Ace: aceofspadeshq at gee mail.com
Buck: buck.throckmorton at protonmail.com
CBD: cbd at cutjibnewsletter.com
joe mannix: mannix2024 at proton.me
MisHum: petmorons at gee mail.com
J.J. Sefton: sefton at cutjibnewsletter.com
Chavez the Hugo 2020
Ibguy 2020
Rickl 2019
Joffen 2014
AoSHQ Writers Group
A site for members of the Horde to post their stories seeking beta readers, editing help, brainstorming, and story ideas. Also to share links to potential publishing outlets, writing help sites, and videos posting tips to get published.
Contact OrangeEnt for info: maildrop62 at proton dot me
A trucker walked into a roadside diner and said to the new waitress, "I'll have three flat tires, a pair of headlights and a set of running boards."
The waitress blinked. Once. Twice. Certainly something wasn't right.
She rushed into the kitchen and whispered to the cook, "There is a guy out there trying to order car parts for breakfast!"
The cook laughed. "Relax!
Flat tires are pancakes.
Headlights are eggs.
Running boards are bacon."
Relieved, the waitress put the order together and added a bowl of beans before heading back out to the trucker.
The trucker smiled when he saw the plate but frowned when he saw the bowl of beans. "What are the beans for?"
The waitress smiled proudly and said, "Well, I figured you're getting flat tires, headlights and running boards. While you're here, you might as well gas up too!"
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Drink of the Night
Finishing out the fours in our deck of playing card cocktails
Given the reputation of Key West as a haven for a certain segment of the population, one might think a "Key West Margarita" may have an alternate meaning. The Club does not want to know!
Now, a team of 12 scientists from universities in Germany and the Czech Republic have come together in a unique study that observed 37 breeds of dog over a two-year period.
Exactly 1,893 defecations and 5,582 urinations later, the team reach one incredible finding: "dogs preferred to excrete with the body being aligned along the north-south axis."
Dogs join cattle, roe deer, red deer, hunting red foxes, red foxes, coyotes and grey wolves as yet another mammal to have a mechanism of "magnetoreception."
Although their altered behaviour was only evident under calm conditions, it's still a breakthrough in demonstrating measurable, predictable changes in dog behaviour in response to the earth's magnetic field.
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Club ONT Department of Fine Cinema
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Club ONT Performance art
In January 1978, William Shatner performed a spoken word rendition of the song ‘Rocket Man’ during the Saturn Awards pic.twitter.com/4ciwnSJWb4
Club ONT is not responsible for the condition of the parking lot. Slips, trips, and falls will be met with laughter followed by the requisite "Are you OK?" The Moose sees everything but does not shovel snow. We do not have jumper cables or extra ice scrapers. We do recommend back-in style parking and leaving your windshield wipers up. Growler fills are half-price when ordered using our app. Kitchen will close without notice. No refunds for orders not fulfilled.
Few directors have all-around strengths, the ability to see every aspect of a production from pre-production through sound mixing and determine what's best for the story, for the film as a whole. Most noteworthy directors tend to have groups of strengths, certain parts of the production where their attention and skill is most directly applied to their films. Wolfgang Petersen wasn't an all around strong director, but he did have one particular strength: the sequence.
The Sequence Director is actually really interesting because while scripts may end up having issues, the strength of the sequence done really well is its own thrill and joy. John Ford was actually a sequence director according to his own writers, not really understanding narrative form but understanding exactly how to put together a sequence for film. Wolfgang Petersen feels like a similar filmmaker, just without a strong studio system to back him up with a stable of quality writers.
Moving from German television to Hollywood and then getting hired from one job to the next in ever-increasingly large budgeted productions, Petersen proved that he was a man for the time. Taking simple concepts like a president needing to fight terrorists on Air Force One and delivering them with aggressive energy in clearly filmed sustained sequences, Petersen became one of the most powerful and sought-after directors in Hollywood for about a decade. I don't know if that's what he had dreamed of his career being, but he made the most of it while he was there.
Petersen began his directing career in the mid-60s directing for German television. Mostly television movies, he plugged away at these minimal budgets, finding collaborators along the way like Jörg-Michael Baldenius who was his main cinematographer in the period or, most famously, Jurgen Prochnow, the mainstay in front of the camera for many of these productions like the blackmail thriller Einer von uns beiden (One or the Other Of Us) or the gay drama Die Konsequenz. It was mostly solid work with minimal budgets to good result. The most important of this period may be one of his feature length episodes of the long-running German police procedural Tatort, the episode titled Reifezeugnis which starred Natassja Kinski in her first role.
Television is a hard medium to try and figure out artistic intent from anyone, especially in the 70s when productions were so cheap and quickly filmed, so I watched what I could find, noting my opinions on their qualities, and wondering when the real Petersen would peak out. Was it any of it? The somewhat comic adaptation of The Nixon Recession Caper, Four Against the Bank? The sort of French-like drama that was that episode of Tartort? The gay drama Die Konsequenz? Which one could be called...his?
And then he made the full leap to feature films (though...two of his earlier works were technically released in theaters) with Das Boot, the movie that made his presence known to Hollywood. It was originally released as a feature film, only later re-edited to a longer, multi-episode television edit, but the film's six Academy Award nominations (including for Best Director and Best Screenplay for Petersen as both director and writer) pulled him out of Germany. Well, sort of.
Early Hollywood
Petersen's first post-Das Boot job was The Neverending Story, the adaptation of the German fantasy novel that its own writer, Michael Ende, rejected after Petersen took the story in directions he felt were major deviations from the source material. What I find most notable about the film is the really impressive physical production. The sets are big. The costumes and creature effects are surprisingly detailed and believable. The miniature work is almost convincing. And Petersen made it in Munich. He wasn't ready to leave his fatherland just yet. A solid success at the box office, Petersen really should have been able to make what he wanted after that.
And yet, for reasons I can't quite explain, he took the salvage job of Enemy Mine. My confusion isn't about the quality of the movie but about the decision to take a disaster of a production that had already shot for a few weeks under original director Richard Loncraine, completely revamp the production including throwing out all footage and building huge sets in the same large tank set he had filmed the U-boats in Das Boot, and then spending another $25 million to finish it. The movie would have needed to have been a huge success to make up for those handicaps. It feels like the job for a hatchetman, not an up and coming director having just had his first Hollywood success, but he apparently just liked the script.
Well, the movie bombed, especially considering the sunk costs of its initial push at production which cost about $15 million on its own, and then Petersen didn't release another film for six years.
Biography
I tend to avoid biography when running through a director's work. I want the work to speak for itself, but I'm always interested in gaps in output. So, I tried to find out what Petersen was doing from the release of Enemy Mine in 1985 and the release of Shattered in 1991. I couldn't find much. I saw that he moved permanently to Los Angeles in 1986 and became an American citizen in 1987, but that's it. Surely he was trying to get some projects off the ground in this time, but what they were isn't readily available.
And then Shattered came out, and not only did Petersen direct it. He also wrote it. He also produced it.
I see that it's based on a novel, so surely this was just some flash in the pan novel from the time that quickly gathered interest, right? No, it's based on The Plastic Nightmare by Richard Neely which was published in 1971. Was...Shattered his passion project? Wash Shattered the movie he spent six years trying to gather together resources to make? Was it where he cashed in all of his goodwill in Hollywood? To make a middling adaptation of a ridiculous erotic thriller that lost money at the box office? If Shattered had been a financial success, would the rest of his career been erotic thrillers instead of action thrillers? Was Shattered the kind of movie Petersen wanted to make?
I'll never get the answer to that question because with the financial failure of Shattered, Petersen got the job that would define the direction of the rest of his career.
Action in the 90s
Since the 70s, Hollywood producer Jeff Apple had wanted to make a movie about Secret Service agents, especially with ties to the JFK assassination. He finally cracked the idea when he hired writer Jeff Maguire to write a draft and signed Clint Eastwood to play the central role. In contrast to Shattered, Petersen has neither a writing nor a producing credit on In the Line of Fire, but it was the first box office success Petersen had had in a decade.
If Shattered is the kind of movie Petersen wanted to make, what is In the Line of Fire? I think it really was just a director-for-hire job. A younger director with some obvious chops getting hired by a strong producer (Apple) with one of the major stars of the time (Eastwood) who were going to exert control over the production while Petersen managed the camera. And it was a rather large success, the kind of success where Hollywood looks at the director and says, "You will make more of this kind of movie again."
And that's what he did. From Outbreak to Air Force One to The Perfect Storm, he produced big budget action films with major movie stars (yeah...Dustin Hoffman could be qualified as one for a time, I guess) with lots of special effects and extended action sequences that he could deliver with a professionalism and style that never overwhelmed anything else. And he was hitting financial success after financial success after financial success.
Is there something of Petersen in these films? The military aspects of Outbreak, the confined, extended aspect of Air Force One, and the naval (if predominantly civilian) aspects of The Perfect Storm indicate, to me, an effort on his part (he was producer on all three) to find projects that appealed to him in terms of subject matter. Sure, the scripts could be uneven (Outbreak is like three movies in one that never gel and The Perfect Storm character storytelling is thin with caricature, but Air Force One is awesome), but they indicate to me that Petersen, at his height of power, was using the large scale blockbuster to tell stories that interested him while also finding room for the kind of action spectacle that he could deliver in sustained sequences for the masses and his studio employers.
The 2000s
The 2000s was when Petersen's career faltered. The Perfect Storm was a mild financial success considering its rather large costs, but critically it wasn't exactly loved. Still, critics don't mean much in Hollywood when money's still being made, so Petersen got the assignment to try and continue the sword and sandal epic revival started by Ridley Scott's Gladiator with his pseudo-adaptation of Homer's The Illiad, Troy. It seems like the general opinion on the film has risen decently since the film's release. Using the Wayback Machine, the film started with an IMDB rating in the high 6's and now has a rating of 7.2, a steady climb over more than 20 years. I remember reactions being more muted, especially its bloated nature, some stiff acting, and it being part of an overuse of CGI armies at the time that people were getting tired of.
Well, the film made money, but it was really expensive. Nearly costing $200 million, it only made a shade under $500 million. Combined with marketing costs which were at least $100 million and could have been as much as $200 million and the theatrical share of ticket prices, it's likely that Troy didn't make any profit for Warner Brothers at the box office. Combined with The Perfect Storm likely having a similar fate, Petersen seemed to be on thin ice.
And then the ice broke out from under him with Poseidon. A very expensive re-adaptation of the novel by Paul Gallico, it outright lost money (at least $60 million, and probably more) while meeting critical derision (I have a good time with it), and then there's another large gap.
Finishing Where He Began
As I said earlier, big gaps in a filmography interest me, and this second gap is bigger than the first. From 2006 to 2016, Petersen made nothing. There is a bit more information out there about what he was trying to get off the ground (notably an adaptation of Orson Scott Card's Ender's Game and a live-action adaptation of the anime Paprika) but nothing came to fruition. At some point, he seems to have given up on making another film in Hollywood and went back to Germany to make another adaptation of The Nixon Recession Caper, this time in more outright comedic fashion. It seems like almost no one outside of Germany has seen this film (I have, I thought it was pretty fun), but it was met with strong success in Germany while meeting no real distribution outside of Germany (European comedies rarely even try international distribution).
His final film completed, he lived for another 6 years and died in his home in Los Angeles in 2022. Did he try to get another project off the ground in his 70s? There's no indication that he did or didn't. I wouldn't have minded seeing one more from him, though.
Legacy
So...who was the real Petersen? I think the closest we'll ever get to the real Petersen, the artist he wanted to be in cinema, is going to be Shattered. Every indication is that it was his baby, the project that he shepherded, wrote himself, and produced for years before he got to set. If that had been a success, we would have gotten more lurid thrillers from him instead of action spectacles.
But it wasn't a success, and In the Line of Fire put him on his proper path: action director. And he was really good at it. Movies of Today
Das Boot (Rating 4/4) Full Review "I'd be surprised if I felt Petersen came close to matching this again. I've seen enough of what's to come to feel assured that this is going to be his crowning achievement." [Personal Collection]
The Neverending Story (Rating 1.5/4) Full Review "And yet, everyone seems to love this film. Ugh, I don't. I've tried, but no. This movie is bad." [Prime]
Enemy Mine (Rating 2/4) Full Review "I just find the actual story to be dull as dishwater. Still, I got some pew-pews at the end." [Library]
Shattered (Rating 2/4) Full Review "So, the film is not terribly engaging, but Petersen makes the experience slick with solid direction, the actors are all committed and doing decent jobs, and I get a kick out of the ending." [Plex]
In the Line of Fire (Rating 3.5/4) Full Review "It's a fun ride, and everyone does their job well. It's a good time at the movies." [Personal Collection]
Air Force One (Rating 3.5/4) Full Review "It's not the top tier of 90s action filmmaking, but it's honestly near the top." [Personal Collection]
Troy (Rating 2/4) Full Review "It's a mixed bag, one I wish I liked more (I'm a sucker for the sword and sandal epic), but this response to Gladiator's success is a good signpost on the road to why the genre died out again." [Personal Collection]
Poseidon (Rating 2.5/4) Full Review "Petersen might not have been a visionary, but I think he had an idea of what he was doing." [Library]
Please also check out the rest of my YouTube videos from the last few weeks:
Email any suggestions or questions to thejamesmadison.aos at symbol gmail dot com.
I've also archived all the old posts here, by request. I'll add new posts a week after they originally post at the HQ.
My next thread will be on 2/14 and it will discuss the directing career of Park Chan-wook.
Welcome hobbyists! Pull up a chair and sit a spell with the Horde in this little corner of the interweb. This is the mighty, mighty officially sanctioned Ace of Spades Hobby Thread. We gave the Ace of Spades Wheel of Hobbies (TM) a spin it landed on wood carving and tools.
As per usual Hobby Thread etiquette, keep this thread limited to hobbying. All (legal) hobbying is welcome. Discussion of current events, religion and politics can elsewhere. Pants are optional. As always, puns are welcome and encouraged.
Play nice. Don't be a troll and do not feed the trolls.
Best wishes to all with the winter weather. Comments, updates, questions and requests for help are welcome and on-topic.
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Lurker Bird Rock Doc sent a few photos of his wood carving projects. I was going to do an elaborate post with behind the scenes work in progress detail, but I have a small dinosaur brain and short arms so here we are. Maybe he'll jump in and provide more background...
Outstanding! Thank you!
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This is a great tool topic - what tools should a new homeowner have?
What suggestions do you have?
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Woodworking tools that you don't need or don't use?
Unexpected tools that you use? Intrigued to see a power hand planer at the top of this list.
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How did woodworking become a hobby? Interesting history:
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Nothing to do with wood, but rust removal is a thing for hobbyists and these involve tools.
I only recently discovered a needle scaler. Anyone use one? Did it cause hearing damage?
Electrolysis versus Evapo-Rust?
I will freely admit that this video speaks to me. It makes me want to haunt garage and estate sales and rescue old tools and toolboxes. Long video with many individual tool restorations.
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Did you miss the Hobby Thread last week? We did an sea glass theme. The comments may be closed, but you can re-live the content.
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Notable content continued from last week:
Last week Reforger mentioned visiting the Nevada State Museum which includes the Carson City Mint. He described seeing Coin Press No. 1, a steam powered coin press that made silver dollars from 1870 to 1893.
As the original coin press of the Carson City Mint, Coin Press No. 1 was built in 1869 by Morgan and Orr in Philadelphia. The press was steam powered and could produce 100 coins per minute. The press was ordered brand new for the Carson City Mint, which was scheduled to open in 1870 and would address the coinage needs spurred by the Comstock Lode. When the press arrived in Carson City, it was the only press at the Mint, and would remain the only one for another five years.
But from 1878 until the end of the Mint's operation in 1893, the press only produced Morgan Silver Dollars.
Coin Press No. 1 ceased operations in 1893 and the Carson City Mint officially closed in 1899 as the result of a severe decline in mining on the Comstock Lode.
Other history happened and then...
[The] press was sent to Colorado to be further modernized and used at the Denver Mint. The press spent four years at the Denver Mint, and in that time, it minted 118 million coins, including 50 million pennies.
"Because despite all our troubles, when things are grim out in that wide round world of ours, that's when it's really important to have a good hobby." Posted by: tankascribe at June 22, 2024 07:41 PM (HWxAD).
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If you have trouble finding something in the content or comments that resonates with you, contribute your own. Send thoughts, suggestions and photos of your hobbying to moronhobbies at protonmail dot com. Do mighty things.
We see a lot of videos about cute baby goats here at AoSHQ. I think that this video provides some good cautions concerning getting baby goats yourself.
One thing that I noticed right away is that this woman keeps her guardian dogs on a lead on her own property. This is not because they are apt to attack people. It is because they are apt to wander off to patrol what they THINK is their territory.
She adores her guardian dogs and their protective qualities (I may have seen this in a different video). One new sheepherder decided on Great Pyrenees to guard his sheep because in a study underway, that was the only breed which had never bitten anyone.
You may recall that in our own neighborhood we noticed what seemed to be a Great Pyrenees dog wandering in fields near us, and alternately visiting a house which had just been vacated. We though it had been abandoned, and maybe it had. It disappeared for a couple of weeks, re-appeared briefly, disappeared again and then re-appeared but ran off again when DH tried to feed it. Maybe someone in the neighborhood is feeding it more regularly. Hard to tell. We still leave dog biscuits for him when we see him (or her).
We lost our 14 year old Goldendoodle, Jasper, last week.
We brought him home at six weeks old, a jet black ball of fluff and pure energy. He was super smart, exceptionally athletic, an alpha personality, but just as sweet as he could be.
The last year was hard on him health wise, but he retained his never quit attitude, even when his body gave out on him. Best Dog Ever. RIP, old man.
onthemark329
He sounds and looks like an absolutely wonderful dog. So sorry that you have lost him. Thanks for sending in the photo and thoughtful tribute, so we can remember him along with you.
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"Carpetweasel
Some photos of Abyssinian cats, appropriate for stormy weather.
-- From Tankascribe
Well, you said it was hard to take a bad photo of them. And these are certainly lovely.
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PetMoron Adjacent Animals
Encountered by Members of The Horde
New Bird for the Pet Thread
We have bird feeders on the porch to entertain MegaRoy, over the years, it's sometimes a racoon feeder, or a possum feeder. Sometimes it's a red-tailed hawk feeder. Neighbor two houses up, had a sweet little kitty that would hang out and just be friendly with MegaRoy. This is their 2nd kitty Dominoe, big honking maine coon mix tomcat. Very skittish, wants a handout of crunchy chow, but shrinks back and hisses in fear of the big scary hoomans. He was taunting the neighbor dog one house up from his own home.
BifBewalski
So Dominoe is someone's kitty, but he's YOUR bird! PetMoron adjascent, I would say. What would other members of The Horde say?
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Thank you for sharing your pets and animal photos and stories with us today.
If you would like to send pet and/or animal stories, links, etc. for the Ace of Spades Pet Thread, the address is:
petmorons at protonmail dot com
Remember to include the nic or name by which you wish to be known when you comment at AoSHQ, or let us know if you want to remain a lurker.
Fascinating photos. How close in appearance is that hoarfrost to the ice and snow in the big storms?
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And to give everyone some hope:
The rosemary bush is blooming. Even a few honeybees on it.
Pictures will follow because I am not computer savvy.
NorCal Sierra Foothills Lurker
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Gorgeous! What a brave little bee!
Our rosemary isn't blooming yet. We have FOG.
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Edible Gardening/Putting Things By
The lettuce bolted and the seeds went all over the place. Now we have volunteers of winter lettuce when the summer was too hot for them to grow .
Nan in AZ
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Wonderful! I see some other things coming along, too!
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Ah, Nature
WINTER TIPS OR ALERTS FOR THOSE HOLED UP IN STORMY WEATHER?
Recipes that don't require heating? I always go back to bean salads.
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Gardens of The Horde
MIRACULOUS RECOVERY
Hi KT.
Here is a Christmas cactus that was never particularly energetic, but did its thing each year out on the front porch. Last year, the deer shredded it mercilessly , down to soil level. There was no green left at all.
I sadly brought it into the sunroom hoping for the best, and look! It has recovered well, and is blooming now, probably better than it ever has before.
The Amaryllis next to it doesn’t like me though. It has never bloomed and has always looked pitiful.
Any suggestions are welcome. I just hope it’s not too late…
Thanks for your wonderful Garden threads and essays. Keep up the great work.
Gunslinger.
Wonderful to see a miracle like that! Those little buds are charming.
Any suggestions for the Amaryllis?
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There's not much gardening happening outside here in snowy New Hampshire.
Audrey the Aloe Plant seems to be doing well inside although she stares out the window and wishes for warmer weather so she can go out and play. Even though Christmas is over I'm keeping the festive squirrel lights on her to try to cheer her up and play her lots of the classics like Marvin Gaye and Stevie Ray Vaughan.
Thank you for all the wonderful weekend gardening and pet threads and other posts.
Best wishes to you and yours and everyone at the Ace.
Rodent
Audrey is lovely! Looks like she enjoys the music and festive squirrel lights.
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Hope everyone has a nice, or at least bearable, weekend.
If you would like to send photos, stories, links, etc. for the Saturday Gardening Thread, the address is:
ktinthegarden at g mail dot com
Remember to include the nic or name by which you wish to be known at AoSHQ, or let us know if you want to remain a lurker.
We have more challenging weather here in the USA than they seem to have in Davos this year, but I was surprised to see reports from DataRepublican as she is in the process of releasing a book. The recent reports of her deafness are confirmed by "X" posts by her long-time interpreter in Davos, as well as a few reports from her Mom. She is even more impressive than I had thought she was.
When it comes to the World Economic Forum (WEF), there are two caricatures of the attendees – or “weffers” they like to call themselves.
In one version, they are mustache-twirling elites huddled in smoke-filled rooms, plotting a one-world government, mass surveillance, and “you will eat ze bugs!”
In the other, they are cast as saviors: the most powerful people on the planet convening in good faith to solve humanity’s biggest problems.
This week, @DataInterpretr and I spent quality time with the attendees. We took a different approach than most journalists – we did not ambush them with gotcha questions. Instead, we simply sat at tables, started conversations with staffers and speakers, and asked questions – lots of them.
What we got was neither caricature, but something much darker – a first-hand perspective of how tyranny is imposed from a ruling class that will swear up and down that they are not part of any ruling class–and that it controls nothing.
How can that be?
It is undeniably true that the WEF has been a source of coercive power. The clearest example came during COVID, when Klaus Schwab, working alongside the Big Four accounting firms, used the crisis to roll out ESG metrics. These frameworks stripped influence from ordinary stakeholders and concentrated it in the hands of activists and technocrats, while redirecting corporate capital toward left-wing causes.
To understand how that dynamic works, we must enter the mind of a weffer.
First, nearly all of them are either extremely wealthy or employed by people who are. Hotels cost $25,000 a night. Gucci is the default for handbags. Coats fall to the floor, trimmed with mink. And despite the sustainability rhetoric, the menus advertise meat proudly, with few vegetarian options in sight.
They do not understand that they are perceived as hypocrites. They are aware that some people see them as evil, controlling overlords… and they laugh at the idea, because in their own minds it is absurd.
Yet in another sense, it is true.
Alex Soros became an object of ridicule after his WEF remarks:
So, um, you know, so, um, you know… but when I see this, you know, when I look at this, um, you know, um, you know, uh, more globally regarding, regarding, you know, regarding democracy, I also say to myself, “When was this great time that everybody got along so well, and, you know, things were going so, so great?” I mean, I think, you know, um, uh, um, you know, the, um, you know, I think that we really have to be careful here in, you know, in this nostalgia, uh, for a time, uh, you know, for a time past, because a lot of the reactions we’re seeing in society are actually reactions to positive, uh, to positive things like, i- you know, like equality, uh, for women, um, you know, uh, and, um, uh, you know, and greater diversity.
For all that word salad, the key to remember is: Alex is representative.
They all speak this way. Every panel, every “dialogue,” follows the same pattern. Few people are trying to land a clear argument or persuade an audience. They speak to signal belonging, to demonstrate fluency in a shared language, and to impress one another.
The rest of this piece focuses on patterns of self-perception and thinking among attendees at the WEF. And attempts to zero in on some concrete positions from those attendees. It is fascinating and scary to think that so many of our "thought leaders" engage in so little thought.
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The Death of Globalization?
Matt Taibbi is not a conservative. Bearing that in mind, he has some interesting thoughts about Davos:
The death of globalization is the real headline from the international self-indulgence festival at Davos
After Donald Trump spoke at the World Economic Forum in Davos this week, the obligatory headline term was humiliation. “Lonely Trump Humiliated as Major Allies Refuse to Be Bullied,” was one of two Daily Beast stories on the theme, the other being “Trump, 79, Croaks Through ‘Peace’ Grift Speech After 48 Hours of Ritual Humiliation,” under the tag BORED OF PEACE. Jen Psaki on MSNOW chortled over his “humiliating ramble,” while Chris Hayes declared him “isolated and humiliated.”
Coverage of Trump long ago devolved into an homage to Pee Wee’s Playhouse, when comic Paul Reubens would get a secret word from Conky the robot in each show. After, audiences would have to shout in unison at every mention of it. I remember being in a room of stoned teenagers shouting “PLACE!” at the TV in 1986.
See hyperlinks and video at the link. Heh.
Trump news cycles are the same, only anchors shout TREASON! or FELON! or DICTATOR! His address on Greenland, NATO, and Emmanuel Macron’s sunglasses was blasted for a hundred reasons, many legitimate, but the real drama came from a non-Trump speech. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick ripped his European hosts by declaring “Globalization has failed”:
Globalization has failed the West and the United States of America. It’s a failed policy. It is what the WEF has stood for, which is export offshore, far-shore, find the cheapest labor in the world and the world is a better place for it. The fact is, it has left America behind. It has left the American worker behind. And what we are here to say is that America First is a different model—one that we encourage other countries to consider—which is that our workers come first. We can have policies that impact our workers.
Video and more at the link, whether you agree with it or not. Taibbi notes that the Europeans had warning that this speech was coming, even at the end of the Biden Administration.
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This post concerns NATO, but DataRepublican mentions that Scott Bessent also talked about Japan as a possible Black Swan. And Japanese speakers don't seem too keen on becoming a "Nation of Immigrants".
Scott Bessent brought up an eye-opening datapoint in Davos.
Since 1980, the US has spent $22 trillion more on defense than all other NATO members combined. They preferred to ramp up welfare instead. That’s about two-thirds of outstanding US debt.
Minnesota can’t seem to get out of the news. Once a placid backwater, the state has now become synonymous with bats**t crazy. ICE came to town, and it brought left-wingers, both native Minnesotans and paid professionals, out in force. Things went from bad to worse, and a leftist mob invaded a church on Sunday morning, disrupting services. The mob was led by, among others, former CNN talking head Don Lemon. The Department of Justice, outraged, is pursuing criminal charges against some of the ringleaders.
Ice came to town in a more literal way, too: the high temperature today was -11, the low -22. The far left–i.e., everyone from the DFL Party to the Communist Party USA–declared today “ICE out” in Minneapolis, encouraging students to play hooky and businesses to close. It was, in any event, too cold to protest. I guess we can all be grateful that ICE didn’t come to Minnesota in July.
The Classical Saturday Morning Coffee Break & Prayer Revival
—Misanthropic Humanitarian
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Good morning boys and girls and everything in between. Before we enter the Prayer Revival just a few housekeeping matters to go over. (Rulz for those of you in Nimrod)
1) This is an open thread. Feel free to lurk, opine and/or bloviate.
2) Be kind, be nice. Say a prayer or three for our Morons to survive the winter weather blasting the country.
3) If you must run with sharp objects. Take it outside.
4) Have a great weekend!
The following is from our dear friend & 'Ette, Bluebell.
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AoSHQ Weekly Prayer List
Please submit any prayer requests to me, “Annie’s Stew” at apaslo at-sign hotmail dot com. Prayer requests are generally removed after four weeks unless we receive an update.
Prayer Requests:
11/15 – Sponge posted an update on the “First lady”. She is doing OK from the surgery pain-wise, however it appears her compromised immune system from chemo is susceptible to viruses. She has been spiking a fever all weekend.
12/13 Update – The First lady is doing well. She is still on restrictions but things are progressing nicely. The last mammogram showed clean. They are grateful to all who have been praying for her.
1/7 Update – They send thanks for the thoughts and prayers over the past year. The latest visit with her urologist revealed blood in her urine. The Doc didn’t seem concerned, but there will be more scans of her bladder and kidneys to see if they find anything more serious.
1/14 Update – Sponge sent an update on the First Lady’s father – he passed away on 1/11. They have been busy making arrangements for the arrangements, writing the obituary, eulogy, notifying people, etc. Thank you all for the thoughts an prayers that you have been providing for a long time.
12/20 – Morgan, longtime lurker, takes tango lessons from Sebastian, whose son, Matias, is recovering from brain surgery. The MRI was read on 12/19, and the surgeons did not remove the entire tumor. Even though the biopsy indicated the tumor was benign, the boy is probably facing several rounds of chemo. Please pray for the boy’s continued recovery in El Salvador.
1/10 Update – Matias will have surgery in 2 weeks to try and remove the rest of the tumor, and then he will receive radiation therapy.
12/27 – buzzion asked for prayers for a friend named Christina. Christina has struggled with a lot, including addiction and relapse. Buzzion has not heard from Christina in a while and hopes she is okay. Please pray that Christina finds her way and knows that people love and care for her and believe in her.
1/3 Update – Christina was arrested on 1/3. Please pray for this to be a final wake-up call for her.
12/27 – JB asked for prayers that he would gain peace about what God has planned for his job in 2026. Also, please pray for JB’s estranged son, that he and his household will be saved.
12/27 – San Franpsycho posted a praise report from a former colleague, who has defeated metastasized uterine cancer.
12/27 – BlackOrchid requested prayers for a Navy Veteran uncle who has been struggling with his health the last few weeks. The root cause is undetermined, but recurrent infection/sepsis keeps sending him back to the hospital. It seems to be worsening his dementia, which makes it harder for BlackOrchid’s aunt to handle him.
1/3 Update – BlackOrchid’s uncle (her “stand-in dad”) is still not doing well. He will probably need to be put in a LTC facility although they are doing everything possible to avoid this. He is 86, and at the stage where his immune system can’t fight back well.
12/27 – pookysgirl posted that their unborn baby girl, Violet Marie, had passed away.
12/27 – free tibet posted about his diagnosis with Giant Cell Arteritis and subsequent vision loss in the right eye. This is a recurrence of the same from 5 years ago in the left eye. The treatment is not painful but regaining vision is “very iffy”. Thank you all for the prayers.
1/1 – L asked for prayers for her brother Ron, who is hospitalized. Ron has been in and out of the hospital for 6 months. He has a nasty infection in his knee, that will not clear, despite 5 rounds of antibiotics. L and her sister have been run ragged trying to help Ron.
1/3 – Legally Sufficient asked for prayers for the repose of the soul of a boss, who passed away suddenly early Sunday morning. Prayers are appreciated for strength, faith, and understanding for the boss’ wife and all who loved him.
1/6 – Diogenes requested prayers for his best friend since college, who was diagnosed with cancer. Within hours or hearing this, the friend’s son, a man that Diogenes has known since he was a baby, collapsed from what appears to be a brain tumor. The prognosis isn’t hopeful. Please pray for both of these fine men.
1/6 – Commissar of plenty and festive little hats sent prayers of thanks that it was not cancer, and asked for prayers for courage to even set a date to reverse the colostomy surgery. It was a lot to get over the first time!
1/7 - D sent an update on his wife Susan, and her battle with pancreatic cancer, as well as her recent infection. He sent his thanks to everyone for the prayers. They are helping and much appreciated. Susan’s infection finally has been healed, so she was able to resume chemo. It’s been really rough.
1/8 - Doof asked for prayers for his mother. She was hit hard by the flu. She couldn’t get out of bed the morning of 11/8 and was sent by ambulance to the hospital. She is alert and communicating but prayers are appreciated for her recovery. Prayers are also appreciated for Doof, as he absolutely despises hospitals.
1/10 – LA Sue asked for prayers for her brother, who was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in September. They just learned it moved from stage 2 to stage 4. The chemo treatments and side infections from surgery have so debilitated him that he is considering stopping. Please pray for strength and that he opens his heart to God.
1/18 Update – LA Sue is taking her brother to hospice. He is fading.
1/15 – Sharkman posted on behalf of Niederemeyer’s Dead Horse that NDH was given a prognosis of 6 months to live due to heart failure. The plan is for NDH to move into the Mayo Clinic to receive treatment and wait for a transplant.
1/17 – Emmie asked for prayers. She and her husband are on the verge of foreclosure. Their side hustle of delivery driving ended when a young driver crashed into their car and totaled it. They aren’t able to make the mortgage payments without that extra income. Their church is helping, but it’s a small church.
1/18 – Teresa in Fort Worth sent an update. She had surgery on 12/11, and a pump was installed that will direct medication into the hepatic artery. This will allow a much larger concentration of medication to be applied directly into her liver. This should give fewer side effects and (hopefully) shrink the tumors. It will take several months before they know if this new medication is working, but if it does, they are hoping for an extra 2-3 years before the disease progresses again.
1/19 – NR Pax requested prayers for his father, who had a stroke on 12/23. Dad is recovering at home, and Mom is caring for him. NR Pax is thankful that they live in a good retirement community, but it will be rough for them for a bit.
1/20 – Inogame asked for prayers. His wife and baby girl (due in February) are healthy, but some bad luck has come to their family. The business they purchased a year ago has taken an abrupt turn and they are trying to understand what is happening. They may not be able to keep their home if they cannot discover and correct the problem. This stress and what it might mean postpartum is worrying them. Thank you all for your prayers in the past.
1/20 – MkY sent an update on his wife Judy, who was diagnosed with Stage IV renal cancer last January. Despite being unable to receive her cancer drugs for 3 months while her port infection healed up, the tumors did not grow and she is feeling strong. Thanks so much for all the prayers! Last week, MkY was diagnosed with fluid on the brain. They operated the same day. They drilled two holes in his skull, inserted tubes, and had him lay flat on his back for 2 days. MkY thanks God for the modern miracles of medicine. He needs to heal quickly since he operates a small business. So far, no complications.
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 four weeks or so unless we receive an update.
2 Corinthians 4:8-9
We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair, persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed.
That's a $480 CPU, a $300 motherboard, and memory that did cost around $100 but suddenly finds itself at $440. And a $125 mouse that isn't worth $125 or it wouldn't be included for free.
It's only slightly faster, but it's only slightly more expensive. If you were planning on a 9800X3D build - or upgrading an existing system that already has DDR5 RAM - it's not a compelling option but not an awful one either.
These are expected to have twice the number of CPU cores of any recent consumer models - up to 16 performance cores and 32 efficiency cores, plus 4 low-power cores. Which is rather a lot.
For nearly forty years, the company has also made electrostatic chucks used to hold silicon wafers in place during manufacturing - one of many afterthought components that has seen a sudden surge in demand:
Interestingly, the source name checked a few other unlikely Japanese companies that are benefitting from the AI boom. An MSG seasoning maker also makes chip-insulating films, for example. Meanwhile, cosmetics brand Kao's expertise in facial cleansers has an unexpected twin: the company also makes cleaning agents for semiconductor wafers.
I hope those of you impacted by the storm are keeping warm and safe. I've got gas, kerosene, propane, generators, oil lamps, firewood and winter clothing, so we should be snug and warm here, even if the rest of Texas loses it's mind. In the meantime, here's a little advice:
This is one guy's multi-year project. The theme is that it is floor 796 of a space station, but it's got more meme, pop culture, anime, you name it, references than anything I've ever seen.
"It's my wedding night. Mind if I use our vagina?"
Tonight's ONT has been brought to you by my new cat. He followed me home one day when I was out for my daily walk, almost a mile, so, well, he's mine. Vet says he's about 4 ½ months old and healthy. His name is Tomato
Pit bull used for dog fights, then abandoned by a dumpster, is rescued and turns out to be a loving boy.
Similarly, a pittie puppie was literally thrown into a dumpster (while still in its kennel, so it couldn't escape). I'm sure that we all have So Much to Learn from the Solid Citizen who did that.
Trans-crazy baby-influencer "Miss Rachel" -- she makes videos "teaching" little children about how great transgenderism is -- liked an antisemitic comment demanding, "Free America from the Jews."
She later "apologized," claiming it was an accident.
But then when a Hamas-linked account wrote that the Jews left that antisemitic "Free America from Jews" comment themselves, Miss Rachel affirmed that comment, writing "ooooooohhh."
Like, "oooooooohhh, nice catch, you caught those tricky Jews!"
She's very apologetic, though. These are all just little accidents.
Ooops!
Ooopsie!
Variety ran a " " " story " " " consisting of five liberals whining that Bari Weiss doesn't acknowledge that they, her inferiors, should treat them as her superiors.
Jennifer Sey has some thoughts about the bottom bitches of any company who are quite certain they know better than the boss:
Jennifer Sey
@JenniferSey
When I became the Chief Marketing Officer at Levi's, at about 2 months in, I had some mid-level know it all come into my office to tell me everyone hated me, I was steering the ship into oblivion. She told me everyone knew I was doing a terrible job. (The brand had been in decline for over 10 years.)
What I had done in my first two months:
1) Say no one could go on trips anymore unless they had a role at the photo shoot or event. No more boondoggles.
2) No drinking at events or concerts we were hosting. We were there to work, not party.
2) Say Marketing needed to feature actual product in the ads.
3) Say we needed to move away from dark and moody and into the realm of fun - because people have fun in jeans.
Awful, right?!
She wanted me to know, she said, she was trying to help. (She put her feet on my desk while saying this.)
Needless to say, this was not a person who was very good at her job. And I wasn't doing mine to be liked so I didn't care if "everybody hated me". I was trying to turn a business around that had been flailing. I took the responsibility seriously.
Six years later, we had a very successful IPO.
2 years after that I became the brand president.
These people complaining about new leadership are lame. They always do it. They want it how it was, even if how it was wasn't working. And it's even lamer that @Variety writes about this like it's news.
She is a farm vehicle. I don't really know what that means but she is very heavy.
Died Suddenly
@DiedSuddenly_
A Pakistani doctor was arrested in Virginia for performing c-sections and hysterectomies on unsuspecting American women when they were most vulnerable.
He would wait for them to be under the influence of labor medication and sterilize them after delivery of their babies.
The hospital reportedly ignored red flags for years, overlooking concerns and reports because he generated over 18 million dollars in revenue for the hospital.
If you are an American, think twice about hiring a foreign doctors from countries that hate us.
Inez Stepman responding to "Conserving Conservatism" Bill Kristol's claim that he has known many men who successfully transformed into women:
Inez Stepman
@InezFeltscher
The trajectory of the "conservative condemning the right" is basically the same one trod by porn actresses. The first time you open your kimono is the most valuable, and thereafter you find yourself doing increasingly humiliating and degrading acts just to stay relevant.
BTW I do believe that Bill Kristol has frequent interactions with men in dresses.
This Person Place or Thing has a dream: He wants to be the first tranny to receive a womb transplant, so that he can then have an embryo implanted, and then abort it.
I have no idea why the public has turned on these nasty psychotics. None at all.
«Quiero ser la primera "mujer trans" [aka, un hombre] en recibir un trasplante de útero para ser la primera "mujer trans" [aka: un hombre] en abortar». Nuestras vidas, sus delirios. pic.twitter.com/XV4nqaU2t4
— Contra El Borrado de las Mujeres (@ContraBorrado) January 21, 2026
I've lived in 5 states, visited several more. Been around plenty of white people.
The number of negative racial incidents I've had in decades I could count with one hand.
Since 2021, I've lost count as to how many times a white leftist has called me a coon, nigger, house nigger https://t.co/qhwASym4vU
— Adam B. Coleman, Proud Father & Imperfect Man (@wrong_speak) January 21, 2026
Civil War Watch:
Detectives' Endowment Association
@NYCPDDEA
Last week, two NYPD Detectives were mistreated while seeking medical attention at NYU Langone -- Cobble Hill Emergency Room after being injured on duty during the arrest of a violent perpetrator. Upon arrival, they were met with rudeness, disrespect, and a lack of basic professional courtesy by hospital administrators.
It is an outrage that any NYPD Detective injured in the line of duty should have to worry about being treated at any hospital in the city they protect. As nurses across the city strike over issues like workplace safety, treating Detectives poorly is not how to make hospitals safer.
No one--especially Detectives injured in the line of duty--should face such treatment. The DEA is investigating this matter and will pursue all available remedies to ensure our members are treated with the dignity and respect they have earned.
Councilwoman Vickie Paladino
@VickieforNYC
Let's be clear about this -- hospital staff refused to treat plainclothes NYPD detectives injured in the line of duty. Not only that, these officers were treated with contempt completely outside ethical bounds for medical personnel.
From what I understand, staff supposedly did this because they thought the NYPD officers might have been 'ICE agents' as if that is a valid excuse to refuse a patient.
Let's be very clear about something -- when doctors and nurses and medical staff begin to refuse critical care over perceived political differences, we will have reached a breaking point in this country.
If this behavior is allowed to continue, and is not met with swift condemnation and consequences by the mayor and government leadership of New York as well as medical licensing boards and the professional community at large, trust in the medical profession will be shattered beyond repair.
Even during wartime, doctors and nurses were bound to treat the wounded of both sides. And they could be trusted to provide competent and compassionate care no matter who they were treating. It was, in fact, a badge of honor for the profession.
If the medical profession has now abandoned that basic morality, and patients now have to worry about being refused treatment -- or worse -- because of political hostility from their own countrymen, then a rubicon has truly been crossed and there isn't much else to say.
This is a disgrace, it is unacceptable, and it is indicative of the profound moral rot that progressive activism has brought into every corner of our civics.
The left is taking us down a very dark path indeed.
"Congratulations on the tennis win. Now, could you please say the politics things I want to hear?"
"No."
"To clarify, I'm obsessed with my weird little strand of politics, and I'd like you to say words I like."
I think men should be tested for estrogen and if they have too much, like this pussy, they should be drafted into a special military unit. In war, they will be projectiles.
Microplastics: The Invisible Killers Or, You Know, Maybe Not
—Ace
The great microplastics panic: Was it all just 99% bullshit?
I know a lot of you are saying "of course it was, dipshit."
I kinda-sorta bought into it at a low level. Microplastics were claimed to be a potential disruptor of testosterone. I didn't buy into it seriously, but I did buy steel straws instead of plastic ones. That's a pretty low level of buy-in. I think they cost me six buck.
'A bombshell': doubt cast on discovery of microplastics throughout human body
Exclusive: Some scientists say many detections are most likely error, with one high-profile study called a 'joke'
High-profile studies reporting the presence of microplastics throughout the human body have been thrown into doubt by scientists who say the discoveries are probably the result of contamination and false positives. One chemist called the concerns "a bombshell".
Studies claiming to have revealed micro and nanoplastics in the brain, testes, placentas, arteries and elsewhere were reported by media across the world, including the Guardian. There is no doubt that plastic pollution of the natural world is ubiquitous, and present in the food and drink we consume and the air we breathe. But the health damage potentially caused by microplastics and the chemicals they contain is unclear, and an explosion of research has taken off in this area in recent years.
However, micro- and nanoplastic particles are tiny and at the limit of today's analytical techniques, especially in human tissue. There is no suggestion of malpractice, but researchers told the Guardian of their concern that the race to publish results, in some cases by groups with limited analytical expertise, has led to rushed results and routine scientific checks sometimes being overlooked.
The Guardian has identified seven studies that have been challenged by researchers publishing criticism in the respective journals, while a recent analysis listed 18 studies that it said had not considered that some human tissue can produce measurements easily confused with the signal given by common plastics.
So, plastics are mostly made up of carbon, oxygen, and hydrogen, which are of course the building blocks of living tissue, too. So the "signals" are just indicating that carbon, oxygen, and hydrogen are present, and these high priests of The Science (TM) are saying "Must be plastic!!!"
"Levels of microplastics in human brains may be rapidly rising" was the shocking headline reporting a widely covered study in February. The analysis, published in a top-tier journal and covered by the Guardian, said there was a rising trend in micro- and nanoplastics (MNPs) in brain tissue from dozens of postmortems carried out between 1997 and 2024.
However, by November, the study had been challenged by a group of scientists with the publication of a "Matters arising" letter in the journal. In the formal, diplomatic language of scientific publishing, the scientists said: "The study as reported appears to face methodological challenges, such as limited contamination controls and lack of validation steps, which may affect the reliability of the reported concentrations."
One of the team behind the letter was blunt. "The brain microplastic paper is a joke," said Dr Dusan Materic, at the Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research in Germany. "Fat is known to make false-positives for polyethylene. The brain has [approximately] 60% fat." Materic and his colleagues suggested rising obesity levels could be an alternative explanation for the trend reported in the study.
Materić said: "That paper is really bad, and it is very explainable why it is wrong." He thinks there are serious doubts over "more than half of the very high impact papers" reporting microplastics in biological tissue.
...
But the brain study is far from alone in having been challenged. One, which reported that patients with MNPs detected in carotid artery plaques had a higher risk of heart attacks and strokes than patients with no MNPs detected, was subsequently criticised for not testing blank samples taken in the operating room. Blank samples are a way of measuring how much background contamination may be present.
Another study reported MNPs in human testes, "highlighting the pervasive presence of microplastics in the male reproductive system". But other scientists took a different view: "It is our opinion that the analytical approach used is not robust enough to support these claims."
Um, because they are mentally ill and drugged up and no one ever tells them to shut the fuck up and act like adults?
The BBC assures me it's far more complex than that.
"There was definitely a moment of discomfort at the start," says Deena, but she says her visit to a so-called rage room felt very different to what she'd expected.
She didn't feel chaotic or aggressive smashing things up, but instead "surprisingly controlled and a lot more intentional".
"Once I settled into it, it felt like more of a physical release as opposed to an emotional outburst," she told the BBC.
Deena is one of a reportedly growing number of women choosing to pay to hammer and bash old items such as TVs, furniture and crockery whilst kitted out in specialist protective gear.
...
There are still only a small number of venues in the UK where people are handed a baseball bat and let loose. They've been touted as one way to alleviate stress and release pent-up anger.
But what seems surprising is the client base, with some owners saying most of their customers are women.
This surprises you, huh?
So in other words, your initial bigoted assumption is that violent men were employing these "rage rooms" to work out their toxic masculinity, and you were all set to attack them for this frenzied juvenile rage, but now that you are "surprised" to find out that drugged-up mentally-ill women are the primary (read: exclusive) users of rage rooms, it becomes a hip and health trend that everyone should try?
Similarly, Shuka says she didn't feel angry, but wanted to see how it felt to "let loose" and was given a car to smash up whilst listening to a playlist of her favourite songs.
"It was way more satisfying than I expected, there was something weirdly freeing about smashing things and not having to be careful.
"Afterwards I felt like I'd done a workout for my brain as well as my body," she says.
Kate Cutler, the co-owner and founder of a rage room in East Sussex, says it's "getting busier and busier" with female customers.
...
She says some women come in because they've been cheated on or had a difficult break-up and sometimes just because "they have anger coming from nowhere."
Author and psychotherapist Jennifer Cox told Radio 4 Woman's Hour she believes women are "conditioned" to repress feelings of "frustration, anger, aggression and rage".
Not as much conditioned to repress these toxic emotions as they used to be!
Often, she says women, in particular - end up "sandwiched" between the demands of work, parents and small children, and can end up "furious."
Really they should let it out, she says, and thinks spaces like this, which allow women to release their anger can be very helpful.
Again, do you believe they would view this violent, crazed behavior as cute and hip if it were men busting things up?
I guess this is now officially a GAINZZZ thread.
I avoided these for a long time, because I have no GAINZZZ. I let myself go at Thanksgiving and I never stopped letting myself go.
And now I'm going to have to fast just to get back to "overweight."
Does it work? I mean, kind of, yeah. If I have two high protein meals I don't feel very hungry at other times, or feel much of a need to snack. But I haven't been doing it consistently.
How about you? Any GAINZZZ? I didn't ask in the New Years period because promises made during New Years are like promises made three feet from a bed. They tend to be forgotten in the morning.
But now that we're into the New Year, and well away from New Years Day-- any real resolutions to declare?
Leftwing Lunatics Now Pushing Pregnancy Denialism, Claiming That Trump Must Be Faking the Three Recent Pregnancies In His Administration
—Ace
Second Lady (and "jeet," according to Tucker Carlson's friend Nick Fuentes) Usha Vance announced that she's pregnant.
She'll be the first Second Lady to give birth while in office in 150 years.
Usha Vance, the wife of Vice President J.D. Vance, has already made history in a few ways: she's the first person of color to become Second Lady and the youngest Second Lady since the Truman Administration. She may also soon be the first sitting Second Lady in modern history to bear a child in over 150 years.
"We're very excited to share the news that Usha is pregnant with our fourth child, a boy," the Vice President shared on social media Tuesday. "Usha and the baby are doing well, and we are all looking forward to welcoming him in late July."
In the message, the Vice President thanked military doctors for "[taking] excellent care of our family" and staff members "who do so much to ensure that we can serve the country while enjoying a wonderful life with our children."
J.D., 41, and Usha, 40, met at Yale University and married in 2014. They have three kids: Ewan, 8; Vivek, 5; and Mirabel Rose, 4.
Before Usha Vance, the only sitting Second Lady in modern history to give birth was President Ulysses S. Grant's Vice President Schuyler Colfax's wife Ellen, who had a son in 1870; birth records before then are unclear.
The Trump White House extended its congratulatory message to the Vances, and in a post on X, called itself "The most pro-family administration in history!"
Vance, in particular, is an outspoken pro-natalist. He has sounded the alarm on declining birthrates, branded Democrats as "childless cat ladies" and "anti-family and anti-child," and called Americans' lack of desire to have children as a "civilizational crisis."
In May, press secretary Karoline Leavitt announced that she was pregnant with her second child. This will be the first child born to a sitting press secretary in history.
All of this was too much for leftwing women and their haunted vaginas filled with the ghosts of aborted babies, who decided this must be some kind of conspiracy.
Why, getting pregnant just isn't something women do! (It's what men do!)
This gay extremist claims he can prove that JD Vance and his wife had sex the day Charlie Kirk died. Pushing a Candace-Owens style conspiracy theory that everyone except gay furry psychopath Tyler Robinson was in on the plot.
According to his calculations, the date of conception was on Sept. 10, 2025 and the due date is between July 20th-31st, 2026. This means Usha Vance will be pregnant for 10 1/2 months. pic.twitter.com/sMDiC1WDER
Meet Lexie Lawler, a labor and delivery nurse at Baptist Health Boca Raton Regional Hospital (@BaptistHealthSF). She says she hopes Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt suffers a severe 4th-degree tear during childbirth and has medical complications.
Medicaid Administrator Dr. Oz: We Tried to Investigate Fake Businesses Bilking the Taxpayers and We Were Followed, Harrassed, and Intimadated by a Gang of Somalis
—Ace
He doesn't say "Somalis," but it's implied by circumstances.
It seems systemic in its nature. The building that we visited together, Griggs building was a textile factory, became an office building. It's not a nice part of town. I wouldn't take my kids there to get cared for, frankly, do much else in business, but somehow they had 400. Medicaid, uh, offices doing business with Medicaid, charging almost $400 million to the taxpayer.
I think he means that there are 400 different "businesses" in the one building.
That means basically each of those business made a million dollars. You wouldn't walk in this building in the seedy part of Minneapolis. And so I suspect there might have been others who knew this was happening. Certainly, uh, collaborating with these folks, maybe even, I wonder, you know, folks who in the building, the neighborhood, I mean, someone knew.
Then you start getting into the broader issue. We just talked to whistleblowers, which is chilling. You see the retaliate, the, the re retaliatory tactics, the shuffling around of people who are trying to put their hands up and say, I see a problem. But at its very core, there has been a, a confusion about what it really means to work in healthy human services in Minnesota.
It's not a partnership with vendors. You are the regulator. It is your job to make sure there are limited opportunities that the fraud, the taxpayer, or if you create services, and these are Minnesota nice services and Minnesota nice people, services don't have a lot of guardrails. You know, you don't have to attest to very much.
You have to just say you're trying to do things. You don't have to put your name in any forms. It's hard to regulate that and then the people doing the regulations aren't comfortable doing it. What they found in this document is that the, the majority of folks didn't think they could do the job and in over half the cases there was suspicion.
There was rule, you know, reason for caution. Things didn't seem what, what they're supposed to be. That's half to more than half the cases from the state government's auditor telling us this. So anybody out there in the legislators, a average citizen, we were chased out of buildings by car, honking people, giving us the finger, you know, following us, following us, following us, trying to intimidate us.
Dr. Mehmet Oz (Administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services) and Jim O'Neill (Deputy Sec. of HHS) explained how they were flipped off, followed, and their cars were surrounded while trying to investigate fraud at a building… pic.twitter.com/bIzLCTsAmS
A Somalian man named Mohamed Abdirashid Omarxeyd in Minnesota submitted 40,000 fraudulent healthcare claims allowing him to steal $3.2 million dollars from American taxpayers
A worker pulled the power cord from a computer as investigators tried to search it
"Guardian Home Health Services, submitted over 40,000 fraudulent claims for personal care assistance"
"When the office was being searched, another office worker pulled the power cord from his computer to prevent investigators from seeing the screen"
His company also submitted fake time sheets
Brazen pirates, emboldened by a state that is actually an accomplice in the theft of billions from hardworking US citizens.
A Somalian man named Mohamed Abdirashid Omarxeyd in Minnesota submitted 40,000 fraudulent healthcare claims allowing him to steal $3.2 million dollars from American taxpayers
A worker pulled the power cord from a computer as investigators tried to search it
I applied for benefits when I was going through chemo and homeless and a part of the process is to do an interview which was over the phone. The woman who "interviewed" me was Somali, couldn't speak conversational English and after 3 questions she hung up on me abruptly and denied my application.
I firmly believe that the Somali people working for the state diverted funds from needy people to their friends and family via denials of applications for non Somali people.
I am a nurse as well and I've got multiple stories of patient's and their friends and families that would enrage even the most level headed Minnesotans.
Palantir cofounder
“@elonmusk made a great point when I was involved as a kid at PayPal: whenever you turn off fraud or grift, the people who would scream the most were the fraudsters.” pic.twitter.com/n5Kstgr9p3
The most infamous foreign student activist against Israel and for Hamas at an American university could finally face deportation.
While the Trump administration has tried to deport Columbia University student and Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil more than once, woke judges have interfered, and the Trump administration has agreed to follow their ridiculous demands on Khalil's behalf. But a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) official indicated Wednesday evening that Khalil's destination after deportation is tentatively settled.
DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said on NewsNation's Katie Pavlich Tonight on Wednesday, "It looks like he'll go to Algeria. That's what the thought is right now." She followed up with a more widely applicable caution: "It's a reminder for those who are in this country on a visa or on a green card. You are a guest in this country -- act like it."
Importantly, the Trump administration accuses Khalil of committing fraud on his green card application. And, of course, the federal government can revoke a visa or green card from anyone who shows himself a threat to our national security by supporting foreign terrorist entities, or by deliberately riling up social unrest, as Khalil did. Residing and studying in America as a foreign national is a privilege, not a right.
Mahmoud Khalil is a citizen of Algeria, not the US. He cannot vote in NYC elections. He is a green card holder, but, per @StateDept@SecRubio, violates the terms of his status by supporting a U.S.-designated terrorist organization (Hamas) and lying on his application for… https://t.co/w9PIDNLahc
Meanwhile, the Democrat Traitor Media ran -- get this -- yet another psyop on the American public, claiming that DHS had arrested, or kidnapped, a five year old child.
The reality? They attempted to arrest the child's scumbag illegal father, who ran, abandoning the child to the cold. DHS took the kid in, because, with the scumbag father abandoning him, what are they going to do? Just leave the five year old on the street to open a Somali Day Care Center?
At @thedailybeast they waited **13** paragraphs into the piece — after dubbing the story a “New Low” — before letting their readers know that DHS said (WaPo above seems to have confirmed) that father abandoned his child and fled on foot. pic.twitter.com/PJzzsOOpQa
You would have no idea, as a casual reader of @ABC, that the child in question was abandoned by his fleeing father, and that’s why he was in the custody of ICE.
In more psyops from the Democrat Traitor Media: The Washington Post first claims that DHS is now deporting people "without a judicial warrant."
Later, they admit -- now that all the Gen Z'ers have clicked off the story -- that "immigration enforcement officials" are just signing the warrant for deportation after immigration judges have issued the final deportation order.
By the way: Have you wondered if ICE is running decoy operations to draw communists and terrorists away from their real operation?
Well, if you did, you're a smarty.
Blue Lives Matter
@bluelivesmtr
We're not saying that Blue Lives Matter was behind feeding false information to far-left, anti-ICE protestors.
We're not saying we had teams comprised of HUNDREDS of off-duty cops and veterans volunteer to run decoy operations so far-left activists THOUGHT they were conducting ICE raids.
We're not saying they were in fact they were just driving around in what appeared to be unmarked vehicles with tinted windows... drinking coffee and listening to Guns and Roses.... being chased down and surrounded by protestors.
What we ARE saying is that if it DID happen.... it sure worked remarkably well in NINE DIFFERENT STATES, allowing ACTUAL raids to successfully take place unimpeded, helping support the capture of HUNDREDS of criminals.
Combat veterans, off-duty officers and patriotic Americans have had enough of the radical left... and are being activated across the country to back our #lawenforcement. And they're smarter...more skilled... more driven... better trained than the left ... and actually enjoy sitting in a deer stand for days on end just waiting.
Dutch Progressives Forced 125 Young Students to Share a Hostel with 125 Migrants, Believing They Would "Learn from Each Other." What Was Taught Was Mostly Stabbings and Rapes.
Students were raped after being forced to live in complex alongside 125 refugees to 'aid integration': Terrified Dutch youngsters 'were subjected to years of sex assaults and violence'
By PERKIN AMALARAJ, FOREIGN NEWS REPORTER
Terrified Dutch students made to live side-by-side with 125 refugees to aid their 'integration' were subjected to years of sexual assault and violence, an investigation has reported.
Stek Oost, located in the Watergraafsmeer district of Amsterdam, was sold to the Netherlands as the dream solution to the housing and refugee crisis.
A total of 125 students and 125 refugees would live alongside each other, and were even encouraged to 'buddy up' so the migrants would adapt to life in the Netherlands more quickly.
But students living there told Dutch investigative documentary programme Zembla they faced multiple sexual assaults, harassment, violence, stalking and even claimed a gang rape had taken place.
One woman said she would regularly see 'fights in the hallway and then again in the shared living room'.
A man told the programme that a refugee threatened him with an eight-inch kitchen knife.
And they claimed they were ignored despite filing multiple reports to authorities.
In one shocking case, a former resident said that a Syrian raped her after inviting her to his room to watch a film then refusing to let her leave.
The woman, identified only as Amanda, said: 'He wanted to learn Dutch, to get an education. I wanted to help him.'
Amanda described how he asked her several times to come to his room. She eventually relented and agreed to watch a film with him.
However, he soon made her uncomfortable and she asked to leave, only for him to trap her in his room and sexually abuse her.
Despite her filing a police report following the incident in 2019, police dropped the case due to a lack of evidence.
But just six months later, another woman living in Stek Oost raised the alarm over the Syrian, telling the housing association that runs the complex that she was concerned for the safety of herself and other women living there.
But the local authority, which had set up the arrangement, claimed it was impossible for the man to be evicted, the Zembla documentary claims.
It was only when he was formally arrested in March 2022 that he left the student-refugee complex. He was later convicted of raping Amanda and another resident, and was sentenced to just three years in prison in 2024.
...
In another horrifying case reported by the programme, Stadgenoot, the firm that runs the complex, suspected a 'gang rape' took place in one of its flats the summer of 2023.
And the police just couldn't find any evidence of any crimes.
I think I've heard this story before.
Police told Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf that while it was not aware of any gang rape taking place on the premises, it did say it had received seven reports of sexual assault.
Since opening in 2018, Stek Oost has faced multiple similar allegations. In 2022, Dutch TV station AT5 reported that a refugee had been accused of six sex attacks between 2018 and 2021.
He was involved in a protracted legal battle with local authorities, who fought to force him to leave Stek Oost.
For its part, Stadgenoot wanted to shut the complex down as early as 2023, but the local authority refused.
And speaking of the Netherlands: Trans lunatics fleeing Trump's Genocide have wound up in dirty refugee camps in the Netherlands. Along with Muslim "refugees."
Where I'm sure they're being treated with the level of respect and deference they demand.
Americans who fled to the Netherlands in a bid to escape the Trump administration are now living in filthy refugee camps, it has emerged.
According to Dutch immigration authorities, 76 US citizens claimed asylum in the country last year, a significant increase from the nine that did in 2024.
Many of those who have left are transgender or parents to transgender children and are housed in the 'queer block' of an overcrowded camp in the northern village of Ter Apel, The Guardian reported.
The camp, which resembles a prison, has guards stationed at every gate and offers less than desirable amenities.
Residents have complained that the tiny college-dorm-like rooms they are provided are covered in graffiti, with some alleging that they suspect bodily fluids have been smeared on the walls.
Asylum seekers are permitted to leave the camp, but must be present for daily bed checks. They are also given a small allowance so they can purchase food and cook meals in the communal kitchen.
Many of the American refugees are transgender and are seeking asylum after allegedly being victims of hostility and discrimination in their home states.
But the Dutch ministry of asylum and migration has so far deemed that the alleged mistreatment of the LGBTQ community in the US is not grounds for refugee status, according to The World.
...
Elliot Hefty, 37, a transgender man seeking asylum in the Netherlands, claimed he decided to move after being attacked in the middle of a Kentucky street.
He told the World how a man pushed him to the ground during a lunchtime walk and yelled slurs at him, as 'I was left alone bleeding in the middle of the street.'
He also alleged that he was removed from his client-facing role with Medicaid after Trump assumed office, claiming that 'brown and visibly queer folks' are now only allowed to work in administration roles.
The Daily Mail was not able to independently verify Hefty's allegation but has contacted Medicaid for comment.
The 37-year-old further claimed that he was denied service at shops with owners saying that 'my "tranny money" was no good here.'
Actor and visual artist Veronica Clifford Carlos, 28, flew to Amsterdam in June last year to seek asylum after receiving daily death threats in San Francisco.
San Diego resident Jane Michelle Arc, 47, painted a similar picture, alleging that she was 'getting punched or pushed or shoved every single week' while walking the city streets.
Arc moved to the Netherlands in April after having been hospitalized for assault.
Gayle Carter-Stewart, who moved her transgender teen Nox to the country from Montana last April, said their asylum application was 'automatically rejected because America is considered a safe country of origin'
Ashe Wilde, 40, fled Massachusetts, which she admitted is 'one of the most liberal states' and a place where officials are working to 'preserve our identities across the queer spectrum.'
But she was still physically and verbally attacked in her community, telling the Guardian how she was dubbed a 'pedo and a groomer.'
Jack Smith Defends His Indefensible Political Witch-Hunt; Even CNN's Legal Analyst Admits Smith Is Guilty
—Ace
C3
@C_3C_3
Want your blood to boil?
The Jack Smith Investigation cost taxpayers over $35 million.
$35,000,000
All based on a scam.
Targeting enemies.
With 65% of that $35million paying their salaries.
Jack and his team got rich for sedition.
Brandon Gill grilled Jack Smith on three points:
1, why he had sought the phone records of the incoming Speaker of the House, extending back a year, when he had just become speaker 16 days earlier. This makes it look very much look like a purely political witch-hunt, as Johnson did not have power to run interference for Trump before hand.
2, why he sought these phone records in defiance of a warning from a Biden attorney that doing so would be a violation of the Speech and Debate Clause. (A clause which says that no member of Congress shall be subject to legal process for any statement they make in Congress (later extended to cover any statement they make outside of Congress, so long as it's part of their work as a congressman.)
3, why he claimed that Mike Johnson was a "flight risk" when he told Johnson's phone company to hide the fact that his records had been granted to a third party. Jack Smith claimed that keeping this secret was necessary to make sure that Johnson did not take flight from prosecution.
He now admits that Johnson was no flight risk.
Benny Johnson
@bennyjohnson
If you watch one moment from Jack Smith's testimony in Congress today, watch him get reduced to a stuttering, stammering mess when confronted with his own LIES:
GILL: "The subpoena covered the time period between November 2020 and January 2021. Is that right?"
SMITH: "Uh, I'm sorry, sir, could you say that again?"
GILL: "We're not gonna delay like this."
Jack Smith is asking to have questions re-asked because each congresman only has five minutes total time, and he wants to waste as much Republican time as possible endlessly repeating and clarifying questions.
GILL: "How many days after Kevin McCarthy was sworn in as Speaker did you subpoena his records?
SMITH: "Uh, I don't recall, but those two things had nothing to do with one another."
GILL: "It was 16 days after becoming the highest ranking Republican in the House of Representatives, you subpoenaed his toll records. Do you agree that that might reasonably be considered a violation of the Speech or Debate Clause?"
SMITH: "Uh, I do not"
GILL: "At the time you, you secured those non-disclosure orders, was Speaker McCarthy a flight risk?"
SMITH: "He was not."
GILL: "He was not. Then why did your non-disclosure order refer to him as a flight risk? It says right here, 'The court finds reasonable grounds to believe that such disclosure will result in flight from prosecution.' You were using clearly false information to secure a non-disclosure order to hide from Speaker McCarthy and from the American people the fact that you were spying on his toll records."
Jack Smith on why he attempted to bring Trump to trial without giving him sufficient time to read the millions of pages of documents disclosed to him: Gee I was just looking out for Trump's right to a speedy trial. I'm a hero!
Jonathan Turley
@JonathanTurley
3h
Rep. Onder just body slammed Smith on his effort to give Trump's legal team little time to read millions of pages of documents. Smith's response was that he wanted to be sure that Trump got a speedy trial, even though the Trump team was trying to slow down the trial to review his document dump...
Even CNN pointed out that Smith didn't even bother denying he rushed the case just to make a political impact:
Even CNN is now turning on Jack Smith after his House Judiciary testimony.
CNN legal analyst Elie Honig zeroed in on the moment Republicans cornered Smith over rushing the Trump case right before the 2024 election — and Smith had no answer.
If you remember, Jack Smith was improperly appointed, which means that the first eleven months of his term were conducted without proper authorization by the government, including the first three indictments of Trump.
Eleven months later, Merrick Garland attempted to correct this without admitting anything needed to be corrected. Jack Smith was appointed and sworn in a second time.
This Legal Eagle has a Biden-like memory loss about the details of this episode.
🔥HOO BOY: @Lancegooden might've just caught Jack Smith & former Attorney General Garland RED-HANDED!
GOODEN: "Would you agree that taking the oath of office is a legal requirement for the job that you had?"
SMITH: "I haven't researched whether it's required or not."
In one more bit of sedition by Jack Smith, he refused to answer questions about everyone's favorite phony-ass witness, Madison Cornbread.
Jordan confronted Smith with his own report that Madison Cornbread was a trash hearsay witness without any credibility, and so would not call her himself. No judge would accept her "testimony," he concluded.
The NY Times Researches Where American-Born Roofers Went, but Can’t Put the Obvious Puzzle Pieces Together
—Buck Throckmorton
The New York Times ran a piece a few days ago seeking to understand where all the American-born roofers went, struggling to understand how an industry that used to provide well-paying career jobs is now overwhelmingly staffed by poorly-paid “immigrants.”
There are not many pieces to this puzzle, and the Times successfully analyzes each of the pieces, but it somehow cannot put these few puzzle pieces together to provide the obvious conclusion. The reason, of course, is that American-born roofers, many of whom were unionized construction workers, were replaced by poorly paid illegal aliens providing off-the-books labor while also being denied benefits, health insurance, and compliance with labor laws.
Something I keep harping on is the war on labor expense in this country. Businesses obviously need to focus on cost control, including the cost of labor, but somewhere in recent decades, we have seen a dangerous mindset take hold. It has become widely accepted that pretty much any labor expense is too high, and if labor can’t be offshored to places with wages and work conditions below American standards, then illegal forms of chattel labor need to be imported into the U.S.
There were several recurring themes throughout this article, bullet-pointed below, but somehow the Times just couldn’t (or wouldn’t) acknowledge the obvious cause and effect:
• English-speaking American roofers are virtually non-existent nowadays.
• Illegal foreign labor was hired (through subcontractors and labor brokers) at much lower wages.
• Immigrant laborers are hard-working and to be celebrated.
• Immigrant workers are ruthlessly exploited.
• Roofers’ wages have eroded, and are no longer a career wage.
• Builders are suffering a labor shortage, due to Donald Trump’s closed border and deportation policies.
• Construction / roofing is a job that Americans just won’t do any longer.
• Without unions, working conditions have eroded.
Although the link to the Times is behind a paywall, the entire article was republished at the Seattle Times, and it can be read here: “Where Did All the American-Born Roofers Go?”
I cannot quote the whole thing, but here are a few snippets:
First, construction jobs became less desirable, as eroding wages and working conditions diminished the quality and job security of the profession.
Why did the wages erode? Why did working conditions erode?
Only then did immigrants, with the encouragement of the political and business class, fill a gap that was already opening.
The sequence of “immigrants” taking those jobs seems to be out of order. By hiring off-the-books “immigrants” at below market wages, construction jobs became less desirable.
Most of those foreign-born workers are not naturalized citizens, and many lack permanent legal status. That leaves an industry of 6.8 million workers particularly vulnerable to President Donald Trump’s mass deportation effort.
Translation: There are up to 6.8 million poorly paid illegal aliens working construction jobs in the U.S.
Builders are reporting labor shortages as some workers are detained or deported and others stay home amid immigration raids.
If only there was another potential labor pool aside from non-citizens who are in this country illegally…
When [Matthew] Moore started his career, unionized construction was a good living, especially for workers without a college degree. In 1973, a quarter of workers were unionized, and in construction it was 40%. But those numbers were already starting to decline.
I spent much of my life criticizing unions, but my gripe was always when unions wanted high compensation for not working (e.g. early retirement with benefits, idled workers getting paid, etc). I never begrudged them wanting good compensation for the work they performed. But if union labor was too expensive, the alternative was to offer competitive non-union jobs. Instead, the construction industry chose to pursue illegal foreign labor that was well below-non-union construction wages.
What was happening in California was happening across the country, both in states with a strong union presence, such as Illinois, Massachusetts and New York, and those that prohibited mandatory union membership — “right to work” states such as Arizona, Florida and Texas where the population, and housing production, was booming.
Yep. It wasn’t about the unions. Non-unionized construction workers were displaced too.
And with that decline in union strength came a decline in the economic standing for both union and nonunion workers. In 1973, the average union construction worker made $1.71 for every $1 the average American worker earned hourly. Today, unionized construction workers earn $1.15 for every $1 an average worker earns. And nonunion construction workers make just 86 cents for every dollar earned by the average American worker, often without health or retirement benefits.
Not only did construction pay effectively get halved by replacing Americans with “immigrants,” but it is well understood that the current system provides layers of contracting to deflect accountability for the inherent illegality of the construction labor system.
[Mariano] Martinez had arrived in the United States on the cusp of a major immigration boom. Workers interviewed for this article who crossed illegally during that period described a southern border that was more porous, even as barriers were going up. With the help of smugglers, many managed to get across on foot or in vehicles. In a common practice that continues today, builders avoided knowingly hiring workers lacking permanent legal status by keeping laborers off their payrolls and instead hiring subcontractors or labor brokers who employed the workers.
And again, it’s not just the pay, it’s also the lack of benefits and worker protections. Illegal laborers have no rights and no ability to redress illegal exploitation.
By then, the high demand for housing and fewer worker protections had led to tough working conditions. For Mario, 47, who first came to the United States in 1997 from Morelia, Mexico, as a teenager, roofing paid better than picking cucumbers and bell peppers, but it wasn’t easy. Mario was an adult by the time he started roofing, but many roofers living in the country illegally are minors, doing one of the deadliest jobs in the country usually without health insurance.
Illegal minors working off the books without health insurance is an extremely disturbing thing that has been accepted by “pro-immigration” Democrats and “pro-business” Republicans. There is no amount of empathy or profit that mitigates this level of exploitation.
Yet builders still feel that they are paying too much…
Immigrants who held onto their jobs say they have seen no meaningful wage gains in decades, and are still making today what they made before the Great Recession.
There is much more along these same lines, focusing on the current shortage of construction workers, but I’ve extracted enough to make the point. To fill that construction labor shortage, here’s an idea - how about once again hiring legal Americans at wages that can provide for a home and a family. If new home prices go up a little, so be it. But remember, home prices never went down when builders started subcontracting out to illegal labor at extremely low wages.
Roofing used to provide a career wage, and was heavily unionized in some places. As you read this piece, it becomes quite clear why unions held appeal to American roofers. Illegal laborers cannot object to unsafe conditions, no benefits, and no labor laws to abide by.
If the alternative to unionized labor is off-the-books, illegal labor, then unions are the ethical choice. But those don’t need to be the only options. There is a third option – hire legitimate, legal, non-union, American labor.
Several emergency declarations have already been issued as a massive winter storm barrels toward more than 35 states, putting more than 200 million people in its path and threatening “considerable disruption” across the US.
Texas, Georgia and the Carolinas were the first to issue preemptive emergency declarations after the National Weather Service warned that “nearly everyone east of the Rockies” will be affected by snow, ice, or cold from Friday into early next week.
The potentially historic winter storm, dubbed Winter Storm Fern, is expected to span more than 2,000 miles, putting more than 200 million people at risk of crippling snow and travel chaos starting Thursday night.
Please be safe, avoid traveling unless absolutely necessary and take all appropriate precautions, especially if you live in an area that typically does not experience severe/extreme winter conditions and you and your vehicles aren't used to dealing with it.
Vice President JD Vance doesn’t believe there’s a need to invoke the Insurrection Act in Minnesota for the time being, he told The Daily Wire on Thursday. Vance touched down in Minneapolis, meeting with federal immigration officers to assess the chaos on the ground. For weeks following the fatal shooting of an ICE watch activist, left-wing agitators have followed federal agents arresting illegal immigrants across the Twin Cities trying to thwart their actions.
Given the incitement and the loud proclamations of Democrat leaders from Walz to Frey and Pritzker and others that they will refuse to cooperate with ICE and other Federal Law enforcement officials in enforcing our laws to protect our sovereignty and citizenry, by virtually ordering their own police forces to physically confront and thwart their efforts. If that is not a green light for the Democrat Party's organized or even lone wolf street thugs and brain damaged fools to physically attack ICE officers . . then I now give you this massive dog-whistle cum Fuhrer Befehl declaring open season on ICE agents.
Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes wildly suggested that residents can open fire on masked ICE agents if they feel their life is in danger under the state’s self-defense laws.
The Democrat, in a sit-down with 12 News anchor Brahm Resnik, warned that Arizona’s “Stand Your Ground” law, which allows citizens to use deadly force if they believe they’re in imminent danger, could become a “recipe for disaster” if protesters clash with immigration officers.
“It’s kind of a recipe for disaster because you have these masked federal officers with very little identification, sometimes no identification, wearing plain clothes and masks,” Mayes said in the Monday interview, calling ICE “very poorly trained.” “And we have a Stand Your Ground law that says that if you reasonably believe that your life is in danger and you’re in your house or your car or on your property, that you can defend yourself with lethal force.” A flabbergasted Resnik repeatedly challenged Mayes, cautioning that her remarks could be interpreted as a “license” to residents to shoot a federal agent. She shot back that she was merely stating a “fact,” not encouraging violence.
“If you’re being attacked by someone who is not identified as a peace officer — how do you know?” the state’s top prosecutor pressed, adding that “real cops don’t wear masks.”
“I mean if somebody comes at me wearing a mask, by the way, I’m a gun owner, and I can’t tell whether they’re a police officer, what am I supposed to do? No, I’m not suggesting people pull out their guns, but this is a don’t tread on me state.”
The attorney general, who was elected in 2022, unleashed her jaw-dropping comments as immigration officers begin to spread into parts of the Grand Canyon State.
. . . She vowed to prosecute any ICE agent who violates state laws after operations in Minnesota sparked widespread unrest when an federal officer fatally shot protester Renee Nicole Good when she clipped him with her car during a heated confrontation on Jan. 7.
Arizona GOP Rep. David Schweikert blasted the attorney general, calling her rhetoric “reckless.”
To conservatives, it might appear at first blush that these anti-ICE radicals and DNC Commiecrats are all about the F word. It seems to reflect unimaginable rage and irrational hysteria relating to an issue about which the radicals are so passionate that all reasonable expression is abandoned. Don’t be lulled into believing, though, that the beginning and end of these incoherent, obscene rants is that they’re suffering from some serious lack of creative expression or a mind-wiping anger. It’s more than that.
They have a mission beyond the superficial rage they would have us focus on. . . When the left protests, there’s more than rage or frustration. There’s seething enmity. We saw it with the Pussy March when Trump was first elected, during the impeachments and prosecutions levied against him, during the George Floyd/BLM/DEI protests, and now with the ICE insanity.
Every time a congressional Commiecrat, the governor of a blue state, or the mayor of a blue city speaks, bile drips out all over. Journalists and talk show hosts spew their anti-anything American venom daily and with impunity. Don Lemon did it at the church invasion in Minnesota and then brazenly lied and hid behind his immunity as a “journalist” and the fact that he is a gay, black man. Do I hear Jussie Smollett, anyone?
It’s more than rage about the issues or mental illness, prescription meds, weed, or street drugs driving the behavior. It’s even more than demonic possession. Again, these are the things they want us to perseverate on, while they pursue their mission: a collective determination to destroy.
It’s easy to think of our Commiecrats as zombie-like, reacting in lockstep, converging on something en masse, walking in hordes over cliffs and into raging rivers. The impression they give is that they’re not responsible for their actions. That lets them off too easily. . . They don’t do this merely out of rage about an issue but because it is the only path to revolution and cannot be brought about by polite debate and collegial cooperation. . . They don’t need the facts or stats, logic, or reasoning to accomplish their goals. Just a place to compulsively and convulsively shout “F you” while destroying everything in their way—not just buildings and property, but love of country, American culture, and resilience—courageously remaking this nation as they believe it should be, as Obama once said.
So, when you hear a Karen ranting, “F you,” it’s not anger about the American Dream slipping away, but about the fury needed for their Marxist Utopian Dream. And make no mistake: they relish in that fury. If you doubt me, listen to Minnesota Church Stormer-in-Chief William Kelly rant about death threats against him, inviting people to “Go ahead, kill me...because...you can kill the revolutionary, but you can’t kill the Revolution.”
As tensions rise in Minneapolis and other sanctuary cities and ICE officers confront violent protestors in the line of duty, some teachers are indoctrinating their students to believe the left’s woke narratives—even when they are demonstrably false.
At Manson Northwest Webster High School in Iowa, a language arts teacher, identified by other outlets as Kim Keller, was caught in an audio recording delivering a virulent partisan diatribe to her class in which she accused ICE agents of murdering Renee Nicole Good—and told her students they would likely be next.
The teacher begins by scolding her class for allegedly laughing at TikTok videos about the incident: “Then why are you laughing? Because that is what is happened [sic]. And if you do not process that, you need to process that right now.”
The angry tirade that follows is full of misrepresentations and outright lies.
The school is not on the Upper West Side of Mamdani's Manhattan but in Iowa. Trouble in River City folks.
Have a great weekend. Again, stay warm and stay safe!
And lastly, a quick shout-out and a huge thank you for your continued support in hitting our tip jar. It truly is appreciated more than you can know.
The backlash to the supposed Republican renaissance and sweeping cultural conservative agendas is here. . . Across the country, the jargon of wokeness invented on campuses is spilling back out into the broader culture again, much like it did in 2020. . . The truth is, the right declared victory too early. Wokeness never died. . . It’s the weed that grows back stronger. We ignore it at our own peril. Woke never really died, it’s coming back with a vengeance — and we should be terrified
It’s not that lefts are angry, incoherent dimwits (although many are). However, for most, rage is their power source, and their goal is America’s destruction. The True Meaning Behind All The Rage
Radical leftist former Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, commonly known as AMLO, and his protege and current Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum have both publicly embraced the concept of reconquista and actively discouraged Mexican Americans, much less Mexicans illegally present in the United States, from assimilating or in any way embracing American identity, the book reveals. Officials under both presidencies have declared illegal immigrants who send remittances home “heroes” and champion propaganda songs that celebrate rejecting American identity. SHOCK CONFESSION: Mexican President Admits That Mass Migration Is a Tool to Reclaim and Conquer America’s Southwest
“Our efforts were not aimed at interfering with authorities...The Chicago Chief of Patrol told police officers en route to help the ICE agents to stand down...This is not an action movie...Crime in Memphis fell by 41 percent.” How Pro-Immigrant Activism Turned Dangerous
With four murders and several other shootings, the year is not starting out well for Macon, Georgia. Yet Another Macon Murder-Funeral
FIRST AMENDMENT ISSUES, CENSORSHIP, FAKE NEWS, MEDIA, BIG BROTHER TECH
The European Union on Monday unveiled an "anti-racism" plan that presses member states to censor online "hate speech" and adopt an "intersectional approach" to "structural racism." The plan, which also calls for training on "unconscious bias" and "microaggression," is likely to intensify the Trump administration’s diplomatic fusillade against European hate speech laws. It also illustrates the degree to which American racial politics have been exported to the European Union. European Union Doubles Down on ‘Hate Speech’ Censorship in New ‘Anti-Racism’ Strategy
RED-GREENS, CLIMATE CHANGE HOAX, DEMOCRAT-LEFT WAR ON FOSSIL FUELS,
Robert Zimmerman: "What must be understood about Mann is that he is a very typical leftist radical, who thinks that because his cause is just and good, he is somehow immune from any consequences for bad behavior. Such leftists increasingly believe they are allowed to lie, cheat, defame, and even sometimes commit violence, because anyone who disagrees with them is evil. Mann did not do the last item (though many other leftists now are), but he did all the others, and truly believed he could get away with it. He is now finding out otherwise. Fake scientist Michael Mann slapped down hard by DC superior court
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and the National Family Planning and Reproductive Health Association (NFPRHA) were suing Trump’s Health and Human Services Department (HHS) over a freeze on $27.5 million worth of Title IX family planning grants to Planned Parenthood. The Trump administration, however, quietly restored the grants, prompting the ACLU and NFPRHA to drop their lawsuit. EXCLUSIVE: Planned Parenthood Asks Trump Admin Not To Refund Them
As with all conspiracy theories, anything that fails to prove the “truth” — especially anything that debunks it — just becomes more proof of the plotters’ reach: The believers will never be convinced otherwise. You’ll never guess what the new Epstein scandal is
DEMOCRAT/LEFTIST AND RINO SCANDALS, MESHUGAS, CHUTZPOCRISY
Hunt, who is vying in a brutal three-way Texas Senate primary, was absent while House Republicans advanced a rule teeing up votes on four appropriations bills, including a measure funding the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Though House Republicans did not end up needing Hunt’s vote to advance the funding bills, GOP leadership has voiced irritation about the Senate hopeful’s frequent absences while he campaigns ahead of the March 3 primary. ‘Expected Him To Be Here’: Mike Johnson Stunned Rep. Wesley Hunt Was Missing For Key House Vote
The contrast between the international assemblage of sophisticates and the president from Queens brings onto a global stage one of the longest-running dramas in American political history. Mastering the forces unleashed by Jacksonian America is the key not only to Trump's presidential success, but also to the preservation and renewal of the American-led international order. If the announced agreement with NATO secretary general Mark Rutte holds, this act in the drama will end on a high note. Andrew Jackson Comes to Davos
Fred Fleitz: European leaders panicked over imaginary Trump crises, only to be outflanked at Davos as he exposed their failures, calmed Greenland fears, and seized the global stage. Trump Owned Davos
The Beijing-controlled puppet government in Hong Kong began a trial under China’s tyrannical “national security law” on Thursday for the leaders of a group that organized candlelight vigils in memory of the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre. China Prosecutes Hongkongers Who Mourned Tiananmen Square Massacre (Truman failed when he prevented Macarthur from crossing the Yalu and driving all the way to Peking to skin Mao alive - jjs)
How much influence does the deep-pocketed Gulf country hold in America? Qatar as Daddy Warbucks
HEALTH AND HEALTH CARE
“President Trump’s historic Rural Health Transformation Program could not come at a more urgent time,”. . . “After years of targeting and neglect under the Biden administration, across the United States, hospitals are entering a systemic distress cycle that is visible in financial markets before doors close to patients. In 2025 alone, at least 90 hospitals have experienced credit rating downgrades, service eliminations, or full closures. These distress events reveal a patterned, multi-signal collapse with credit downgrades often preceding a loss of essential services.” Exclusive — Report: Rural Hospital Closures, Downgrades Represent ‘National Health Access Emergency’ Trump Can Fix
What causes these gullies remains an open question. ... More recent research suggests they are formed by the seasonal dry ice frost cycle that in the high latitudes has carbon dioxide condense to fall as snow in autumn and then sublimate away in the spring. New gullies on Mars?
FEMINAZISM, TRANSGENDER PSYCHOSIS, HOMOSEXUALIZATION, WAR ON MASCULINITY/NORMALCY
ALSO: The Morning Report cross-posts at CutJibNewsletter.com usually within an hour or so of posting here, if you want to continue the conversation all day.
Podcast: CBD and Sefton talk about insurrection in MN coming to NYC? Trump's Greenland rhetoric was over the top, the Gaza Peace Panel is anything but, Minnesota churchgoers need to step up, and is it possible that if the Persian people toss out the Mullahs they will begin a Muslim reformation?
Long-time Coblogger and commenter "Niedermeyer's Dead Horse" is having significant health issues, and would appreciate the thoughts and prayers of The Horde. If you wish to reach out, use @NiedsG on X/Twitter. [CBD]
Disclose.tv
@disclosetv
30m
JUST IN - DOJ investigating Governor Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey for conspiracy to impede immigration agents -- CBS
Podcast: CBD and Sefton chat about the end game in Iran, what to do about the Fed, its supposed "independence," and its hyper-politicized chairman, the housing crunch, and Trump's harebrained suggestion to decrease credit card interest!
Scott Adams, the creator of Dilbert, and an always interesting observer of the human and political condition, has died. RIP. [CBD]
Tousi TV: France closes embassy in Tehran, US Department of State advises all US citizens to get out of Iran He's been saying that Tuesday will be a decisive day. Other reports say that Trump is in the last stages of planning an action against the mullahs. (And other reports say that Tucker Carlson Simp JD Vance is attempting to get Trump to agree to "negotiations" with Iran -- for fucking what? What do we get out of saving the fucking mullahs and letting them kill and torture their own people? Apart from Tucker Carlson getting to pretend he's a Big Man Influencer and that he's worth all the Qatari money he's receiving.)
Asmongold predicted that AWFLs would turn on immigration the moment we started importing hot women into the country, and he was right via garrett
