Puppehs & GAINZZZ Thread, For Those Tired of Endless Bad News

—Ace

Got GAINZZZ?

Meanwhile, Trump is giving a press conference about his plan to fight Democrats, I mean, criminals.

DOJ Declines to Prosecute FBI Senior Intelligence Analyst Who Admitted to Masturbating to Child Pornography Featuring Girls As Young as... 9

—Ace

The Rulers =/= The Ruled.

An FBI Supervisory Intelligence Analyst admitted to viewing and downloading child pornography -- images of girls age 9 to 17 -- and was fired from his job earlier this year, but the agent was not prosecuted for the crime.

...

As a synopsis from the OIG states, "FBI Supervisory Intelligence Analyst [name redacted], during a post-polygraph interview, admitted to viewing and downloading child pornography (CP). Specifically, during an FBI five-year routine counterintelligence polygraph examination, [the FBI analyst] showed indications of countermeasures during the polygraph which led the examiner to conduct a post-polygraph interview."

"During the interview, [name redacted] admitted to viewing and downloading CP of girls ranging in age between 9 and 17 while searching the internet," states the synopsis. "Specifically, [the FBI analyst] admitted to searching on pornographic sites, and "undoubtedly" viewed CP [child pornography]."

"[The FBI analyst] stated that he preferred pornography depicting young females age 15-17, he then changed his preference during subsequent questioning, to females as young as 12 years old, and finally admitted to preferring females as young as 9 years old and just starting to show signs of maturation," reads the synopsis.

Fired -- but not prosecuted.

The only real impediment to prosecuting him -- apart from the Deep State protecting its own perverts -- is that there is only his word that he viewed child porn. I'm not sure they've got the actual child porn.

But 1, that is only a complication, not an insurmountable bar to prosecution and 2, he should be prosecuted just to get a plead guilty to being a sex predator.

Do you want Special Agent Short-Eyes over here showing up at your local school for Dirty Show and Tell?

Also: I don't get the sense that this guy's stash of child porn would remain hidden if a couple of experts spent a couple of hours searching his drives and dropboxes.

Argument from Commenters:

52 You can't be convicted of a crime solely on the basis of a confession. It's a legal principle called corpus delicti. There has to be some corroborating evidence. Posted by: Dilsin

Okay so maybe it is an insurmountable bar.

But how long do you think it would take to find his trove if they really wanted to?

54 As I said in the prior thread, it's really difficult to prosecute these cases. There needs to be proof, and that's not easy to get. Most of the models are unknown, and the global standard (right or wrong) is, any development means they can't "assume" the model is underage.

I could be wrong about this, but I think MOST prosecutions are made when there is transmitting, one way or the other, of images that CAN be traced through the internet. So even if you don't have proof the model is underaged, the fact that the guy is going to sites, downloading and/or uploading, that's a crime that can be prosecuted.
Posted by: BurtTC

Ah, okay, that would explain the article's reference for searching images for girls known to have been abused or trafficked. I guess just because they found pictures of very young looking girls, they can't prove the girls are underage.

So... lack of proof of intent spares the FBI again.

James Comey: Never You Worry, I Will Soon Heal the Nation With a Book About My Own Personal Dedication to Integrity and Justice in 2021

—Ace

This scumbag should be in prison already.

Antifa Terrorists and BLM Insurrectionists Dox At Least 38 Federal Officers

—Ace

We're not voting out way out of this.

Dozens of federal law enforcement officers in Portland have had their personal information posted online by individuals who have also encouraged protesters to go to those officers' homes, officials said Tuesday.

Federal Protective Service (FPS) Deputy Director of Operations Richard Cline said at a press conference that approximately 38 law enforcement officers had been doxed as he explained why officers had had name badges removed.

"We are going to convert their name [tags] to their badge number as about 38 of our officers that are out there have been doxed and their personal infomation has been put online," he said.

The Department of Homeland Security has previously said that “violent anarchists” in the area have on multiple occasions released personal information to the public of those officers in Portland, but Cline gave an indication of how widespread the practice is.

Interesting that antifa terrorists deploy the exact same tactic preferred by CNN and NYT, no?

NY Post: Lincoln Project Founders Have Ties to Russia, Massive Tax Problems

—Ace

Conservative, Inc. finally finds a hill to die on: Finding new marks to grift now that the old ones have clamped shut their wallets.

The founders of the Lincoln Project, a headline-grabbing anti-Trump political action committee formed by GOP operatives who describe the president as a "crook" and "huckster," have their own checkered dealings with Russia and the tax man, documents obtained by The Post reveal.

...

Co-founder Weaver, a political consultant known for his work on John McCain's and John Kasich's presidential campaigns, registered as a Russian foreign agent for uranium conglomerate TENEX in a six-figure deal last year, filings with the Department of Justice show.

TENEX’s parent company is Rosatom, a Russian state-owned corporation that also owns Uranium One--— the company that paid Bill Clinton $500,000 in speaking fees and millions to the Clinton Foundation after then-President Barack Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton signed off on the controversial merger in 2010.

...

According to IRS filings exclusively obtained by The Post, the Republican operative -- who has also repeatedly called Trump a "tax fraud" and a "tax crook" on Twitter -- also has an outstanding $313,655 federal tax lien against his Austin, Texas, home.

This March, an Austin shopping mall also filed a lawsuit against the children's clothing store that Weaver and his wife own, according to court documents obtained by The Post, just months after Weaver mocked the president's own string of failed businesses.

Weaver's fellow Lincoln Project founder Wilson also has an interesting financial past. According to IRS documents, the GOP strategist has an outstanding $389,420 federal tax lien against his Tallahassee, Florida, home, and his bank moved to foreclose on the property in 2016.

The Morning Rant

—OregonMuse

But unlike left-wing guerrilla theater, there is a real price to pay if you're on the right.

Bevelyn Beatty was arrested for dumping black paint on the Black Lives Matter "mural" that Mayor de Blasio arranged to have painted in front of Trump Tower. They charged her and Edmee Chavannes, who helped her carry out her nefarious deed, with "criminal mischief".

And her Twitter account got suspended.

Her official GoFundMe account was removed. They don't say why. Other than it violated "our terms and conditions." Which I guess means the unwritten condition that prohibits raising money for conservative causes.

A couple of third-party sponsored GoFundMe accounts on her behalf have also been deleted.

It is absolutely hilarious to listen to progressives sputtering and fuming and getting all pissy and indignant over her activities. They raise all sorts of dark suspicions about who's funding her travel, although her home is in New Jersey so she could almost walk into New York City. One referred to her as a Christian "activist" (with the ironic quote marks) as if her activities somehow don't qualify as activism. Because, you know, only left-wingers can do activism.

Bevelyn was released shortly after being arrested and she immediately desecrated two more BLM hagiographic displays elsewhere in New York City.

You can see why progressives hate her, though:

--She refuses to bow the knee to BLM, and has called it a 'terrorist organization'.
--She is a Trump supporter.
--She is an outspoken Christian
--She is an evangelist
--She is a pro-life activist
--She likes to use the #JesusMatters hashtag on social media

This 5 Fast Facts About Bevelyn Beatty is a surprisingly even-handed summation of who she is and what she's about. I especially like this:

The New York Post reported that in one video, Beatty said: “Ladies and gentlemen, we’re in Brooklyn and it ain’t over. Jesus matters. We’re taking our country back. We’re taking it back. And let me tell you something, the police need our help. They can’t stand alone. Don’t just sit by idly and watch your country go to the ground.”

We cannot spare this woman. She fights.

Unlike Conservative, Inc. Well, actually, they fight, too. But what they fight are mostly other conservatives.

I think this well-known quote by Martin Luther is applicable here:

“If I profess with the loudest voice and clearest exposition every portion of the truth of God except precisely that little point which the world and the devil are at the moment attacking, I am not confessing Christ, however boldly I may be professing Christ. Where the battle rages, there the loyalty of the soldier is proved. And to be steady on all the battle fields besides is merely flight and disgrace if he flinches at that point.”

Ms. Beatty is on the front lines, fighting where the action is hottest. These other guys, these William Kristols and David Frenches and Rick Wilsons, what are they doing? What have these "conservatives" doing to promote conservative principles? Nothing except losing their shit over Donald Trump for the past three and a half years. Meanwhile, our country is threatened with dissolution, you can practically hear the fault lines cracking, and the NeverTrumpers are off fighting their own little war.

Put it another way: Bevelyn Beatty is out there past the trenches and barbed wire in no-man's land with a flame thrower and a belt of hand grenades, dodging shells and bullets as she tries to take out an enemy machine gun nest. Meanwhile, the NeverTrumper REMFs are well back away from any actual fighting, plotting against the general and lending aid and comfort to the enemy army. If this was an actual way, they could all executed as traitors.

One Bevelyn Beatty is worth a hundred Jonah Goldbergs.

On the Front Lines:

(h/t TSgt_Ciz)

We're In the Twilight Zone:

Eff the NFL:

They keep taking it down. But people keep putting it back up. pic.twitter.com/2snVhOF6Ds

— TheMorningSpew2 (@TheMorningSpew2) July 19, 2020

AoSHQ Weekly Prayer List

Please submit any prayer requests to “Annie’s Stew” at apaslo atsign hotmail dot com.

Prayer Requests:

6/24 - Ellipse ( … ) asks for prayers for his wife (and the rest of the family) after her 35 year old son committed suicide.

6/30 - Annie’s Stew requests prayers for our country - that God’s will would be done, and that evil would be overcome.

7/8 - Prayers are requested for Kim and her family, as her husband passed away from MS. He was only in his 50s. Prayers for their daughters, as well.

7/18 - IrishMikeComedy thanks the Horde again for the prayers for his son, born in April. He’d like to request prayers now for complete healing for his son from a UTI that seems cleared up, but they are checking for renal scarring.

7/18 - IrishMikeComedy also asks for prayers for employment. He was laid off last Thursday. He is looking for remote work in customer service, with a specialty in insurance.

For Healing:

6/24 - Asheville Robert needs prayers for healing; he has been diagnosed with a tumor in his colon.

6/24 - NaughtyPine requests prayers for her sister-in-law, who had a stroke.

7/15 - Fox2 requests prayers for his friend Vicki, who is suffering from a rare form of cartilage cancer. Her doctor is talking about taking her log off above the knee. Please pray for healing and for wisdom for the doctors.

7/17 - Dr_No requests prayers for his daughter Megan. She is scheduled for a 5.5 hour operation 7/21 to remove a Stage 2 cancer from her sigmoid colon, and will have a complete hysterectomy for preventative reasons.

For submission guidelines and other relevant info, please contact Annie's Stew, who is managing the prayer list. You can contact her at apaslo at-sign hotmail dot com.

If you see a prayer request posted in a thread comment, feel free to copy and paste it and e-mail it to Annie's Stew. She tries to keep up with the requests in the threads, but she's not here all of the time, so she may not see it unless you e-mail it to her.

Please note: Prayer requests are generally removed after five weeks or so unless we receive an update.

Please remember the Prayer of St. Francis:
http://www.prayerguide.org.uk/stfrancis.htm

Keep calm and pray on!

Who Dis:

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Photo 7

For the 'Ettes:

Photo 2
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Photo 4

Monday's Who Dis: Tanya Roberts and Christopher Walken both had roles in the 1985 James Bond movie A View to a Kill

Today's Edition Of The Morning Rant Is Brought To You By Homemade Pizza Rolls:

Pizza roll recipe here.

Close it up

Mid-Morning Art Thread

—CBD

His Majesty's Ship "Victory", Capt. E. Harvey, In The Memorable Battle Of Trafalgar Between Two French Ships Of The Line
John Constable

The Morning Report - 7/22/20

—J.J. Sefton

Good morning, kids. Wednesday and before we get to the fun and games of American cities being destroyed from within, this news item kind of jumped out at me this morning. Well, it is a fire, it is in an American city, and it involves Communists. That said...

Officials from the Houston Fire Department and Houston Police Department are responding to reports that documents are being set on fire in the courtyard at the Chinese Consulate-General in Houston.

"Houston police say they began receiving the reports that documents were being burned just after 8 p.m. at 3417 Montrose Boulevard where the Consulate General of China is located," Click 2 Houston reported. "A small amount of smoke could be seen and smelled from outside. Dozens of Houston first responders are at the scene..."

Tensions between the United States have continued to escalate in recent weeks after they hit near all-time highs earlier this year over the Chinese Communist Party's lies about the [Chinese] coronavirus pandemic..."

The only time I can recall documents being burned at foreign embassies was film footage taken at the Japanese Consulate in Washington DC on the morning of December 7th, 1941. I really do not want to jump to any conclusions here but given the internal strife in this country, the cold war between the US and the Chi-Coms over the Peking Pox, Hong Kong, trade, Chinese imperialism/militarism threatening world stability, China's dismal economy, and on top of all of that, an election that could seal their and our fate for the foreseeable future - - I think you can read your own tea leaves. Then again, sometimes a mass document fire at a foreign embassy is just a mass document fire at a foreign embassy, right?

Returning to our regularly scheduled meshugas, fish-faced enemy of the people Lori Lightfoot opened her titanic maw to slam President Trump for suggesting bringing in Federal troops to stop the violence and mayhem. In doing so, she got her two clown-shoed left feet shoved down her throat as a mass shooting outside a Chicago funeral home left 14 people wounded. And yet, we must defund the police because, racism or something.

... Chicago Fraternal Order of Police President John Catanzara reacted to the shootout that took place during a funeral in the city by stating that Cook County's justice system "is totally broken" and its dysfunction has emboldened criminals and is leading to a "bloodbath in the street" and commented on his dispute with Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot (D) over requesting federal law enforcement assistance for the city stating that Lightfoot is running "the Titanic into an iceberg, intentionally."

Catanzara said that criminals are emboldened because "they know there's no consequences. The justice system in Cook County is totally broken. All the way from the President Preckwinkle (D), to Kim Foxx (D) the prosecutor, to Tom Dart (D) the Sheriff, to Tim Evans the Chief Judge. They have no idea what real justice is. And that's basically -- the bloodbath in the street is the result..."

The mass shooting is on the heels of particularly vicious rioting over the weekend that saw a number of Chicago cops injured after being set upon by "protesters" in Grant Park attempting to topple a statue of Christopher Columbus.

Meanwhile, in the capital of world Marxist-Leninism - Portland, Oregon - violent insurrection, the undeniable aim of which is overthrowing society and seizing power, continued for something like the 52nd or 53rd consecutive night. Despite hack propagandists like Jonathan Karl claiming the President has no right to use Federal power to interfere, which Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany immediately schooled him on, manifestly dangerous and irresponsible cretins like Ted Wheeler, Kate Brown and Earl Blumenauer, as well as Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley, are abrogating their oaths while accusing Trump of being literally Hitler for wanting to step in and protect life property.

... This is part of a pattern of how the left works: Destroy the rule of law, the backbone of our free republic. Intimidate ordinary citizens into silence. Then support and elevate rule by power of unelected street thugs in Antifa and BLM. The meek may inherit the earth, but they won't get the big cities.

None of what we're seeing should be viewed as a surprise or some sort of accident. Far from it. The city's mayor, Ted Wheeler, and Portland's far-left city council, have not only permitted the violence, but enabled and encouraged it - just as mayors in Seattle, Chicago, New York, Washington, D.C., and Los Angeles have done.

You might think Wheeler & Co. would be grateful for U.S. troops restoring some semblance of order in the out-of-control city. Nope. Instead a few days ago the mayor told federal officials "Keep your troops in your own buildings, or have them leave our city."

An invitation to more riots, in short.

That's why federal police had to step in to restore order. Radical politicians refused to do their duty.

We're seeing similar negligence from the now-openly socialist Democratic Party. Led by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Democrats have expressed their "alarm" at President Donald Trump daring to enforce the nation's laws. Americans should think long and hard before they mark their ballots in November...

Of course, Wheeler, Brown and Blumenauer like arguably every member of the Democrat Party are in league with the aims of Antifa and BLM. I think it's safe to say that they know that despite what they have done and what the media is pumping out 24/7, they're not going to win in a legitimate contest this November against Trump. It might be their last shot at seizing absolute power once and for all. Seen in that light, Obama's presidency was a complete failure because they misread and/or ignored the sentiment of the silent majority of Americans, that despite everything is still a majority and thought America had changed for good after 2008. They may be dumb but they're not stupid. No way they are going to let that happen and so, by lies and deception now coupled with violence and intimidation, they are going to try to steal 2020 and that will be the end of it. Or so they hope.

I think the American people are wise to this. At the very least, they have to see and understand that the burning, rioting, murder and mayhem is completely unwarranted, unjustified and frightening. And any politican who praises it as Summer of Love 2: Kill the Pigs Boogaloo including Joe Biden and/or whoever is pulling his strings will be viewed as equally frightening for having no problems bringing Portland and Chicago to their front yard.

CIVIL WAR 2.0: LEFTIST REIGN OF TERROR, WAR ON POLICE
• "[Lori Lightfoot's] defiant declaration followed reports of Trump's decision to send 150 federal law enforcement agents to the Windy City as part of a greater effort to help curb the violence gripping the area."
  14 Wounded in Mass Shooting Outside Chicago Funeral Home as Mayor Lightfoot Publicly Rejects Trump's Help
  
• "Catanzara said that criminals are emboldened because 'they know there's no consequences. The justice system in Cook County is totally broken."
  Chicago FOP President: Mayor Has "Run the Titanic into an Iceberg, Intentionally"; "Broken" Justice System Creating "Bloodbath"
  
• "The Left's romance with destruction and mayhem intensifies."
  Oregon's Dem Senators and Portland's Mob
  
• [Hack propagandist Jonathan] Karl had asked, 'Where in the Constitution does the president derive the authority to send federal law enforcement officers to the streets of American cities against the will of the elected officials in those cities?'"
  White House Says 40 U.S. Code 1315 Gives Trump, DHS Jurisdiction To Act In Portland
  
• "Nobody cared."
  Mother Of Black Teen Killed in CHOP Sues Seattle
  
• "Already hit by a wave of pandemic shutdowns, it will soon face closure due to riots and unrest."
  Portland Goes To Hell: The Death of an American City
  
• "'Please pack up and go home' was the response from Oregon Gov. Kate Brown when acting Department of Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf called to offer federal assistance."
  Democrats Claim Stopping Two Months of Portland Rioting is an "Attack on Democracy"
  
• "The body appears to have suffered thermal injury, and we do have somebody charged with setting fire to that place."
  Charred Body Found In Pawn Shop Torched During George Floyd Riot
  
• "These insurrectionists in the streets of Portland are little different from the insurrectionists who seceded from the Union in 1861 in South Carolina and tried to take over Fort Sumter. And just like President Lincoln wouldn't stand for that, the federal government today cannot stand for the vandalism, the firebombing, or any attacks on federal property."
  Tom Cotton Compares Portland Antifa to Confederate Rebels, Leftists Lose Their Minds
  
• "[Sen. Tom] Cotton said he is concerned that the election of Joe Biden and other officials that are unwilling to support the police will lead to more violence since criminals won't suffer consequences."
  Condemning Police Led To Nationwide Spikes In Violence, Tom Cotton Says
  
• "It's also shocking that the Department of Justice has not more aggressively targeted these Soros prosecutors in big cities for civil rights violations against innocent white victims of racially motivated prosecutions."
  St. Louis Couple Defending Home From Mob Charged with Weapons Violations, While Violent Gun Felons Are Released Everywhere
  
• "Why a leftist slogan on behalf of 'black lives' has nothing to do with black lives at all."
  "Black Lives Matter" and the Camouflage for American Marxism
  
• "Confronting a present-day war that most people don't know we're in."
  The Concord Bridge and the Left's Anti-American Revolution

  CHINESE CORONAVIRUS FICTIONS, FACTS AND AMERICA IMPRISONED

• And yet the psychological warfare continues...
  CDC: Chinese COVID Deaths for Week Ending July 4 Down 83% From Peak; Down 9% From Prior Week
  
• "The physician said the Board of Medical Practice wrote to him that he was under investigation because of allegations he has been 'spreading misinformation in regards to the completion of death certificates on a news program,' and 'providing reckless advice' in a comparison between [Chinese] COVID-19 and the flu."
  Republican MN Sen. Dr. Scott Jensen Under Investigation After Criticism of CDC Classification of Virus Deaths
  
• "Other good news that our press isn't featuring is that ICU death rates are down and mosquitos can't transmit the virus."
  Early Chinese Coronavirus Vaccine Test Data Yielding "Encouraging" Results
  
• "Herd immunity is exactly what the spike in cases indicates is developing, and we need it to continue."
  Without a Real Chinese Coronavirus Vaccine, Herd Immunity Is Our Only Hope
  
• "Why aren't any of the journalists and activists and donors who support the American Left also supporting open debate about inexpensive and possibly game-changing [Chinese] COVID-19 therapies?"
  Why Are Potentially Viable Chinese COVID-19 Treatments Being Suppressed?
  
• "The poison of polarization has clearly infected enough people to spark a partisan pandemic in which incessant hysteria will no longer be in good-faith concern for the public's well-being."
  In the Fall, Democrats Will Lock Down America Again
  
• "Democrats must realize that mortgaging our children's future is not a good way to start a national campaign, not when the rest of the world has safely gotten its kids back to school."
  While Schools Open From Wuhan To Stockholm, California Shuts Theirs Down

  JOE BIDEN'S 50-YEAR RAP SHEET

• "The [Politico] story raises questions about the former vice president's corruption -- questions that accentuate the Hunter Biden scandals with Ukraine and China."
  Bombshell: FBI Investigated Joe Biden's Campaign for Corruption
  
• "[Kamau] Marshall also used the term 'no homo' in multiple tweets. He deleted a 2010 tweet that read 'Wood wakes everybody up... no homo but to many memories #hazing is bad smdh lmao.'"
  Top Biden Aide Mocked Women, Gay People on Twitter

  SHAMPEACHMENT, CLINTON/OBAMA COUP, CONGRESSIONAL PERSECUTION, SPYGATE, DEEP STATE, MUELLER DECEPTION

• Margot Cleveland: "While there is no set time limit for a vote, we should know the answer within about 10 days. And if we haven't heard by then, here's what it most likely means."
  What's in the Legal Briefs Over Whether Judge Sullivan Can Keep Harassing Michael Flynn

  
  DEMOCRAT-LEFTIST SCANDALS, CRIMES, CHUTZ-POCRISY, MESHUGAS

• Loves him. Like, with a cloth?
  Andrew Gillum Says His Wife Still Loves Him After Scandal With Gay Escort
  
• "Sixteen Thirty Fund acts as network for liberal donors to anonymously give to Democrat committees."
  Dark Money Network Conceals $20 Million in Liberal Election Spending
  
• "[Theresa] Greenfield has taken more than $230,000 from leadership PACs bankrolled by corporations, lobbyists."
  Corporate-Funded PACs Pour Money Into Iowa Dem's Campaign

  OFFICIAL DEMOCRAT PARTY-ENDORSED ANTI-SEMITISM, ANTI-CHRISTIANITY

• "Both iconoclastic attacks have arguably been fueled by the Wuhan coronavirus pandemic, though in different ways."
  Both China and BLM Are Targeting Jesus at the Same Time. Coincidence?

  POLITICS, 2020 ELECTION

• "What we have found from our own internal numbers is that when you define who Joe Biden is and you talk about all of the things he's done throughout his career, he becomes a much more unlikable candidate to people."
  Lara Trump: Biden "Trojan Horse for the Very Far-Left Socialist Marxist Democrats"
  
• "...it's concerning to me that he sometimes is not able to complete a sentence, not really know where he's at or what he's doing, and we've seen that countless times now."
  Watch as Biden Botches Interview, Not Even the Basement Can Cover Up His Cognitive Decline Anymore
  
• Michael Goodwin: "At some point, even the wokest Dem is going to get tired of sirens in the night and stepping over broken glass in the morning. More broadly, the defense of the mobs puts presidential nominee Joe Biden in yet another bind. The fact that he seems to be a mute bystander on the issue is a sign of his fundamental weakness."
  Joe Biden May Pay for the Chaos in Major Cities
  
• "The poll also contained other interesting results that could spell trouble for Biden." (for what it's worth - jjs)
  Polls Show Closer Race In Ohio and Pennsylvania Between Trump and Biden
  
• "[Scott Walker] speculated that polls are unreliable given the unwillingness of many of the president's supporters to share their political positions with pollsters."
  Scott Walker: Silent Majority for Trump in Wisconsin Is Real
  
• "The judges next month will hear the challenge to a state law that requires felons released from prison pay all related fines and restitution before they can vote, which critics decry as a veritable 'poll tax' The senators want recusals from Judges Barbara Lagoa, Robert Luck and Richard Brasher, who were recently appointed by President Trump."
  "Senate Dems Press for Judge's Recusal From Florida Felon Voting Case
  
• "There could very well be more 'protesters' in Jacksonville than members of the Republican Party."
  Doubts About Security at GOP Convention May Doom the Event
  
• Warped, demented criminal projects.
  Malig-Nancy Pelosi Suggests Trump Will Be "Fumigated Out" if He Refuses to Leave After Losing
  
• "In the face of this cultural onslaught by the Left, supported by our dominant institutions, the Republicans speak of 'police reform' renaming military bases, and eliminating Columbus Day."
  BLM Republicans
  
• Lloyd Billingsley: "'Far more insidious' than a dementia test, says Victor Davis Hanson."
  How Will Democrats Depose Biden?
  
• John Stossel: "I laughed when I saw The Washington Post headline: "Minneapolis had progressive policies, but its economy still left black families behind.'"
  Progressive Policies Wreck Everything
  
• "I guess if we want to boil it down to the bottom line: let us go. If that's the vote of the people, that they have lost faith in Oregon's leadership, then let us move to Idaho. Or let Idaho move to us."
  Distressed by Portland Unrest, Rural Oregon Citizens Launch Petition to Become "Greater Idaho"

  AMNESTY, IMMIGRATION, BORDER SECURITY

• "The memorandum, White House officials said, will ensure American citizens receive proper representation in Congress without being minimized by apportionment counts inflated by the illegal alien population."
  Trump to Exclude Illegal Aliens from Congressional Apportionment Counts
  
• "The problem with rolling out tough-sounding incantations at campaign stops-cum-pep rallies is that after a while, when even the most credulous don't see much in the way of results, the magic is gone."
  Bloviating and Hypocrisy Reign Supreme in 2020 Fight Over Immigration

  FIRST AMENDMENT, CENSORSHIP, FAKE NEWS, MEDIA, BIG BROTHER BIG TECH

• "Google appeared to test its ability to blacklist conservative media Tuesday from its monopolized search engine which dominates 94% of internet searches."
  Google Appears to Test Its Ability To Blacklist Conservative Media Ahead of Election
  
• "...despite Black Lives Matter (BLM) protests nationwide since the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis, the incumbent GOP president is outperforming expectations against the presumptive Democrat nominee in the black community."
  XiNN Sounds Alarm: BLM Fails to Activate Black Vote for Joe Biden as Donald Trump "Unexpectedly" Holding Firm
  
• "Twitter has evolved into a primary source of fabricated stories and copy farming for the media, the principal driver of policy for the political parties, particularly the Democrats, and a vehicle to intimidate businesses and major corporations."
  The Insidious Impact of Twitter
  
• "Many of the outlets that took weeks to report the alleged rape of a woman by Joe Biden were not nearly as hesitant to amplify the claims made against Fox hosts Sean Hannity and Tucker Carlson, among others."
  Tucker Carlson is Being Targeted With One of the Most Frivolous Sexual Harassment Allegations Ever
  
• Jeffrey Lord: "The appalling editing of McEnany statement on science. What in the world is going on at NBC?"
  Chuck Todd Called Out by Jonathan Turley
  
• "Four days, six comment requests, and one follow-up story later, The Atlantic issued a series of major corrections that confirmed The Federalist's investigation."
  The Atlantic Finally Admits Its Police Abolition Piece Is Based on a False Narrative
  
• "This weekends phony outrage at Trader Joe's proves how outlets like the New York Times use 'public pressure' to make companies and politicians do what they want."
  How the Media Uses Tiny Petitions To Make Leftist Positions Front-Page News
  
• "Our media now see themselves as the enforcers of conformity to the 'true faith' -- the idiocracy of the Left. Conform or be damned."
  The Death of Standards at the New York Times
  
• Daniel Greenfield: "The dying media is dying to kill America."
  The Media's Political Suicide

  SECOND AMENDMENT

• "He brags about Massachusetts gun laws being the strictest in the country claiming that 'fascism hasn't gone up' and neither has crime (In Massachusetts)."Get Ready: Leftists Say the Only Way to Demilitarize the Police Is Gun Control

  ABORTION

• "Abortion provider finally admits founder's ties." (frankly, I'm legitimately shocked, all things considered - jjs)
  Planned Parenthood NY Will Remove Margaret Sangers Name From Clinic Over "Harmful Connections" To Racism, Eugenics

  FOREIGN AFFAIRS, INTERNATIONAL

• "We hope we can build out a coalition that understands the threat and will work collectively to convince the Chinese Communist Party that it is not in their best interest to engage in this kind of behavior."
  Pompeo Wants "Coalition" to Counter Growing Chinese Power
  
• "Max Blumenthal is known for his pro-Iran, anti-Israel stance, and his website routinely publishes conspiracy theories that adopt China's false rhetoric about the coronavirus pandemic."
  WHO Official Promotes Conspiracy Theory Website to Bolster China's Chinese Coronavirus Disinformation Campaign
  
• "The government is trying to eliminate our belief and wants to become G-d instead of Jesus."
  China Orders Christians to Replace Crosses and Images of Jesus Christ with Portraits of Communist Leaders

  DEFENSE, MILITARY, SECURITY AFFAIRS

• "Tensions between the United States have continued to escalate in recent weeks after they hit near all-time highs earlier this year over the Chinese Communist Party's lies about the [Chinese] coronavirus pandemic."
  Houston Fire, Police Responding to Reports of Documents Being Burned At Chinese Consulate General
  
• "The indictment comes less than a week after British, Canadian, and U.S. intelligence agencies accused Russia of attempting to steal research on a coronavirus vaccine."
  DoJ Charges Chinese Hackers With Trying To Steal Chinese Coronavirus Vaccine Research
  
• "Modernizing the People's Liberation Army Navy has long been a key feature of the Xi regime's "Chinese Dream" of a strengthened role in world politics. China aims to have six aircraft battle groups ready for cruise by 2035."
  China to Expand Naval Fleet With Two New Aircraft Carriers
  
• "Last week, the Chinese Communist Party and some of its members were bombarded by a barrage of nearly daily criticism and sanctions. It will get worse."
  The Trump Administration Just Spent An Entire Week Getting Serious On China
  
• "Though Secretary of Defense Mark Esper did not order a withdrawal from the region, he did announce the Pentagon's more favorable posture to rotational deployment as opposed to permanent stationing."
  US Considers Troop "Adjustments" in South Korea

  WE-ALL-SLAM-FOR-I-SLAM

• Raymond Ibrahim: "Erdogan's and much of Turkey's adoration of and desire to emulate Muhammad al-Fatih -- this, to quote Erdogan, "happy, blessed servant of Allah" who in fact behaved like an ISIS chieftain -- should (but won't) be cause for alarm."
  While Statues of American Heroes Come Down, Turkey Honors a Slaver, Mass-Murderer, and Pedophile

  DOMESTIC AFFAIRS, THE BUREAUCRACY, WASTE, FRAUD, ABUSE

• "The analyst, who is not identified in the report, was fired from the FBI, but the Justice Department and its child exploitation unit declined to file criminal charges against him."
  Senior FBI Intel Analyst Admitted To Viewing Porn Of Girls As Young As 9 Years Old
  
• "The sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity in order to discuss the ongoing talks, cast a stark sentiment on both sides of the negotiation table."
  Congress, White House Unlikely to Deliver Phase 4 Stimulus Before Recess, Sources Say
  
• "With small businesses, including restaurants and bars, shut down amid the pandemic panic, budget experts are predicting hard times for state and local governments."
  Some States, Cities Raising Taxes Amid Pandemic; More Tax Hikes Coming
  
• "The accelerating collapse of St. Louis, the most violent city in America."
  Gateway to the Wild West
  
• "A generous safety net doesn't mean much if you can't find jobs or afford housing."
  Seattle's Tarnished Dream
  
• "Instead of showering money on USPS, Congress should repeal the monopoly on first class mail delivery."
  Don't Bail Out the Post Office
  
• Betsey McCaughey: "Biden's plan is to force suburban towns with single-family homes and minimum lot sizes to build high-density affordable housing smack in the middle of their leafy neighborhoods - local preferences and local control be damned."
  Joe Biden's Disastrous Plan for America's Suburbs

  THE ECONOMY, STUPID

• "The problem, sources say, is Manhattan, which used to be teeming with tourists and commuters who have largely stayed away since the [Chinese] coronavirus pandemic hit in March."
  NYC is Now the Worst Place to Do Business, Retailers Say

  CRIME & PUNISHMENT, NON-DOSTOYEVSKY

• "A teacher reported Bell to the police after overhearing a conversation between a group of male students. One of the students was reportedly teasing another about being the father of a pregnant teacher's baby."
  Teaching Aide Accused Of Having Sex With 3 Students, Charged With Sexual Assault of a Child

  HEALTHCARE

• "It's pointing us away from third-party payer insurance."
  Invisalign, Insurance, and the Invisible Hand

  EDUCATION, AND WHAT PASSES FOR IT

• "These occurrences happen daily on campus and online with no pushback from the administration."
  Conservative Student Leaving Syracuse University Due to Harassment and Threats
  
• "Title IX bureaucracy at its finest: reactive, unfair, and destructive to the pursuit of knowledge."
  Diversity and Inclusion Enforcement: A Professor's Account
  
• "The question to pose to our humanities signatories is this: why have your fields proven so discouraging to African Americans? It takes quite a bit of cluelessness and self-regard to deflect your poor performance onto others."
  The Two-Step of the Elite Professors
  
• "The science says it's safe to reopen PK-12 yet the unions insist on holding the children hostage."
  Will Teachers' Unions Reelect Trump?

  RED-GREENS, CLIMATE CHANGE HOAX, JUNK SCIENCE, LYSENKOISM

• "So why do some alarmists claim that climate change is making disasters worse? In part, it's so they can use the world's most visual and dramatic events, from Hurricane Sandy to California's forest fires, to make the issue more salient with voters."
  Climate Change Hysteria Costs Lives -- But Activists Want to Keep Panic Alive

  ACTUAL SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY

• Our intrepid science reporter on the Chi-Coms infecting the red planet (Mars, not Portland) with stolen American technology.
  Utopia Planitia, the Prime Landing Site for China's Tienwen-1 Mars Rover

  FEMINAZISM, TRANSGENDER PSYCHOSIS, HOMOSEXUALIZATION, WAR ON MASCULINITY/NORMALCY

• "It's nice that the problems of the world have all be solved and we can spend time and energy complaining about the names of body parts."
  Australian Doctors Want to Rename "Irrelevant and Misogynistic" Body Parts Named for Men
  
• "A proposed Housing and Urban Development rule would allow homeless shelters that receive federal funding to use biological sex to determine shelter placement, not gender identity."
  Trump Admin Moves to Protect Women in Homeless Shelters From Dangerous Obama Trans Policy
  
• "These students have survived an unjust and unfair process."
  New Title IX Rules Strengthen Rights For Victims and Due Process For Accused
  
• "Every argument supporting gay marriage -- 'Love is love,' 'we deserve equal protection under the law,' and 'we're not harming anybody' -- also supports group marriage."
  Massachusetts Town Legalizes Polygamy Using Same Arguments For Gay Marriage
  
• "It's horrifying watching videos of manifestly unhappy young women who are the victims of decades of leftist lies."
  Black Lives Matter Reveals a Generation of Damaged Straight White Women

  CULTURE WARS, NATIONAL SUICIDE

• Dennis Prager: "The idiocy and inhumanity (literally) of the 'progressive' view of black people is easily demonstrated."
  The Dehumanization of Blacks
  
• "Too many black leaders continue to proclaim black problems only matter when caused by white people and white thoughts are more important than black actions."
  It's Time For the Conversation About Black Lives to Stop Focusing on White People
  
• "What began in the NFL struck the MLB."
  America's Favorite Pastime Starts Kneeling
  
• "Robin DiAngelo has done for whiteness studies and modern antiracism what Jimmy Hoffa did for the Teamsters."
  Speaking Out Against Robin DiAngelo's Toxic White Fragility
  
• "The left calls for racial quotas in the name of progress."
  The New War on Merit

  HITHER & YON

• Christian Toto: "The progressive project highlights racist Red Country and Karens Gone Wild."
  Red Pill Promises Get Out on Woke Steroids

  FINALLY...

• "Don't the officer and his family need it more?"
  Black Single Mom with $7 to Her Name Donates Lottery Winnings to Police Officer Shot on Duty

NOTE: The opinions expressed in some links may or may not reflect my own. I include them because of their relevance to the discussion of a particular issue.

ALSO: The Morning Report is cross-posted at CutJibNewsletter.com if you want to continue the conversation all day.

Follow us on Twitter: @CutJibNews

Tuesday Overnight Open Thread (7/21/20)

—Misanthropic Humanitarian

Quote I

“The federal government cannot allow anarchists and insurrectionists to destroy federal courthouses, federal buildings, or other federal property,Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR)

Quote II

"We've 10,000 people in volunteer, we'll try to get them plugged in as poll workers. Not for us, but running the mechanisms in the states, that they work for the state operations."Former VP Joe Biden

Quote III

They did have the right to do what they did. They were standing on their own property. Let’s just review the facts. They’re on their own property, they were carrying lawful firearms they lawfully possessed, there were trespassers who had broken down a gate and were coming on to their property and the couple said “get off our property.”

…This prosecutor is totally out of control. This is an abuse of power. You want to know what abuse of power looks like? This is a textbook example. I think the United States Department of Justice needs to open a civil rights investigation into the St. Louis circuit attorney’s office. Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO)

Quote IV

"We know this has been a trying year, and our associates have stepped up. "We hope they will enjoy a special Thanksgiving Day at home with their loved ones."John Furner, the president and CEO of Walmart US

***

Earlier today, the Boss covered the Kayleigh McEnany press conference event.

Now the Conservative Twins address it........

***

Good work if you can get it, eh?

Briggs & Stratton skips $6.7 million interest payment, awards $5 million to executives

Briggs & Stratton Corp. has chosen not to make a $6.7 million interest payment, but the company’s board of directors has voted to give executives and other key employees more than $5 million in cash retention awards, according to a filing with regulators.

The board also restored the base salaries of executives and managers, effective July 1, from previously reduced levels in effect since April, the Securities and Exchange Commission filing this week noted.

With the board’s approval, the Milwaukee-based manufacturer of outdoor power equipment engines chose not to make the interest payment due June 15, triggering a 30-day grace period before it constitutes a default on a credit agreement.

Quite the board of directors.

***

The problem with government? They never think outside of the box. And one size fits all, are just some of their problems. Entrepreneurs on the other hand know how to think outside the box and have a cute way of telling a certain left wing governor to piss off. H/T Bitter Clinger

Some bars across New York state are creating snarky $1 menus in response to Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s new rule requiring food be purchased with alcohol.

The new rules, announced Thursday, went into effect Friday as the latest attempt to stem the spread of the coronavirus. The State Liquor Authority has issued “guidance” on the new rules for bars, restaurants and tasting rooms (such as breweries and wineries), including prohibiting customers from ordering drinks directly from the bar itself to maintain social distancing.

***

Speaking of Entrepreneurs. How many of you have something like these?

***

No wonder why Europe is being overrun with Muzzies. Soi bois would rather play with themselves than with a real honest to goodness woman.

3,267 men replied to the 118 questions, confessing that they watched a great deal of porn online.

Lead researcher Professor Gunter de Win, from the University of Antwerp said, "We found that there was a big range of responses.

“In our sample, men watch quite a lot of porn, on average around 70 minutes per week, normally for between five and 15 minutes per time, with obviously some watching very little and some watching much, much more."

But the boom in solo sex seemed to be causing a bust in the bedroom.

Around 23% of the men under 35 who responded to the survey reported some level of getting or maintaining an erection when having sex with a partner.

Professor de Win told Medical Express : "This figure was higher than we expected.

“We found that there was a highly significant relationship between time spent watching porn and increasing difficulty with erectile function with a partner, as indicated by the erectile function and sexual health scores."

***

Rep. Ted Yoho. He's not my congress critter. I wish he was.

Rep. Ted Yoho was walking down the Capitol building steps after a committee hearing as AOC was going up. Yoho, began to berate AOC for making the preposterous claim that shootings are way up in New York City this summer because of poverty and not enough government money spent on the poor and that the police aren’t the answer to reducing crime.

Many of us can sympathize with Yoho. What can you do when confronted with that kind of idiocy?

The Hill:

“You are out of your freaking mind,” Yoho told her.

Ocasio-Cortez shot back, telling Yoho he was being “rude.”

The two then parted ways. Ocasio-Cortez headed into the building, while Yoho, joined by Rep. Roger Williams (R-Texas), began descending toward the House office buildings. A few steps down, Yoho offered a parting thought to no one in particular.

“Fu**ing bitch,” he said.

We've dealt too long with gloves on and at least one if not two arms tied behind our backs. Fight. Fight back against the progressives who want to destroy this country.

***

Even iconic industries have a breaking point. After years of "government persecution" is Wall Street ready to roll up and move?

Wall Street is about to see a mass exodus.

Firms in New York's financial district are facing an onslaught of headwinds amounting to great reasons to simply pick up and leave: employees working from home, unused office space, a mayor who has squelched law and order in the city and a state legislature obsessed with taxation, just to name a few.

That's why we weren't surprised when Bloomberg reported that New York’s financial and professional-services industries are considering eliminating up to 20% of their footprint in the city.

***

Love hurts. It hurts really f*cking bad.

JULY 15--After slashing the tires on her boyfriend’s car, a Florida Woman struck the man and grabbed his scrotum “with such force that it removed the skin from the entirety of the victim’s right testicle,” police charge.

Cops allege that Donika Shaniece Mays, 29, battered the victim yesterday afternoon during a confrontation in their Tampa-area apartment. Mays, who has the victim’s name tattooed on her arm, was arrested on a felony battery charge.

According to an arrest affidavit, Mays and the victim had been arguing all morning before matters turned criminal. Mays and the man have been in a relationship for four years and have a two-year-old child.

The victim told police that he discovered that his vehicle’s tires had been slashed, adding that Mays admitted to the vandalism. While waiting for a tow truck to arrive, the affidavit reported, Mays resumed arguing with her boyfriend and began “striking the victim with open hands as he continuously backed away.”

***

***

F*ck MLB.

Two-time World Series winner Aubrey Huff unloaded on his former team after several players and coaches chose to kneel in protest during the national anthem.

The former San Francisco Giants player declared that he is “PRO America” in a tweet Monday, reacting to video posted by Major League Baseball showing members of the team kneeling during an exhibition game against the Oakland Athletics.

Go to hell for all I care.

***

The nice thing about Red State prosecutors, there is no enabling of criminals. Play stupid games and win stupid prizes. Hope they can meet Big Bubba doing 50 to life at shower time.

OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. — Two teenagers are the latest to face terrorism charges after reportedly helping to break in the windows of an Oklahoma City bail bonds business in late May during the riots that swept the nation in the wake of the custodial death of George Floyd in Minneapolis.

Several dozen protesters conducted a sit-in at the office of Oklahoma County District Attorney David Prater on Monday to demand that he drop the terrorism charges and resign, Fox News reported. But Prater maintained last month that those who incite violence in the streets are “criminals” who “have subverted peaceful protests and impaired the open discussion regarding race in our country.”

“When you employ these tactics for a political purpose, you are a terrorist,” he said.

***

The ONT Musical Interlude

On this day:21 Jul 2004
Composer Jerry Goldsmith died after a long battle with cancer aged 75. Created the music for scores of classic movies and television shows ‘Star Trek’, ‘Planet of the Apes’, ‘The Man from U.N.C.L.E.’ and ‘Dr. Kildare.’ via thisdayinmusic.com

&&&

On this day: 21 Jul 1987
Guns N’ Roses released their debut album on Geffen Records: Appetite For Destruction featured the singles 'Welcome to the Jungle', 'Sweet Child o' Mine', and 'Paradise City'. The album now has worldwide sales in excess of 28 million, 18 million of which are in the US, making it the best-selling debut album of all time there. via thisdayinmusic.com

***

There are three certain things in life, taxes, death and Genius Award Winners.

As a proud Leo, Lauren Sandford, 24, from Worthing had a large lion's head inked on her right shin in tribute to her star sign.

But, NASA recently announced that there is a 13th star sign, Ophiuchus, which means that the 12 other star signs have shifted.

So, Lauren's birthday, which lands on August 4 now falls under the star sign Cancer.

She said: "I'm Leo through to the core. I've read up about Cancer now and I'm nothing like Cancer.

***

Instead of being cited she was the recipient of Tonight's Feel Good Story of The Day.

Abusing the 911 system by calling over non-emergencies can get you arrested. But the outcome was much different for an elderly Florida woman who didn’t know what else to do when her refrigerator broke down.

Cheryl Nanartonis of Jensen Beach, who doesn't have any extra money, was so distraught that her food would spoil that she called the emergency line, the Martin County Sheriff's Office said Sunday.

But the officers also felt for the woman, who told them she didn't have the resources to buy a new appliance.

“So Deputy Marcum, Deputy Elliot and Sgt. Flynn made arrangements with the Jensen Beach Goodwill to donate a gently used refrigerator to Cheryl,” the department posted on its Facebook page. “The deputies even had it delivered, and Cheryl was back on track.”

***

Tonight's ONT has been brought to you by The David French School of Divinity and Hypocrisy.

Notice: Posted with permission by the Ace Media Empire and AceCorp, LLC. The ONT often imitated never replicated since 2008. And proudly made in the USA.

Close it up

Open Thread

—Ace

John Weaver -- Registered Foreign Agent for Russia State-Controlled Energy Company -- Vows The "Conservative" Lincoln Project Will Support Nothing but Democrats and Leftwing Policies

—Ace

What a shock.

I'm dumbfounded. I'm stunned. I'm all kaplotz.

The DC "Republican" grifter class has always been leftwing -- except for one thing. They really, really, really liked corporate money.

But since Clinton, Democrats have themselves taken more and more corporate money. They now take more than Republicans take.

So what's left for the fake "Republican" grifter class but to go all-in for the Corporate Progressive cult?

John Weaver -- who had to quickly file as a registered foreign agent of Russia -- progsplains that the Republican grifter class will now be attacking any Republican office holder who fights against hypothetical President Biden, and will fight for the Democrat expansion of "voting rights" -- basically, in favor of widespread voter fraud.

Ted Cuz Dares Big Mouthed Pussy Mark Cuban to Say "Free Hong Kong;"
Balless Corporate Tool Refuses to Upset His Communist Chinese Paymasters

—Ace

Also: Trump restarts his covid press conferences in a few minutes.

Claim: Ghislaine Maxwell Played Shady Joke of an Operative Jacob Wohl to Smear Her Victims as Well as the US Attorney for the SDN

—Ace

The claim is specifically that Wohl was paid to smear Geoffrey Berman, top prosecutor at the Southern District of NY.

What is being suggested is that the smear campaign "worked" in that Trump fired Berman.

But that's fucking stupid: Two weeks after Berman's firing, Maxwell was charged.

Berman seems much more like Ghislaine's protector than her persecutor.

EXCLUSIVE: Ghislaine Maxwell paid $25K to fake news purveyor Jacob Wohl to 'smear Epstein victims and to get prosecutor Geoffrey Berman fired in attempt to stall sex trafficking investigation against her'

Ghislaine Maxwell hired Jacob Wohl to smear alleged victims of Jeffrey Epstein and her, a former friend told DailyMail.com in an exclusive interview

As part of a $25k deal, Wohl and his lobbyist colleague Jack Burkman also allegedly pushed to get former New York US Attorney Geoffrey Berman fired

Wohl and Burkman are far-right lobbyists who have become a laughing stock in DC after several failed attempts to smear top political figures

Maryland paralegal Kristin Spealman claims she was initially contacted by the duo to use her in a smear campaign against Nancy Pelosi and Ted Cruz

Spealman told DailyMail.com bragged to her they had been hired around early June for $25,000 to dig up dirt on Maxwell's alleged sex trafficking victims

Federal documents filed this month show a company linked to Maxwell had hired Wohl and Burkman to lobby on ‘issues relating to US DOJ, Senate Judiciary, House Judiciary,’ DailyMail.com can exclusively reveal

Berman's removal was intended to stall or stop the criminal investigation into Maxwell, Spealman said

Berman was ultimately pushed out by Barr in June, but two weeks later Maxwell was charged as part of Epstein's sex trafficking ring

I don't know how much of this to believe.

Whoops! Maybe I shouldn't have believed any of this.

Maybe Wohl planted this, and it's a made-up story.

John Katshit Will Speak at Democrat National Convention in Favor of Joe Biden

—Ace

All the Democrats are unmasking.

Amusingly, acceptance by their New Tribe continues to elude the Fake Former Republican turncoats:

The news drew a swift backlash from Democratic candidates, staffers, and activists on social media.

Meanwhile, as the Huffington Post reports, "Conservative Icon" George Will (what?) will vote for Biden.

The longtime conservative commentator said Monday he’ll cast his vote for presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden in order to help defeat President Donald Trump at the ballot box.

It will likely be the first time that he has ever voted for a Democrat, Will told USA Today's Susan Page during a conversation for The Aspen Institute.

"I'm a big believer in parties, in party strength and party tickets. Not this year," said Will, who quit the GOP in June 2016 in protest of Trump’s then-imminent nomination as the Republican presidential candidate.

#MuhNorms: Reporter Calls Kayleigh McEnany a "Lying Bitch" in Press Conferene

—Ace

To be honest, there's too much noise for me to say what she's saying, but other people hear this reporterette calling her a "lying bitch."

Soros' Pet Prosecutor Kim Gardener Charges McCloskey's With Felony Brandishing;
Missouri's AG Moves to Dismiss the Charges

—Ace

We're at the tipping point of civil war.

We now have government actors attempting to jail anyone who defends himself against the left wing's Street Reparations squads, antifa and BLM.

A country cannot continue when half the population has not only declared vigilante war on the other half, but then seeks to use government power to imprison anyone who resists the vigilantes.

St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner, the city's top prosecutor, said Mark and Patricia McCloskey – both personal injury attorneys in their 60s – will be charged with felony unlawful use of a weapon following the June 28 incident.

"It is illegal to wave weapons in a threatening manner -- that is unlawful in the city of St. Louis," Gardner said in a statement. She added that she was recommending a diversion program as an alternative to jail if the McCloskeys are convicted.

Gardner declined to discuss to why Missouri’s “castle doctrine,” a law that justifies deadly force for those who are defending their homes from intruders, didn’t apply.

Within hours of the ruling, Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt filed a brief seeking to dismiss Gardner’s charges against the McCloskeys on the grounds that their Second Amendment rights are being violated.

"The right to keep and bear arms is given the highest level of protection in our constitution and our laws, including the Castle Doctrine, which provides broad rights to Missourians who are protecting their property and lives from those who wish to do them harm," Schmitt said in a prepared statement provided to Fox News.

After New York Times Threatens to Reveal Tucker Carlson's New Address -- Having Been Forced to Move By Antifa After His Previous Address Was Published -- Someone Doxxes the NYT Reporter Threatening to Dox Carlson

—Ace

Wait, the New York Times had claimed its own doxxing was just some fine journalisming.

Is it not journ0lisming when a New York Times' reporter's home address is publicized?

Video of Tucker Carlson announcing that the Times is doing target spotting for antifa terrorists, below.

The Morning Rant: Minimalist Edition

—CBD

Do you want to read what's coming if Gropin' Joe Biden manages to totter into the Oval Office, drool cup in the hand of his wife and extra Depends ready in the bathroom? Because Victor Davis Hanson wrote a terrifying description of what we can expect, and it isn't some fantasy plucked from the fervid imagination of a right-wing conspiracy theorist; it is based on some concrete examples like Cuba and Venezuela, and before those Maoist China and Stalinist Russia.

Will 2021 Be 1984?[link from Sefton's Morning Report]

If Joe Biden is elected, the effort to remove him by those now supporting him will begin the day after the election and it will not be as crude as rounding up a Yale psychiatrist to testify to his dementia in Congress or shaming the White House physician to give him the Montreal Cognitive Assessment Test in the manner that the Left went after Donald Trump.

It will be far more insidious and successful: leaked stories to the New York Times and Washington Post from empathetic White House insiders will speak of how “heroically” Biden is fighting his inevitable decline—and how gamely he tries to marshal his progressive forces even as his faculties desert him. We would read about why Biden is a national treasure by sacrificing his health to get elected and then nobly bowing out as he realized the cost of his sacrifice on his person and family.

Apartheid and segregation will arrive as law, and success will be measured by radically different metrics; wokeness and connections to NGOs will dwarf actual skills.

Kiss the wall goodby. And with it American culture, as armies of the unwashed and uneducated pour over our borders and are favored, along with the ones already here, by law.

And that's just a taste (read the article; it's great)! Imagine what will happen to the military and our infrastructure and technological innovation and the simple freedom to jump into your car (begone! The Green Revolution is upon us!) and drive. Or go to the store and buy beef.

I and many others used to think that American Exceptionalism, coupled with the amazing drive and individualism of most of us, along with a pretty reasonable take on government power, would protect us from the occasional bad apple. Reagan followed Carter, and that was just grand! But Bush followed Clinton, and that didn't work so well because the genesis of our current demise waited in the wings: Obama the figurehead...the puppet for those who would ruthlessly use class and race and success against us.

You know that road strewn with broken glass? Crawling over it to vote for President Trump is looking more and more attractive.

Mid-Morning Art Thread

—CBD

The Port, Le Havre
Albert Marquet

The Morning Report - 7/21/20

—J.J. Sefton

Good morning, kids. Tuesday, and as the saying goes, you take the most flak when you're directly over the target. A couple of stories from several categories underscore that notion and, collectively, seem to indicate that the Democrats - at least those not drinking the Kool Aid of their own polls or Twitter - sense electoral defeat this November.

First, and this observation is anecdotal and just my gut, while the BLM - burning, looting and murder - continue in the name of "oppressed" black Americans, it's by and large being committed by white college-age youths whose minds have been poisoned since kindergarten to hate the freest, most tolerant society ever created. At the same we have a black police officer on the front lines in Portland being utterly savaged verbally by these alleged champions of racial justice, while a completely unarmed black man went right to the scene of the violence carrying an American flag and got right in the face of the terrorists:

..."If you stand for justice come here and stand with me! Stand with me because I'm not here to tear down this f***ing fence, I'm not here to spray paint. It's going on every day!" the man shouted into the crowd. He placed himself directly between the crowd and the opening to the justice building. "If you don't want to get gassed, stop! If you don't want to get gassed, stop! It has to stop! This is not peaceful. None of you guys represent black lives! Sit and protest. Sit and protest..."

Then, there's the story of the black woman, Bevelyn Beatty, who after being arrested for dumping paint all over the Bill DeBolshevik "Black Lives Matter" sign/shrine in front of Trump Tower while railing against the Commie front group, did repeat performances on a couple of other BLM signs in the outer boroughs:

..."Black Lives Matter. Black Lives Matter, right?" Beatty says. "For the black people. This is for the black people. They're destroying business for black people. They're looting for black people."

"No" she says. "No. We're not standing with Black Lives Matter. We want our police. Re-fund our police..."

As I said, these are completely anecdotal. And yet, I cannot help but believe (or pray) that they represent a vast undercurrent of righteous anger that the propagandist media is refusing to report. The recent spike in the body count in places like Chicago and New York and every other major metropolitan area where Democrat rule has defunded and/or handcuffed police and released hardened criminals back onto the streets only adds to the decades of pain and misery inflicted on black Americans in the inner cities. They know full well what it means when there's no police and they're left at the mercy of drug lords and gangs. The inescapable fact is that with rare exceptions, black Americans reflexively vote Democrat. But the difference this time is Trump. Aside from his rhetoric, which in telling blacks directly "what have they got to lose" in taking a chance on him after decades of being defecated on by Leftists - something the GOP never did, he delivered with things like record employment for minorities (and everyone) as well as the push for school choice. And now, all of that has been burned and destroyed, both figuratively and quite literally.

Again, this is purely me putting anecdotal pieces of a puzzle together and interpreting it as one of those sea change moments in history. Remember, just like hate crimes, as well as the lethality of Chinese Lung AIDS, "white supremacy" and "institutional racism" are so prevalent in America that the Left has to fake them to prove they exist. Recall the so-called "grassroots" Occupy Wall Street, which was nothing more than a cheap propaganda stunt aimed at disproving the very real and at the time politically significant Tea Party movement that took back the House in 2010. It's all a titanic dodge. Unfortunately much of Main Street and Wall Street are in its thrall.

Yet even there, there are flashes of sanity with brands such as Goya and Red Bull, as well as Ford telling the black clad brown-shirts to FOAD. As the late great Milton Friedman observed about "making it politically profitable for the wrong people to do the right thing," we have to make it economically profitable for American business to do the right thing, insofar as rejecting the totalitarian bent of BLM et al. Tough nut to crack given the nature of corporatism, academia, the culture etc. and the state of decay and dissolution of our society.

Circling back to my original observations about the panic the Democrats must be in, I give you the ever-increasing madness surrounding the lockdowns over Sino Sinus Syphilis. The numbers, even when they have not been faked and inflated, now prove that this virus is marginally worse than seasonal flu, and children are essentially immune from it. Yet, we are still to be imprisoned and schools are to remain shut. If kids are out of school, a parent or parents must stay home. And isn't this a strange coincidence? Schools happen to be quite popular as polling places for elections. Now, we can't risk people getting sick and dying to cast their votes - four months from now - can we?

And that leads us to the absolutely desperate attempt to shove mail-in voting down our throats.

...Democrats are pushing mail-in voting for the November election using the pretext of COVID-19. Mail-in voting differs from absentee ballots because it requires no action on the part of the voter. Instead, it pushes ballots out to registered voters no matter how inaccurate the voter rolls are. Commentator Tim Pool did a summary of some of the glaring issues with mail-in voting. Everything from a dead cat receiving a voter registration application to fraud prosecuted by the DOJ...

Mail-in voting has led to widespread disenfranchisement in New York City. Why isn't John Kerry worried about that? Because Russia collusion didn't work and Democrats want to ensure voters lose confidence in the integrity of the November election should President Trump win. And they have been laying the groundwork for a revolution since election night 2016...

Widespread mail-in voting could destroy confidence in fair and free elections at a time when this institution could not be more critical. It is not clear that Democrats have any problem with challenging our 240-year history of peaceful transfers of power. They tried in 2016 and appear to be more determined in 2020 if they fail to gain power.

Bingo. If the Democrats were so cocksure that Biden, or whoever is his puppet master, has it in the bag, then we would not have rioting and mayhem (although that may be Antifa and BLM going rogue), we would not have continued calls for lockdowns despite zero danger now from this virus and we would not see an all out push for mail-in election thievery. We also would not have Schiff-for-Brains starting to spout off about Russia again. Then again, maybe they think these multiple schemes are all insurance policies to deliver the victory in November.

There's no doubt, at least by all appearances, that the President and indeed all of us are under siege. But you have to ask yourself, is what is happening his fault by way of his policies or direct actions that he took that the electorate did not approve of? The answer of course is a resounding "no." So by extension, whatever the Democrats are throwing up now, like everything they've done since the Access Hollywood tape is destined to fail. It's a crime that we all have to suffer in the interim.

And then there's 2021 and beyond. But that's another story.

CIVIL WAR 2.0: LEFTIST REIGN OF TERROR, WAR ON POLICE
• "The incident was captured on audio, and video footage showed a masked Antifa thug wielding a baton. Malkin says that the lead organizer of the rally was also attacked and beaten by an Antifa member wielding a longboard (a long skateboard)."
  Michelle Malkin, Others Assaulted by Antifa at Pro-Police Rally in Denver
  
• "I'm going to do something -- that, I can tell you, because we're not going to let New York and Chicago and Philadelphia and Detroit and Baltimore and all of these -- Oakland is a mess. We're not going to let this happen in our country. All run by liberal Democrats."
  Trump Signals He Will Send More Federal Agents to Major Cities
  
• "[Ted] Wheeler, along with Oregon Gov. Kate Brown (D-Portland) and Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum (D-Portland), has repeatedly spun the news to blame it all on Trump."
  Portland Mayor Sets the Stage for Never-Ending Riots
  
• "The black man placed himself directly between the Courthouse and the white rioters breaking in. It was the 52nd night of continuous unrest in the city."
  Man With American Flag Stands Down Rioters: "None of You Guys Represent Black Lives"
  
• "According [to] the Incident Commander, individuals within this group appeared to be very organized and this appeared to be a very concerted effort at property damage of certain businesses and government facilities."
  Antifa Rioters Fire Mortars at Seattle Police Stations, Smash Windows at Amazon, Starbucks, Walgreens
  
• President Trump: "[The] left-wing group of people that are running our cities are not doing the job that they're supposed to be doing, and it's not a very tough job to do if they knew what they were doing."
  Report: Trump Readies Federal Response to Homicide-Ridden Chicago
  
• "As protesters began trying to barricade the courthouse, officers responded en masse, using numerous tactics to push back the crowd."
  Portland Rioters Burn American Flag, Break Down Fencing At Federal Courthouse As Officers Respond En Masse
  
• "Members of Customs and Border Protection's Border Patrol Tactical Unit, as well as the U.S. Marshals Special Operations Group, were dispatched to Portland recently to protect federal property after vandals ripped down statues of figures such as Presidents George Washington and Thomas Jefferson."
  "Beginning of the Ending of This Democracy: Jim Clyburn Accuses Trump, Barr of Imposing "Gestapo Activities"
  
• "We warned them."
  Dallas Police Chief Had Nearly 700 Protesters Taken Into Custody For Blocking Highway
  
• "While Biden may win the election, the odds of Democrats winning that many Senate seats is pretty slim. The party may just do away with the filibuster in order to ram through legislation, however."
  Police Reforms So Important, Democrats Prepared To Wait Until Next Year To Enact Them
  
• "I won't stand by while Missouri Law is being ignored."
  Missouri AG Files To Dismiss Charges Against McCloskeys
  
• Defense attorney: "I unequivocally believe no crime was committed."
  St. Louis Couple Charged with Felony for Pointing Guns at Black Lives Matter Crowd
  
• "McCloskey told [Tucker] Carlson that none of the people who had allegedly trespassed onto this property had been charged and that Gardner has 'apparently decided her job as a prosecutor isn't to keep us safe from criminals but to keep the criminals safe from us. It's a bizarre upside down world. I've been a little irritated by this process until today and now I am just flat out pissed off. This has gotten to be outrageous."
  Mark McCloskey Responds To Being Charged For Defending Home
  
• "They said I'm in the wrong place and they're going to give me a ticket. That's OK as long as I watch them."
  Maxine Waters Approaches Police Officers During Traffic Stop For Reportedly Pulling Over Black Driver
  
• "They don't want an active police department. They don't want us enforcing traffic laws. They don't want us arresting people that don't want us or messing with homeless folks. They're very clear and we're going to take their lead. The productivity in the city's going to die."
  Austin Police Association Head Suggests Officers Stop "Active Enforcement"
  
• "It appears that rather than deal with the issue of fairness and equal space for different views, the city decided to scrub both proposals, leaving those who pushed for the BLM street art disappointed."
  Redwood City Scrubs BLM Mural After Trump Supporter Asks to Paint "MAGA 2020" on Same Street
  
• Daniel Greenfield: "Radicals and junkies occupy the place where George Washington once stood."
  Democrats Destroyed New York Once. They're Doing It Again

  CHINESE CORONAVIRUS FICTIONS, FACTS AND AMERICA IMPRISONED

• "I think it's a great way to get information out to the public, as to where we are with the vaccines and the therapeutics."
  President Trump Resuming Chinese Coronavirus Press Briefings to Address Flare-Ups
  
• "We are seeing good immune response in almost everybody. What this vaccine does particularly well is trigger both arms of the immune system."
  Oxford University Chinese COVID-19 Vaccine Prompts Immune Response In Early Test
  
• "Is the state with the highest death toll a model to be emulated?"
  Fauci: New York "Did It Correctly"
  
• "Now imagine that every flu season, we test every human being who comes into a hospital -- whether for a kidney stone, a heart attack, a drug overdose, labor and delivery, or a car accident -- to see if he has the flu. A substantial number of people every winter have the flu."
  A Supernatural Virus: Is Chinese Coronavirus Now Causing Motorcycle Accidents?
  
• "The lawsuit argues that the emergency order violates Florida's Constitution, which mandates that public schools are 'safe' and 'secure.'"Teachers Unions Sue DeSantis For Trying To Open Schools
  
• Cuck Schemer: "During the debate over the CARES Act, it was our unity against a partisan, Republican first draft that allowed for significant improvements to be made -- improvements that have benefited millions upon millions of Americans. I hope we will not have to repeat that process. But we will stand together again if we must."
  Cuck Schemer Threatens to Block GOP-Led $1 Trillion Chinese Coronavirus Aid Package for Leftist Carve-Outs
  
• "What is self-government if it isn't banding together to oppose the Whitmers of the world?"
  Wicked Whitmer vs. the Enchanted Land of Self-Government

  JOE BIDEN'S 50-YEAR RAP SHEET

• "The Senate hearing series during which Biden repeatedly used the offensive term was when he was questioning William Reynolds, then-President Ronald Reagan's assistant attorney general for civil rights, when Reynolds was under consideration for a promotion to be associate attorney general."
  Senate Transcripts: Joe Biden Quoted N-Word 13 Times in 1985 Hearings

  SHAMPEACHMENT, CLINTON/OBAMA COUP, CONGRESSIONAL PERSECUTION, SPYGATE, DEEP STATE, MUELLER DECEPTION

• "The memo shows that two Russian sources provided the information regarding Carter Page, the former Trump campaign aide surveilled by the FBI."
  FBI Memo Raises Red Flags About Dossier Sources Behind Allegations Against Trump Aide, Former Spy Says
  
• "Democrats Nancy Pelosi, Adam Schiff, Mark Warner and Chuck Schumer, the authors of the letter, did not specify which foreign governments are allegedly involved in the disinformation efforts, or which lawmakers are being targeted in the scheme."
  Democrats Who Pushed Kremlin-Influenced Dossier Want FBI Briefing On 2020 Foreign Disinformation Efforts
  
• "The bid by lawmakers came in response to the court's landmark 7-2 ruling earlier this month to shield a trove of Trump's financial records from several Democrat-led House committees and return the dispute to lower courts for further litigation."
  SCOTUS Denies Democrats' Bid to Fast-Track Fight for Trump Financial Records
  
• "It's a hard path to ending the politicization of indictments, investigations, and other legal tools."
  The Prosecution Never Rests
  
• "The narrative of 'Trump collusion with Russia' was pure fiction. The public officials who peddled it to a voracious anti-Trump press had to know it was bunk. Yet they fed the beast anyway, regardless of the cloud this created, regardless of how much it harmed the administration's capacity to govern." (that was the whole point, Andy McCarthy - jjs)
  FBI Knew "Collusion" Was a Nothing-Burger But Kept Fake Scandal Alive Anyway

  DEMOCRAT-LEFTIST SCANDALS, CRIMES, CHUTZ-POCRISY, MESHUGAS

• "The report comes after a judge denied bail for Maxwell last Tuesday, ruling that she is a flight risk and may try to flee the country instead of facing charges for allegedly recruiting young girls for Epstein to engage in sexual acts with."
  Report: Ghislaine Maxwell Believes Jeffrey Epstein Was Murdered, Fears She's Next
  
• "MA Dem Rep. Joe Kennedy III, the vice chair of the House Energy and Commerce Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee, reported in his latest available financial disclosure that he owned up to $1.7 million in stocks of Merck, Johnson & Johnson and Pfizer, three of the five vaccine manufacturers scheduled to testify before his committee on Tuesday."
  Lawmakers Set to Question Vaccine Makers They Own Considerable Sums of Stock In
  
• Governor Sitz-Pritzker" "If these allegations of wrongdoing by the speaker are true, there is no question that he will have betrayed the public trust and he must resign."
  Illinois Dem Suspected of Bribery After Federal Investigation

  OFFICIAL DEMOCRAT PARTY-ENDORSED ANTI-SEMITISM, ANTI-CHRISTIANITY

• "The pastor and one of the members are being treated at Reston Hospital for non-life-threatening injuries. The other member involved sustained injuries that did not require medical attention. The assailant was taken into captivity at the scene."
  Virginia Pastor Stabbed During Bible Study at Church Led by Redskins Chaplain
  
• "How Jew-hate became the new normal in the Democrat Party."
  Malig-Nancy Pelosi's Stand for Ilhan
  
• "'Woke' Christian leaders persecute the faithful."
  Betrayal From Within

  POLITICS, 2020 ELECTION

• "In 2016, Trump won Ohio by over 8% of the vote against former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton."
  Report: John "Son-of-a-Postage-Stamp" Kasich Expected To Speak For Joe Biden At DNC
  
• "Can you say 'Free Hong Kong?' Can your players put that on their jerseys? Can you condemn the CCP's concentration camps w/ 1 million Uyghurs?"
  Mark Cuban Questions Cruz's "Balls" -- Cruz Asks Where Cuban's Balls Are On Condemning China
  
• "His decision to reverse course on policies he supported over decades in the Senate reveals the leftward shift of the Democrat Party and his assessment that those long-held positions are now an obstacle to his election."
  As Democrat Nominee, Biden Pivots Away From Career Alliance With Police
  
• Try looking in cemeteries and the trunk of Al Franken's 76 LeSabre.
  In Search of the Invisible Biden Voter
  
• "West moved to Texas in 2015 to serve as an Executive Director for the National Center for Policy Analysis, which shut down in 2016."
  Allen West is Back and Was Just Elected to Chair Texas GOP
  
• "Similar issues have popped up across the country as mail-in ballot access has been expanded." (this is Carolyn Maloney, long-time Dem old guard hack in deep trouble - jjs)
  1-in-5 Mail-In Ballots Tossed Out in Tight Congressional Primary Race
  
• "At a minimum, it will delay results. Worst-case scenario, mail-in voting will cause widespread mistrust in the outcome of an election. Democrats know this and don't care, even when it affects a primary for their own party."
  Queens, NY, Primary Gives Us a Preview of the Mayhem Mail-in Voting Could Create in November
  
• "Arizona needs election reform, but not the type our political class wants."
  Voter Fraud Complaint Upends Push for Universal Vote-by-Mail in Arizona
  
• Julie Kelly: "The election-year upheaval and chaos we are witnessing now isn't just about Donald Trump -- it's Democrats playing the long game into the next decade."
  The Coming Battle for Redistricting
  
• "...staring down serious Democrat primary challenges in the coming weeks from rivals who accuse them of being more focused on stardom than legislating." (inshalla - jjs)
  "Squad" Members Rancida Taliban, Bro-Fo Omar/Nur Facing Tough Primary Challenges
  
• "Democrats are laughing uproariously over Trump's 'cognitive test' comments, little realizing the last laugh will be on them."
  Trump Baits a Trap for Biden
  
• "Why would Sen. Mike Crapo (R-ID) want to make things even harder for black-owned businesses with a fresh round of intrusive and onerous regulations?"
  Black America's Real Problem: RINOs
  
• How surprising.
  Largest Muslim American Political Group Endorses Biden; Bro-Fo Omar/Nur, Keith "X" Ellison Sign Letter
  
• "Not all bruited conspiracies are fabulist absurdities; some are actually real, actually policies deceptively put in place to sway multitudes and engineer desired electoral results."
  The Age of Conspiracy

  AMNESTY, IMMIGRATION, BORDER SECURITY

• "If we want to seriously stop the spread of this global health crisis, we cannot let ICE continue the dangerous practice of repatriating individuals without appropriate testing."
  Gunt Nadler Proposes Law to Prohibit US from Deporting Aliens Who Have Chinese COVID-19
  
• "'Under this administration, we've seen an unconscionable, an unconscionable rise in Islamicphobia and incidents including kids being bullied in schools and hate crimes in our communities,' Biden said, repeating the misnomer over and over." (mostly Jews and whites - jjs)
  Biden Vows to End Trump Travel Ban, "Islamicphobia" in Call with Sarsour, the Hamas Louse
  
• "Federal prosecutors are seeking the death penalty in the case of alleged MS-13 gang leader and murderer Alexi Saenz."
  If Any Crime Deserves the Death Penalty, This is It

  FIRST AMENDMENT, CENSORSHIP, FAKE NEWS, MEDIA, BIG BROTHER BIG TECH

• "They believe in force. We've learned that."
  Tucker Carlson Blasts New York Times For Plans To Publicize His Home Address
  
• "The Times is using mafia tactics in order to silence Carlson's wildly successful conservative broadcast"
  Tucker Carlson Denounces The New York Times for Threatening His Family's Safety and Times responds
  
• The Federalist reached out to Atlantic Editor in Chief Jeffrey Goldberg, bringing the investigation, the author's claim, and his editor's silence to his attention. Goldberg has yet to respond."
  Four Days Since a Police Brutality Story Unraveled, The Atlantic Still Refuses to Respond
  
• R.S. McCain: "Some lives matter more than others, in propaganda value."
  The Media's Atrocity Narrative
  
• "In reality, our fatality rate is being driven almost entirely by the six states that placed [Chinese] COVID-positive patients back into nursing homes."
  Chris Wallace Flubs America's Chinese Virus Death Rate While Playing Gotcha with Trump
  
• "If you vote for Donald Trump, you are a racist. You have no wiggle room."
  Disney And ESPN Silent On Contributor Jemele Hill Declaring All Trump Voters Racist
  
• "A popular YouTube comedian posted a video exposing Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell. Facebook took it down and refuses to say why."
  Facebook Removes Andrew Schulz's Viral Takedown of Jeffrey Epstein For "Bullying and Harassment"
  
• "If you're a 'free speech' Democrat, then it is past time to 'walk away.'"
  No Longer Possible to Be a Democrat and Support Free Speech
  
• Conrad Black: "More worrying than the abrasive groupthink of the national political media are the failings of today's commentariat. The downfall of once-great thinkers like George Will is particularly disheartening."
  When the Sensible Take Leave of their Senses

  ABORTION

• "My dad wanted to abort me. My mom saved my life. There would have been no Kanye West because my dad was too busy."
  At South Carolina Rally, Kanye West Gives Emotional Speech On Abortion: "I Almost Killed My Daughter"

  FOREIGN AFFAIRS, INTERNATIONAL

• "It's more than a little surprising that this report somehow made the pages of the same newspaper that is actively undermining the United States via its shameful, wildly biased and inaccurate 1619 Project."
  Report: China Is Using "Forced Labor" to Manufacture Face Masks
  
• "Deeply, deeply troubling."
  Top British Official Rips China Over Uyghur Treatment
  
• "Whoever is behind these various attacks needs to continue them."
  Iran's Bad Luck Must Continue
  
• "Peterson Institute for International Economics works with regime officials to rebut China criticism."
  Huawei-Funded Think Tank Takes Aim at Top China Hawk
  
• "We therefore ask you to support us as we strive not to sever the bond of friendship but to strengthen it, and to secure the US presence in Germany and Europe in the future."
  German States Ask Congress Not to Remove US Troops
  
• "The crackdown came as a majority of Palestinians accuse their leadership of corruption."
  Palestinian Authority Arrests Anti-Corruption Protesters in Ramallah
  
• "Britain's [Chinese] COVID-19 panic has further slowed Tory action on Brexit and free trade."
  Brexit Chafes at the Bit

  DEFENSE, MILITARY, SECURITY AFFAIRS

• "The United States has finally taken on a tougher and more directly confrontational approach to curbing China's growing ambitions in the South China Sea."
  US Response to China's Aggression in the South China Sea is a Dangerous Business

  THE ECONOMY, STUPID

• "They will be held accountable."
  Sen. Josh Hawley's New Bill Would Make Companies Report Using "Slave Labor"
  
• "A moment of reckoning for corporations..."
  Thousands to Walk Off Jobs in "Strike For Black Lives"
  
• "It should be called 'Strike for Socialism.'"
  The Left's "Strike for Black Lives" Hits Major Cities

  CRIME & PUNISHMENT, NON-DOSTOYEVSKY

• "During hearings every six years, Smith has said that he goes by the name 'Mr. RTK,' which stands for "Mr. Rape, Torture, Kill" and has claimed to have murdered three boys and sexually abused 200 others. Smith has said he fantasizes about raping and killing boys."
  California: "Mr. Rape, Torture, Kill" Sex Offender Freed from Mental Hospital
  
• "We keep forgetting about the victims. They have constitutional rights too -- to walk down the street, to be secure in their homes."
  Report: Massachusetts Bail Fund Freeing Defendants Facing Serious, Violent Charges
  
• "Last week, Salas was assigned to a class-action lawsuit against Deutsche Bank that alleges the firm failed to act on suspicious transactions from [Jeffrey] Epstein's account. The shooting did not appear to be tied to the case, though authorities were still investigating the motive."
  Suspect Who Allegedly Killed Son of Federal Judge Found Dead
  
• "Authorities are also investigating a possible link to the shooting of attorney Marc Angelucci, who was shot at his California home earlier this month, allegedly by a man dressed in a Federal Express uniform."
  Roy Den Hollander May Have Been Hunting Foes After Cancer Diagnosis

  HEALTHCARE

• "Yes, even American medical education is being fundamentally transformed by left-wing nostrums of identity politics."
  Woke Neurosurgery?

  EDUCATION, AND WHAT PASSES FOR IT

• "I think we should defund many of these universities and colleges because they're killing this country."
  Great One Levin Touts Defund Movement to "Punish," "Crush" Leftist Colleges
  
• "Parents, students praise 'apolitical,' 'supportive' teacher."
  Michigan School Fires Popular Teacher For Saying "Trump Is Our President"
  
• "Amid the pushback, McMaster announced a solution to allow working and low-income families a new option. Through the governor's Emergency Education Relief Fund under the CARES Act, South Carolina is spending $32 million on SAFE grants. These are scholarships that will allow families with adjusted gross incomes up to 300% of the federal poverty level to send their child to a private school."
  As Public Schools Dither Over Reopening, SC Gov. McMaster Expands Private School Scholarships
  
• Robert Spencer: "Wonder why schools breed American-haters? Here's why."
  California School Boards Support Anti-Semitic Curriculum Lauding Bro-Fo Omar/Nur, Rancida Taliban, Sarsour the Hamas Louse
  
• "Conditions at Syracuse University are rapidly deteriorating as an increasing number of conservative students question whether it is safe to return in the fall."
  Syracuse University Silent on Assault and Death Threats Against Conservative Students
  
• "Student Fascists demand mandatory sensitivity training."
  Campus Re-Education - Maoist-Style

  RED-GREENS, CLIMATE CHANGE HOAX, JUNK SCIENCE, LYSENKOISM

• "The 'science' they believe is often little more than baseless theories that fit their policy agenda."
  Democrats, the Party of Science (Fiction)

  ACTUAL SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY

• Our intrepid science reporter is of the opinion that In many ways this mission "is really nothing more than a Potemkin village."
  Why the UAE's Hope Mars Orbiter is Really a US Mission for UAE's Students

  CULTURE WARS, NATIONAL SUICIDE

• I thought classical music is western civilization, which, ipso facto, is racist?
  NY Times Chief Classical Music Critic: End "Blind Auditions," Pick Orchestra Musicians Based on Race and Gender
  
• "From riots to cancel culture, almost nothing the left has done under the banner of Black Lives Matter will prevent another murder like George Floyd's."
  Renaming the Redskins Won't Save a Single Black Life
  
• "The worms are turning against fascist cancel culture, and Red Bull, appropriately enough, is helping lead the way."
  Red Bull Gores Cancel Culture
  
• "There's a reckoning coming against Cancel Culture and the others attempting to make us miserable."
  Booing Bubba at Bristol, and Other Small Bits of Blowback
  
• "The league is set to launch a 60-game season later this week, shortened because of the [Chinese] coronavirus pandemic." (why bother, especially with this insult? - jjs)
  Major League Baseball Defends Anthem Kneeling, Supports Black Lives Matter
  
• "Trendy ignorance never had it so good."
  Teen Vogue to Teen Girls: Marx Good, Reagan Bad
  
• "As leftists push to abolish The Star-Spangled Banner, its inspiring lyrics, potential for beauty, and message of resilience deserve to be cheered."
  The Star-Spangled Banner is a National Anthem to Celebrate, Not Cancel
  
• Christian Toto: "The podcaster cites the congresswoman's bizarre explainer for NYC violence."
  Adam Carolla on Donkey-Chompers AOC: She's "Insane, Maniacal"
  
• Dennis Prager: "...we are supposed to believe that the most important thing about a black individual is that he or she is black. And if we do not honor that fact -- if we aim to be 'colorblind' -- then we are labeled racist."
  The Dehumanization of Blacks

  HITHER & YON

• "However, when asked whether belief in G-d is necessary to be moral and have good values, 54% of Americans said it was not, while 44% said that it is."
  Pew Poll: 72% of Americans Say G-d Plays an Important Role in Their Life
  
• Salena Zito: "Prosperity means different things to different people. Its importance is determined by not just geography but also popular culture."
  The Way to Prosperity Has Many Paths

NOTE: The opinions expressed in some links may or may not reflect my own. I include them because of their relevance to the discussion of a particular issue.

ALSO: The Morning Report is cross-posted at CutJibNewsletter.com if you want to continue the conversation all day.

Follow us on Twitter: @CutJibNews

Monday Overnight Open Thread (7/20/20)

—Misanthropic Humanitarian

Quote I

“Black Lives Matter. Black Lives Matter, right? For the Black people. This is for the black people. They’re destroying business for black people. They’re looting for black people.”Bevelyn Beatty

Quote II

At the same time Illinois Democrats are pushing for a massive tax increase, residents are again confronted with Democratic corruption at the highest levels of their state government. If the allegations reported today against Speaker Madigan turn out to be true, then he should resign,” Illinois Senate GOP Leader Bill Brady

Quote III

I give thanks to my Creator for this wonderful life where each of us has the opportunity to learn lessons we could not fully comprehend by any other means. Joseph B. Wirthlin

Quote IV

Politics demands that politicians be seen doing “something” rather than nothing, even if that something is more harmful than doing nothing at all. That is why Washington is so addicted to sanctions. Former Rep. Ron Paul

Quote V

“That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.” Neil Armstrong

Quote VI

"If you're a woman who's been a victim of ‎a sexual assault, ‎and the assailant is ran away, wouldn't ‎you rather ‎talk to somebody who is trained in ‎helping you ‎deal with what you're dealing with, as ‎opposed to somebody whose ‎main training is that they know how to ‎use a firearm, ‎right?" ‎MN AG Keith Ellison

***

The zinger of the day...............

***

We've always been told, "It's about the kids." Fine, if you don't want to teach (work) you shouldn't get paid either.

TALLAHASSEE — Florida’s largest teacher union sued Gov. Ron DeSantis and Education Commissioner Richard Corcoran to overturn a sweeping emergency order that requires schools to physically open five days a week, saying the policy bypasses local leaders and defies national public health guidelines.

The complaint, filed in circuit court in Miami-Dade County, comes as the Republican governor sought to distance himself from the order, which has been targeted by teachers, parents and school leaders since it was issued July 6.

The order has made Florida a political battleground over schools and the coronavirus outbreak as DeSantis and Corcoran followed the lead of President Donald Trump and Education Secretary Betsy Devos, who are pressuring states to fill classrooms with students in the fall. DeSantis in recent days has backpedaled, making it clear on Monday that the mandate wasn’t his idea and putting his own education secretary on the defensive.

We all know it isn't about the kids. It's about lining their pockets with sweet taxpayer cash without working.

***

I may be a deplorable. I may be a bitter clinger. At least I'm comfortable in my own skin, unlike Sen. Kamala Harris............

***

Still butt hurt from the 2016 presidential campaign, John Katshit, the mailman's kid, is going to be backing the Paste Eater Joe Biden. FOAD John.

Former Republican Ohio Gov. John Kasich is expected to speak on behalf of presumptive Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden this August at the Democratic National Convention, according to the Associated Press.

Kasich is one of many high level Republicans expected to support Biden, an anonymous source “with direct knowledge of the plans” told the AP.

***

A fool and his money is soon parted.

Nothing against her, but I wouldn’t pay $100,000 to have the real Whitney Cummings hang out at my house and do anything I want for a year, so I’m kind of surprised someone paid that much money to buy a sex doll based on her:

A sex robot based on comedian Whitney Cummings sold for an incredible $100,000 (£80,000), a doll company has revealed.

Mike Wilson, an employee at RealDoll, said the doll was the most expensive model the company had ever produced.

Cummings previously introduced the robot on her stand-up comedy show.

Latest: Opinion at Yahoo: It’s OK to Yell at Strangers Who Don’t Wear Masks

It was also a guest of the Joe Rogan podcast, and has been filmed answering questions.

…After the robot was sold a RealDoll rep, who uses the alias Brick Dollbanger, said demand had soared for exact version.

But he said it was not possible to keep selling more because that would breach licensing laws.

***

So.....Why are you still married?

When people come to r/AmItheA**hole to find out if they’re an a**hole, they sometimes unintentionally reveal a whole lot more about themselves. Like, that maybe everyone in their family needs therapy. This post remains up, but the original poster has deleted their account, probably because they were tired of people DMing them “wtf dude.”

The title of the post is, “AITA for giving my wife an ultimatum about getting a dog?” I don’t know what I expected, but that title really buries the lede on the OP’s story. He starts with this:
I had a dog when my wife and I got married. I loved her, she was my buddy. When my wife got pregnant, she became increasingly paranoid that the dog would be a danger to the baby. She brought up rehoming, and I refused. She was an “aggressive breed”, but she was trained. One day, she called me crying at work that the dog ran away and she couldn’t run after her. I believed her. I looked for that dog for weeks. I finally just accepted it because we had to go to the hospital to welcome our child and there were just other pressing concerns

***

If it sounds too good to be true. It is because it is.

A basic-income program in Stockton, California, is moving into its final stretch, and requests for advice from programs in development in other cities are flooding in.Photograph by Jason Henry / NYT / Redux
Last October, a fire tore through the apartment complex in Stockton, California, where Laura Kidd-Plummer had lived for five years. Nearly a decade earlier, Kidd-Plummer, who will turn seventy this year, had retired from her job in the wardrobe department at the Oakland Coliseum, where she had worked for twenty-one years. She eventually moved to Stockton in search of cheaper rent. After the fire, she and her dog, Poopee, a Pomeranian-Yorkie mix, were left homeless. Ever since, she told me, “I’m just trying to keep my head above water.” She stayed in a motel for a couple of months, which was covered by insurance, and then with acquaintances. In May, she moved into a loft in North Stockton. She was able to make the deposit on the apartment using funds she has received as a participant in the Stockton Economic Empowerment Demonstration, or seed, a basic-income pilot program that has provided unconditional cash transfers of five hundred dollars per month to individuals over the last year and a half. Before seed, Kidd-Plummer “had credit cards and had to use them to eat,” she said, because she was only eligible for sixteen dollars per month through food stamps. Now she’s able to cover food. “I’ve always worked, so most programs I’m not eligible for,” she told me. “I didn’t expect to be chosen. When I got the letter in the mail, I was floored.

***

High at work? Is she or isn't she?

***

Victor Davis Hanson is an intelligent man. There aren't many times you can say to him, "No shit Sherlock". The NFL has a black lives matter problem.

In a culture so obsessed with identity politics, is it the players or the owners and coaches (or both) who do not “look like America”?

Given that about 13% of the U.S. population is black, and given that the Black Lives Matter movement embraces concepts like proportional representation, today’s NFL teams hardly qualify as diverse. Social activists might argue that the league should mentor and recruit more Latinos, Asian Americans, and Native Americans to better reflect their percentages of our diverse national population.

Perhaps an NFL compromise could ensure that 30% of coaches and owners are nonwhite, thus reflecting current U.S. demography. But then, in reciprocity, the players would match such mandatory demographic diversity—leading to Native Americans, Latinos, Asians, whites, and those of mixed ancestry accounting for 87% of the player population. The NBA might also take note.

This progressive model of proportional representation could also apply to overrepresented white athletes in hockey, tennis, golf, and swimming—sports faulted by identity politics groups as being unfairly overrepresented by whites.

***

***

Let's not get ahead of ourselves. Before we plan on colonizing our solar system, can we work on some of the human basics here on earth?

The human future in the cosmos could be all but limitless, if we don’t destroy ourselves first. The same would be true of intelligent aliens elsewhere in the Universe, assuming they exist: how far they travel depends strongly on how long they survive as a species. That survival variable, which the US astronomer Frank Drake incorporated into his famous equation on the likelihood of technological civilisations beyond Earth, is unknowable at present because we are the only such civilization yet identified. Let’s be optimistic and assume that humans are persistent, working their way through the manifest problems of mastering their tools – or at least mastering them long enough to plant colonies off-world, so that our destruction in one place doesn’t mean the death of the species.

There’s a lot of real estates to consider across the star lanes of the Milky Way. Take a sphere 100 light-years in radius, with the Earth at its centre: within it, there exist about 14,000 stars. Beyond that, we don’t know the frequency of habitable planets in our entire home galaxy of 200 billion stars, but current indications are that they’re plentiful, with some estimates running into the tens of billions. If we can begin planting even a few colonies elsewhere in our solar system, and eventually on planets around other suns, our species becomes ferociously hard to eliminate. Kill off one branch and the others persist: learning (we hope) from the sad experience of their forebears; trying new social experiments; pushing technologies to ever-higher levels of sophistication; finding out about life elsewhere; and continuing to explore.

***

If you are white and live in a blue city, don't expect the police to defend you. And don't expect the George Soros' acolytes in the DA's office to back you either. You are on your own.

St. Louis’ top prosecutor on Monday charged a white husband and wife with felony unlawful use of a weapon for displaying guns during a racial injustice protest outside their mansion.

Mark and Patricia McCloskey, who are both personal injury attorneys in their 60s, also face a misdemeanor charge of fourth-degree assault.

Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner told The Associated Press that the McCloskeys’ actions risked creating a violent situation during an otherwise nonviolent protest.

“It is illegal to wave weapons in a threatening manner — that is unlawful in the city of St. Louis,” Gardner said.

An attorney for the couple, Joel Schwartz, in a statement called the decision to charge “disheartening as I unequivocally believe no crime was committed.”

Supporters of the McCloskeys said they were legally defending their $1.15 million home.

Gardner is recommending a diversion program such as community service rather than jail time if the McCloskeys are convicted. Typically, class E felonies could result in up to four years in prison.

Several Republican leaders have condemned Gardner’s investigation, including President Donald Trump, Missouri Gov. Mike Parson and Sen. Josh Hawley, who has urged Attorney General William Barr to undertake a civil rights investigation of Gardner. Parson said in a radio interview Friday that he would likely pardon the couple if they were charged and convicted.

***

Well of course. DUH!!

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is among the lawmakers linked to business interests that profited from the federal Paycheck Protection Program.

A Pelosi spokesman said the Democrat’s husband, Paul, is a small investor in the company that owns the El Dorado Hotel in Sonoma, located in northern California’s wine country, according to an Associated Press report published by SFGate.

Paul Pelosi owns 8.1 percent in the company, EDI Associates, which amounts to somewhere between $250,000 to $500,000, Pelosi’s office said.

***

Elon Musk, Jack of all trades, master of none.

Elon Musk’s brain-hacking startup Neuralink is gearing up for a long-awaited reveal on August 28.

And Musk himself can’t seem to help himself from teasing the brain-computer interface. On Sunday afternoon, when computer scientist Austin Howard asked Musk on Twitter if we could one day listen to music directly through such an interface — streaming it directly into the brain, in other words, with no headphones needed — Musk replied with a curt “yes.”

***

The ONT Musical Interlude

On this day: 20 Jul 1940
Billboard's first comprehensive record chart was published. The magazine had previously published best-seller lists submitted by the individual record companies, but the new chart combined the top sellers from all major labels. Their first number one song was ‘I'll Never Smile Again’ by Frank Sinatra and the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra. via thisdayinmusic.com

&&&

Born on this day: 20 Jul 1947
Carlos Santana, Mexican and American rock guitarist. Santana had the 1977 UK No.11 single 'She's Not There', and their 1999 US No.1 single 'Smooth' spent eleven weeks at No.1, (also No.1 in the UK). He won eight Grammy Awards for his Supernatural album at the 2000 awards. via thisdayinmusic.com

***

A man has to know his limitations. Or in this case three of them. Genius Award Winners.

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. — The Chattanooga Fire Department (CFD) confirms a group of fishermen had to be rescued during a fishing trip that took a dangerous turn Saturday evening.

CFD spokesperson Lindsey Rogers says it happened just after 6 PM off Amnicola Highway at the Chickamauga Dam locks.

***

Tonight's Feel Good Story of The Day.

Researchers at the University of Arkansas have developed a new nano drug candidate that kills triple negative breast cancer cells.

Triple negative breast cancer is one of the most aggressive and fatal types of breast cancer. The research will help clinicians target breast cancer cells directly, while avoiding the adverse, toxic side effects of chemotherapy.

Their study was published in June issue of Advanced Therapeutics.

Researchers led by Hassan Beyzavi, assistant professor in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, linked a new class of nanomaterials, called metal-organic frameworks, with the ligands of an already-developed photodynamic therapy drug to create a nano-porous material that targets and kills tumor cells without creating toxicity for normal cells.

***

Tonight's ONT has been brought to you by Creativity.

Notice: Posted with permission by the Ace Media Corporation and AceCorp, LLC. ONT tips, loose change, drink tokens and burner phones to petmorons at gmail dot com. Complaints, go check out Whiners-R-Us.

Close it up

Open Thread

—Ace

Are #BasedLiberals Defecting to Trump?

—Ace

The plural of "anecdote" is not data but...

Red Bull Company Fires American CEOs For Being... Too #Woke and Too Pro-Black Lives Matter?

—Ace

If true, I might have to start drinking Red Bull.

Red Bull just reminded their 'wokest' employees who calls the shots in a total massacre of "social justice warrior" employees.

Not only were the top two North American executives fired, but so were entire marketing teams and "culture" teams that were dedicated to pushing the lie of systemic racism.

The article Revolver relies on, from the Wall Street Journal, is not as definitive about the reason for the firings, but it does suggest the firings had to do with SJW politics and BLM and "diversity:"

The maker of Red Bull energy drinks has replaced its top U.S. executives amid internal tensions over the closely held company;s response to the Black Lives Matter movement.

...

Ms. Taylor had been working on diversity and inclusion efforts within the company with Mr. Kozak's support for several years but was met with opposition when she began advocating for Red Bull to be more overt in its support of racial justice in the last month, according to people familiar with the matter.

#Woke Cultists Now Have Their Own Naked, Spread-Eagled "Apparition:" #NakedAthena

—Ace

The hard left -- including very much the hard left of the media -- is now inventing goddesses to worship.

"Iconic" yeastpit :

Great Video Demonstrates How Extremely Similar #WokeWhites and White Supremacists Really Are

—Ace

Just about every racist claim in this video attributed to #WokeWhiteSupremacists is 100% true (true in the sense that #WokeWhiteSupremacists do believe and say this stuff), and even the stuff that isn't 100% true is 95% true.

The Chinese Communist Party Love, Love, LOVES "The Lincoln Project"

—Ace

China needs Trump out of office-- They need a pliable neoliberal globalist corporatist as president, not someone who's going to point out that China is loading Uighurs on to trains, Nazi-style.

BBC host Andrew Marr confronted China's ambassador to the UK with drone footage of bound and blindfolded Uighur prisoners being herded onto trains.

An Associated Press investigation found that the Chinese government is engaging in "demographic genocide," using birth control, forced abortions, and mass imprisonment against Uighur Muslims in the Xinjiang region.

Confronted with the "very disturbing" video during an appearance on BBC's Andrew Marr Show, Liu Xiaoming downplayed it as a possible prisoner transfer.

"Can I ask you why people are kneeling, blindfolded, and shaven, and being led to trains in modern China. What is going on?" Marr asked.

Video below.

#Marr asks Chinese ambassador to the UK Liu Xiaoming to explain footage from China of handcuffed and blindfolded detained peoplehttps://t.co/PkjcTsClEX pic.twitter.com/RSbrSaOAPT

— BBC Politics (@BBCPolitics) July 19, 2020

You will not be very surprised to learn that the Chinese Communist Party is now signal-boosting the Lincoln Project.

We might need an FBI investigation into this likely election interference.

SEVERAL CHINESE STATE MEDIA OUTLETS HAVE PENNED FAWNING REVIEWS OF THE LINCOLN PROJECT, A NEVER TRUMP "REPUBLICAN" GROUP, THE NATIONAL PULSE CAN REVEAL.

Launched in 2019 by a cohort of establishment, so-called "Republicans" dedicated to "defeating President Trump and Trumpism at the ballot box," the group is routinely praised by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) run media outlets such as China Global Television Network (CGTN) and China Daily.

Both outlets are registered as foreign agents in the U.S. under the same law designed to stop Nazi propaganda in the 1930s.

CGTN editor Ceng Jing dedicated an entire op-ed -- "Lincoln Project and the Republicans for President Biden' -- to chronicle the group...

THE CHINESE COMMUNIST PARTY WELCOMES THE LINCOLN PROJECT

CGTN also praises the Lincoln Project founders' alleged "knowledge and resources in Republican politics," and leverages the group to demonstrate "critics of the most polarizing American president is not uncommon."

Another CGTN editor, Liane Ferreira, heaped praise upon the group in a piece entitled "A World of Regrets: Republicans Turn Their Backs on Trump."

Declaring "the end of Trumpism at the hands of Lincoln," the article quotes several of the group's anti-Trump ads and insists its comprise of "high-profile Republicans.
"

The Lincoln Project is now also accepting the praise of... Bette Midler, and calling her "queen."

I know you're not supposed to say this, but almost all of these guys seem extremely Barely Closeted Gay to me.

Close it up

AP: We Will Capitalize "Black" but Not "White"

—Ace

Full Jim Crow now.

After changing its usage rules last month to capitalize the word "Black" when used in the context of race and culture, The Associated Press on Monday said it would not do the same for "white."

The AP said white people in general have much less shared history and culture, and don't have the experience of being discriminated against because of skin color.

...

Columbia Journalism Review, the Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, USA Today, the Los Angeles Times, NBC News and Chicago Tribune are among the organizations that have recently said they would capitalize Black but have not done so for white.

"White doesn't represent a shared culture and history in the way Black does," The New York Times said on July 5 in explaining its decision.

CNN, Fox News and The San Diego Union-Tribune said they will give white the uppercase, noting it was consistent with Black, Asian, Latino and other ethnic groups..

The article notes that the National Association of Black Journalists actually recommends capitalizing both black and white (I'm sticking to capitalizing neither), but the #Wokest of the #WokeWhiteCorporations have decided to ignore black people's voices, as usual.

White Saviors are too busy saving black victims to bother listening to them.

We Need To Talk About Kamala Harris' Fucked-Up Frankenface

—Ace

She definitely went to the plastic surgeon. She looks like a beef liver got a chemical peel.

The Morning Rant

—OregonMuse

You know, they don't look oppressed:

-Most of the media is supporting them

-Most of corporate America is supporting them

-They have money coming out the wazoo.

And if you work for Cisco, you can get fired for dissing them.

That's how oppressed they are.

BLM has taken crybullying to a whole new level.

The following mayors have demonstrated by their actions that they are entirely supportive of the goals of BLM/Antifa:

Ted Wheeler, Portland, OR
Jenny Durkan, Seattle, WA
Lori Lightfoot, Chicago, IL
Bill de Blasio, New York City, NY

It must suck to live in those cities, watching them burn while your mayor cheers on the arsonists.

Meanwhile, de Blasio's priorities are whack:

Even as violent crime and deadly shootings in New York soar, Mayor Bill de Blasio has reportedly assigned no less than 27 cops working in shifts to protect a Black Lives Matter mural outside Trump Tower.

In progressive ideology, there are basically two groups of people, the oppressors and the oppressed. The BLM/Antifa crybully mob likes to portray itself as the oppressed, a struggling oppressed minority. Most of the media appears to have bought this line.

But here's the thing: if all you have are the oppressors and the oppressed, then you can't really be against oppression *as such*. Your real beef against oppression is not the inherent injustice of oppression, but just that the wrong people are doing it. BLM/Antifa want to be the oppressors. They think it's their turn now.

The Revolution Will Not Be Televised:

Black woman dumps paint on the "Black Liver Matter" mural painted in front of Trump Tower in NYC.

The woman chanted "Refund the police," while accusing bystanders of not caring about black lives.

📷 : @Doranimated pic.twitter.com/9CLBaWtIHe

— Washington Examiner (@dcexaminer) July 18, 2020

Badass Beverly Beatty paints over the BLM mural in the Bronx...pic.twitter.com/33ErH5syus

— Amy Kremer (@AmyKremer) July 19, 2020

Intersectionality, Baby!

"Head 'Em Up! Move 'Em Out!"

Law and Order imposed on ANTIFA pic.twitter.com/6A5h34n6cs

— William-of-Ockham (@Will_of_Ockham) July 18, 2020

My Money's On Barron:

Me: "2020 Can't Possibly Get Any Worse."
HBO: "Hold Our Beer."

Who Dis:

Photo 2 (leggy!)
Photo 3
Photo 4
Photo 5 (busty!)
Photo 6
Photo 7

For the 'Ettes:

Photo 2
Photo 3
Photo 4
Photo 5

Friday's Who Dis: We concluded "Gilligan's Island" week with Lovey Howell, Natalie Schafer who, along with character actor Leif Erickson, had supporting roles in the 1948 film The Snake Pit.

Alternatives-To-Drudge News Aggregators:

Whatfinger News: https://www.whatfinger.com/
Bad Blue: http://badblue.bitnamiapp.com/trendr8.htm
The Daily Liberty: https://thelibertydaily.com/
Citizen Free Press: https://www.citizenfreepress.com/
Gab Trends: https://trends.gab.com/
Disrn.com: https://www.disrn.com/
Rantingly: https://rantingly.com/
Larwyn's Links: https://directorblue.blogspot.com/
Bongino Report: https://bonginoreport.com/
NewsAmmo: http://www.newsammo.com
Christian Headlines: https://www.christianheadlines.com/
News Thud: https://newsthud.com/
I Hate the Media: https://www.ihatethemedia.com/
The Horn News: https://thehornnews.com/
Just the News: https://justthenews.com/
Real News Feed: https://realnewsfeed.com/

(if you know of any aggregators not on this list, please comment or e-mail me)

Today's Edition Of The Morning Rant Is Brought To You By New York-Style Cheesecake with Strawberry Sauce:

Cheesecake recipe here.

Close it up

Mid-Morning Art Thread

—CBD

Dazzle-ships In Drydock At Liverpool
Edward Wadsworth

The Morning Report - 7/20/20

—J.J. Sefton

Good morning, kids. Start of a brand new week and I guess the black-clad Brown-Shirts of Antifa/BLM didn't get the order from the furherbunker, also known as the Democrat National Committee to cool it with the Burning, Looting and Murder. Whatever sympathy average Americans might have had for the unfortunate individual in Minneapolis who died in police custody evaporated almost instantaneously the moment the first windows were smashed and Molotov cocktail was tossed. While most of the rioting and violence abated, even as run-of-the-mill violence and criminality escalated due to the concomitant Democrat kneecapping of normal police departments, the Democrats' allies in the agitprop media (or overlords depending on your perspective) dutifully embargoed it or otherwise cast blame elsewhere. Seems it's not exactly a surefire election-winning strategy. Who knew?

President Trump evidently did, which is why he resisted all temptation to use Federal law enforcement or the military to quell the unrest. Yet, like moths to a flame the radicals couldn't help themselves and then went after anything and everything Western, American and Judeo-Christian in the name of what's-his-corpse up in Minneapolis.

Ted Wheeler, Kate Brown and the Leftist political machine in Oregon painted themselves into a corner. They could not and never would ask Trump to intercede. The Democrats own this. I get it; Portland for all intents and purposes is Pyongyang on the Willamette. But after 50 straight days and nights of mayhem, and after the Portland Police actually went after the terrorists and prevented them from setting up a CHAZ/CHOP, the terrorists reacted by torching the headquarters of the police union. In any case, there are reports that some Federal agents, DHS and/or Border Patrol, were on hand to protect Federal property and in fact made some arrests, causing the Left to completely freak out.

Still, it makes no difference. The political damage is done and again, it's all on the heads of the Left. Even through the Coke bottle lens of the agitprop media, America is getting a good hard look at this and is horrified. Despite Lucky Sperm Club member and fraud propagandist Chris Wallace attempting to run interference, Joe Biden, the bi-pedal monocotyledonous presidential candidate, now tied to the hip with the anti-American radicals is fully on board with the latter's abolish the police platform. He has to be if he wants them to fill out the counterfeit mail-in ballots for him this November.

While Portland burns, Americans are getting a preview of what's to come should Trump lose this November, courtesy of this cute little cupcake:

On Friday, before the fiftieth night of violent Antifa riots, a protester who identified herself as an "Afro-Indigenous non-binary local organizer" declared that she is advocating for the abolition of "the United States as we know it." This brief declaration arguably encapsulates the destructive spirit of Antifa and the impetus behind the violent riots that have ravaged the streets of Portland...

Sinclair's call to abolish "the United States as we know it" is not just a fluke of one speech she gave in Portland. Last month, she told the Mercury, "I work on abolitionist principles because I know the United States was founded on genocide. I know that there is clearly no respect for the sanctity of human life." She argued that America's involvement in foreign countries "is not leadership -- it's imperialism and neocolonialism dressed up in a way to make people forget the genocide"...

Yet this advocacy for the "abolition" of the United States, her rejection of "colonized thought," and her goal to expunge the "genocide" of America's founding are truly dangerous. She has brainwashed herself and she is fighting to destroy a country that has brought an unprecedented degree of freedom and prosperity to its citizens and to the world...

Meanwhile, the ACLU - Anarchists, Communists, Leftists, Undesirables - is suing to prevent the President from using Federal force to quell the rioting. And then there's Greg Meeks, who has the intellectual agility of mildew, claiming Trump is turning America into North Korea. That's funny; North Korea is a democratic people's republic. I would think Meeks would be cheering for that (sarc).

I think perhaps Mr. Meeks might want to take a gander at the doings in Kentucky.

A Kentucky couple has been placed on house arrest and made to wear ankle monitors after the wife tested positive for [Chinese] coronavirus and refused to sign papers that stated she would self-quarantine, according to multiple reports...

"I open up the door, and there's like eight different people, five different cars, and I'm like, 'what the heck's going on?' This guy's in a suit with a mask. It's the health department guy, and they have three papers for us. For me, her and my daughter," Isaiah Linscott said.

"We didn't rob a store. We didn't steal something. We didn't hit and run. We didn't do anything wrong," Elizabeth Linscott said...

No, Greg, old thing. It's Andy Beshear and Democrat-Leftist scum like him and you, not Donald Trump, who are turning America into North Korea by, along with Reichstag racialist rioting and cultural revolution, imprisoning the citizenry against their will under the pretext of a pandemic that does not and never did exist. At least not to the extent that it required holding the entire nation hostage so you and your criminal party can concoct a psychological warfare op designed to win the November election.

It could just be me, but from where I sit, I can't see the Democrats riding all of this to victory in November. The sad and inescapable truth is that so much of America's institutions and at least two generations of its youth have been brainwashed into committing national suicide that inevitably the Left will seize power, legally or otherwise.

I don't know how we address that problem; actually I do but that would take me at least another couple of hours to compose my thoughts. But for now, in the short term, I cannot see the violence and demonization of all that is just, true and pure as winning friends and influencing people. YMMV.

CIVIL WAR 2.0: LEFTIST REIGN OF TERROR, WAR ON POLICE
• "Portland has seen over 50 days of protests and rioting, and Saturday proved to be no different."
  Videos: Riots Across Portland Lead to Fire Being Set Inside Police Union Building, Officers Squaring Off With Crowd at Courthouse
  
• "My name is Lilith Sinclair, I'm an Afro-Indigenous non-binary local organizer here in Portland, organizing for the abolition of not just the militarized police state but also the United States as we know it."
  This Activist's Marxist Brainwashing Explains Why Antifa Has Terrorized Portland for 51 Nights
  
• All that CHAZ...
  Multiple Stores Broken Into, Looted in Seattle, Fire Started, Officer Hospitalized
  
• "My reaction is this the United States of America?"
  Dem Rep. Meeks: Trump Turning America into North Korea with Feds Taking Protesters Off the Street
  
• "It should be noted here that the ACLU has been asked but has never lifted a finger to help victims of Antifa and Black Lives Matter rioters' violence, such as journalists Michael Strickland or Andy Ngo."
  ACLU and Oregon Sue to StopTrump From Arresting Antifa/BLM Rioters in Portland. What a Change...
  
• " The American Civil Liberties Union takes a side."
  Portland Mob Rule and the ACLU
  
• "Civil rights don't mix with anarchy."
  Ordered Liberty and Federal Might
  
• "Some of the rioters were apparently roughed up by Chicago's finest. 18 cops were injured. It was, after all, a riot. When police are getting pelted with objects (many of them not in riot gear), there are going to be injuries."
  18 Chicago Cops Injured in Riot and Activists Scream "Police Brutality"
  
• "While you're focused on words, America is outraged by the violence perpetuated in your city."
  "Dereliction of Duty": Kayleigh McEnany Fires Back at Chicago Mayor Over "Karen" Remark
  
• "Mayor Lightfoot has proved to be a complete failure who is either unwilling or unable to maintain law and order here."
  Chicago Shootings Continue Amid Protests, Police Union Chief Now Asking Trump For Federal Help To Quell Violence
  
• "If they think this nation is going down without a fight, they have another 'think' coming."
  Democrats Are Forcing a Civil War
  
• "After the vandalized van was discovered by police Saturday night, an investigation by a police department mechanic revealed that the brake line on the van had been severed, and the brakes could no longer function."
  Police: Brooklyn Man Tampered with NYPD Van Brakes
  
• "A mob does not have the right to charge your property. They had every right to protect themselves."
  Missouri Governor to Issue Pardon if Armed St. Louis Couple Charged
  
• "I'm just tired of these politicians saying what police can do when they won't let their executive detail go, so their protection's there, but they won't do the job."
  Rep. Doug Collins to DeBolshevik, Donkey-Chompers AOC: Go Out and Do the Police Department's Job
  
• "They screamed 'All Lives Matter' and splashed blue paint in support of the police."
  "Black Lives Matter" Sign Painted On Street Outside Trump Tower "Defaced" Again
  
• "One woman in Redwood City figured out how to have the city voluntarily remove the "Black Lives Matter" mural painted on the pavement."
  A Clever Way to Get the Black Lives Matter Paintings Off the Streets

  CHINESE CORONAVIRUS FICTIONS, FACTS AND AMERICA IMPRISONED

• What the hell country is this?!
  Kentucky Couple Under House Arrest After Testing Positive for Chinese Coronavirus
  
• "Other issues with the [Chinese] COVID-count include motorcycle fatality classified as [Chinese] COVID-19 death, Rhode Island reporting 113 false positive results, and Florida labs lacking negative [Chinese] COVID-19 results."
  Connecticut Pathologist's Study Shows CDC Chinese Coronavirus Test Kits Generate 50% False Positive Results
  
• "So, why are 'follow-the-science' Democrats insisting they stay closed?"
  The Science Is Very Clear: Schools Should Reopen This Fall
  
• "The CDC continues to treat the [Chinese] coronavirus as a public health issue. It is not. It's a political issue and not being sensitive to that singular fact is apparently going to cost the agency."
  White House Looking to Block Funding for CDC, Testing in New Aid Bill
  
• "Recently, I was hiking with four friends in the Sandia Mountains, just east of Albuquerque. That's a 'mass gathering' in the Age of the [Chinese] Coronavirus."
  Chinese Corona Insanity in New Mexico
  
• "This is a microcosm of what the world would look like if we immediately exposed an entire state or country to the virus. The overwhelming majority are asymptomatic or mildly symptomatic, very few hospitalized, and possibly 0.2% or so died."
  Data Shows Low Death Rate Despite Widespread Infection Among Meatpackers
  
• "Technically, a person could go to a clinic, tell the physician that they are experiencing [Chinese] coronavirus symptoms and that they know a co-worker or relative has [Chinese] coronavirus, and the person could be declared to be [Chinese] coronavirus positive without actually being tested."
  Texas Dept. of Health Removes Over 3,000 "Probable" Chinese COVID-19 Cases from Overall Count
  
• "Health officials have said that infants could be at higher risk than other children because of their undeveloped immune systems, though a report published by Scientific American this week said that newborns have shown more resiliency to the virus than expected."
  Reports of a Surge in Chinese Coronavirus Cases in Texas Infants is False, Official Says
  
• "Americans have become polarized over wearing masks during the [Chinese] coronavirus pandemic."
  The 2020 Mask Debate: Here Are the Extreme Reactions to Mask Requirements
  
• "You're probably familiar with the 'plague doctor' mask, most often associated with the infamous Black Death of the fourteenth century, but are the bandannas worn today any more effective?"
  Epidemic Mask Theatre, Past and Present
  
• "The pandemic response with its mask mandates have unmasked a hostile ruling class that does not deserve our obedience."
  Chinese Coronavirus and the End of Authority
  
• "Justifying the decision, the school's vice president and general counsel, Robert Norton, reportedly referred to a phrase in the governor's order that states, 'Nothing in this order shall be taken to abridge protections guaranteed by the state or federal constitution under these emergency circumstances.'
  Hillsdale College Holds In-Person Graduation Ceremony In Defiance of Wretched Whitmer's Orders
  
• "66 of 67 counties have received their funding and are working quickly to infuse it into their local economies, helping thousands of businesses, non-profits, municipalities, and more. Lebanon County is the only one left in Pennsylvania that has not received the money as promised by the Federal Government."
  Republican Official Goes After Governor Of His State For Withholding Funds From Only One County For Defying His Orders
  
• "New Jersey's thin-skinned Democrat governor does not want to be held responsible for his bad [Chinese] coronavirus policies."
  Democrat Gov. Phil Murphy: If You Don't Like My Chinese Coronavirus Lockdown, Move
  
• "Authoritarian blue-state governors and mayors thought they could conduct lockdowns without dire consequences. No such luck."
  Deferred Disease Disaster Dawning on Democrats

  SHAMPEACHMENT, CLINTON/OBAMA COUP, CONGRESSIONAL PERSECUTION, SPYGATE, DEEP STATE, MUELLER DECEPTION

• Mark Meadows: "I think the American people expect indictments. I know I expect indictments based on the evidence I've seen."
  "Starting to Unravel": Trump Chief of Staff Expects Indictments From Durham Probe
  
• "So we are going to persist with that litigation. We hope that we get it this year. If we don't, we will continue until we do."
  Schiff-for-Brains: After Trump Is Gone We Will Continue to Investigate and "Expose What He Did"
  
• "Recently released documents from the Senate Judiciary Committee raise more questions about Comey's investigation into Trump."
  What Did Comey Know, and When Did He Know It? (everything, and from the beginning - jjs)

  DEMOCRAT-LEFTIST SCANDALS, CRIMES, CHUTZ-POCRISY, MESHUGAS

• "A political earthquake in the most corrupt state in the union has the longest-serving and most powerful state level Democrat politician sweating bullets."
  Huge Illinois Utility Paying $200 Million to settle Bribery Case Implicating the Real Boss of Illinois Politics, House Speaker Michael Madigan
  
• "High-profile progressive non-profits who influence public policy in very detrimental ways are recipients of forgivable Paycheck Protection Program loans."
  Progressive Non-Profits Exploit the CARES Act
  
• "Whitehouse has said Republicans use dark money groups in order to pack courts and has also attacked dark money groups in reference to climate change."
  Sen. Sheldon Whorehouse Speaks at Dark Money Group's Event... After Railing Against Dark Money Groups
  
• "Senator Whitehouse needs to get his head checked."
  Sheldon Whorehouse Claims - Without Evidence - That the FBI Ran "Fake" Kavanaugh Tip Line During Confirmation Battle

  OFFICIAL DEMOCRAT PARTY-ENDORSED ANTI-SEMITISM, ANTI-CHRISTIANITY

• "'That stuff should never come up in your vocabulary, and it should never come up in your heart,' said Charles Barkley about expressions of anti-Semitism from prominent black Americans."
  Charles Barkley on Anti-Semitism: "We Can't Allow Black People to be Prejudiced Also"
  
• "The Democrat Party continues to ignore Rasha Mubarak's bigotry and fanaticism."
  Democrat National Committeewoman Memorializes Dead Palestinian Car-Ramming Terrorist

  POLITICS, 2020 ELECTION

• "They're already trying to make it about Getting Trump with Lewis just an incidental." (Wellstone's send-off was supposed to get Dubya, but the Dems lost the House instead - jjs)
  Democrats Get Ready for a Wellstone Funeral for John Lewis
  
• Daniel Greenfield: "The civil rights legend who sold out to the party of George Wallace."
  Rep. John Lewis Raised Millions While His District Starved
  
• "The media is polling [all] adults. Not likely voters. If you poll likely voters, like Rasmussen did, where you use a model of actual voter turnout, Republicans, who vote over 90% for Trump, will be one-third of the poll."
  Pollster John McLaughlin: Media Surveys Deliberately Underplaying Trump Voters
  
• "America's foundational values are being torn down, canceled, and erased from our culture. Wake up, senators. You have just a handful of weeks to remind us why you're relevant."
  The GOP Senate Is Asleep at the Wheel
  
• "If Republicans want to win in November, they'd better stop groveling and get with the program to publicly expose BLM for the radical group that it is."
  BLM's Star Will Fade in the Light
  
• "The poll showed that despite a nationwide effort by Democrats, the majority of American adults want to vote in-person in the 2020 presidential election."
  WaPo/ABC News Poll: Plurality of Americans Say Mail-In Voting is Vulnerable to Fraud
  
• They all voted Republican?
  Over 100,000 California Mail-In Ballots Thrown Out Due to Mistakes
  
• "Unlike absentee voting, universal mail-in voting is susceptible to fraud because it sends a mail-in ballot to every registered voter -- including noncitizens who may have unintentionally registered, those who have been inactive for decades, and voters who have since died."
  True the Vote Founder: Mail-In Voting Is "Engineered Chaos" to Manipulate 2020 Election
  
• "Despite last-second endorsements from Hillary Clinton and New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, who endorsed him because 'seniority matters,' Engel came up far short."
  Rep Eliot Engel Officially Loses New York Primary to Raving Maoist Jew-Hater Jamaal Bowman
  
• "'Gary Peters doesn't speak for black people. We speak for ourselves,' [GOP Senate candidate John] James declared."
  Senate Dem Running Against Black Republican Thinks It's a Good Idea to Push the "1619 Project"
  
• "Joe Biden signed the death warrant for his campaign last week, even if he doesn't know it... The Democrats are following the same road to oblivion as Australia's Labor party and the UK's Labour Party did last year, with similar agendas."
  Beware the Biden-Sanders Radical Lefty Manifesto
  
• "Joe is trying to con the religious."
  Believers for Biden?
  
• "Without traditional campaign trail scrutiny, Democrats are crafting a far-left agenda for Biden to implement under the mask of a 'moderate.'"
  Joe Biden is a Vehicle for the Revolution
  
• "When asked about why he escaped to the South, my grandfather would reply, 'I wanted to be free to worship G-d.'"
  My Grandparents Escaped North Korea: I Don't Want Marxism Here
  
• Victor Davis Hanson: "It's all about the power, not the equality."
  Will 2021 Be 1984?

  FIRST AMENDMENT, CENSORSHIP, FAKE NEWS, MEDIA, BIG BROTHER BIG TECH

• "Wallace falsely claimed that Joe Biden wouldn't dream of defunding the police. Actually, that's exactly what Biden's policy platform and own statements say will be done."
  Channeling Candy Crowley: Chris Wallace Uses His Interview with President Trump to Argue with the Man -- And Gets His Facts Wrong
  
• "Distrust in the impartiality of major news organizations was highest among those who get most of their news from social media, radio and the Internet - and lowest among those who get most of their news from newspapers."
  63% of Voters Say Media Pushing Political Agenda; Distrust Highest Among Social Media Users
  
• Dr. Brian Joondeph: "The aim is not to inform on [Chinese] COVID but to drive Trump from office."
  Media Malpractice on Chinese COVID Numbers
  
• "The media are openly rooting for a surge in [Chinese] coronavirus cases, cheering for violence and racial division in our streets, and praying for a slow economic recovery, because they are hoping it will hurt Trump at the polls."
  The Veil Has Dropped from the Mainstream Media
  
• "The lawsuit suggests that other NBC commentators have made similar, lewd jokes about coworkers and received a pass from network management."
  Jeremy Roenick Sues NBC Sports, Claims He Was Fired For Being Straight, Supporting Donald Trump
  
• "A powerful story published by The Atlantic has a serious problem: proof it ever happened."
  "I'm... At a Loss For Words": The Unraveling Narrative Behind The Atlantic's Defund-the-Police "Shooting" Tale
  
• "It's almost as if she views race as a construct that she can arbitrarily use to fit her ideology at any given moment. If a school is majority Asian and doing really well, then those people aren't 'real' minorities anymore."
  And the Insanity at the NY Times Continues: "Journalist" Nikole Hannah-Jones Claims Asians Aren't "People of Color"
  
• "[S]houldn't such breathtaking self-righteousness include the responsibility to lead by example? Shouldn't the Times first clean out the Confederates in its own closet?"
  Claim: Ancestors of New York Times Family Included Slave Owners, Confederate Supporters
  
• "The son of media magnate Rupurt Murdoch and his wife each donated $615,000 to Democrat Joe Biden's presidential campaign."
  Fox News Family's James Murdoch and Wife Donate $1.2 Million to Joe Biden
  
• "Chris Hayes sights the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. They're all wearing MAGA caps."
  Chris Hayes Explains it All for You
  
• Roger Kimball: "Orwell intended Nineteen Eighty-Four as a warning, an admonition. Our woke social justice warriors, supposing they are even aware of Orwell's work, would seem to regard it as a plan of action, a how-to manual."
  Our Worship of Power Over Truth

  SECOND AMENDMENT

• "DC police blame 'unprecedented demand' for months-long waits on handgun transfers."
  Heller Weighing Another D.C. Gun Suit

  FOREIGN AFFAIRS, INTERNATIONAL

• "Fire breaks out just over a year after a massive fire destroyed historic Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris."
  Arson Suspected in Blaze within French Medieval Cathedral at Nantes
  
• "Blacklisting millions of card-carrying Communists will be an 'affront' to Beijing, says China's Foreign Ministry."
  Beijing Enraged Over Proposed US Visa Ban On All Chinese Communist Party Members
  
• "The footage, originally released late last year, has circulated widely online in light of increased information about China's treatment of the Uyghur minority population, over a million of whom have reportedly been subjected to forced 're-education' or detention camps, and in some instances forced sterilization."
  Chinese Official Confronted With "Disturbing" Detainment Footage. He Deflects: Region "Beautiful"
  
• "With the Iranian economy failing, Hezbollah chief Nasrallah tells followers to 'look east' to Communist China for rescue."
  Hezbollah Seeks Chinese Bailout Amid Lebanon's Growing Economic Woes
  
• "China is the top trafficker of fentanyl to the United States... In 2018 alone, the deadly drug and its analogs led to at least 30,000 overdose deaths. The drug is 80 times more powerful than morphine."
  US Sanctions Chinese Firm, Traffickers for Fentanyl Imports
  
• "The president's announcement in a televised address on Saturday has led to much confusion because Rouhani's statistics are vastly higher than anything announced by the health ministry."
  Shock: Iran Says 25 Million Citizens Have Chinese Coronavirus
  
• "The Trump administration has recently been flirting with another US-North Korean summit."
  Will There Be Another Trump-Kim Summit?
  
• "Whether or not to 'glorify' Ukraine in 2014 was a question as pressing as proclaiming 'Black Lives Matter' or insisting all lives matter in America today."
  A Lesson From Ukraine on Revolution
  
• Katie Hopkins: "Is the BLM 'Surge of Power' primed to self-destruct?"
  Black Lives Matter Claims Another Scalp - But at What Cost?

  DEFENSE, MILITARY, SECURITY AFFAIRS

• "Russian intelligence is interfering in the effort to formulate a [Chinese] COVID-19 vaccine."
  Russia, Espionage, and the Chinese Coronavirus
  
• "The rocket, known as Tianwen-1, marks China's first attempt at a mission to Mars. Planning to launch next week, the PRC hopes this will be the first of many moves in its attempt to dominate space."
  Chinese Mars Rocket Moves Into Place for Launch
  
• "It would be irrational to assume that terrorists will not attempt to duplicate the results they have observed during the current crisis. If we are to prevent such threats, we must learn as well." (they already have a WMD; it's the Democrat Party - jjs)
  Former CIA Officer: Terrorists Will Learn From Chinese COVID and So Must We
  
• "The flags we fly must accord with the military imperatives of good order and discipline, treating all our people with dignity and respect, and rejecting divisive symbols."
  Defense Secretary Mark Esper Bans Display of Confederate Flags at DoD

  WE-ALL-SLAM-FOR-I-SLAM

• Robert Spencer: "Just ignore those rivers of blood."
  Turkish Supreme Court: Sultan Mehmet Bought Hagia Sophia Fair and Square

  DOMESTIC AFFAIRS, THE BUREAUCRACY, WASTE, FRAUD, ABUSE

• Mark Meadows: "I can't imagine that if he had a vacancy on the Supreme Court that he would not very quickly make the appointment and look for the Senate to take quick action."
  Would President Trump Fill a Vacant SCOTUS Seat Before 2020 Election? Almost Certainly
  
• "Just when you've had it with BLM and [Chinese] COVID-19, here comes this year's Supreme Court hearings."
  As if 2020 Wasn't Contentious Enough
  
• "Profiteering race theorists expand their footprint in the federal bureaucracy."
  "White Fragility" Comes to Washington
  
• "As Trump mentions, Biden's policy will put local zoning in the hands of federal bureaucrats. To receive HUD grants and highway funds, communities will need to agree to eliminate zoning for single-family housing. The president then correctly draws the conclusion that housing values will go down in areas where this policy is implemented."
  Trump's Warning That Biden Would "Abolish the Suburbs" Isn't Racist, and It Isn't Hyperbole, Either

  CRIME & PUNISHMENT, NON-DOSTOYEVSKY

• "Recently, [Judge Esther Salas] has presided over an ongoing lawsuit from Deutsche Bank investors who claim the company failed to monitor "high-risk" customers including late pedophile Jeffrey Epstein.
  Gunman Disguised as Delivery Driver Kills Son, Shoots Husband of NJ Federal Judge
  
• "The act is getting played out."
  Chicago Police Statistics Destroy Black Lives Matter Narrative
  
• "Comprehensive facts show that this allegation against police is false."
  Fact Check: Do Black People Suffer Disproportionately From Police Brutality?
  
• "The Broward County Sheriff's Office received 18 calls about the school shooter, Nikolas Cruz, and nothing was done to keep guns out of his hands."
  Sun Sentinel Endorses Disgraced Sheriff Scott Israel Who Denied Any Responsibility For Parkland Shooting Failures

  EDUCATION, AND WHAT PASSES FOR IT

• "...the new curriculum... will teach children as young as 5 about institutional racism... The SPLC has a long history of branding non-bigoted groups as hateful based on ideological differences."
  Virginia Kindergarteners Will Learn About Slavery Along With Alphabet, Thanks To Curriculum Designed With SPLC
  
• "Suit accuses state schools of shortchanging locals in favor of international students."
  U-Cal Snubs Local Students To Woo Chinese Elite, Lawsuit Alleges
  
• "Universities want money, but not accountability, for how they use federal funds."
  Title VI Funding and Man at Yale
  
• "They provide a unique educational alternative for disadvantaged kids."
  Why We Still Need Catholic Schools

  RED-GREENS, CLIMATE CHANGE HOAX, JUNK SCIENCE, LYSENKOISM

• "His regulatory reinterpretation of NEPA will accelerate the approval of infrastructure projects."
  Trump Overhauls Stifling Environmental Regulations

  CULTURE WARS, NATIONAL SUICIDE

• "Corporations are shelling out protection money as 'social justice' donations."
  BLM's Corporate Extortion
  
• "Our products work the best when they're sold as part of this overall customer experience within the store. We're not ready to give that up. For us, the brand is too important, and the store is our brand."
  Petition Calls on Trader Joe's Grocery Stores to Change "Racist" Ethnic Product Names
  
• "This story is wonderful for several reasons. First, [Goya CEO Robert] Unanue rejected calls to apologize and infuriated the mob. The mob doubled down and ended up looking foolish as stores emptied of Goya products."
  Bodega Owners Reject Goya Boycott, Donkey-Chompers AOC Hardest Hit
  
• "The Left finds ever new ways to play into the president's hands."
  Goya Boycott Doesn't Bode Well for Civil Society
  
• "The insane political correctness - even though it's mostly correct - is gonna make Trump win."
  "It's a Class Issue": Hollywood Director John Waters Claims Political Correctness Will Lead To Trump Re-Election
  
• "Another example of criticism of Black Lives Matter movement falsely being equated with racism: 'the world's largest networking company, said it fired 'a handful' of workers for inappropriate conduct because it 'will not tolerate' racism.'"Cisco Fires Employees for Criticizing Black Lives Matter During Online Diversity Forum
  
• "Nick Cannon's comments about whites being 'genetically inferior' and 'closer to animals' than blacks would have been front-page news if they had been uttered by a white person about blacks."
  Why ViacomCBS Ignored Nick Cannon's Remarks About White People's "Genetic Inferiority"
  
• "If we are going to engage in the rename game to cleanse society of any reference to anything the thought police find objectionable, military bases will be joined by almost anything else that has a name."
  The Rush to Destroy the Past
  
• "Burning civilization down may seem an odd way to rid a society of its defects. But trial by fire characterizes the ideology behind the current wave of destruction."
  "Burn, Baby Burn": The Futile Revolutionaries of Today
  
• "Is Black Lives Matter becoming a state religion? Is the New York Times. "1619 Project" its scripture?"
  Preambles to Revolution
  
• "Our culture has gone from the 'don't judge' mantra of a couple decades ago to judging everyone, but we did not reestablish a rational foundation for that judgment along the way."
  How "Don't Judge" Turned Into "Cancel the Bigots"
  
• "There's irony in the fact that the party which considers itself 'pro-immigrant' is also the one that wants to destroy our country's rich and complicated heritage."
  We Immigrants Know the America-Bashers Are Ridiculously Wrong
  
• Rabbi Fischer: "But after a good cry, wipe the tears and take back our culture and values while we still can."
  Cry the Beloved Country

  HITHER & YON

• Christian Toto: "The superlative feature on black conservatives is getting people's attention."
  Uncle Tom Doc Soars at IMDB, Ignored on Rotten Tomatoes

NOTE: The opinions expressed in some links may or may not reflect my own. I include them because of their relevance to the discussion of a particular issue.

ALSO: The Morning Report is cross-posted at CutJibNewsletter.com if you want to continue the conversation all day.

Follow us on Twitter: @CutJibNews

Sunday Overnight Open Thread (7/19/20)

—Misanthropic Humanitarian

Quote I

“Let Biden sit through an interview like this, he’ll be on the ground crying for mommy. He’ll say, 'Mommy, mommy, please take me home,'”President Donald J. Trump

Quote II

“It’s not connecting to the science. It’s propaganda. I trust myself. I am the science,” Ohio resident Cherrelyn Pierson

Quote III

“I don’t understand how you beat hatred with more hatred” Charles Barkley

Quote IV

"I've found myself very annoyed with the rise of right-wing populism," he said. "So I thought I'd do my own thing to push back against them."Adam Rahuba

***

Comments of The Week

&&&

***

So Karen's sad and bitter life, just took a turn for the worse.

After the video of Juan Andrade where it shows a racist incident between him and a woman from Rancho Mirage at the Parkview Villas circulated,the city has taken action on the disturbing incident.

The City Attorney Steve Quintanilla along with the Housing Authority’s Manager Marcus Aleman say they will initiate an investigation process. They said “The Rancho Mirage HOusing Authority has a zero-tolerance policy for this type of behavior and the harassment of any one, including other tenants, visitors, guests and contracted vendors conducting work at its affordable senior housing properties.”

Several Neighbors from the community have also reacted to the video that is now circulating on social media.

“We don’t need people like that living here,” said Evelyn DeMaria, who lives near the Parkview Villas. And Luis Medina who does live in the villas said “We live around the neighborhood and we are supposed to be more together and more friendly.”

***

It looks like the summer of peace, love and understanding criminality in Seattle continues.

***

I doubt if either one of these gals is a Karen. A new twist to drinking playing rock, paper, scissors.

***

Hey Navy, please tell us you had full coverage.

Photos have emerged online this week of the charred insides of the amphibious assault ship Bonhomme Richard, which burned for more than four days this week.

A Navy official confirmed the authenticity of the images.

The collection below was gathered and posted on Twitter by @Osinttechnical.

***

Just thinking out loud here. When does the New York Times get burned to the ground? Surely, the Times is just as bad as a local Target store.

It’s far worse than I thought. In addition to the many links between the family that owns The New York Times and the Civil War Confederacy, new evidence shows that members of the extended family were slaveholders.

Last Sunday, I recounted that Bertha Levy Ochs, the mother of Times patriarch Adolph S. Ochs, supported the South and slavery. She was caught smuggling medicine to Confederates in a baby carriage and her brother Oscar joined the rebel army.

I have since learned that, according to a family history, Oscar Levy fought alongside two Mississippi cousins, meaning at least three members of Bertha’s family fought for secession.

Adolph Ochs’ own “Southern sympathies” were reflected in the content of the Chattanooga Times, the first newspaper he owned, and then The New York Times. The latter published an editorial in 1900 saying the Democratic Party, which Ochs supported, “may justly insist that the evils of negro suffrage were wantonly inflicted on them.”

***

Here I thought Disney World was supposed to be fun. Guess I was wrong.

Add “eating and drinking while walking” to the list of things you can’t do at Walt Disney World in the pandemic era.

Like some Las Vegas casinos, the park has banned consumption of food and drink on the move in order to ensure masks are worn at all times.

Disney World has been under fire in some quarters for reopening at a time when COVID-19 cases are spiking, particularly in its home state of Florida. To minimize the potential spread of the disease, the theme park has instituted many new rules on social distancing, capacity, and cleaning. It is also requiring masks to be worn at all times.

Previously, the rule’s exception on masks was limited to eating and drinking. But that loophole has now been closed, as patrons were seen walking throughout the park with beverages and food sans masks.

***

A real leader elected to a position of governance would have used every method available including deadly force to stop this bullshit. However, white guilt enablers have to enable.

On Saturday evening, two groups of antifa and Black Lives Matter rioters terrorized Portland, squaring off against police and federal troops. One group attacked the Portland Police Bureau’s North Precinct and the Portland Police Association (PPA) — the police union — while the other group targeted the federal courthouse and Justice Center, returning to set yet another bonfire at the ruins of the elk statue nearby. Antifa broke into the PPA and set it on fire. Before the violence began on this 51st day of unrest in Portland, Mayor Ted Wheeler (D-Portland) decided to hamstring federal troops, aiming to prevent local law enforcement from teaming up with them.

Water cannons and .308 ammunition for the win.

****

Over the years we've chuckled over Obnoxious Voice Girl and the kayak eating bear.

However, this is different. Much different.

***

Neither rain nor sleet nor bullets will stop a US armed forces cook out.

Nothing will stop this BBQ from going as planned!
Most of us just gone done celebrating the 4th of July. Hopefully, you were able to enjoy a nice BBQ dinner with family and friends. For most of our servicemen and women fighting overseas, the chance to enjoy some nice steaks and brats on the grill must be a rare treat, especially in Afghanistan.

That is where the troops in this video are serving. While the meal is being prepared, the soldiers come under fire from Taliban who seem determined to ruin this celebration.

***

You will be made to care. No deviation from "Group Think".

THE BRONX, N.Y., July 17, 2020 — The Foundation for Individual Rights in Education is taking aim at Fordham University for placing a student on probation for two images he posted on social media, one of which memorialized the Tiananmen Square Massacre.

On June 3, rising senior Austin Tong posted to his Instagram account a photo of David Dorn, a retired St. Louis police captain killed by looters in the unrest following the killing of George Floyd. The photo included the caption, “Y’all a bunch of hypocrites,” a reference to Tong’s frustration, as a supporter of the Black Lives Matter movement, with what he refers to as “the nonchalant societal reaction over [Dorn’s] death.”

The following day, June 4, was the 31st anniversary of the Tiananmen Square massacre of pro-democracy activists. Tong, who emigrated from China as a child, posed for a photo holding a legally-obtained gun off-campus, with the caption “Don’t tread on me.” The caption also included an American flag emoji, a Chinese flag emoji, and a hashtag commonly used by Chinese citizens to avoid censorship of online discussion of the Tiananmen Square massacre.

Fordham wrote to Tong on June 8, when Dean of Students Keith Eldredge informed Tong he was under investigation by the university for the two photos. On Tuesday, Fordham handed down its verdict: Tong was found guilty of violating university policies on “bias and/or hate crimes” and “threats/intimidation.”

***

The ONT Musical Interlude

Born on this day: July 19, 1944 - Commander Cody
Commander Cody, (George Frayne), piano, vocals, Commander Cody And His Lost Planet Airmen, country rock group. via thisdayinmusic.com

&&&

Born on this day: July 19, 1947 - Brian May
Brian May, guitarist, singer and songwriter with Queen who had the 1975 UK No.1 single 'Bohemian Rhapsody' which returned to No.1 in 1991. Queen scored over 40 other UK Top 40 singles, and also scored the 1980 US No.1 single 'Crazy Little Thing Called Love'. May had the solo 1992 UK No.5 single 'Too Much Love Will Kill You'. May was made Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 2005 for 'services to the music industry and his charity work'. May earned a PhD in astrophysics from Imperial College, London, in 2007. via thisdayinmusic.com

***

Always read the fine print. Or you to could become a Genius Award Winner.

A state plane transporting wildland firefighters crashed near Aniak in late May after the wrong type of fuel was put into the tanks just before takeoff, according to a federal report.

Pilot Mark Jordan, of Eagle River, and three Alaska Division of Forestry firefighters were hurt when the Aero Commander 500 Shrike crashed into a large pond in a gravel pit near the Western Alaska town on May 28.

Two of them suffered more serious injuries: Jordan, who is making progress after several surgeries, and a Hooper Bay firefighter who’s been released from the hospital but is still doing physical therapy in Anchorage, Forestry spokesman Tim Mowry said this week. Another firefighter from Aniak is recovering from hand surgery.

Jordan, an experienced pilot, was hired in the spring. It’s not clear when he can return to duty, Mowry said. Forestry is looking into replacing the aircraft.

The plane was transporting the firefighters to McGrath, where they were to be sent on wildfire responses from the Kenai/Kodiak area forestry station in Soldotna.

Jordan said he had the Aniak fuel vendor’s ground-service personnel refuel the plane, according to the preliminary report filed by National Transportation Safety Board investigator Brice Banning. The pilot signed the fuel receipt and returned to the cockpit to finish paperwork before departure.

Jordan loaded his passengers, started the airplane’s engines and taxied to the runway for departure, the report says.

The fuel vendor’s truck driver wasn’t familiar with the plane and had to ask the pilot for information, according to the NTSB report. Before he started refueling, the report states, the driver asked Jordan, “Do you want Prist with your Jet?” Prist is an additive used to prevent fuel from gelling in turbine engines that tend to fly at higher altitudes. “Jet” is Jet A fuel.

***

Brotherly love. Tonight's Feel Good Story of The Day.

A brave six-year-old boy in Wyoming risked his own life to save his little sister from a dog attack.

Bridger Walker deliberately stood in front of his sister as the charging dog approached.

After getting bit several times on the face and head, he grabbed his sister's hand and ran with her to keep her safe.

Bridger required 90 stitches on his face as a result.

"If someone had to die, I thought it should be me," he told his aunt Nikki, who posted the story on Instagram.

***

Tonight's ONT has been brought to you by The Perfect Door Mat.

Notice: Posted with permission by the Ace Media Empire and AceCorp, LLC. Not responsible for hurt feelings, bruised egos or overcooked steaks.

Close it up

Gun Thread: Too Damn Hot Edition! [Weasel]

—Open Blogger

The weather forecast for the farm was back and forth all week, alternating between rain, and hotter than hell with high humidity. It finally settled on hotter than hell and high humidity, and after a period of thoughtful introspection, I said screw it and decided to stay home. So, no WeaselAcres video for you! The Gun Thread must go on, however, so let's get to that below, shall we?

First Time Gun Buyer Guide
As happens from time to time, last week someone asked in the comments for a recommendation for their first gun purchase. It's a question that isn't as easy to answer as we've found over the last couple of years, and I suggested we come up with First Gun: A Buying Guide for Morons, and solicited everyone's thoughts on the matter. During the week I received some excellent and thoughtful responses, but would like to get a few more so I need your help. The idea is to collaboratively produce a document for the first time gun buyer, so please send me your thoughts and suggestions, and I will incorporate it all to a single document and post it here in draft for comments. Once we have a final draft which we all generally agree on (ha!), I will link to it in future threads. I do not want to simply recommend a specific brand or model, but do think it's OK to list some that are good options under your personal criteria for concealability, capacity, simplicity of use, and so forth. I'd like the final product to be something which someone with no prior firearms experience could read before heading to the gun store and hopefully allow them to be a more informed buyer. If you would like to help, send your ideas to the morongunthread gmail address. Thanks!

*****
Thank You
We continue to have great contributions to the Gun Thread, whether in the form of range reports, ideas, questions, or links. It is bigly appreciated and I want to take a moment to thank you all for the support!

*****

First up, we have a very good question from our pal B738.

For those who carry, should you also carry some non-lethal defense such as pepper spray?

If the situation goes bad and you have to use deadly force, I could see this going two ways:

1) You had a non-lethal option but the situation was so bad you couldn't use it. Strengthens the use of deadly force, looks good to the jury, or

2) Why didn't you try the pepper spray before using deadly force? You are a wanna be Rambo, looks bad to the jury.

I look forward to reading the discussion.

Is carrying a non-lethal deterrent as well as a firearm a good idea? Good or bad, it would certainly add complexity in a use-of-force situation. Great question, B738! So what do you all think?

*****

Next up, we have a new addition to the hogmartin collection!

It followed me home and I got my scent on it and now the mother won't take it back.

Very nice! Why, if I'm not mistaken, it's a Ruger SR 1911 Model 6708, Commander size, with a steel frame and a 4 1/4 inch barrel. The happy new owner goes on to tell us about his first outing with it.

Just took it to the range and put 50 rounds through it, works great. Just need some practice. The trigger is very different from a striker gun. The manual of arms is very straightforward, but I'll want to develop the muscle memory before I start carrying it.

The grips are fine, even though they look like a cheese grater, but I think I want a magazine release cutout so I don't have to shift my grip to drop the magazine. While I'm at it, might as well put on something a little more understated, like mother-of-pearl with a gold Virgen de Guadalupe, or maybe purple metal-flake. We'll see.

Not quite what we'd hoped for, but here's another look:

Until then, I've got Magpul MOEs on it. They've got a nice scoop for the mag release, and they were $10 or so at the LGS.

Here's a peek at hogmartin's target.

24 rounds at 7yd. Had a couple failures to go fully into battery. Might be the extractor is stiff? I don't know how to drive a 1911 so I'm just guessing

Sounds reasonable with a new gun. Give it a couple of hundred rounds to settle in, and as you become more familiar with it, please let us know how it's going. Again, it's a very nice handgun, and best of luck pimping it out!! Congratulations hogmartin!

*****

Next, our pal Radioactive G-Spot sends us the following range report with his P64.

I picked up a surplus Polish P64 9mm Makarov last year, and this was its second trip to the range. The old school commie-block sights aren't the greatest, but the pistol is in great shape and is fun to shoot, with surplus ammo still available and fairly priced. I purchased a recoil spring kit from Wolff, and was trying out the different springs. Shot a box of 50, and this pic is the last magazine through using the 20# spring at around 10 yards. The low shot was the first shot in double action, with shots 2-6 in the box in single action. The double action trigger pull is a bit brisk; about 25#. The hole at the top was there before I hung the target.

Nice job, Radioactive G-Spot! Holy crap, 25# in double action? That's pretty heavy! Not sure I have a gun with that heavy a trigger pull, and I'm not a fan of really light triggers in the first place. I'm used to around maybe 8# in DA. It's a great looking gun and appears to be in excellent condition. It's nice that you're getting out and having a good time with it. Thanks for sending it in!

*****

Next we have a nice setup sent to us by our pal Coelacanth, who has ATN scope on a FNAR with a 1903 sling and a Magpul bipod.

Well, made it to the range to work with a rifle and an ATN electronic scope. Lots of buttons to push and not totally intuitive but once sighted in it's almost spooky. It needs a little more fine tuning but I was able to consistently ring the 300 yard gong with no holdover. It moves the reticle to compensate for distance and angle.

Coelacanth goes on to tell us:

It's an ATN X-sight 4.5-20X native, can be electronically zoomed much further at the cost of pixelation and blurring. Color rendering is poor in daylight. Significant low light capability. Internal battery life is 18 hours continuous. The pouch on the stock adds a bit of height for a better cheek weld and storage for a much larger battery that adds a lot more function time. You can control it through an app on your phone or iPad via Bluetooth. It will also talk to their Laser rangefinders and automatically adjust the reticle for distance. Compensation for temp, altitude, barometric pressure, angle of shot and compass direction as well. Can be programmed for 8 different rounds or different rifles. Has other features as well. Fairly steep learning curve but with a bit of practice...

Well that's pretty damn interesting. I have a friend who is interested in an ATN scope. Once you have some more time behind it, I hope you will give us an update, particularly on the function of the ballistic computer effectiveness. Very cool! Thanks for sending this in!

Does anyone else have experience with the ATN product line, and care to share your thoughts? If you haven't noticed by now, I'm Old Skool when it comes to shooting, particularly long distance shooting. I've always been of the opinion the shooter needs to know how to make these computations quickly on their own, but the technology really seems to be advancing quickly in this area, and something like this to ease the workload is definitely worth a look. I don't think it should take the place of good solid fundamentals, but there's noting wrong with a product which makes your job behind the gun easier.

What do you think?

*****

Another question we see a lot is whether it's OK to store magazines loaded. Our pal and most excellent Gun Thread contributor, redc1c4 sends us a great video on the subject from Classic Firearms. Thanks redc1c4!

So video guy is of the opinion it's OK to store them loaded, but he seems to be talking in terms of relatively short periods of time - on the order of a month or so. He does mention setting a magazine aside for a full year to see how it does over a prolonged period, but we don't know the outcome. How about you all? Do you store them loaded, unloaded, or both? Any Rocket Surgeons out there with the science behind springs?

*****

Glock Innards
Last week we had a great conversation on the pros and cons of Glocks. You're either a Glock fan, or you're not. It was nice, however, to have the conversation without it devolving into a melee in the comments. Anyhoo, I ran across this pretty spiffy cutaway animation of a Glock 43 and thought you might enjoy taking a peek inside.

******

Stabby Things
I'm going from my typically unreliable memory, but I think it was our pal and delightful 'ette VoterMom who asked for a section on pointy and stabby things. So here's one from the Weasel collection to kick things off. It's a Wasp Pattern Commando Knife made by J. Nowill & Sons of Sheffield, England. The company has been making knives for something like 400 years, and this particular example makes a very efficient letter opener. The .223 cartridge is shown for reference.

Letter opener for those difficult mail pieces

So what do you have in your sheath? Send in a picture and description and I'll include them here!

******

ATTENTION NoVaMoMe 2020!!

Sad people who cannot make the new NoVaMoMe date of August 29th

SOLD OUT! Wait List is Closed!

Due the Chinese Cooties hysteria in Virginia, the NoVaMoMe 2020 has been postponed until Saturday, August 29th. The time and location remain the same. If you haven't already, please check your email and let the Central Planning Committee know if you are unable to make this new date. If you are unable to attend, your registration fee will be refunded and we will open your spot to someone on the wait list which is now closed to new signups. Questions? Just email us at NoVaMoMe2020 at gee mail dot com. Thank you!

******

Link-O-Rama

I'm really very seriously not kidding around anymore. Buy Ammo.
AmmoSeek - online ammo search tool
GunBot - online ammo search tool
SG Ammo
Palmetto State Armory
Georgia Arms
AmmoMan
Target Sports USA

***Mail Bag***

This week we have a great find from our pal Zakn!

Please note the new and improved gmail account morongunthread at gmail dot com. An informal Gun Thread archive can be found HERE. 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?

Close it up

Food Thread: Try It; You'll (Probably) Like It!

—CBD

Well, the food rabbit hole has struck again. Somebody mentioned a chain that served good coffee, and I found another one with the same name that serves what looks to me like a sloppy joe, but they call it a "Crumbly Burger!" Wow...that would be a mess in the car.

But that's the pleasure of having a relatively open mind about food. Why not try it? I am not suggesting that you jump the shark and try Skyline Chili or Rocky Mountain Oysters, although some of you might think that sweetbreads is a vile food, and you would be spectacularly wrong!

The photograph is from the internet, not the home of the "Crumbly Burger," but it does look good. Tarting up pedestrian foods is one of the many conceits of a certain class of chefs, and most of the time the results are no better than the originals, and twice or three times the price!

Even when they are successful, the originals are often just as good, and certainly more authentic, and will remind us of times from our youth. That's certainly why I make some old and reliable dishes from my past.

How about you?

******
Speaking of trying new things! I have had Shishito peppers in restaurants, but have never seen them in stores until yesterday. And they were great! Easy to prepare and loads of fun to eat while sitting outside and drinking something cold.

And those are thin-sliced lamb shoulder chops in the Sous Vide bags, waiting to be opened, dried off then grilled for a few minutes. Because I needed a side dish for the cheeseburgers!

******
Before his rant I get to mock him for using "sweet & sour mix." Awful. And unnecessary. Use some lime juice and a squirt of simple syrup. Who are you people?

Infrequent poster "Top.Man." here with a recipe for a nice summertime cocktail - the Key Lime Martini. But first, a slight rant.

I believe there's only one cocktail that can be called a Martini (fight me!), which is 2 ounces of dry gin and 5 seconds of silence for the vermouth. Actually, I fill a shaker with ice cubes, add an ounce of vermouth and shake, strain out the vermouth, then add the gin and shake again. Whatever vermouth is left on the cubes is imparted to the gin.

Anyway, this is the Key Lime Martini recipe as given to me by the bartender at the Hollywood Brown Derby restaurant in Disney's Hollywood Studios in Orlando. I think it's a winner.

1 1/2 oz. vodka
1/2 oz. Licor 43 (a citrus liqueur from Spain, commonly available)
1/2 oz. Cointreau
1/2 oz. sweet & sour mix

Shake all with ice, strain into a martini glass. Garnish with a thin lime slice.

To be fair, "Top.Man" recognized his failing and suggested the lime/simple replacement. But his Martini is just wrong. I love gin, and will drink shaken gin quite happily. However that isn't a proper Martini.
******

From reader "DWinGA" comes a really interesting idea for those lucky enough to have too many tomatoes on hand. I am in awe of you folks, because I can barely grow mold on cheese, much less fruits and vegetables.

Any readers need an idea of what to do with a bounty of tomatoes, and you've got plenty of marinara sauce already put up, try some tomato preserves.

4 Cups tomatoes, blanched, peeled and quartered
1 lemon, halved, then sliced thin
4 cups sugar
2 cinnamon sticks
a 1-inch stick of fresh ginger root, peeled
2 tbsp butter

- Add all ingredients, except butter, into a large pot and slowly bring to a boil, stirring gently
- When foam rises, add the butter
- boil on medium heat for about 45 minutes, until reduced by half
- pour into 1/2 pint jelly jars and can/seal in water bath for 15 minutes
- makes 5 1/2 pint jars

Makes some great preserves. Next time, I going to try to add a couple jalapenos.

******
This is crap. Don't be fooled that restaurant kitchens can make better stock. They can't. They just have the ingredients on hand every day, but if you plan your cooking and shopping with the goal of fantastic stock in mind then you too can be a cooking rock star.

Restaurants Are Selling Their Chicken Stock, and You Should Buy It

Save your chicken scraps, spatchcock whenever it makes sense (always), and since most people have onions and carrots on hand, all you need is a couple of celery sticks and maybe some parsley. The only issue is the volume of raw ingredients. I use a 3:1 ratio (at most) of water to solids, and I get wonderfully concentrated, intense and delightfully flavorful stock.

******
Anyone ever here of one of these things? Yeah...me neither. But it sounds interesting, and outrageously counter-intuitive. So I have to try it!

This Is the Best Roast Chicken We've Ever Made in the Test Kitchen

I guess it's sort of like a Tagine, but sealed completely. Weird and mysterious, especially because the vessel is called a Römertopf.

Yeah...sure. That's a real word.

******
Alton Brown uncensored. And didn't even know that he had a foul mouth. Not as bad as some, but his cursing makes him even more amusing.
******
I was fooled! Scotch whiskey caramel milkshake, is not in fact a Scotch Whiskey drink. It is a damned milkshake with a sauce that is flavored with a tiny amount of Scotch.
******
Food and cooking tips, Large-breasted Muscovy ducks, young wild pigs, bartenders who use vermouth in Martinis (but not too much), pork belly that doesn't have 5-spice, low-temperature-roast chicken, and good tomatoes that aren't square, pale pink and covered with Mestizo E.coli: cbd dot aoshq at gmail dot com. Any advocacy of French Toast with syrup will result in disciplinary action up to and including being nuked from orbit. And yes, shaking a Manhattan is blasphemy...it's in the Bible!

Close it up

First-World Problems...Part 십칠

—CBD

It's actually pretty difficult to find a cup of good coffee in my neck of the woods. There is Starbucks, which is foul swill, and a couple of boutique coffee houses that are good, but not as good as my home brew.

And then there is Dunkin' Donuts, which I have tried...once. And it wasn't bad! But it was at 7:30am, and there was a line out the door, and I got too much cream and too much sugar.

Yes, I am scarred.

But it was half the price of the other places and it was good coffee. Maybe not spectacular, but I also wasn't bombarded with New Age crap and political messages and overpriced coffee paraphernalia and pierced and tatted "baristas" who are really actors or writers.

And damn...they were hustling.

Do The Limits Of Free Speech Extend To Molotov Cocktails?

—CBD

As distasteful as flag burning is, if a protester wants to burn an American flag, then have at it. And if a protester wants to burn a cross, well, that's offensive, but the whole point of free speech laws is to protect offensive speech, not pathetic bromides spouted by smarmy fools.

But...there is a line, and a burning Molotov cocktail is clearly across that line. There is no purpose for a gasoline bomb other than destruction, and that is not protected by our natural and God-given right to speak freely.

Protester claims lighting Molotov cocktail protected by First Amendment

The federal government says it was arson. The protester charged with igniting a Molotov cocktail outside the District of Columbia police station during the recent race riots says it is protected First Amendment speech.

Jarrett Jeremy Pace, on the night he set the fire, had said on Facebook he wanted to “burn a 12 station to the ground!” The number “12” is street slang for police.

But now, Mr. Pace argues in federal district court he was speaking metaphorically, that he actually tossed the firebomb on the street near the Fourth District police station rather than at it, and that his action was not meant to burn the station but rather to express solidarity with George Floyd and protesters in Minneapolis.

But it also illuminates the Left's profound misunderstanding of speech. The saying that "Our violence is speech....your speech is violence" is unfortunately an accurate portrayal of their belief. Even Brandenburg v. Ohio isn't going to protect him, because that burning Molotov cocktail isn't advocacy, it is a clear and unambiguous threat. Well...hopefully, because if our youthful miscreant gets the right judge, he might just get off.

It's an interesting question though. Personally, I am a fan of uninhibited speech, because the quotation from Justice Brandeis is more true than ever..."Sunlight is said to be the best of disinfectants." But that's not what the Left wants. Their speech is intended to shroud their true purpose in layers of obfuscation, and that is protected by a compliant media.

Imagine if the true origins and intentions of BLM and ANTIFA were the topics of discussion on the evening news and the Sunday talk shows and were the subject of journalists' investigations, rather than what we have today...a concerted effort to limit speech about the reality of those organizations.

Sunday Morning Book Thread 07-19-2020

—OregonMuse

Daunt Books, London

Good morning to all you 'rons, 'ettes, lurkers, and lurkettes, wine moms, frat bros, crétins sans pantalon (who are technically breaking the rules), and the rest of you lab rats, street rats, pack rats, womp rats, roof rats, and naked mole rats. Welcome once again to the stately, prestigious, internationally acclaimed and high-class Sunday Morning Book Thread, a weekly compendium of reviews, observations, snark, witty repartee, hilarious bon mots, and a continuing conversation on books, reading, spending way too much money on books, writing books, and publishing books by escaped oafs and oafettes who follow words with their fingers and whose lips move as they read. Unlike other AoSHQ comment threads, the Sunday Morning Book Thread is so hoity-toity, pants are required. Even if it's these pants, which, when I retire from doing the book thread (and may that day be far into the future), and I compile my all-time list of the worst, ugliest, most ridiculous, wtf cringe-inducing pants pics that I've shown, this one will be at or near the top.

Pic Note:

A bookstore devoted exclusively to travel books:

Marylebone High Street’s Daunt Books is essentially a travel bookshop, but it’s about so much more than guidebooks. Stock is arranged by country and within each section you will find maps, travel writing and memoirs, photography, cookbooks, books on nature and often a selection of the nation’s literary classics alongside the expected travel/hotel guides. If you want to immerse yourself in wherever you’re travelling to next, this is the place to get lost in before you go. The gorgeous wooden frontage, balcony-style upper level and natural light-enabling windows of the shop enhance the experience no end, too.

It Pays To Increase Your Word Power®

Know the difference!

Disperse: distribute or spread over a wide area.
Disburse: pay out money from a fund.#dailyPedantry

— joncelli Looks Dorky In A Mask (@joncelli) July 18, 2020

(click for larger view)

Book Thread Bleg

Moron commenter 'Doof' has some books he'd like to sell:

My family has been cleaning out my mom's house as she prepares to move into a smaller senior apartment. My mom and her sister are life-long readers. And they have a lot of books lying around. Boxes and boxes and boxes. Mixed in among WAY TOO MANY paperbacks, we have found several hardback books. Some go back to the 1930s. Lots of Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew hardbacks. A very old hardback copy of Gone With The Wind. Other stuff that I have never heard of.

Any suggestions on where to begin with researching possible value for books? And who/where to sell them? Appreciate any insight you might have.

I don't know much about this, but I do think 'old' does not necessarily equal 'valuable'. I would think that signed first-editions would be collectible, but other than that, I don't know. If any of you morons know about book appraisals, please let me know in the comments, thanks.

Who Dis:

(Last week's 'who dis' was singer Lena Horne.

Freebie (I Think)

I just bought the Kindle edition of 50 Core American Documents: Required Reading for Students, Teachers, and Citizens, and when I say 'bought', I mean 'picked it up for free.' I don't know if that price still holds, but it's well worth looking into. Included are The Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, a sampling of the Federalist Papers, Washington's Farewell Address, some historic Supreme Court decisions (Marbury v. Madison, Dredd Scott, Brown v. Board of Education), Gettsyburg Address, Johnson's "Great Society" speech, Reagan's "A Time For Choosing."

Not included: Articles of Confederation, Anti-Federalist Papers. I think they should've been included to give a fuller understanding of how the Constitution came to be.

Inappropriate Children's Books:

Moron Recommendations

So I am slogging through the 1973 book by Antonia Fraser Cromwell: the Lord Protector.

It's big. If dropped on a pack horse it would hurt. It is detailed.

Very detailed. But it is full of information I did not know.

Posted by: NaCly Dog at July 12, 2020 09:59 AM (u82oZ)

Ms. Fraser has apparently written more than one book on Cromwell. Cromwell: The Lord Protector is OOP, although used copies are available. She also wrote Cromwell, Our Chief of Men, which also came out in 1973, and I'm wondering if it has much of the same material, or I suppose it could be the same book under a different title.

Anyway:

No Englishman has made more impact on the history of his nation than Oliver Cromwell; few have been so persistently maligned in the folklore of history. The central purpose of Antonia Fraser's book is the recreation of his life and character, freed from the distortions of myth and Royalist propaganda. Cromwell was a man of contradictions and surprising charm. This decisive and ruthless commander was also a country gentleman and a passionate connoisseur of music. Of Cromwell's fitness for high office, this fascinating biography leaves no doubt. Under his rule English prestige abroad rose to a level unequalled since Elizabeth I, yet his campaign in Ireland has cast a shadow over his reputation. Antonia Fraser displays great insight into this complex man and reveals a totally unexpected Cromwell, far removed from the received stereotype.

I guess the Irish have no great love for Cromwell.

Looking at Fraser's book, I noticed that Amazon was also suggesting this one: Vlad the Impaler: A Life From Beginning to End, part of the Hourly History series of short books on various history topics, this this about the ruler who may have been the inspiration for the 'Dracula' legends:

Is there really a Dracula? Many scholars argue that Vlad III Dracula, also known as Vlad the Impaler, is the real Dracula. He was known in western Europe for his cruelty, most especially his penchant for impaling his victims. He is said to have killed somewhere between 40,000 and 100,000 people during his crusade to stop the Ottoman Empire from expanding into eastern Europe. He was equally harsh on the people he ruled and is said to have taken great pleasure in torturing his victims...

His story, however, is much more complicated than the oft-reported details of his atrocities would imply. He lived in a time of conflict where many were equally as cruel, and he is viewed as a hero in Romania where he is remembered as a protector of his people. This eBook tells the story of his life and times, and discusses his connection to the fictional Count Dracula, in a succinct, compelling manner, which makes for an entertaining read that is packed with historical information.

So, in other words, the man was a hero, right? Kept the Ottoman hordes from sweeping into Western Europe. If he was around today, he'd be tossing them out of helicopters.

___________

I highly recommend this amazing #YA #technoadventure. https://t.co/CYK7HXWgil

— Hans G. Schantz ?????? (@AetherCzar) July 18, 2020

___________

A lurker e-mails:

Hey, not a regular reader of the book thread, but have you talked about Jim Butcher's series known as the Dresden Files and how the next book is coming out like in two days and that's going to be followed up by another before the end of the year? Books 16 and 17, btw.

It's a great series about a young private detective in Chicago. And a professional wizard. He starts out young and inexperienced and without much and few friends, and then Jim spends the next 15 books doing his best to kill the guy, the friends and loved ones he meets along the way, and the readers, because you really come to love the people you're reading about. He's an evil bastard.

I've heard of them, but don't know anything about them. The first book in this long-running urban fantasy series, where presumably the audience is introduced to the main protagonist, is called Storm Front:

As a professional wizard, Harry Dresden knows firsthand that the “everyday” world is actually full of strange and magical things—and most of them don’t play well with humans. And those that do enjoy playing with humans far too much. He also knows he’s the best at what he does. Technically, he’s the only one at what he does. But even though Harry is the only game in town, business—to put it mildly—stinks.

So when the Chicago P.D. bring him in to consult on a double homicide committed with black magic, Harry's seeing dollar signs. But where there's black magic, there's a black mage behind it. And now that mage knows Harry's name...

The Kindle edition is $2.99. Considerably more spendy are the two most recent ones, Peace Talks and Battle Ground.

___________

OK, I Laffed:

Books By Morons

Moron author 'troyriser' e-mails:

If you would, please mention inclusion of my latest short story, "Love and the Forever Machine", in the horror anthology, The Devil You Know, a collection of modern takes on the 'deals with the devil' genre. My story is about an artificial intelligence that escapes into the world and finds love and--finding love--acquires a soul, which naturally sparks the interest of Old Scratch himself. The Devil You Know is available in hardcopy and Kindle versions on Amazon, of course, but it's also available for order in real-world bookstores, as well.

The genres represented in this anthology range from fairy tale to folk tale, from urban fantasy to science fiction, from comedy to horror. For fans of stories like The Devil And Daniel Webster and Faust.

___________

Lurkette author Laura Montgomery has just released the 3rd installment of her Martha's Sons series, Under the Earthline:

With only a slender hold on their alien world, human settlers from a marooned starship inhabit a single terraformed valley. As technology frays, as the second generation of settlers cannibalizes its past, and as the governor cancels elections again, tension grows between the city and the western farms.

One Dawe son dead, one in exile, and Thaddeus Dawe now slated to serve as a hostage for his younger brother's crimes, Thaddeus has a task. He must locate the colony’s last terraseeder for the secret enclave another brother works to carve from the northern wilderness. But with the governor's men harboring no love for Dawes, and First Landing’s bureaucracy and its preeminent practitioner having other plans, Thaddeus is not the only one whose life is at risk.

The Kindle edition is $2.99. Simple Service is the first installment in this series and the second is Sleeping Duty.

___________

So that's all for this week. As always, book thread tips, suggestions, bribes, insults, threats, ugly pants pics and moron library submissions may be sent to OregonMuse, Proprietor, AoSHQ Book Thread, at the book thread e-mail address: aoshqbookthread, followed by the 'at' sign, and then 'G' mail, and then dot cee oh emm.

What have you all been reading this week? Hopefully something good, because, as you all know, life is too short to be reading lousy books.

Close it up

EMT 7/19/20

—krakatoa

It's a heck of a feeling being the only person in a store not wearing a mask.

Felt like...

Freedom.

Overnight Open Thread (07/18/2020)
[Buck Throckmorton]

—Open Blogger

Wisconsin was the last state to end the prohibition on the sale of colored margarine - in 1967. I wonder where Ma & Pa MisHum sided in the great Wisconsin Margarine Wars.

Dairy farmers also successfully lobbied for restrictions that banned the use of yellow dyes to make margarine look more appetizing. By 1900, artificially colored margarine was contraband in 30 U.S. states. Several states took even more extreme measures to turn consumers away from margarine—they required the product to be dyed an unappealing pink color.

As the coloring restrictions became widespread around the turn of the 20th century, margarine producers accepted that they couldn’t dye their wares yellow. There was no reason why they couldn’t simultaneously sell consumers margarine and yellow dye, though. When you bought a block or tube of margarine, you also got a packet of food coloring that could be kneaded into the margarine by hand.

*****

LOOKING FOR LAW IN ALL THE WRONG PLACES

Supreme Court Justice John Roberts, a Harvard Law graduate, has become a reliably left-wing vote on the Supreme Court. Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy was also a Harvard Law School graduate who became a reliable left-wing vote. Supreme Court Justice David Souter was – guess what - a Harvard Law School graduate who became a reliable left-wing vote. What do all three of these left-wing justices have in common? They were all appointed by Republican Presidents who assured us they were conservative constitutionalists. Oh yeah, and they all have the ugly stink of an Ivy League Law Degree on them.

Here’s the deal, trying to find a conservative justice from a pool of Ivy Leaguers is like trying to find a conservative girlfriend at Whole Foods. There are some who may be less liberal, but they are still living in a liberal world with a liberal social circle and liberal assumptions.

Well at least Gorsuch and Kavanaugh have degrees from – ugh – Harvard and Yale. It’s hopeless.

*****

HOW TEXAS SAVED THE FRENCH WINE INDUSTRY

Next time you drink a Bordeaux or other French wine, remember to salute the rootstock of wild Texas grapes that saved the French wine industry. Or drink an American wine instead. But it’s true that wild grapes from Texas saved the French wine industry in the late 19th century.

In 1887, Thomas Munson rode horseback with French scientist Pierre Viala along the Red River during Viala’s search for a hearty species resistant to phylloxera. The small aphid had wreaked havoc throughout France, destroying an estimated 80 percent of the country’s vines. Munson, an expert in grape botany and plant grafting, was Viala’s last hope for a solution to the problem. Munson directed Viala to western Bell County, where the limestone soil approximated that of the French countryside. Viala found three native species thriving in poor soil conditions and, through grafting European vines to the phylloxera-resistant Texas rootstock, replenished French vineyards wiped out by the epidemic. A year later, France recognized Munson as Chevalier du Mérite Agricole in the French Legion of Honor.

*****

THE MOST TRUSTED NAME IN JOURNALISM

*****

WHERE ARE THE SELF DRIVING CARS?

Fully autonomous cars have been just 4 or 5 years away from being a reality for a decade now. And ten years from now they’ll still be 4 or 5 years away. (It reminds me of how nuclear fusion has always been 20 years away - for the past 50 years.) The combination of grandiose fools in auto manufacturer executive suites and credulous media have allowed this fiction to keep getting written. Reality is finally starting to set in that self driving cars are not going to happen for a long time, if at all.

Manufacturers are backing away from aggressive promises, too. Nissan has admitted that it's unlikely to produce self-driving cars before the end of the decade. And GM, which had previously promised to sell an autonomous vehicle by 2019, has not announced an updated projection.

*****

TYRANNY

“When I am weaker than you, I ask you for freedom, because that is according to your principles. When I am stronger than you, I take away your freedom, because that is according to my principles.” – Frank Herbert (Children Of Dune)

Conservative Principles Never Require You To Submit To Tyranny

“When they tell us that our own beliefs – to which they do not subscribe – force us to accept serfdom, we need to tell them to go pound sand.” – Kurt Schlichter

*****

OXBOW LAKES

When on an airplane, I’m always fascinated by looking at oxbow lakes in the rivers below me. The town of Carter Lake, Iowa is entirely on the Nebraska side of the Missouri River, due to a course change in the river which left the oxbow lake and its namesake Iowa town surrounded by Omaha. This little 17-second time-lapse video shows real oxbow lakes being formed over a 32-year period.

*****

BUCK THOUGHTS

A characteristic of effective leaders is that they don’t obsess about leadership, or waste their time studying leadership, or bore people by talking about leadership. Instead, they simply lead.

*****

MOTIVATION
(h/t – despair.com)

*****

THE FOUNDER OF ORGANIC FARMING WAS A VIRULENT RACIST

Have you noticed how the founding fathers (and mothers) of the progressive movement were all ugly racists? Woodrow Wilson re-segregated the US military as he rolled out the modern form of left-wing governance. Margaret Sanger founded Planned Parenthood to eliminate “undesirable” populations. Oh, and looky here, Rudolf Steiner, the father of the organic farming movement…

Therefore Biodynamics in a nutshell is the 'Biological' practices of organic farming that improve the quality and fertility of the soil. It is bringing a higher degree of life activity in the soil, plants and animals by using the dynamic methods of Mother Nature.

…was also a loud and proud racist.

Steiner argued there was also what he called a hierarchy in races. Inferior races were at the bottom of an evolutionary staircase he helpfully sketched out in one of his books. When a person of any race died they were reincarnated. If they had good karma they would come back as what Steiner saw as a superior race until after a number of satisfactory lives they would achieve a top-of-the-pile white Aryan existence. Others would move down in the pecking order.

Rudolf Steiner is still revered in the cult of organic farming.

*****

THROCKMORTON’S FIRST LAW OF LIVE MUSIC: IF THERE’S AN UPRIGHT BASS IN THE BAND, IT’S PROBABLY GOING TO BE GOOD

Western Swing isn’t dead, it’s just Asleep At The Wheel.

Bob Wills was in very poor health and mostly forgotten in 1973 when Ray Benson, a 22-year old Jewish hippie from Pennsylvania, rolled into Austin. Mr. Benson gave new life to Western Swing, the music that Bob Wills made famous in the 1930s and ‘40s. With his band Asleep At The Wheel, Mr. Benson took western swing back to the charts, collected a room full of Grammys, and has recorded with pretty much every country music star around. Actually, those stars all wanted a chance to swing with Ray and the Wheel. Almost 50 years on, the Wheel is still rolling.

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MEN AND WOMEN ARE DIFFERENT – BOOKS I RECEIVED FROM GRAMMA & GRAMPA THROCKMORTON

Oregon Muse’s wonderful Sunday book thread recently triggered memories of the books I read as a child, and how often I cured boredom by picking up a book. It also brought back an old memory of how my grandmother and grandfather had just slightly different tastes in the childrens books they bought for me to read.

From my grandmother:

From my grandfather:

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Tonight’s Overnight Thread has been brought to you by the coolest dog ever.

Thanks again to the horde for letting me play host. As always, please feel free to offer any helpful feedback, insults, or tips at @BuckThrockmort on Twitter.

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