Canadian Loon

A New York Democrat wants her state to join Canada:

In an interview with Politico, Krueger stated, “It’s not unreasonable to think outside of the box,” defending her suggestion and emphasizing the need for creative solutions in the political landscape. Krueger’s proposal centers around the idea that New York, Massachusetts, Vermont, and Connecticut should join Canada, forming a new province in the northeast region of the country. In September, Krueger elaborated on her thoughts in an interview with City and State New York, where she discussed the possibility of secession. She acknowledged that Canada had previously indicated reluctance to allow such a move. “I know that Canada has basically said, ‘Yeah, we’re not letting you all in if he wins.’ As individuals, they basically made it clear,” she said. Despite these challenges, Krueger continued to promote the idea, suggesting that rather than illegally crossing the border, the four states could become a part of Canada’s political framework.

She could go, and leave America behind as a favor...

Last Stand

The final case against Trump may be ending soon:

“Fani doesn’t see how she’s headed for a brick wall, she’s going full tilt with vengeance and emotions,” one local defense lawyer who knows her told The Post. “She’s still so full of herself and hasn’t learned her lesson yet. She doesn’t realize she is her own demise and she’s the reason everything’s falling apart.” Willis – who won re-election for a second term as DA in November – has remained defiant and ignored a subpoena in September from a special senate committee looking into the case, refusing to show up for a hearing when was supposed to testify. Last week, a Georgia appeals court abruptly canceled oral arguments scheduled for next month in the case and Trump’s lawyers are likely cite the federal end to the election interference charges against him to get the Georgia case thrown out. “I would be shocked if it wasn’t (dismissed) but Fani has an ego bigger than the entire state so who knows,” a source close to the Willis investigations told The Post.

Arrogance goeth before a fall...

Speech Sense

A Democrat continues to defy his own party:

"Voters want elected officials to give voice to their concerns, not tell them what they should think," Moulton wrote. "Until not so long ago, we were the party of free speech. We welcomed real, rigorous debate when orthodox conservatives in the Republican Party were afraid of change," he argued, citing his party's fight for Obamacare, abortion and same-sex marriage. "In every case, we listened, we built trust, and we welcomed those who disagreed into our expanding tent — the definition of a majority party. Just 12 years ago, we even nominated a Democrat who was against gay marriage for president," he continued. Moulton argued the tide had changed in recent years and his party now seemed opposed to making room for different opinions.

But some are still more equal than others...

Climate Court

Green court is now in session:

Activists hope the legal opinion from the ICJ judges will have far-reaching consequences in the fight against “climate change” in a matter that first came before it in 2023, as Breitbart News reported. But others note the U.N.-backed request for a non-binding advisory opinion will have no impact at all– and it could take the U.N.’s top court months, or even years, to deliver as counties like the U.S. – which does not formally recognize the organization – go their own way. The ICJ is the United Nations’ top judicial body. It only takes cases between state actors, meaning countries can be parties to suits and participate in trials, but individuals and corporations cannot. It has no enforcement mechanism, so those implicated in its rulings often simply ignore its existence.

Kind of like the rest of the United Nations...

Gender Cops

California wants shoppers to be spies:

State law, established by the passage of Assembly Bill 1084 in 2021, which took effect at the beginning of 2024, requires department stores with at least 500 employees across California locations to offer children’s sections that do not separate items based on gender. “By requiring large retailers to maintain a gender-neutral section, AB 1084 makes it more difficult for these retailers to engage in gender-based pricing discrimination and reduces the imposition of gender stereotypes on children,” the attorney general’s office wrote in a statement. Violators face fines of $250 for the first offense and $500 for any subsequent instances. Bonta is asking shoppers to take pictures and file complaints against stores that are failing to comply. Standards of compliance, however, are flexible, with ambiguity written in the text of the law, according to consultants with the state Senate Judiciary Committee in a Legislative analysis published in 2021.

Big Brother is shopping you...

Crackpot Country

"Tolerant" leftists are already hard at work:

The Associated Press reports that "Among those targeted were New York Rep. Elise Stefanik, Trump’s pick to serve as the next ambassador to the United Nations; Matt Gaetz, Trump’s initial pick to serve as attorney general; Oregon Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer, whom Trump chose to lead the Department of Labor, and former New York congressman Lee Zeldin, who has been tapped to lead the Environmental Protection Agency." The FBI said it is “aware of numerous bomb threats and swatting incidents targeting incoming administration nominees and appointees." The bureau said it was partnering with local law enforcement in its investigation. A family member of Matt Gaetz was targeted with a bomb threat even though the congressman doesn't live there. Also, the FBI is investigating possible threats against two other Trump picks.

Lunatics always have to loon...

Wicked Warnings

Don't offend the witches:

“A green-skinned woman is mocked, bullied and humiliated because of her skin colour. A disabled woman in a wheelchair is treated in a condescending manner by able-bodied people. Talking animals are persecuted in a fantastical society,” the board stated. Cynthia Erivo plays the “green-skinned” Elphaba, the character who grows up to become the Wicked Witch of the West from The Wizard of Oz. The movie also stars pop sensation Ariana Grande as Glinda, who becomes the Good Witch of the North. Wicked — which is based on the long-running Broadway musical — has ridden a wave of popular enthusiasm to become the biggest box-office hit of the fall season. The Universal release is a two-parter, with the second half set to open next year.

Just as long as imaginary characters feel safe...

Big Green Brother

Big Brother is greening you:

Leading members of the Climate Change Committee (CCC) spelled out that hitting the Net Zero target would involve widespread public “behaviour change” while speaking in Westminster before s government inquiry, the Daily Mail reports. New targets demand the UK’s emissions be cut to 81 percent of 1990 levels by 2035. Asked at the Commons environmental audit committee “to what extent will individual behavioural change be needed” to achieve that goal, James Richardson, director of analysis at the CCC, said:

In terms of the analysis we’ve done, about 10 percent of emissions reduction to 2035 comes from what we would think of as behaviour change. That’s predominantly around diets, flying and modal shifting [to] public transport.

Detailing the “key behavioural changes people would notice” if the UK follows the CCC’s advice, Richardson continued: “It’s not about telling people you must stop flying, but it’s the rate of growth of flights that we think would happen if we didn’t take any action… When we talk to citizens, people seem willing to accept there must be some degree of constraint.”

Until they won't...

African Green

John Kerry wants money for Africa at our expense:

Former Secretary of State John Kerry claimed that there is a "climate emergency," and suggested that Africans without electricity must select "the right kinds of electricity," likely referring to green energy production, and that the U.S. must help them to afford it. Kerry made the comments at a speaking event at the Harvard Kennedy School Institute of Politics on Nov. 21, 2024. The Democrat suggested there will be a need to "declare a climate emergency, which is what we really have. And we need to get people to behave as if this really is a major transitional challenge to the whole planet." He noted that the U.S. has the biggest economy on earth, with China in second place.

But we might not be if we keep paying for schemes like this...

California Rumble

Rumble versus California:

The lawsuit was filed Wednesday by Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California, Sacramento Division. Rumble is challenging California’s latest laws punishing speakers for certain political commentary, which California Governor Gavin Newsom has framed as measures that will combat the “harmful use of deepfakes in political ads and other content.” California’s AB 2655, the “Defending Democracy from Deepfake Deception Act of 2024,” “deputizes” Rumble to restrict its user’s speech, ADF said in a release, while AB 2839, “Protecting Democracy Against Election Disinformation and Deepfakes,” uses vague standards to punish individuals posting political content about elections. “California’s war against political speech is censorship, plain and simple,” ADF Senior Counsel Phil Sechler told The Daily Wire. “We can’t trust the government to decide what is true in our online political debates.”

Truth isn't in the eye of the censor...

Blogging In The Years: 2020

Happy Thanksgiving from Rush:

American Muscle

A truly American ride:

Blogging In The Years: 1789

President Washington's Thanksgiving proclamation:

Whereas it is the duty of all Nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey his will, to be grateful for his benefits, and humbly to implore his protection and favor—and whereas both Houses of Congress have by their joint Committee requested me “to recommend to the People of the United States a day of public thanksgiving and prayer to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many signal favors of Almighty God especially by affording them an opportunity peaceably to establish a form of government for their safety and happiness.” Now therefore I do recommend and assign Thursday the 26th day of November next to be devoted by the People of these States to the service of that great and glorious Being, who is the beneficent Author of all the good that was, that is, or that will be—That we may then all unite in rendering unto him our sincere and humble thanks—for his kind care and protection of the People of this Country previous to their becoming a Nation—for the signal and manifold mercies, and the favorable interpositions of his Providence which we experienced in the course and conclusion of the late war—for the great degree of tranquillity, union, and plenty, which we have since enjoyed—for the peaceable and rational manner, in which we have been enabled to establish constitutions of government for our safety and happiness, and particularly the national One now lately instituted—for the civil and religious liberty with which we are blessed; and the means we have of acquiring and diffusing useful knowledge; and in general for all the great and various favors which he hath been pleased to confer upon us.

May this be the first of many...

Lake Loons

So this is going on in Wisconsin:

A screenshot of the Facebook page where the event was organized shows the women discussing how to download their rage most effectively. “Maybe an evening scream, too, for those who are having a hard time dragging ourselves out of bed in the morning with this devastating news?” one woman wrote. “Yes!! Let’s get our frustration out collectively!!” wrote another. “Screaming to ease the sadness and to come together and move forward as a community.” “I’m still in DC through Sunday night—but I’ll scream into a pillow from where I am in the meantime!” another added.

Meet the scream queens...

Turkey Trots

PETA wants you to quit cold turkey:

A new video on PETA's Instagram page features an "undercover investigator" who claims that people "just don’t know what happens to the birds before they end up in the meat case." What happens, according to the anonymous investigator, is stuff you don't want to know about. I'll just say that workers were stuffing the birds with something other than cornbread and celery. There's just one problem. The video is two decades old, and Butterball, according to a statement made to the New York Sun, "was taken prior to Butterball becoming a private company and prior to our engagement and certification through American Humane." If you're eating a Butterball turkey that you picked up at Kroger in 2004, you have bigger worries about that bird than what some prankster workers might have done to it. .... Sometimes, you just want to grab PETA by the lapels, give them a good, sturdy shake, and remind them, "We're OMNIVORES, you fool!" But then you wonder what you might get on you and drop the whole idea.

Time for PETA to get stuffed...

Blogging In The Years: 2013

So this is how President Obama wants you to celebrate the holidays:

Highlands Hilarity

Scotland is trying to figure out what a woman is:

Green Alert

It's an emergency, or something:

Filibuster Bust

Democrats flip flop on the filibuster:

After a loss of the majority and a defeat in their bid to make significant changes to the legislative process, many Democrats are now planning to use the filibuster as part of their strategy to block Republican initiatives and President-elect Donald Trump’s policies. Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) acknowledged the evolving stance, explaining, “I’d be lying if I said we’d be in a better position without the filibuster. We have a responsibility to stop autocratic and long-headed abuse of power or policy, and we’ll use whatever tools we have available. We’re not going to fight this battle with one hand tied behind our back.”

They were against it before they were for it...

Big Brother Canada

Welcome to Canada:

The Ontario Human Rights Tribunal is forcing the township of Emo and its mayor to compensate an LGBTQ activist group because elected officials refused to honor 'Pride Month' in 2020. Borderland Pride asked Emo to proclaim June 2020 as Pride Month and fly a rainbow Pride flag for a week but the mayor and council turned down the request, CBC News reported Friday. The tribunal, whose rulings are legally binding, has determined that the township must pay Borderland Pride $10,000 and Emo Mayor Harold McQuaker has to provide the group with $5,000 from his personal finances.

The not-so-Great Red North...

Ice Scream

This is rich:

The Daily Wire reported that the company constantly pushed far-left talking points. This time, Unilever allegedly pushed back against Ben & Jerry’s supporting anti-Semitic protests on American college and university campuses, with the students urging the U.S. government to stop sending military aid to Israel. According to the Wire, the fact that the woke Unilever decided to stop Ben & Jerry’s from spreading its leftist ideology shows that the culture and political status quo in this country is changing. “That says a lot. In case you forgot, Unilever is the leftist company that brings you Dove — the wokest wash around — and Axe, which is now trying to encourage men to forgo macho stereotypes and take on a more progressive version of masculinity instead. The London-based corporation also supports ‘Pride events across the UK and Ireland [and] partners with LGBTQI+ charities,'” the Wire wrote.

They're literally eating their own ice cream...

Woke Reversal

the woke turnaround continues:

From the Associated Press: The changes, confirmed by Walmart on Monday, are sweeping and include everything from not renewing a five-year commitment for an equity racial center set up in 2020 after the police killing of George Floyd, to pulling out of a prominent gay rights index. And when it comes to race or gender, Walmart won’t be giving priority treatment to suppliers. Walmart’s moves underscore the increasing pressure faced by corporate America as it continues to navigate the fallout from the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling in June 2023 ending affirmative action in college admissions. Emboldened by that decision, conservative groups have filed lawsuits making similar arguments about corporations, targeting workplace initiatives such as diversity programs and hiring practices that prioritize historically marginalized groups. The AP also reports that Walmart will no longer "feature sexual and transgender products aimed at minors," stop considering race and gender when choosing suppliers, and stop using "DEI" ( which stands for diversity, equity, and inclusion) in job titles and communications, among other practices.

No more wokeness here...

Green Cover

They wanted to save their solar:

On Nov. 5, at 5:20 p.m. ET, less than an hour before the first polls closed and when it had become clear from the exit polls that Democrat presidential candidate Vice President Kamala Harris was likely to lose, an attorney with the Justice Department emailed lawyers for plaintiffs in a qui tam lawsuit aimed at recouping significant losses the taxpayers allegedly incurred from a failed solar plant in Nevada. A qui tam lawsuit is when a private plaintiff sues on behalf of the U.S. Government to recoup taxpayer dollars — often alleging fraud, misuse, or theft of taxpayer dollars. The email from the DOJ stated what plaintiffs started hearing through the grapevine as the election neared and it became clear the Harris campaign was in trouble. The email said that the DOJ intended to dismiss a lawsuit that it had previously allowed to proceed, thereby undercutting the private push to recoup significant losses for American taxpayers. “The United States intends to intervene in this case for the purpose of dismissing the qui tam claims under 31 U.S.C. 3730(c)(2)(A),” Anthony Gill, a trial lawyer for the U.S. Department of Justice’s Civil Division Fraud Section, emailed attorneys for CMB Export, LLC, an EB-5 visa firm that had filed the qui tam lawsuit in question. “The United States has determined that dismissal is commensurate with the public interest and that the matter does not warrant the continued expenditure of government resources. The anticipated discovery and litigation obligations associated with the continued litigation of this case will impose an undue burden on the U.S. Department of the Treasury, U.S. Department of Energy, and U.S. Department of Justice.” “We intend to file our motion this week,” Gill added in the email, obtained by Breitbart News. “There is not more I can add to the United States’ decision to seek dismissal under 3730(c)(2)(A), but feel free to let us know if you have any questions.”

Many now have several...

Members Only

No more riff raff:

Donald Trump Jr. revealed the plan Monday on his podcast, Triggered with Donald Trump Jr., with Michael Knowles. Knowles inquired if “Karoline Leavitt is looking at the new press briefing room chart, [if] maybe it’s time to reorder that chart and maybe take away some people’s seats.” Trump Jr. responded, “We’re gonna break some news here,” continuing, “I literally had this conversation with — I was flying back, I was on the plane with my father, I think it was coming back from the SpaceX launch with Elon [Musk] last week. And we were talking about the podcast world and some of our friends and Rogan and guys like you.” He revealed his father responded, “That’s a great idea, Don.” “So that may be something in the works,” Trump Jr. added.

Taking out the trash, heh...

Be Prepared

Well, this is good news:

The chair of NATO’s military committee, Dutch Admiral Rob Bauer, said in Brussels on Monday that businesses must be prepared for the worst as tensions with Russia continue to escalate. “If we can make sure that all crucial services and goods can be delivered no matter what, then that is a key part of our deterrence,” Bauer said. He continued: We’re seeing that with the growing number of sabotage acts, and Europe has seen that with energy supply. We thought we had a deal with Gazprom, but we actually had a deal with Mr Putin. And the same goes for Chinese-owned infrastructure and goods. We actually have a deal with (Chinese President) Xi (Jinping). We are naive if we think the Communist Party will never use that power. Business leaders in Europe and America need to realise that the commercial decisions they make have strategic consequences for the security of their nation,” Bauer stressed. Businesses need to be prepared for a wartime scenario and adjust their production and distribution lines accordingly. Because while it may be the military who wins battles, it’s the economies that win wars. Bauer’s comments come as the risk of all-out war with Moscow continues to rise after the Biden regime approved the use of U.S. long-range missiles striking the Russian mainland.

Slouching towards World War Three...

Money Ill Spent

Jack went broke trying to bust Trump:

According to records obtained by Newsweek through a Freedom of Information (FOIA) Request, Smith burned through $50 million during the witchhunt, which has clearly failed. Additionally, the media outlet faced a major roadblock as the special counsel was not officially part of the Department of Justice, highlighting the extent of political maneuvering involved in Trump’s politically motivated prosecution. The official records obtained by Newsweek found that Smith’s office spent $5,428,579, between November 18, 2022, and March 31, 2023, including $2,672,783 worth of employees’ salaries and benefits, $456,808 worth of rent, communications, and utilities, and $1,881,926 worth of contractual services.

So much money, so little to show for it...

Con Games

A con artist gets caught:

Brandon Anderson, founder of Raheem AI, an anti-police brutality charity, has been charged with diverting tens of thousands of dollars in donations from his organization to cover lavish vacations, designer clothes, and mansion rentals. D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb is suing Anderson, who has made calls to abolish the police, for his alleged theft and the organization, which failed to monitor Anderson’s spending habits. Since 2021, Anderson has spent more than $40,000 on a luxury vacation rental service, $10,000 on hotels and Airbnbs for personal travel, $10,000 on designer clothing brands, and $5,000 on emergency veterinary services. “Brandon Anderson misused charitable donations to fund lavish vacations and shopping sprees, and the Raheem AI Board of Directors let him get away with it,” Schwalb said in a statement. “Not only did their financial abuses violate fundamental principles of nonprofit governance, but Anderson and Raheem AI failed to pay their employees the wages they had earned. My office will not allow people to masquerade behind noble causes while violating the law, cheating taxpayers, or stealing from their workers.”

The long con still continues, however...

Losing And Losing

James Carville has had it:

Lab Rat

Fauci gave them money:

Discussing the NIH with an undercover reporter, Cholan admits the agency likely funded COVID research at the Wuhan lab, suggesting the U.S. government bears some degree of responsibility for the pandemic. “They [referring to the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID)] might have funded Wuhan—a lab in Wuhan, China—to, like, make COVID,” he says. The NIH data chief also alleges Dr. Anthony Fauci himself may have been involved, stating: “That’s where Fauci was the director. Like, they might have funded some labs to do vaccine studies and disease, like, to prepare for an outbreak.” Additionally, Cholan openly admits that the vaccines meant to prevent COVID-19 infections likely do not work as intended. “I haven’t gotten the latest COVID shots, and I’m not going to… there’s mixed evidence about if it really does anything,” Cholan tells the undercover reporter. He continues, “I don’t even know if these vaccines stop you from getting COVID,” before reconsidering his response and adding bluntly: “They don’t.”Cholan says one of his biggest concerns regarding the COVID-19 vaccines was the approval process. “The measles vaccine requires several rounds of approval, but the COVID-19 vaccines were accelerated through the approvals for all of us to get our boosters,” he says, adding: “Pfizer and Moderna are just getting a bunch of money from it.”

Everybody got paid...

Cry Babies

It's crying time:

At least two “cry sessions” were hosted in three days by the Employee Consultation Services in the Bureau of Medical Services. A source told the Washington Free Beacon the meetings were comparable to the madness of ultra-liberal academia coping techniques. “Federal employees should not come to work if they are having a personal meltdown over the result of a free and fair election,” Issa wrote. “The mere fact that the Department is hosting these sessions raises significant questions about the willingness of its personnel to implement the lawful policy priorities that the American people elected President Trump to pursue and implement.” The letter from Issa, obtained by Fox News Digital, went on, “The Trump Administration has a mandate for wholesale change in the foreign policy arena, and if foreign service officers cannot follow through on the American people’s preferences, they should resign and seek a political appointment in the next Democrat administration.”

They may have to wait awhile. In the meantime:

White Flag

Jack Smith surrenders:

Smith, on Monday, filed a motion to dismiss the election interference case against Trump in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, marking a major victory for the president-elect: After careful consideration, the Department has determined that OLC’s prior opinions concerning the Constitution’s prohibition on federal indictment and prosecution of a sitting President apply to this situation and that as a result this prosecution must be dismissed before the defendant is inaugurated. Moreover, Smith then filed a motion in the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit to dismiss an appeal in the documents case, which “will leave in place the district court’s order dismissing the indictment without prejudice as to him.” Smith cites the reasoning laid out in his motion to dismiss the election interference case: For the reasons set forth in United States v. Trump, No. 23-cr-57, ECF No. 281 (D.D.C.) (filed Nov. 25, 2024) (moving to dismiss criminal prosecution as to defendant Trump in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia), the United States of America moves, pursuant to Federal Rule of Appellate Procedure 42 and Eleventh Circuit Rule 42-1, to dismiss the appeal in this case as to defendant Trump. Taken together, the moves mark the end of the federal prosecutions against the president-elect, leaving two remaining cases at the state level in Georgia and New York. “Now even Jack Smith admits the Left’s lawfare against President Trump has failed,” David Bossie, president of Citizens United, said. “When President Trump returns to the White House on January 20, the rule of law will return with him.”

No more lawfare for him...

Woke Resistance

This is how wokeness dies:

The incoming Trump administration will likely target many DEI initiatives. In 2020, then-President Trump issued an executive order to ban "divisive" training for federal contractors. And the House Oversight Committee held a hearing this week about dismantling DEI policies. "It is a multibillion-dollar industry that pushes a left-wing, far-left ideological orthodoxy in essentially every area of American life, which is why I've begun to call it the DEI enterprise, instead of just DEI, so that people have a sense of what I'm talking about," Devon Westhill, constitutional and civil rights attorney, told Fox News Digital in an interview. MIT university and DEI bloacks The Department of Education has also released reports encouraging DEI on public university campuses. (Getty Images/istock/Dzmitry Dzemidovich) Westhill, who researches DEI policies at the Center for Equal Opportunity, a Washington, D.C.-based conservative think tank, said DEI isn't interested in "diversity of thought, true diversity," but rather, it is "interested in racial quotas." Over the last four years, the Biden-Harris administration has encouraged DEI initiatives across several sectors of the federal government.

Those days are over...

No Blame

Hakeem Jeffries isn't buying it:

House Minority Leader Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) pushed back against claims that President-elect Donald Trump won over voters because of his stance on race and gender. Instead, he argued that the incoming president won because he promised to fix the nation’s economy. Co-host Alyssa Farah Griffin asked Jeffries what lessons the Democratic Party was taking away from their loss this election season, with the panel questioning why a “convicted felon resonates more with Americans than a hyper-qualified woman of color. Jeffries, however, dismissed the progressive panel’s accusations and admitted that the health of the economy matters more to Americans than the color of someone’s skin. “I think the most important lesson to be drawn from the election is that the American people want us to work on the high cost of living and make sure that there can be a real path forward for working-class Americans, middle-class Americans, everyone who aspires to be part of the middle class to enjoy, you know, those promises, that basic contract between everyday Americans and the country,” he said.

The Democrats broke that contract...

Rocky Mountain Low

Rand Paul has a warning:

SETI Anniversary

Happy birthday first contact:

For science nerds, the very first message constructed by human beings was beamed toward the globular cluster Messier 13. The Arecibo radio telescope, the largest telescope at that time, beamed a digital message of zeros and ones that If you arranged its digits in a grid, the transmission resolves into a two-dimensional image that shows what kind of creature we are and where we are in our solar system. This first real attempt at "active SETI" (Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence) where we actually reached out into the cosmos to announce our presence rather than employing "passive SETI" where we listened for signs of life was wishful thinking. The cluster is 25,000 light years from Earth. “I think of the Arecibo message in this grand tradition of attempts at communicating with ET or transmitting things into space that are fundamentally messages, at least in part, to Earth as well,” says Rebecca Charbonneau, a science historian at the American Institute of Physics. What made the "message" fundamentally flawed was that ET would need the ability to see, given the visual nature of the message. “Human beings are very visual creatures, and we need something visual and beautiful to help channel feelings of spirituality and wonder,” Charbonneau says. “And I think, in some ways, the Arecibo message is an icon in that old tradition—a visual representation of something that makes us feel small in an expansive and sublime kind of way.” The message was also an expression of hope in troubled times. But it also eventually showed us the futility and weakness of our dream. Arecibo was decommissioned in 2020 and fell into disrepair. “Those images are seared in the mind of anybody who thinks about this stuff or is aware of the history,” says David Grinspoon, senior scientist for astrobiology strategy at NASA. “It was a very hopeful gesture, and the motivation is transcendent in that it was not for national gain or personal gain. It was like, ‘Hey, humans on Earth, we can do this.’” However hopeful the gesture, there is a growing body of scientists who think active SETI is foolhardy. Among them was the late Stephen Hawking, who said, "If aliens visit us, the outcome would be much as when Columbus landed in America, which didn't turn out well for the Native Americans." Even if there was only a tiny chance that Hawking is right, many in the SETI community believe reaching out like we did with the Arecibo message was foolhardy. Seth Shostak, a senior astronomer at the SETI Institute in California, disagrees with Hawking's conclusion. "This is an unwarranted fear," Shostak says. "If their interest in our planet is for something valuable that our planet has to offer, there's no particular reason to worry about them now. If they're interested in resources, they have ways of finding rocky planets that don't depend on whether we broadcast or not. They could have found us a billion years ago."

Maybe they still think there's no intelligent life here...

Blogging In The Years: 1961

Ronald Reagan has a warning:

Blogging In The Years: 1929

Where idealism goes wrong:

Idealism and psychologism alike overlook the fact that understanding itself can come about only with some kind of semiotic material (e.g., inner speech), that bears upon sign, that consciousness itself can arise and become a viable fact only in the material embodiment of signs. The understanding of a sign is, after all, an act of reference between the sign apprehended and other, already known signs; in other words, understanding is a response to a sign with signs. And this chains of ideological creativity and understanding, moving from sign to sign and then to a new sign, is perfectly consistent and continuous: from one link of a semiotic nature (hence, also of a material nature) we proceed uninterruptedly to another link of exactly the same nature. And nowhere is there a break in the chain, nowhere does the chain plunge into inner being, nonmaterial in nature and unembodied in signs. This ideological chain stretches from individual consciousness to individual consciousness, connecting them together. Signs emerge, after all, only in the process of interaction between one individual consciousness and another. Consciousness becomes consciousness only once it has been filled with ideological (semiotic) content, consequently, only in the process of social interaction. Despite the deep methodological differences between them, the idealistic philosophy of culture and psychologistic cultural studies both commit the same fundamental error. By localizing ideology in the consciousness, they transform the study of ideologies into a study of consciousness and its laws; it makes no difference whether this is done in transcendental or in empirical-psychological terms. This error is response not only for methodological confusion regarding the interrelation of disparate fields of knowledge, but for a radical distortion of the very reality under study as well. Ideological creativity – a material and social fact – is forced into the framework of the individual consciousness. The individual consciousness, for its part, is deprived of any support in reality. It becomes either all or nothing.

For the hardcore idealogues, nothing else matters...

Skynet Is Watching

Literally no one is safe:

Wired reports that a growing industry of “AI pimping” is flooding social media with deepfake influencers, taking over platforms like Instagram with artificially generated profiles. These AI influencers are often trained on stolen photos and videos from real porn stars and Instagram models. Realistic AI-generated faces are then swapped onto the bodies of humans to create fake but convincing new content. The practice has exploded in scale in recent months, making it clear that Mark Zuckerbeg’s Instagram is either unable or unwilling to stop the deluge of AI-generated profiles. Over 1,000 such accounts were reviewed in an investigation, with 10 percent featuring deepfake videos that stole the appearance of real women. Some of these accounts self-identify as AI-generated “virtual models,” while others provide no disclosure. Porn stars say they are now directly competing with, and losing income to, the AI impersonators. Adult actress Elaina St James said her Instagram reach and views have plummeted as the number of AI accounts has surged. “It’s because I’m competing with something that’s unnatural,” she said.

In all fairness, even AI has a right to fantasize...

Winter's Edge

Waiting for der wind:

Dunkelflaute typically occurs during winter months, particularly in November, December, and January. And it appears that the projection is for slowing wind speeds over the next few decades, too. During these periods, wind turbines and solar panels produce little or no energy. Germany has tried various kinds of battery storage to get through the annual dunkelflaute, but the only thing that has really bailed out their power grid is nuclear, and burning more coal and natural gas Germany and Northern Europe have been experiencing a variation of dunkelflaute, called “wind droughts,” for the last few years, with wind speeds falling 15% or more in many regions. This has been a gradual trend since 1978. The projections for wind drought continue to get worse. Even the IPCC is forecasting slowing winds for the coming decades, saying average annual wind speeds could drop by up to 10% by 2100. A single event usually lasts up to 24 hours, with 2-10 events occurring per year, totaling 50 to 150 hours annually. Now a 12-day dunkelflaute that began in early November has German energy executives deeply concerned. .... These executives have plenty of reasons to be worried. In 2021, there was a lengthy dunkelflaute in Northern Europe and energy utility profits plummeted. The 2021 “wind drought” hit Northern Europe particularly hard, especially those countries relying most on wind energy — notably Denmark, which gets 44% of its energy from wind, and Ireland, where the share of wind in total energy production is 31%. Other European countries relying heavily on wind include Portugal (26%), Spain (24%), Germany (23%), the UK (22%), and Sweden (19%). In France, which gets most of its power from nuclear, it’s just 8%. As a result of the reduction in average wind speed, Danish energy company Ørsted reported a loss of €380 ($366) million. German energy company RWE acknowledged a 38% drop in profits last year, although this was from both its wind and solar units combined. And while executives worrying about profits is understandable, likely average Germans are worried about simpler things….such has having light and warmth during a major snowstorm.

If only they had an alternative...

Deer Drop

Hunters versus nature:

At least three deer hunters have been confirmed as dying of heart attacks during the current 16-day season. According to the Associated Press, three men all dropped dead within 48 hours. The deceased were considered to be “fit and healthy,” the AP noted. Two of the men reportedly died suddenly while working to haul away the heavy animals. Dr. William Morrone, the medical examiner for Bay, Midland, Tuscola, Arenac, and Iosco counties, expressed shock over the deaths. “I’ve never seen three people die in 48 hours from heart attacks while deer hunting before,” Morrone said.

I blame the deer...

Cases Dismissed

The lawfare needs to end:

Goldstein wrote concerning the New York and Georgia cases, “[T]he prosecutors’ legal theories were and are unusual, to say the least. Their premise is that financial shenanigans and political strong arming in hard-fought battles for the presidency are serious felonies that can be pursued by local prosecutors in local courts. But these are fundamentally federal, not state, concerns.” “That doesn’t prove that they were brought for political reasons. But the Constitution trusts the judgment of the American people to decide whether the cases against Mr. Trump, as he has argued, were political and calculated to stop him from being elected,” he added. Goldstein further argued, “For many Democrats, dismissing the cases feels profoundly wrong because they see them as the last chance to bring Mr. Trump to justice. In truth, support for the cases among many Democrats doesn’t seem to be based on confidence in the prosecutors’ legal theories and evidence. Instead, it seems to be driven by politics and hatred of Mr. Trump. That reinforces why they must be dismissed.”

The real jury has rendered its verdict...

The Wrong Answer

Censorship doesn't work:

The central question here is: does censorship of dissident speech in the name of combatting “extremism” actually produce its alleged intended goal of less extremism, or does it produce more? From Naomi Wolf — an excellent ex-Democrat purged from the party in much the same way as Tulsi — via The Guardian, 2015 (emphasis added): “After the Charlie Hebdo shootings, heads of state marched abreast in Paris in symbolic defence of France’s long tradition of freedom of speech. This seemed reassuring. But that image was what political consultants call optics – for democracies around the world have recently seen a striking wave of anti-speech legislation… Surely, after one terrorist atrocity after another, stamping out the freedom to express “extremist” ideas on college campuses and online is a small price to pay for safety? But the core assumption on which these politicians, including Cameron, are selling these laws to the public, is simply wrong. The concept underlying such bills is that dangerous ideas are like a virus. You can quarantine them or kill them, like germs. But ideas are like a vast, rushing body of water that will uproot checkpoints and reconfigure a landscape – if barriers are placed in its way. In fact, the history of censorship shows that it is completely useless in stamping out ideas: the fastest way to spread an idea is to censor it.” She goes on to cite examples wherein state censorship has failed to produce the intended results.

There are many...

Blogging In The Years: 2010

Barron Trump likes his luggage:

Tech Down Under

Less censorship in Oz:

The proposed legislation outlined sweeping powers to fine tech companies up to five percent of their yearly turnover if they breached new online safety obligations. Communications Minister Michelle Rowland said she had dumped the bill after running into significant opposition in the country’s senate. “Based on public statements and engagements with senators, it is clear that there is no pathway to legislate this proposal through the senate,” she said in a statement. The proposed bill notably drew the ire of tech baron Elon Musk, who in September likened the Australian government to “fascists”.

Big Brother isn't watching you, mate...

More Green

They want more money:

Climate doomers quickly wailed that was not nearly enough and demanded more – much more – to take the sum to $400 billion at least. COP29, formally the Conference of Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), is the 19th edition of the U.N.’s official assembly to discuss how to address the alleged global climate crisis. Around 50,000 people flew in from around the world for the two-week talkfest. AFP reports some 200 nations pushed through the contentious finance pact at the meeting in the early hours in a sports stadium in Azerbaijan. But the applause had barely subsided when India roared its rejection of the “abysmally poor” deal, igniting a firestorm of criticism from across the developing world. “It’s a paltry sum,” thundered India’s delegate Chandni Raina. “This document is little more than an optical illusion. This, in our opinion, will not address the enormity of the challenge we all face.”

Grifting is hard work...

Eruptions

Well, this could be bad:

Since 2005, one spot in particular — the Solfatara crater — has been releasing increased volumes of gas, catching the attention of researchers and locals alike. Gianmarco Buono, a volcanologist at the Italian National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology (INGV), is leading a study to understand what’s behind this surge in gas emissions. “Estimating the source of the carbon dioxide is important to properly reconstruct what is happening in the magmatic system and the hydrothermal system,” says Buono. His team aims to provide a tool that can distinguish between carbon dioxide coming from magma and that released by other processes, a method that could be useful in volcanic regions around the world.

I'm still waiting for an Earth-shattering Kaboom. In the meantime:

Slaying The Beast

It's time to end it:

The time has come to end the Administrative State once and for all. This failed experiment launched a century ago by Progressive Statists like Woodrow Wilson and Theodore Roosevelt is a deeply unconstitutional approach to government that is antithetical to the free, representative government founded by the American Republic. It is the polar opposite of what our founders envisioned with the unelected bureaucrats doing the governing of the country while not responsive to “We the People,” as the people didn’t elect them and, more importantly, don’t have any recourse to redress their grievances against the increasingly authoritarian tendencies of the Administrative State via its statutes and regulations that benefit the State and its allies. The good news is that President Trump has fully empowered Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy and the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), which is a massive step in the right direction. The fundamental reason for this is: Trump rejects the premise that the Administrative State is legitimate or that its unelected bureaucrats should be the final decision makers on anything, whether foreign or domestic policy. But Trump and DOGE should not settle for reducing government spending and the regulatory burden. Its goal should be to shatter the Administrative State into a million pieces.

And make sure they never reform...

Old-Time Paganism

The pagans have fallen:

why do I say it’s a faith? I say that because a central aspect of paganism is that all the pagan gods can transform their shapes and identities, whether they’re Egyptian cat or falcon gods or Greek and Roman gods endlessly assuming alternative human and animal identities. If humans can abandon their biological reality and transform themselves into “identities” that others must respect (a level of respect akin to worship), they have elevated themselves to pagan gods. That’s some religion! But of course, as is typical for all paganism, there are ultimately only negative traits. There is no moral doctrine, no corrective for failures (e.g., remorse, repentance, and redemption), and no ultimate salvation. There are just the gods’ endless efforts to satisfy their own base desires. Humans are pawns rather than unique individuals made in a sacred image. The fact that the LGBTQ+ religion is declining in the public sphere is a good thing because it brings nothing beneficial to humankind. Instead, it brings only the pain, chaos, and arbitrary and capricious irrationality of paganism. This means that the climbdowns on the part of Target and HBO are excellent signs for a return to sanity and moral health in America that we must ensure are never again reversed.

Unfortunately, there will still be those who try...

The Real Revolutionary

 Change is certain. Progress is not.-Edward Hallett Carr

 

The successful revolutionary is a statesman, the unsuccessful one a criminal.-Erich Fromm

Everyone knows that leftists love to talk about change. From Marx to Bernie Sanders, it’s become the mantra of their cause. But what happens when a real revolutionary comes into office?

 

Donald Trump has pledged to make some of the greatest changes in government in at least forty years. From his appointments to his policies, he’s made it quite clear that there’s a new sheriff in charge, and the usual suspects aren’t thrilled about it.

 

But while the American people have clearly decided to stand behind him, the sycophants and self-described leaders of “le resistance” have made it quite clear that they don’t care what the people think. They’re desperate to keep their power, whether through subversion or allies in the Swamp that Trump has promised to finally drain.

 

Can he do it? Only time will tell, and he’ll only have four short years to try. 

Peaches And Green

Peaches are still safe:

The article written by Abby Kousouris, titled “Georgia farmers, restaurant owners say climate change threatens way of life,” pushes the narrative that climate change is uniformly warming the planet and adversely affecting agriculture. This claim, though often asserted by climate alarmists, is specifically debunked by regional climate and crop data. Contrary to the widespread assertion that global warming is causing uniform temperature increases, data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) indicate that the Southeastern United States has experienced a cooling trend over recent decades. This phenomenon, often linked to the polar vortex, has led to colder winters in the region, defying the generalized warming narrative. As reported by Forbes, “Defying Climate Change, Southeast U.S. Is Getting Colder Instead of Warmer via Polar Vortex.” This cooling trend challenges the premise that warming temperatures are responsible for agricultural difficulties in Georgia.

Eat a peach:

Banana Peel

So this happened:

The buyer was soon revealed to be Justin Sun, a 34-year old cryptocurrency platform founder from China and based in Switzerland. Sun confirmed the purchase on his X feed, writing that it represented “a cultural phenomenon that bridges the worlds of art, memes, and the cryptocurrency community.” “I believe this piece will inspire more thought and discussion in the future and will become a part of history,” Sun wrote, adding he would personally eat the banana “as part of this unique artistic experience, honoring its place in both art history and popular culture.” A Sotheby’s executive, meanwhile, hailed the purchase as emblematic of someone seeking to address art’s biggest questions. “How do you value what, for me at least, is one of the most brilliant ideas in the history of conceptual art,” David Galperin, Sotheby’s head of contemporary art for the Americas, said in a release. “And what better place to ask that question than in our salesroom, where tonight the answer came in at a resounding $6.2 million.”

Sometimes a banana is just another person's meal ticket...

Lost Middle

Why the center won't hold for the Democrats:

As the country moves to the right in response to issues like inflation, people left of center start to migrate through that apathy gap. Some make it across and vote for team red, but others get bogged down. Having abandoned plans to vote blue, they don't quite get around to voting red either. They stay home. Most of the non-voters are people like that near the center. So moving the entire party left (as progressives are now suggesting the party must do in response to Harris' loss) won't appeal to those voters in the middle. .... .... Levitz' point in making this case is to save Democrats from making a big mistake in future elections by moving left in response to this election. I think he's basically right, but I wonder if Democrats will be able to let go of some of the far left issues that got them in trouble this year: Open borders, trans athletes, workplace DEI, reparations, "Latinx", etc. I'm not sure moderation is an option for many of these people. They like cancel culture and the power it gives them too much.

They won't give up that power willingly...

Waste Removal

Why the waste needs to go:

The Department Of Government Efficiency (DOGE) will be headed up by billionaire Elon Musk and millionaire Vivek Ramaswamy along with oversight committees in both the House and the Senate. Their goal is to reduce government waste by a huge amount and they just posted something on 𝕏 that should silence anyone critical of the department’s formation. In FY2023, the U.S. Government spent $6.16. trillion while only bringing in $4.47 trillion. The last budget surplus was in 2001. This trend must be reversed, and we must balance the budget. .... Balancing the budget would be impossible unless massive cuts are made. Some, including me, believe the federal government could be cut by over 50% and nobody other than the government employees themselves would notice a difference in their day-to-day lives. That may seem like overkill, but I would actually argue we could cut government size by over 90% with some austere maneuvers.

Or even more if we're lucky...

Celebrity Choice

Stick with celebrities, he says:

It wasn’t just Obama who lost – Trump dealt a blow to the influence of big stars like Taylor Swift and Oprah Winfrey. Swift and Oprah, both out-of-touch billionaires, offered Harris their endorsements to no avail. The Harris campaign spent millions on glitzy events, but the spectacle failed to move voters. The tactic may have even backfired. Indeed, the popular view is that Harris lost because the Democrats have become too “woke” and out of touch with ordinary people. However, Obama speechwriter David Litt argues that celebrities can still be useful in driving turnout in midterm races. “These nonpresidential elections are often decided by ‘differential turnout’,” he said.

Yes, they're called normal people...

Problem File

Bill Maher gets it again:

Paid Stupidity

Joe Manchin has regrets:

Manchin stated that [relevant remarks begin around 12:05] inflation, immigration, and Afghanistan were the biggest blind spots of the Biden administration and the Harris campaign and addressed inflation first by stating, “I warned of that, and I got criticized, as you recall, they told me they had 17 Nobel laureates.” .... He further stated, “Remember when I stopped and it shut down for about eight or ten hours? That’s because they were extending unemployment benefits and we had a vaccine that worked. And I told him then, I said, you’ve got a vaccine that’s working, you’ve got people that have got money because we sent a check to everybody, and if we didn’t send a check, it was by mistake, because you tried to send a check to everybody, and I said, and they’ve got nowhere to go now, they’ve been cloistered in their home…and they’re going to go out there and find out…the supply chain’s been weak, things were shut down, they’re going to be paying — I want this, I’ll pay whatever price I can to get it, and they’re going to inflate it. You’ve got inflation coming at you hard when you do this, and now you’re still keeping people out of the workforce because you’re going to give them an extension clear up until October 2021 of unemployment benefits and they can’t go back and can’t be threatened to lose their unemployment benefits. You’ve got a perfect storm hitting you. … That’s when they threw out the 17 Nobel laureates, and I said, you’ve got 17 educated idiots that are telling you what you want to hear because you paid them.”

You get what you pay for...

Money Talk

Donna admits:

Brazile said, [relevant remarks begin around 29:05] “I also think that Democrats have to continue to talk about our values, our values that bring Americans together. Most Americans agree with us on the issues. They agree with us on these policy positions. But they want someone to help them make ends meet. We kept talking about jobs, jobs, jobs, 16 million jobs created, and everybody kept saying, yeah, I’m working two jobs and I still can’t afford the basic essentials of life. So, look, we made mistakes but there [are] lessons to be learned, Bill, and let me just tell you, two years from now, we’ll have a different conversation.”

But the left won't be a part of it...

Winning Again

Trump's sentencing has been shelved:

Merchan said Trump attorneys have until Dec. 2 to file their motion for dismissal. Merchan said Bragg has until Dec. 9 to respond. Merchan also confirmed the stay in sentencing for Trump, which was requested by both Trump's and Bragg's attorneys. The sentencing was scheduled for Nov. 26, but on Friday, Merchan said that date "is adjourned." Trump spokesman and incoming White House communications director Steven Cheung reacted to Merchan's ruling on Friday, telling Fox News Digital it is a "decisive win" for the president. "In a decisive win for President Trump, the hoax Manhattan Case is now fully stayed and sentencing is adjourned," Cheung told Fox News Digital. "President Trump won a landslide victory as the American People have issued a mandate to return him to office and dispose of all remnants of the Witch Hunt cases." Cheung added, "All of the sham lawfare attacks against President Trump are now destroyed and we are focused on Making America Great Again."

No more lawfare here...

Do-Over Blues

They want a recount:

The liberal organization Free Speech for People and at least one national liberal talk host, Thom Hartman, pushed for a recount. So have Democrats on social media, as a last gasp of hope of preventing Trump from beginning a second term Jan. 20. Harris, who became the nominee after President Joe Biden dropped out of the race, lost both the popular vote and electoral vote to Trump. He defeated her in all seven swing states. The vice president conceded the race Nov. 6. The Harris Victory Fund reportedly is a joint fundraising committee authorized by the Harris campaign, the Democratic National Committee, and state Democratic parties. “The first $41,300/$15,000 from a person/multicandidate committee (“PAC”) will be allocated to the DNC,” the Harris Victory Fund says. It then adds: “The next $3,300/$5,000 from a person/PAC will be allocated to Harris for President’s Recount Account.” Last week, a group of cybersecurity experts and someone from Free Speech for People asked Harris to seek a recount, alleging a data breach in voting systems. Their letter specifically asked the vice president to seek a recount in the most closely contested states—Michigan, Nevada, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin.

Sorry, Democrats, the Blue Wall has been broken...

School Ball

Universities are scared:

President-elect Donald Trump’s decisive victory has colleges and universities on high alert after he vowed to take on higher education as part of his plan to overhaul the U.S. education system. U.S. universities have come under scrutiny in recent months for their lackluster response to antisemitism as protests and encampments overtook campuses nationwide amid the ongoing war in Gaza. Many universities chose to look the other way, prompting a mass exodus by donors who withdrew millions in grants and severed relationships with their alma maters. The same universities, meanwhile, continued to rake in billions in U.S. taxpayer-backed federal funds. Since 2018, $33 billion of federal contracts and grants have been handed to a handful of elite universities, averaging $6.6 billion annually, an Open the Books study from last year revealed. Some universities even collected more money in federal dollars than they did in tuition payments in a single year, according to an audit done by the government watchdog. Trump has repeatedly targeted colleges and universities on the campaign trail, pledging to free higher learning in America from the grip of what he called “Marxist Maniacs.”

He just wants to take out the trash...

Search Mode Off

The search is over:

A federal program in which Drug Enforcement Administration agents unconstitutionally demanded to search travelers’ luggage, without any probable cause a crime had been committed, has been suspended after the scheme was caught on video. It is the Institute for Justice, which is fighting on behalf of victims of the program, that confirmed the government’s abrupt flip-flop. The institute confirmed, “Today, the Department of Justice suspended the Drug Enforcement Administration’s controversial practice of having agents intercept travelers, interrogate them, and insist on searching their bags in what the agency calls ‘consensual encounters.'” The encounters actually are anything but consensual, as the video reveals one agent insisting that he is “the government” and can confiscate a traveler’s backpack and take it away – to some unknown location – for a search. The victim in this case explained on video that he was very concerned that the agent would, in fact, take the backpack, and then plant evidence in it. The institute said the suspension “comes on the heels of an Office of the Inspector General report, also issued today, that criticizes the practice and refers to shocking footage of one traveler’s experience, which the Institute for Justice (IJ) released on YouTube in July.”

They got caught with your drawers down...

Going To Extremes

The elites forgot about those they left behind:

As I watched the already progressive Democratic Party rush headlong to see how far left it could go, I was convinced that the party's radical coastal elites were leaving behind regular Democrats in the rest of the country. That conviction grew stronger this election year. I repeatedly said that I couldn't believe that Joe and Edna Democrat in Flyover, USA were on board with drag queen story hours and pro-criminal prosecutors. We now know that they weren't. In fact, there were rightward shifts even in deep blue states, indicating that some Democrats want the progs to pump the brakes on the raging lefty garbage. One of those pro-criminal prosecutors was tossed out on his ear by voters in Los Angeles. Still, the Democratic Party remains under the control of those coastal elites who are so blinded by ideology that they don't know they're on the fringe (I'm adding Illinois, Colorado, and Minnesota Dems into the "coastal elite" mix here). One Democrat in a deep blue state on the coast does see how things really are, though, and it doesn't appear that many of his fellow Dems are listening to him.

He's notpart of the in crowd...

The Last Race

Bob Casey surrenders:

Casey said in a statement that he called McCormick to congratulate him. McCormick's campaign also independently confirmed the news to Fox News Digital. "I just called Dave McCormick to congratulate him on his election to represent Pennsylvania in the United States Senate," Casey said in the statement. "As the first count of ballots is completed, Pennsylvanians can move forward with the knowledge that their voices were heard, whether their vote was the first to be counted or the last." "This race was one of the closest in our Commonwealth’s history, decided by less than a quarter of a point. I am grateful to the thousands of people who worked to make sure every eligible vote cast could be counted, including election officials in all 67 counties."

Now go home...

Dark Blue Sky

Censors have fled to their happy space:

Bluesky Safety — the innocuous name for the platform’s censorship team — has itself admitted the unmanageable demand for violating First Amendment rights on Bluesky but only fueled the problem by encouraging more reports and promising to step up its censorship efforts. On Nov. 15, after noting that some three million new users had joined Bluesky in a week’s time, the Bluesky Safety account added:

In the past 24 hours, we have received more than 42,000 reports (an all-time high for one day). We’re receiving about 3,000 reports/hour. To put that into context, in all of 2023, we received 360k reports. We’re triaging this large queue so the most harmful content such as CSAM is removed quickly. With this significant influx of users, we’ve also seen increased spam, scam, and trolling activity — you may have seen some of this yourself. Our team is reviewing these accounts, and you can help us by reporting them by clicking the three-dot menu on each post/account.

After thus encouraging easily offended, hate-filled users to do even more of what they’re already doing to overwhelm Bluesky Safety, the team added, “We appreciate your patience as we dial our moderation team up to max capacity and bring on new team members to support this load. Your safety is our highest priority." Not your free speech, not your Constitutional rights, but your “safety.”

Safety always comes before speech for them...

No Threat

Threat, not a threat:

To the points that you made, you know, I’ve been asked about existential threat. I’ve been asked about a threat to our democracy. The president is always going to be honest with the American people. He feels like he is obligated. What he said still stands, but we are now in a different place. We are. The American people spoke. They deserve a peaceful transfer of power. That’s what this president wants to do. … His thoughts and what he said, his thinking on that has not changed. It has not, and I think he was very clear about what he believes should have been done or how we should move forward, how, you know, he was very clear during those moments that he spoke about it. Right now, he wants to lead by example, and talk and show the American people what it looks like to have an efficient, effective transfer of power, and he believes that is what the American people deserve, and I’m just going to leave it there for now.

Well, there it is, or was...

Driven to Insanity

Jaguar isn't giving up:

The entire thing was bizarre, mostly because Jaguar clearly isn't reading the room: that woke nonsense is dying out (thank goodness). They were absolutely dragged for it and the critics were right. If this writer didn't know Jaguar sold cars, she wouldn't have had a clue about that ad and -- if she were to ever be in the market for a luxury vehicle -- the ad didn't make her want to buy a Jaguar. You'd think they'd listen to the reaction of the car buying public and rethink this ad. You'd think wrong. They doubled down in this vaguely threatening way.

Somebody needs to take away the keys...

Blogging In The Years: 1992

Rush Limbaugh is skeptical:

Mind The Mines

When greening and mining don't mix:

America now ranks second to last in the time it takes to develop a new mine -- roughly 29 years. Only Zambia is worse. "You start applying for permits," says Mills, "You're going to be waiting not months, not years, but decades!" Waiting while the NRDC sues and runs frightening anti-mine ads, saying nature will be "destroyed by a 2,000-foot gaping hole in the ground!" Mills points out their deceit. Today's mines disturb "a tiny infinitesimal pinprick in the landscape" and we do need to disturb the landscape a little, because "we need metals and materials and minerals to build everything that exists to make society possible!" I confronted NRDC spokesman Bob Deans, saying the NRDC killing mines also kills people's opportunity. He responded that "clean" energy creates jobs. "We created 50,000 new jobs in this country, putting up wind turbines, solar panels, building the next generation of energy efficient cars. This is where the future is!" "But also, you need copper and gold," I point out. "That's right," says Deans, "And we have to weigh those risks." But the NRDC doesn't weigh the risks. They just oppose American mines.

Some mines are more equal than others...

Word Invitations

Don't offend the invited:

Two climate scientists (which should clue you in on their leanings) from Australia, Melissa Hart and Negin Nazarian, wrote that using the season in your event invitations isn’t “inclusive.” Hart and Nazarian write that “despite the clear signs of spring here, we find ourselves inundated with invitations to events that speak of fall or autumn, or newsletters announcing workshops that will run this coming winter. It leaves us wondering: are we invited at all into this season different from our own?” For crying out loud. “This curious oversight, in which seasons, instead of months, are used for scheduling, is especially puzzling in the scientific community — a group known for its precision and careful communication,” they continue. “Why do we, of all people, persist in relying on region-specific seasonal markers? What is even more baffling is that this takes place in our fields of weather and climate science, with little regard for how different things might be outside the Northern Hemisphere.”

Oh, the horror of an offending invite...

Who's Sorry Now

Now she's sorry:

On Wednesday during a heated county meeting, the Bucks County commissioner pleaded with the voters to forgive her — though Ellis-Marseglia said last week that “we all know that precedent by a court doesn’t matter anymore in this country, and people violate laws any time they want” as she called for others to join her in violating the law, CNN reported. “The passion in my heart got the best of me and I apologize again for that,” the county commissioner told the crowd. “I made a mistake, and because I am an elected official, I am held to a far higher standard than everybody else,” she added. “So, to the citizens I serve, I apologize, and I will continue to work hard for you and endeavor to not make such a mistake again.”

The passion without the glory...

Fruit Loops

RFK Jr. was right:

Mass Exodus

The swamp rats want to leave:

Aware of the extent of partisanship in Washington, Trump’s landslide victory is sending jitters across federal agencies as bureaucrats reflect on the future of their careers. “I think there would probably be an exodus, because federal employees just want to do their jobs. They want to do the job according to law and regulation,” Jacqueline Simon, policy director of the American Federation of Government Employees, told the Hill. These career bureaucrats claim their exit is not a result of playing partisan politics with the previous administration, but that President Trump intends to fill federal positions with political loyalists – as if they’re not political loyalists themselves.

They no longer want their phony baloney jobs...

Court Jesters

Even Stormy's ex-lawyer wants her case tossed:

“The hush money verdict should be promptly thrown out by Judge Merchan and the case immediately dismissed,” Avenatti wrote on X. “It was always a political prosecution solely designed to keep President Trump from being elected, founded on the perjury of grifters Cohen & Daniels. “While the country moves forward, Cohen & Daniels can crawl back where they came from.” Nonetheless, Daniels owes Trump in excess of $600,000 in legal fees from a 2018 defamation lawsuit that was eventually thrown out. MSNBC claims that Trump’s team is negotiating with Daniels to reduce the amount in exchange for confidentiality, an allegation that the president’s Communication Director Steven Cheung disputes.

The BS ends where it began...

Human Speak

I suppose it's better than talking like an animal:

One of Potential Energy’s projects is the “Talk Like a Human” campaign, an attempt to change messaging on climate change. A slide of this presentation obtained by The Daily Wire shows the group encouraging people not to use words like “climate change” or “warming,” and instead use “extreme weather” and “over heating [sic],” respectively. The group also suggests people no longer use the term “sacrifice” when talking about the subject and instead use words like “enjoy,” suggesting a more positive future than the doom and gloom typically associated with climate change activism. The organization also features a series of slides telling participants not to exaggerate and explains that while “climate crisis” and “climate emergency” work for people who are already terrified of climate change, it doesn’t work for people who are not. The slides also suggest keeping the phrasing tied to where a person lives rather than globally and talking about fighting pollution rather than climate change.

Unfortunately for them, most normal humans won't listen...

Wage Rage

No more for them:

After two weeks of postelection uncertainty, Proposition 32, the initiative to increase the state’s minimum wage to $18 an hour, was defeated by a narrow margin. The rejection was “a pretty poignant sign of the times in a state like California,” said John Kabateck, state director of the National Federation of Independent Business, which had urged voters to vote no. “It is certainly sending a message that Californians across the political spectrum are fed up with higher costs and greater uncertainty on Main Street.” Proposition 32 was declared defeated after falling just short, with 49.2% voting "yes." The Associated Press called the race on Tuesday evening. The outcome was the latest indication of a rightward shift in the reliably blue state, which saw a number of surprising results from the Nov. 5 election. Voters overwhelmingly supported a ballot measure to undo a decade of progressive criminal justice reform, and rejected an initiative that would have banned forced prison labor.

The blue state turns red...

Bad Blades

The news surrounding the Massechusetts wind farm experiment continues to get worse:

At least 14 turbine blades built for the Vineyard Wind project have been shipped to France from New Bedford, apparently due to a manufacturing defect that has resulted in layoffs and suspensions at the blade manufacturing plant in Gaspé, Quebec. GE Vernova laid off nine managers and suspended 11 unionized floor workers at the LM Wind factory in Gaspé last month in response to the defective blade that broke on a turbine in July, the local union confirmed to The Light on Monday. The Gaspé plant had been manufacturing and supplying most of the blades for the Vineyard Wind project until the blade failure. Managers at the LM Wind plant may have falsified quality testing data, according to a report from local outlet Radio Gaspésie. Citing anonymous sources, the radio station reported in late October that executives at the LM Wind plant may have asked employees to falsify quality control data, favoring production quantity over quality. .... At least 14 turbine blades built for the Vineyard Wind project have been shipped to France from New Bedford, apparently due to a manufacturing defect that has resulted in layoffs and suspensions at the blade manufacturing plant in Gaspé, Quebec. GE Vernova laid off nine managers and suspended 11 unionized floor workers at the LM Wind factory in Gaspé last month in response to the defective blade that broke on a turbine in July, the local union confirmed to The Light on Monday. The Gaspé plant had been manufacturing and supplying most of the blades for the Vineyard Wind project until the blade failure. Managers at the LM Wind plant may have falsified quality testing data, according to a report from local outlet Radio Gaspésie. Citing anonymous sources, the radio station reported in late October that executives at the LM Wind plant may have asked employees to falsify quality control data, favoring production quantity over quality.

This wind scheme won't blow...

Game Over

The fat lady has sung:

The order, which may be viewed in full below, states in pertinent part:

The Court hereby ASSUMES its King’s Bench authority over the instant Application, see 42 Pa.C.S. § 502, only to DIRECT that all Respondents, including the Boards of Elections in Bucks County, Montgomery County, and Philadelphia County, SHALL COMPLY with the prior rulings of this Court in which we have clarified that mail-in and absentee ballots that fail to comply with the requirements of the Pennsylvania Election Code, see 25 P.S. §§ 3146.6(a), 3150.16(a), SHALL NOT BE COUNTED for purposes of the election held on November 5, 2024.

In other words, to the boards of elections who continue to violate the law: Knock it off.

Go home, it's over...

Media RIP

Old media is dead:

“I’ve had this philosophy for the last five years that traditional media is dead, and it doesn’t hold the influence that it used to hold,” White said, according to MMA Fighting. “The two most hated people in this world are the media and politicians. Nobody trusts them. Nobody believes them. “The true influence right now is with these kids on the internet. They’re called influencers. So, I’ve been creating relationships with these people for the last four or five years. And this election was won on the internet. “The way Power Slap was built was the way this election was won. The Hispanic vote was incredibly powerful, the male Black vote and the youth.” Trump has regularly attended UFC events for years. However, on Saturday night, he was joined by high-ranking Republicans and several of his cabinet appointments, such as Tulsi Gabbard, Elon Musk, Vivek Ramaswamy, and House Speaker Mike Johnson (R, LA). After UFC Heavyweight Champion Jon Jones defeated Stipe Miocic by TKO in the third round, Jones performed the “Trump Dance” and praised the President-Elect.

Long live the Internet...

Normal Time

Democrats try to prove they're not weird:

“I don’t want to be the freak show party, like they have branded us,” a DNC member from Florida told Politico. “You know, when you’re a mom with three kids, and you live in middle America and you’re just not really into politics, and you see these ads that scare the bejesus out of you, you’re like, ‘I know Trump’s weird or whatever, but I would rather his weirdness that doesn’t affect my kids.’” Another DNC member from California said: “I do think there’s this whole sentiment that we just went too far out there on identity, and it allowed the Republicans to really attack us at every turn as a result, and that we just essentially did not focus on just the everyday issues of Americans.” Democrats began the “weird” attacks in July, with many soundbites jabbing Vance for his “childless cat lady” comments he made during a 2021 interview. Harris and her running mate, Gov. Tim Walz (D-MN) joined top Democrats in labeling the Trump-Vance ticket as “weird,” taking the messaging well into the homestretch of the campaign. But Republicans shot back, often pointing to the Left’s stance on transgender policies to argue that Democrats belonged to the “weird” party. Vance called the attacks “a lot of projection” during a Fox News interview in August, adding that they came “from people who want to give transgender hormones to 9-year-old kids and want biological males to play in women’s sports.” Meanwhile, Trump spent his time on the campaign trail talking about the economy and inflation, issues that polls showed were of top importance to voters. Weeks ahead of Election Day, his campaign released an ad portraying Harris as out-of-touch with “normal voters” that made staggering gains in states across the country.

If you don't want to be called weird, don't act weird...

Speech Support

The right to offend:

Verbal insults or taunting or criticism cannot harm or (to use a widespread term of today) “abuse” anyone physically. The “saying” is typically used to remind people of that fact and encourage emotional resilience against letting anyone else’s opinion affect personal self-esteem. So, speech is not a weapon no matter how hateful. And right after the protection of free speech in the First Amendment, the Second Amendment protects our right to possess physical arms which are weapons. So, if speech is not a real weapon, why is it being “weaponized” today? Lies can be fact-checked and countered with truth. But how is what has come to be called “hate speech” actually harming anyone? And why is it being censored by (for example) social media platforms and even “monitored” by U.S. government agencies like the FBI? Increasingly, saying (or posting) anything that might "trigger" any individual or group “sensitivity” is becoming risky and may be labeled "hate speech." Free speech is the most basic and essential of all rights, and it doesn’t matter how unsavory, agitated, or hateful it may be. Furthermore, it lets us know what other people are thinking, and that can be very useful in judging information ... and judging the people who deliver it.

This is their real fear...

Cleaning Space

Time to get back to work:

NASA staff members spoke to the UK Daily Mail to express their frustration about the woke DEI focus NASA has had under the Biden-Harris administration. With Trump’s new DOGE set to cut government waste, with Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy at the helm, the NASA employees told the Daily Mail that they hope to see reforms. NASA’s 2020-2024 spending reports show university and consulting grants given to support “environmental justice,” and also initiatives that supposedly “embrace greater diversity and inclusive practices,” according to the Daily Mail. For example, NASA gave LMI consulting more than $2 million in 2023. This was to assist NASA to “embark on a venture to incorporate and deeply engrain diversity, inclusion, equity and accessibility in the culture and business.” The National Academy of Sciences received $900,000 for diversity efforts from NASA. Consulting company Booz Allen Hamilton was another beneficiary, according to the Daily Mail.

Stick with what you know...

Packing It In

Government is getting smaller already:

Christopher Wray is going to leave soon, the Special Council is closing down his investigation, FBI brass are looking for the exits, woke flag officers are looking at the exits, FDA and CDC bureaucrats are updating their resumes, and the trash at the Justice Department is going to take itself out. It's glorious. Now I have no problem in principle with the Justice Department, the CDC, the FBI, the military, the FDA, and some of the more necessary government agencies. But I have a big problem with the people who are self-selecting here; anybody who is even considering leaving their jobs SHOULD be the first ones out the door. Clearly they viewed their jobs politically, not as genuine public servants. If they can't work for the duly elected president just because they disagree with him they don't belong in government. Of course, the tranche of federal employees who will, in essence, "self-deport" should only be the first to go. There are lots of useless bureaucrats who should be let go because they do nothing useful. But the first to go should be the worst, and the worst are identifying themselves.

No crybabies allowed...