter, and Crusader Against Carbon-Dioxide Producing Air Travel, snapped.

When Sanders asked, rhetorically, "When's the last time you saw Donald Trump at National Airport," Bret Baiet replied, "He's not 'fighting the oligarchy.'"

"You think I'm going to be sitting on a waiting line," Caesar Flickerman -- excuse me, Bernie Sanders -- asks, "at United, while 30,000 people are waiting?" Sanders appeared on Fox News to answer questions about his Fight The Oligarchy tour, and Bret Baier honed in on the $220K-plus that Sanders has spent on private jet travel. Advertisement

Sanders appeared to flounder, even though he knew the question had to be coming. "When was the last time you saw Trump at National Airport during a campaign?" Sanders asked, prompting Baier to quip, "Trump isn't fighting the oligarchy." Trump also owns his own plane, bought with his own funds, although his campaigns pay for the operating costs, of course.

Here's the absurd argument in its entirety, coming from someone who never worked an honest day in his life before going into radical-left activism and politics. For an old socialist, Sanders really gets defensive when questioned about his luxurious lifestyle.

Mark Halperin: A Source "Very Familiar With the Bidens" Tells Me That Biden, Inc. Is Going Broke as the Graft Spigots Have All Been Turned Off

—Ace

I'm reposting this because the Vatican went OT and pope-stomped me.

From David Strom.

This is wonderful.

As the "now it can be told" books are coming out, the Biden grifters have a serious problem. They can't follow the Clinton model of post-presidency--Clinton was still a young man, and Hillary looked to have a bright future in politics. A US Senator, Secretary of State, and a real shot at the presidency.

The Bidens? They only have Slow Joe, and he is on his last legs.

Beau Biden was Biden, Inc.'s only hope of a successor, and as you all know, he was famously killed in combat with a Burn Pit in Iraq.

Their business is selling influence and they no longer have any influence. Even among Democrats, they're despised. The Democrats gave them graft money because they were politically useful. Now they're the opposite of that.

Downside: the much-dreaded Hunter Biden Gay Porn Career is now 80% likely.

A source "very familiar with the Bidens" tells @MarkHalperin that "Biden Inc.," the family business that generated millions of dollars in revenue to support their lifestyle, has dried up. "The trough is empty, the spigot is turned off," says Mark. "Biden Inc. needs a source of revenue." Joe's earning power is not sufficient, and "Hunter does not have great earning capacity." Joe and Jill Biden's appearance on "The View" today comes amid these challenges. #JoeBiden #HunterBiden

American Pope Elected, Robert F. Prevost; He's Addressing the Crowd

—Ace

They counted votes far faster than Arizona.

"Habemus Papam!"

White smoke began pouring from the Sistine Chapel chimney on Thursday, signaling the College of Cardinals has chosen a successor to Pope Francis.

And now the world waits to learn who he is.

Riotous applause and cheers erupted from the faithful crowd of thousands gathered at St. Peter's Square in Vatican City, where eyes had been glued to the simple chimney since the secretive conclave process began just over a day ago.

White smoke finally appeared just after 6 p.m. local time on the cardinals' fourth vote -- following one vote Wednesday and two earlier Thursday that ended in failure and black smoke.

All eyes have now turned to the balcony of St. Peter's Basilica overlooking the square, where the new pope will soon emerge to the proclamation "Habemus Papam!" -- Latin for "We have a pope!"

When he arrives, the new pontiff will be dressed in traditional white papal vestments in the Room of Tears -- a small space next to the Sistine Chapel that supposedly got its name from the emotion felt by the new pope in those moments.

Whoever was chosen met the two-third majority required to be named -- meaning at least 89 votes from the 133 cardinals who joined the conclave voted in their favor.

Some background on Prevost:

t is typically absurd to think of an American as pope. But in this conclave, a Chicago-born Augustinian friar who has spent much of his life outside of the United States is worthy of serious consideration.

Cardinal Robert Prevost, 69, heads the influential Vatican Dicastery for Bishops, the office tasked with advising the pope on bishop appointments around the world.

While cardinals have been gathering after the death of Pope Francis, Prevost's star appears to be rising as Cardinal Pietro Parolin's candidacy seems in trouble. Prevost could become the candidate for those seeking a curial insider who is not Parolin, after the Vatican secretary of state's lackluster homily on Sunday raised concerns about a charisma gap.

Some cardinals already had their eye on Prevost because of his global experience. Though he may be American by birth, he has spent only a third of his life in the United States, instead spending much of the rest of it in Europe and Latin America.

He's only been in charge for two years, taking over from Canadian Cardinal Marc Ouellet, who held the post for 15 years and helped leave a conservative imprint on the Catholic hierarchy.

"We are often worried about teaching doctrine, but we risk forgetting that our first duty is to communicate the beauty and joy of knowing Jesus," Prevost, in one of his few interviews, told Vatican News, the news portal of the Holy See.

Below, the live feed from the Vatican.

The Indian Army Announces the Death of the Pakistani Terrrorist Who Beheaded American Journalist Daniel Pearl

—Ace

A terrorist is dead. It's a good day.

I sure hope the Indians gave him Due Process.

The Indian government announced on Thursday that its military had killed the Islamic terrorist who beheaded Jewish-American journalist Daniel Pearl.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), India's governing party, said that the Indian army killed Pakistani terrorist Abdul Rauf Azhar in "Operation Sindhoor."

A group of Islamist terrorists, including Azhar, kidnapped and murdered Pearl in 2002. The terrorist was affiliated with al-Qaeda and Jaish-e-Mohammed, an Islamist terror group that aims to separate Kashmir from India and fully incorporate it into Pakistan.

Pearl was working as the South Asia bureau chief of The Wall Street Journal and was originally stationed in New Delhi. He moved to Karachi, Pakistan, to investigate terror after the September 11, 2001, attacks in New York City.

On January 23, 2002, Pearl was abducted by Islamist terrorists at a hotel in Karachi. His abductors, who called themselves the National Movement for the Restoration of Pakistani Sovereignty, accused him of being an Israeli spy and sent the US a list of demands if they wanted Pearl freed.

The US government failed to meet the demands. In a video, Pearl stated he was Jewish and had visited Israel multiple times, moments before he was executed.

...

In the BJP announcement, the party said that Azhar was involved in a number of terror activities, including the 1999 hijacking of an Indian Airlines flight, the 2016 Pathankot Air Force base attack, and a 2001 terror attack on the Indian parliament.

The Jerusalem Post previously reported that the operation is targeting two main terror groups in Pakistan. Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammad, of which Azhar was a member.

Will there be fulminations from the Code Pink Right that the US must stop supporting India because it risks World War III? Or will they be quiet because this doesn't involve Israel?

The Morning Rant: Minimalist Edition

—CBD

A long time ago, we fought a war against the British Empire, in part because the people of the American colonies were increasingly offended by the idea of royalty, and the unearned privileges that emanate from that concept. We even specified in our overarching legal document that nobility was not to be tolerated!

From Article 1, Section 9 of the United States Constitution:

No Title of Nobility shall be granted by the United States: And no Person holding any Office of Profit or Trust under them, shall, without the Consent of the Congress, accept of any present, Emolument, Office, or Title, of any kind whatever, from any King, Prince, or foreign State.

So how have we devolved from that laudable attitude to this pathetic display of unearned privilege?

Jasmine Crockett accused of 'abusing her power' at airport boarding gate

🚨🚨🚨 SPOTTED: Jasmine Crockett with a taxpayer-funded police escort, cutting everyone in line — even making DISABLED people wait.

Nothing to see here, just the next leader of the Democrats, abusing her power! pic.twitter.com/ulcJBXY1jo

— Lisa McClain (@LisaForCongress) May 4, 2025

Congress has morphed from a body of citizens representing their neighbors, to a group of entitled elitists whose seats seem more like sinecures than vital parts of a constitutional republic. Jasmine Crockett, an execrable example of the Peter Principle may not even be the worst of our congressmen! There are innumerable news stories of haughty congressmen behaving more like 18th century French or Russian noblemen than members of the body politic in a freedom-loving republic.

Their perks are countless, and paid for by you and me. A fat base salary, obscene budgets for staff and travel, essentially no restrictions on insider trading that would get normies sent to prison, preferential treatment by corporations, a damned state-of-the-art gym (for free), free parking, and on and on. But that isn't enough for these entitled c*nts. They want us to bend the knee, and demand special treatment to separate themselves from the mere citizens they "represent."

I know that I am shoveling sh*t against the tide when I complain about them, but it is important to remember that they work for us, that the position is what is important, and not the person who temporarily holds that position.

In a perfect world, no public building would be named for politicians. No politician would be entitled to any accommodation that a typical American citizen cannot get. In fact, they should be held to a higher standard, because they supposedly defend us from the exact sort of government that recognizes unearned privilege!

I was standing around in an airport a few days ago, waiting to board a plane. The man in front of me had prosthetic arms (both of them!) and a prosthetic leg. He fumbled around for his passport for a bit (hooks and pockets don't work well together), but managed to navigate the process without help from airport police, the airline, or anyone else.

If he can do it alone, then some able-bodied half-wit who fancies herself the Queen of Dallas can also be held to the same standard.

[Crossposted at CutJibNewsletter and X/Twitter] And the Apple and Spotify feeds for CJN's podcast should be working!

Mid-Morning Art Thread

—CBD

The Labyrinth
Robert Vickrey

The Morning Report — 5/ 8 /25

—J.J. Sefton

Good morning kids. Today marks the 80th anniversary of VE Day. That's Victory in Europe Day, as all of us old enough surely know as well as those who escaped the leftist lobotomization of American academia the last couple of decades. It marks the final defeat of Nazi Germany and the liberation of Europe. Considering the state of European society these days, with the malign influence of globalism, communism/socialism and a resurgent Islam, the continent may yet, as Churchill warned on the eve of the Battle of Britain descend into a new dark age. Meanwhile, events on the Indian subcontinent as well as in the middle East have the potential to spark a long-feared third world war that, 80 years ago our victory and subsequent ascendancy in geopolitics was hoped would avert.

Were it not for the wonderful GIs, especially of the 11th armored division who liberated my mother and family, I quite likely would not be here today. So God bless you all.

Moving along, it's a pretty mixed bag of news this morning, with some bright spots here and there. Well, the college of Cardinals did not elect a successor to Pope Fiction Francis. It would be a relief if the next Pope would not be a Peronist Jesuit and Islam-appeaser and once again be a real defender of the faith and with it a defender of Western values and civilization. Perhaps the cardinal from Nigeria or one of the other Africans whose flocks are being decimated by the aforementioned resurgent Islam running wild throughout Africa.

The conclave to select a successor to Pope Francis began earlier in the day, with 135 cardinal-electors from around the world now sequestered inside Vatican City. The cardinals are expected to hold up to four votes per day until a new pope is chosen. The cardinals will vote again on Thursday morning at 9:30 am local time.

The electors are residing at Casa Santa Marta and will continue moving between their lodgings and the Sistine Chapel for the duration of the conclave. The group is composed of 53 cardinals from Europe, 23 from Asia, 18 from Africa, 17 from South America, 16 from North America, and four each from Central America and Oceania.

And despite DEI and whatever other corrosive insanity our military has had to endure especially since the ObamaBiden era, we still managed this.

Five top aides of Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado escaped the country after the US helped them foil a siege of the Argentine Embassy in Caracas where they had been holed up for 15 months.

The group is now on US soil after a “precise operation” to free them, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Tuesday evening in a post on X, without elaborating.

Machado, who has spearheaded the strongest movement to end Nicolás Maduro’s 12-year rule, praised the “impeccable and epic operation for the freedom of five heroes of Venezuela.”

Maduro’s government had placed permanent check points surrounding the embassy, while his security forces took control of a private house neighboring the residence. The timing of the operation is still unclear, but it was announced when Maduro and other senior officials were in Russia to attend a parade to mark the 80th anniversary of the victory over Nazi Germany by the Soviet Union and its allies.

That definition of VE day is by Bloomberg News. Umm, the Soviets were one of the allies, but the effort in the main was spearheaded by the US and Britain. And lest we forget, Hitler would not have started the war had Russia not signed the Molotov Ribbentrop Pact that carved up Poland in September of '39.

Certainly, Russia had the most total casualties of the war of all combatants, but to phrase it the way Bloomberg did is yet another example of the rewriting and bastardization of history.

But I digress. Elsewhere, while Pam Bondi's DOJ is going after drug smugglers and child traffickers, the Deep State is still working behind the scenes to sabotage President Trump.

U.S. intelligence chiefs ordered agencies to tighten surveillance on Greenland, the first tangible step toward President Donald Trump’s oft-stated goal of bringing the Arctic island under American control, sources leaked to The Wall Street Journal.

The directive instructed the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA), National Security Administration (NSA) and the CIA to identify Greenlandic and Danish figures who might back U.S. objectives and to gauge public sentiment toward American resource extraction, the outlet reported Tuesday. Its emergence triggered immediate pushback from Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, who accused unnamed officials of leaking in order to thwart the administration. (RELATED: Trump Pentagon Cans Greenland Colonel Who Subverted JD Vance) . . “The Wall Street Journal should be ashamed of aiding deep state actors who seek to undermine the President by politicizing and leaking classified information,” Gabbard said in a statement to the Journal. “They are breaking the law and undermining our nation’s security and democracy.”

Ashamed? Hell, in their warped minds they are protecting (our precious democracy!) vomit.

And on the latest podcast, we discussed in disgust the duplicity and treachery of scum like Tom Tillis and the Grifting Oleaginous Parasite party GOP in opposing Ed Martin's nomination as a prosecutor.

And that is just one example. But look at what the GOP is up to in both Idaho

and Florida. With bastions of conservatism like those two the Democrats are finished! Pfft.

And of course the beaks of the usual suspects must remain wet, despite what we want, right?! Preserve protect and defend the grift. So what if Democrats destroy the Republic so long as the RINOs can make a buck off of it.

In early 2025, House Republican leaders tentatively planned to vote on a rescissions package proposed by President Donald Trump during the week of May 5, 2025. The package, expected to be sent to Congress in April 2025, aimed to cancel $9.3 billion in previously approved funding, primarily targeting foreign aid programs, the State Department, and public broadcasting entities like PBS and NPR. The rescissions process, governed by the Impoundment Control Act of 1974, allows the President to propose canceling appropriated funds, which Congress must approve within 45 days of continuous session via a simple majority vote in both chambers. This fast-tracked procedure was seen as a way to formalize spending cuts, particularly those pushed by the Trump administration’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), led by Elon Musk, while avoiding legal challenges to unilateral executive action . .

. . . White House Hesitation and Strategic Shifts: Despite initial Republican enthusiasm for a rescissions package to legitimize DOGE’s spending cuts, the White House appeared unhurried to send the proposal to Congress. Reports indicated that the administration was not fully committed to the rescissions process, possibly due to the political risks and the complexity of navigating GOP divisions. Instead, the administration focused on using the budget reconciliation process to achieve broader fiscal goals, such as increasing defense spending and extending tax cuts, which required only a simple majority and faced fewer procedural hurdles. This strategic pivot likely reduced the urgency of pursuing rescissions . . .

. . . In summary, while a rescissions vote was scheduled for early May 2025, it did not happen due to a combination of political opposition, historical caution from a failed 2018 attempt, White House reluctance, legal and public backlash against DOGE’s cuts, and competing legislative priorities. Posts on X also noted significant Republican discontent with the proposed cuts, suggesting that the package “ran into a buzzsaw of opposition” from both House and Senate Republicans, further undermining its chances.

While I applaud Anna Paulina Luna taking a shot at trying to repeal the Patriot Act, Snowball's Chance in Hell comes to mind.

And illegal alien *Muslims* are beating Jews to death in their own homes while Antifa and Tranny Psychos are assaulting normal people with feces and fists. Meh, just more defenders of "our precious democracy" being precious.

*UPDATE: Considering the wave of antisemitic attacks worldwide and here in the USA over these past few years, and that the suspects are from Georgia which is not exactly a philosemitic nation which has a significant Muslim populace, I made the assumption that they were Muslim. And so, perhaps I can be faulted for jumping to the conclusion, but it was not necessarily an unreasonable assumption. So Mea Culpa. JJS

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

Have a great day.

ABOVE THE FOLD, BREAKING, NOTEWORTHY
• All three are Georgian nationals who now have federal immigration detainers lodged against them, according to the Post, but immigration authorities let them freely roam until it allegedly resulted in bloodshed. 
  Three Illegals Charged with Beating Israeli to Death in His Los Angeles Home
  
• Going Entebbe on the hostage-taking dictator, right in front of his patron, Vladimir Putin.
  Bad day for Venezuela's dirty dictator: U.S. rescues dissidents held hostage in Caracas

Daily Tech News 8 May 2025

—Pixy Misa

• Apple vice president Eddy Cue says you may not need an iPhone ten years from now. (The Verge)
  
  Not a huge stretch of the imagination, since I don't need an iPhone now and didn't need an iPhone ten years ago.
  
  On the other hand, possibly not the best message to send about a product that represents half your company's revenue.
  
  I did buy an iMac ten years ago. Great hardware. Solid operating system. UI sucked.

Wednesday Overnight Open Thread - May 7, 2025 [TRex]

—Open Blogger

Good evening Horde. The time has come for mid-week shenanigans of the overnight variety.

This is the Wednesday night ONT.

[Top photo: Disclosed barn in an undisclosed location]

***

As always, please observe proper ONT etiquette. Legally Sufficient has the Ruler of Dread and is authorized to administer legally questionable remedial measures if warranted. Ciampino is in charge of the sock drawer. Cicero has bail money if needed. Notorious BFD has is operating the ice cream machine. If the ice cream machine is broken, ask AOP for repair help.

JQ has the key to the liquor cabinet. In light of recent Horde family events, all drinks are on the ONT house tonight. Bottoms up.

***

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***

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When the bugle sounds, you have to saddle up and ride!

(Hat tip: Hrothgar)

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Millions of years-old dinosaur DNA to help build world-first T-Rex leather handbag

Creative powerhouse VML, genomic innovators The Organoid Company, and sustainable biotechnology firm Lab-Grown Leather have joined forces to develop the world's first T-Rex leather made using the extinct creature's DNA.

Interestingly, reports suggest that the first product could be available by year's end. They claim this next-gen material could be a high-quality, cruelty-free, and eco-friendly alternative to standard leather.

No. Just no. Leave my tribe alone.

(Hat tip: Iris)

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Do NOT steal the animatronic dinosaurs.

Fury as thieves steal pair of animatronic DINOSAURS from outside hotel as heartbroken owner says it's "like I've lost my children"

As if that wasn't traumatic enough...

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Random: Anyone remember the story of the Boeing 727 that went missing in 2003?

The 727 That Vanished

Mike Gabriel believes the airplane crashed in the Atlantic Ocean soon after takeoff. One crew member from the fuel delivery operation thinks the Angolan air force shot it down with a missile. A Luandan pilot says the word there is that the aircraft went north and vanished near Kinshasa, Congo. One of Ben Padilla's friends says the airplane was disassembled for parts in Bujumbura, Burundi, on Tanzania's western border.

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More random: Some people specifically collect hyper inflation bank notes. Excessive money printing never ends well, but the money is distinctive.

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Beethoven premiered "Ode to Joy" in Vienna on this date in 1824.

Was Beethoven deaf when he wrote his Ninth Symphony?

As Beethoven flourished and gained musical notoriety, he noticed a decline in his hearing from his mid 20s. It began with a buzzing noise in his ears, and was a devastatingly scary time for the composer.

While his hearing proceeded to decline over the next 15 years, Beethoven found ways to continue to compose music. At the age of 40, Beethoven was completely deaf, yet this was when he wrote his most famous symphony - Symphony No.9, also known as The Ninth.

It is said that Beethoven used techniques to physically feel music and notes in his body. This included holding a pencil in his mouth and resting it against the piano so he could feel the vibrations of the notes against his lips. The lower notes emulated a deeper vibration, therefore, pieces written in the second half of his career included fewer high notes and more low ones. There is evidence that Beethoven also cut the legs of his pianos, so that the sound vibrations resonated through the ground and into his body as he wrote his compositions! Beethoven apparently ruined many pianos in his later career from hitting the keys so aggressively in order for him to 'hear' what he was playing.

More: How did Beethoven write one of his greatest compositions while deaf?

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Continuing with the classical music theme, Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky was born this day in 1840.

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Mike Rowe's early career at QVC. Comedy gold:

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For Horde members that are wise in the ways of Maiden and Metallica: Mongolian Metal from The Hu here and here.

If none of those words make any sense to you, better to keep scrolling than click out of curiosity. Nothing to see here.

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Wasn't expecting this to be a regular feature, but the Pittsburgh police scanner keeps giving:

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This is ridiculous. Hooray for those than can run a marathon and kudos for those that have fun doing it. But a record in the Guinness Book of World records?

This isn't even all of them.

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Apparently this is a true story:

His name really was Sir Beaver.

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Irene Cara for our big ONT finish:

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Written correspondence can be sent to moronhobbies at protonmail dot com. Are you lurking? Come out and play. Comment lustily, but commenting with lust is optional and warrants caution. White smoke coming from the ONT does not mean a new COB has been designated. It just means that the TRex-mobile needs an oil change.

Close it up

Gird Your Loins Cafe

—Ace

Christopher Lee in 2002

You may already have seen this young adopted beaver building dams in its owners' suburban home, despite never having known its parents or having been taught to build a dam. You can read more about young beavers in my self-published book, Beaver Fever.

Squirrel knows she's a super-model and fierce.

Cats can make a toy out of anything, except actual cat toys, which they are indifferent to.

Their favorite toy is "Your Stuff."

Brothers from another mother.

Soaking your reptile, if you know what I mean.

Crazy ear action.

Dog wants his chew toy, but the cat has decided to keep it.

Mudlover.

Time to make the doggy donuts.

Dog wakes up with a strange body beside his own and wonders did I just make a huge mistake last night?

Cute dog gets a cat to snuggle.

Traffic camera photobomb.

Rainy days.. 😊 pic.twitter.com/smzpIb4pdo

— Buitengebieden (@buitengebieden) May 7, 2025

The ears.. 😊 pic.twitter.com/ks6pY9ZQg9

— Buitengebieden (@buitengebieden) May 7, 2025

Looking for that one blue sock.. 😂 pic.twitter.com/suQzw3e73T

— Buitengebieden (@buitengebieden) May 6, 2025

Close it up

Quick Hits

—Ace

Whoopie Goldberg in her "black dandy"
cross-dressing gear at the Met Gala

Speaking of gender-benders:

Michelle Obama announces she's "transitioning." That's a little clickbait, because we know "she" transitioned decades back.

From "People" Magazine:

Michelle -- who has been a longtime "advocate" of therapy and has done it for years -- likened it on the podcast to getting a "tune-up," and she noted that she felt that this was the perfect time in her life to do so, knowing all the things she already did.

"Let me unwind some old habits. Let me sort through some old guilt that I've been carrying around. Let me talk about how my relationship with my mother has affected how I think about things," she shared.

"So, I'm getting that tune-up for this next phase because I believe this is a whole other phase in life for me," she continued. "And I now have the wisdom to know-- let me go get some coaching while I'm doing it so that I have other voices other than the people who know me best. I've got a new person that's getting to know me, and seeing me completely new and hearing all these emotions."

For some reason, people just aren't interested in hearing this entitled fugly Tony Rezko project whine about how hard she's got it.

Former first lady Michelle Obama's new podcast ranks 34th on Spotify's top podcast chart, weeks after debuting her first episode alongside her brother Craig Robinson.

The podcast ranks slightly higher on Apple Podcasts, as the 21st podcast on the list. Michelle Obama and Robinson launched a podcast in early March called "IMO."

...

Obama and Robinson's podcast ranks fourth under Education podcasts, according to Spotify's charts.

In what possible sense is this an "education" podcast? Is it just about the unshakable white liberal belief that black people are our Wise Teachers?

The one upside to "her" podcast: All she does is complain about being married to Barack Obama and stating that there aren't just "hard times" in a marriage, but hard decades.

Yes, this is a real, loving marriage between two fierce heterosexuals who are plainly crazy about each other.

Obama revealed during the first episode that former President Barack Obama had to "adjust" to leaving on time and improve his punctuality when they got married.

"Well, Barack, you know, he had to adjust to what 'on time' was," she told her brother. "I've got this husband who's like, when it's time to leave -- it's 3:00 -- he's getting up and going to the bathroom. And I was like, dude, dude, 3:00 departure means you've done all that, you know?"

The former first lady also revealed that Robinson helped convince her to back Barack's run for the presidency.

"I mean, we knew Barack was smart and, you know, ambitious," Obama said. "But you talked me into supporting his run, and he was smart enough to know that he needed to come to you and sell you on the idea."

The "shocking identity" of the terrorist who planned a mass-casualty attack at a Lady Gaga concert in Rio de Janeiro is revealed: he's an illegal alien deported from America previously.

Boy, that is shocking.

Plot twist!

As new details emerge in the shocking plot to commit an act or terror at a Lady Gaga concert, one of the suspects has been identified as a man who was deported from the United States just last month.

The 44-year-old male suspect, who had lived in the U.S. for 27 years according to CNN, was planning on carrying out multiple attacks at the Grammy Award-winning singer's free show at Copacabana Beach in Rio de Janeiro on Saturday night.

The United States Consulate initially learned of the man's plans after he made a social media post and tipped off the Rio de Janeiro Civil police.

Brazilian investigators discovered that he held a 'spiritual war' with Lady Gaga and that the outline of attacks would have included the livestream of a child's execution and setting up bombs near the stage.

The suspect, who also made threats via online chat groups, was charged with terrorism and promoting crime but was not arrested.

'He said that the singer was a Satanist and that he was going to perform a Satanist ritual too, killing a child during the show,' Rio de Janeiro Civil Police secretary, officer Felipe Curi said.

Authorities are investigating whether his recent terror activity was motivated by his removal from the U.S.

DailyMail.com reached out to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement for comment.

Two suspects, an adult identified as Luis da Silva and a 17-year-old boy, were taken into custody after authorities used Discord as part of an attempt to sign up other people, including teens, to execute simultaneous attacks against children and members of LGBTQ+ community who were among the nearly 2.1 million people who attended the concert.

'They plan to use Molotov cocktails and explosive backpacks,' the police complaint said.

Speaking of leftist violence: A GOP congressman has gone into hiding and will not be casting votes due to leftist's threatening to murder his wife, children, and grandchildren:

A "credible threat" made against Rep. Derrick Van Orden's family prompted the Wisconsin Republican to miss votes on Wednesday and reschedule a town hall event.

"Rep. Van Orden will be missing votes tomorrow and rescheduling his upcoming town hall due to a credible threat made against his wife, children, and grandchildren," the congressman's press office said in a statement on X. "The threat was delivered via a letter to his D.C. office and has been reported to the appropriate authorities.

"No elected official, regardless of political party affiliation, should have to worry about the safety of their family while serving the American people. Threats of political violence are not just dangerous -- they are anti-American," the statement continued.

"This type of behavior is the direct result of increasingly radical and violent rhetoric fueled by far-left Democrats who encourage hatred rather than healthy discourse. It is a poison on our nation and every Member of Congress -- Republican or Democrat -- should fully condemn it when they see it," his office added. "The Congressman looks forward to returning to D.C. to do the job the people of Wisconsin's Third District elected him to do."

Trump says he will cancel funding of the trillion dollar "high speed rail" boondoggle in California.

We'll see about that, say 100 injunctions pre-written by George Soros' lawyers, ready to be signed by Obama judges.

During a press briefing in the Oval Office on Tuesday with with the Prime Minister of Canada Mark Carney, President Donald Trump called out California's Democrat Governor Gavin Newsom and the High-Speed Rail project.

"A little train going from San Francisco to Los Angeles that's being run by Gavin Newscomb, the governor of California. He has got that train - is the worst cost overrun I've ever seen. It's like totally out of control," Trump said.

He went on to say, "And Gavin, unfortunately, you know, I always liked Gavin. I had a good relationship with him. But if you think about it and you got to take a look at this project, it's the worst cost overrun I've ever seen. I've watched a lot of stupid people build a lot of stupid things, but that's the worst cost overrun I've ever seen."

"I told our very great new Secretary of Transportation, he's doing a good job, Sean Duffy. I said we're not going to pay for that thing," Trump said. "They are just it's out of control. This is something that you don't have things like this. It's not even conceivable, like 30 times over budget. ..30 times. It's the craziest thing. I think the media should take a look at it."

The High-Speed Authority also issued a statement:

"Despite the noise in Washington, California's high-speed rail project is delivering real results. There is active civil construction along 119 miles in the Central Valley, resulting in over 15,000 construction jobs, and design and pre-construction activities are underway on the extensions to Merced and Bakersfield totaling 171 miles," the Authority spokesperson said.

We have now fully environmentally cleared the route between San Francisco to Los Angeles, and we have invested in projects in the Bay Area and Los Angeles that are already increasing public safety, transit efficiency, and reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

We've poured hundreds of billions of taxpayer dollars into this graft slush fund since early in the Obama presidency, and they're crowing that in 2025, they've completed some of the design and "pre-construction activities" -- are you f***ing kidding me right now? -- and have environmentally cleared the building of 200 miles of train.