Overnight Open Thread (07-27-2017)

—CBD

Hitler knows that he will have to break us in this island or lose the war. If we can stand up to him, all Europe may be free and life of the world may move forward into broad, sunlit uplands. But if we fall, then the whole world, including the United States, including all that we have known and cared for, will sink into the abyss of a new Dark Age made more sinister, and perhaps more protracted, by the lights of perverted science. Let us therefore brace ourselves to our duties, and so bear ourselves that, if the British Empire and its Commonwealth lasts for a thousand years, men will still say, 'This was their finest hour!'

Yes, I am a Jew, and when the ancestors of the right honorable gentleman were brutal savages in an unknown island, mine were priests in the temple of Solomon

People are always blaming their circumstances for what they are. I don't believe in circumstances. The people who get on in this world are the people who get up and look for the circumstances they want, and, if they can't find them, make them.

******
I'm sure that the chattering classes will have a good time mocking Kid Rock's suggestion that he might challenge professional politician Debbie Stabenow for her Senate seat. He has a tough battle to fight, especially because she is such an intellect.

Global warming creates volatility. I feel it when I'm flying. The storms are more volatile. We are paying the price in more hurricanes and tornadoes.

Shockingly, Robert James Ritchie doesn't sound anything like an idiot. In fact, he seems to be quite an appealing man with at least one solid idea and has a comfortable presence in front of the camera.

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I don't like cats, but for some reason they like me. That speaks volumes about the whole species. Anyway, Here are some cute cat pictures. Or Helen Thomas nudes. I forget which.
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This was sent to me by a lurker who shall remain nameless, but whose work will appear in the soon-to-be-famous AoSHQ Cookbook, if weasel and bluebell put down the Pappy van Winkle for a few days and do some work.

“I searched for an alternative [to Pappy], and that led me to Bourbonr, which gave me a recipe for combining W.L. Weller 12 Year and Old Weller Antique 107 Proof," says Fredrickson. “It’s all Buffalo Trace; the only Stitzel-Weller product still in the Van Winkle line is the 23.”

In addition to its own line, Buffalo Trace Distillery in Frankfort, Ky., now produces Old Rip Van Winkle whiskey, as well as W.L. Weller, Blanton’s, Eagle Rare, Sazerac and many more.

“Basically, [Van Winkle and Weller] have the same mash bills and are aged for almost the same time,” he says.

To make his Poor Man’s Pappy, Fredrickson combines 40 percent by weight W.L. Weller 12 Year and 60 percent by weight Old Weller Antique 107 Proof in a 750-milliliter bottle, seals it and tries to forget about it for as long as possible (two months at minimum) to allow the spirits to integrate fully. His current batch is more than a year old. The aim was to approximate Old Rip Van Winkle 10 or 12 Year Lot B, but as Fredrickson discovered during a recent blind tasting at Delmonico Steakhouse, his Poor Man’s Pappy falls somewhere between the 12 and 15 Year in taste, body, heat and overall heft—so much the better for his personal enjoyment.

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Graphic Courtesy of Leon Farrant

Yeah....vaccines. It's pretty much the pinnacle of human achievement. And if you disagree, you have to admit that it is near the top. So whenever you go to an after-yoga pot-luck and somebody notices that you brought a dish that has GMO ingredients or that your kids are all alive and well or you don't have polio or rabies and you didn't die after that nasty cut you got while camping or didn't die of Whooping Cough when you were six and haven't gotten the flu in forever and on and on and on....tell them to fvck off. Because their ignorance and stone-aged idiocy of not getting their kids vaccinated is going to kill lots and lots of innocent people.

Oh, before I climb down from this high horse...flu vaccine does not give you the flu. It's dead virus. it can't give you the flu. It's impossible. If you feel crappy after you get the vaccine, then it's probably a side effect of antibody production. And if you get the flu, it's because you got the vaccine too late and were exposed to the live virus before your body was able to produce enough antibodies to protect you. Or, they didn't get the correct strains of influenza in the vaccine, and you were unlucky and exposed to a strain that wasn't in the vaccine.

******
Here's a weird cover. Conan O'Brian should shut the fvck up and let Grace Potter sing, but still, the band is fun. And unexpected.

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And we might as well continue in that direction, with another rather attractive singer with a pretty good voice. Susanna Hoffs is not unpleasant to look at, even with the terrible video quality from 1991.

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On the other hand John Stossel is definitely not my type, but he makes up for it by being pretty bright and making some good points about the Leviathan.

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If this ONT hasn't put you to sleep yet, try this video of a rock singer reading "Goodnight Moon."
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©2019 by AceCorp LLC. All Rights Reserved. Do not taunt proprietor with Makita, DeWalt or Milwaukee products. Shelves are non-weight-bearing and are for decoration only. Lefty loosy, righty tighty.

Close it up

McMaster Fires Another Iran Hawk, While Doing His Best to Protect Obama Holdovers

—Ace

Derek Harvey is a Middle East expert who had been on the National Security Council. He had pushed for a "more belligerent" line on Iran -- in accordance with Trump's, but apparently not McMasters', wishes.

Obviously, then, he had to go.

Harvey was apparently a strong advocate of Trump's decision to bomb a Syrian airfield in April in retaliation for the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad using chemical weapons on civilians days earlier. Harvey also supported a more bellicose Iran strategy than either Tillerson or Secretary of Defense James Mattis.

Mattis, in particular, had strong disagreements with Harvey. Sources told the Standard that Mattis raised his concerns with National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster, who was the one to fire Harvey on Thursday morning.

Harvey, a long-time intelligence professional with wide knowledge of the Middle East, played a critical role in the administration's Iran, Syria, and Iraq policies. He has extensive experience as an intelligence officer and analyst for the military, embassies, and the Defense Intelligence Agency.

McMaster meanwhile continues fighting to keep Obama's Team in place.

Harvey was closely involved in president Trump's efforts to rid the National Security Council of Obama holdovers, who were suspected of leaking national security secrets to the press. After extensive research, Harvey compiled a list of suspected leakers and reportedly delivered it straight to the president, who then took his list to McMaster.

Even though President Trump asked McMaster to fire the individuals on the list, the NSC chief refused the president's directives to get rid of the Obama holdovers. This comes as Congress continues to sound the alarm about the national security implications of a White House that can't control the release of classified information.

And as the classified leaks continue to spill into the public domain at a record-high rate, the National Security Council remains staffed with a shockingly high percentage of holdovers from the Obama era. Reached for comment, a White House official estimated that well over fifty percent of the National Security Council staff are Obama holdovers.

But instead of firing the Obama holdovers, McMaster has purged several conservative Trump supporters from the ranks of the NSC.

Obama's holdovers are invested in keeping the "Iran Deal" alive, one imagines. Right?

You know, establishment types ooohed and aahed over the Mattis and McMaster nominations while people I consider more credible -- that is, Deplorables with some subject-matter expertise -- told me both were weak and more aligned with Obama.

They turn out to have been right.

So I guess the question for the "principles" braggarts is this: You supposedly were against the Iran deal. Yet the establishment-blessed men you say are the Adults in the Room seem to be determined to keep it.

So, have your principles been corrupted by your tribal loyalties to the establishment/RINO wing?

Do you really oppose the Iran deal, or do you oppose it like Lisa Murkowski opposes Obamacare?

Scaramucci to Reporter: Tell Me Who's Leaking, Or I'll Just Fire Everyone

—Ace

I'm not sure if this is crazy or if this is necessary, or if it's a bit of both.

“Who leaked that to you?” he asked. I said I couldn’t give him that information. He responded by threatening to fire the entire White House communications staff. “What I’m going to do is, I will eliminate everyone in the comms team and we’ll start over,” he said. I laughed, not sure if he really believed that such a threat would convince a journalist to reveal a source. He continued to press me and complain about the staff he’s inherited in his new job. “I ask these guys not to leak anything and they can’t help themselves,” he said. “You’re an American citizen, this is a major catastrophe for the American country. So I’m asking you as an American patriot to give me a sense of who leaked it.”

In Scaramucci’s view, the fact that word of the dinner had reached a reporter was evidence that his rivals in the West Wing, particularly Reince Priebus, the White House chief of staff, were plotting against him. ...

[H]e has become obsessed with leaks and threatened to fire staffers if he discovers that they have given unauthorized information to reporters. Michael Short, a White House press aide considered close to Priebus, resigned on Tuesday after Scaramucci publicly spoke about firing him. Meanwhile, several damaging stories about Scaramucci have appeared in the press, and he blamed Priebus for most of them. Now, he wanted to know whom I had been talking to about his dinner with the President. Scaramucci, who initiated the call, did not ask for the conversation to be off the record or on background.

“Is it an assistant to the President?” he asked. I again told him I couldn’t say.

“O.K., I’m going to fire every one of them, and then you haven’t protected anybody, so the entire place will be fired over the next two weeks.”

I asked him why it was so important for the dinner to be kept a secret. Surely, I said, it would become public at some point. “I’ve asked people not to leak things for a period of time and give me a honeymoon period,” he said. “They won’t do it.” He was getting more and more worked up, and he eventually convinced himself that Priebus was my source.

Okay, then he turns to Reince Priebus, and Steve Bannon.

“They’ll all be fired by me,” he said. “I fired one guy the other day. I have three to four people I’ll fire tomorrow. I’ll get to the person who leaked that to you. Reince Priebus—if you want to leak something—he’ll be asked to resign very shortly.” The issue, he said, was that he believed Priebus had been worried about the dinner because he hadn’t been invited. “Reince is a fucking paranoid schizophrenic, a paranoiac,” Scaramucci said.

...

Scaramucci also told me that, unlike other senior officials, he had no interest in media attention. “I’m not Steve Bannon, I’m not trying to suck my own cock,” he said, speaking of Trump’s chief strategist. “I’m not trying to build my own brand off the fucking strength of the President. I’m here to serve the country.”

Okay, definitely kind of crazy. Still, maybe the leakers need to know a crazy guys is just itching to fire them.

More on Fusion GPS: Veteran Washington Reporter Says Media Won't Report on Fusion GPS' Activities as a Major "Source" of "News," Because If You Dug Down Into It and Saw Fusion GPS' Emails With the Media, "It will look like an apocalypse"

—Ace

A startling Q&A from Grassley and Browder, who testified today about the Magnitsky Act, Putin's efforts to overturn it, and Fusion GPS' role in helping Putin overturn it:

Lindsey Graham notes that Fusion GPS was both behind the anti-Trump Pee Pee Party Dossier as well as being on the same team as whoever set up the Don Jr. meeting.

Mollie Hemingway digests Browyard's testimony.

The full testimony is here, and I strongly advise you to read it. It's gripping as hell.

It's also alarming -- not just about the incredible brutality, venality, and corruption of the Russian government, but the even more frightening Shadow Media in the US which takes money from corrupt governments to get stories friendly to them planted in US media accounts, or to kill stories they don't like.

This tweet also has some of the highlights.

Lee Smith also checks in and digests the accusations flying about Fusion GPS. This is amazing stuff.

I'm not going to get into the details -- you'll have to click for those; this all seems very scary to me, scary enough I don't even want to mention this stuff -- but here's Lee Smith's conclusion:

It’s one of the peculiar paradoxes of the media today that the firm that sparked the anti-Trump resistance, and fueled the patriotism of those newly awakened to the dangers of Russian interference in American political institutions is working with companies intimately linked with Moscow. Fusion GPS is working to undo the U.S. sanctions on Russia implemented by the Magnitzky Act, and has been networked into Gazprom’s investment in Venezuela’s energy sector alongside Derwick Associates. And yet the U.S. media is focused on the Great Kremlin Conspiracy, the fruit of what appears to be only one in a series of smear campaigns waged by Fusion GPS. Sure, the reasons are partly ideological—Trump is not the press’ preferred candidate. And financial—the daily campaign against Trump is driving traffic that print and broadcast haven’t seen in a long time.

The press has its hands tied. “If they report that the Russia dossier is probably nonsense,” said Halvorssen, “and Fusion GPS is running information operations across the media, then that calls into question all the other stories that Fusion GPS has fed journalists in the past. Why are so few journalists willing to look into Fusion GPS?”

In order to report honestly on the Trump scandals, a weakened press would have to report honestly on Fusion GPS—which would mean lifting the lid on the incompetence and malfeasance of their own institutions and colleagues, which would reveal a scandal as threatening to democracy as anything Trump has said or done. “Imagine if they subpoena Fusion GPS’s emails,” said a veteran Washington reporter, “there are going to be lots of journalists in there who’ve taken stories from them. Big names, senior figures in the field. It will look like an apocalypse.”

There was a Mamet film about ten years ago called Spartan. It was okay. But what was great about it was its deadpan depiction of the US as a country in which government thugs and quasi-government thugs killed and assaulted people with impunity. Not just impunity -- they didn't even worry about it much. They acted as if this was all routine, not exceptional at all.

I'm starting to get that kind of vibe from all this.

William Shatner Goes to War with... the Social Justice Warriors

—Ace

Engage.

Wait, he's not the one who said engage, is he?

What did Kirk say? Nanoo nanoo if I remember right.

Well whatever. He's giving them full phasers and photon torpedoes.

BTW, posting this was a pain in the ass because for some reason, William Shatner has me blocked.

WTF, dude?

Sarah Carter/Circa.com: FBI Special Counsel Under Investigation for Leaking Classified Information

—Ace

The problem with draining a swamp is that there's nothing to uncover by draining it, except deeper swamp.

FBI General Counsel James A. Baker is purportedly under a Department of Justice criminal investigation for allegedly leaking classified national security information to the media, according to multiple government officials close to the probe who spoke with Circa on the condition of anonymity.

FBI spokeswoman Carol Cratty said the bureau would not comment on Baker and would not confirm or deny any investigation. Baker did not return comment when Circa attempted to reach him through the FBI.

This comes as Department of Justice Attorney General Jeff Sessions said he would soon be making an announcement regarding the progress of leak investigations. A DOJ official declined to comment on Circa’s inquiry into Baker but did say, the planned announcement by Sessions is part of the overall "stepped up efforts on leak investigations."

Three sources, with knowledge of the apparent investigation, told Circa that Baker is the top suspect in an ongoing leak investigation, but Circa has not been able to confirm the details of what national security information or material was allegedly leaked.

President of Human Rights Foundation: Fusion GPS is a Professional Smear Organization Hired By Big-Money Players to Destroy Anyone Who Opposes Their Clients

—Ace

Thor Halvorsen claims that he was exposing a corrupt company called Derwick which had sold a bunch of faulty electric plants in Venezeula, with the contract awarded by corrupt officials who got kickbacks from the company.

In Venezeula -- who'd imagine such a thing.

He says that Derwick then hired Fusion GPS to begin planting stories in "fringe websites" that he was a pedophile and drug addict.

He says their tactic is to accuse any enemy of their clients of acts so heinous that mere innocence isn't enough to remove the stain.

Sounds like he's saying they're a company behind #FakeNews.

Watch his interview on Tucker Carlson.

Hillary Will Offer Personal, Candid Rehash of All Her Scripted Robotic Excuses in New Book "What Happened"

—Ace

How 'bout that title, huh?

Hillary has a real gift for catchy pith, doesn't she? "I'm with her." "Stronger together."

"What happened."

She's a poet made of nothing but heart and laser-light.

So this gin-soaked nutter continues spiraling downward.

David Harsanyi explains:

[T]he reasons Why It Happened are pretty clear.

First of all, no one really likes you. I don’t say this out of political or personal malice. I assume few people like me, either. But being inherently unlikeable is an awkward attribute to have when you have designs on public office...

Now, granted, this might have something to do with your long history of corruption, mendacity and malleable political principles. Or maybe it’s just something about your personality. Whatever the case, no amount of whataboutism regarding Donald Trump can erase living history.

It’s also probably difficult for voters to be stirred by someone who wants to be president as badly as you do. The ambition, it oozes from you. And because you’ll say anything polls tell you to say, you are extraordinarily uninspiring. Your politics are a sort of a lagging indicator. By the time you embrace them, the moment has passed us by.

...

Some politicians can get over their shadiness and disagreeable nature by excelling at retail politics and/or strategic thinking. You’re not that person.

The Federalist's Bre Peyton collects some funny parodies and reactions to Hillary's "What Happened."

Here are a couple:

Roger Simon: Imran Awan Needs a Special Prosecutor 1000x More Than Trump

—Ace

It sure seems like a lot of powerful people have something to hide.

Jeff Sessions should immediately appoint a special counsel in this case whose tentacles are so vast they reach the highest levels of our government. The FBI, working unsupervised, has already been tainted by its heavily-criticized investigation of Hillary Clinton's emails, an investigation that actually may turn out to be related to this one. It cannot be trusted to do this by themselves. We need a special counsel.

Further, unlike Russiagate, this is an investigation that already has a crime (Awan will be arraigned August 21). It isn't in search of one. It's just trying to find out its extent wherever it leads.,,,

There are a lot of shoelaces to be tied up here. Among them:

1, Why did Debbie Wasserman Schultz keep this man in her employ right up until he was arrested Tuesday night when he has been under suspicion for months. Does he have something on her or other people?

2. Why did Nancy Pelosi lie when she said she never heard of Awan? Email revealed by Wikileaks says Awan had access to Pelosi's iPad. (Wiklileaks has never been shown to be inaccurate.)

3. What is on the smashed hard drives Awan is trying to retrieve from the FBI? (Oh, those Democrats and their hard drives.)

4. Why is Awan suddenly being legally represented at the highest level by Clinton ultra-loyalist Chris Gowan -- a fact-checker for Bill Clinton's memoir of all things? (They are already using the same right-wing conspiracy baloney they used in the Lewinski case.) Does this make sense if Awan's just a low-lif.e fraudster? Why not let him dangle?

5. Just what is the relationship, if any, between the Awan case and the unsolved Seth Rich murder? Is it entirely an accident that Debbie Wasserman Schultz's brother Steven is accused of blocking the investigation? Denials from Debbie aren't worth much anymore.

6. Where did the Wikileaks come from anyway? Was it really Russia?

Could have been Russia employing a shady Pakistani to get the information. It's not as if spymasters are only permitted to recruit their own nationals.

But we need a special counsel to know for sure.

Plus, see Glenn Reynold's recap post on the IT 5 (that link appears fragged; maybe just check his main page and scan down), including this plausible speculation.

Five Capitol Hill technology aides told The Daily Caller News Foundation’s Investigative Group that members of Congress have displayed an inexplicable and intense loyalty towards the suspects who police say victimized them. The baffled aides wonder if the suspects are blackmailing representatives based on the contents of their emails and files, to which they had full access.

“I don’t know what they have, but they have something on someone. It’s been months at this point” with no arrests, said Pat Sowers, who has managed IT for several House offices for 12 years. “Something is rotten in Denmark.”

The fact that a Friend of Bill and Hill superpartisan lawyer has been brought in to defend this alleged grifter just makes this all the more suspicious.

The Morning Rant

—OregonMuse

As Senators, we were sent here to represent the American people. Time for my colleagues to represent Americans & vote NO on health care bill

— Kamala Harris (@KamalaHarris) July 25, 2017

"One thing that the mental midget Kamala Harris doesn't realize is that this country is a country consisting of several states, and these sates are not just sub-divided federal administration units. They are not like Canada's provinces or France's departments or Japan's prefectures. American states are independent entities in their own right, and some of them existed *before* the country did. And in the original constitution, the senators were intended to represent the interests of the states at the federal level, and also to "temper" the populism of the House of Representatives, which actually did represent the people. But since the passage of the 17th Amendment, which mandated the popular election of U.S. Senators, the people get represented twice, and the states, not at all. It's just one more piece of erosion away from federalism and towards an all-intrusive statism."

It's not like the President wanted to ban transgendered from the military, but lobbing glitter at our enemy just isn't going to work anymore

— Sean Spicier (@sean_spicier) July 26, 2017

Trump: I bet I can get liberals to defend joining the army.
Mattis: No way.
Trump: Hold my beer while I tweet. pic.twitter.com/VX0eo11iIU

— Not Elizabeth (@BasedElizabeth) July 27, 2017

Quiz: Chihuahua or Muffin?

Cute

❤️👫🤗 pic.twitter.com/b4q208ho2p

— Follow And Gain (@FollowAndGain10) July 17, 2017

Stupid Tweet of the Day

Today's stupid tweet comes from dumb bunny Lady Gaga who has her panties in a twist about Trump's transgender ban for the U.S. military.

. @POTUS Sincerely, did you know of the group you singled out today, 45% of them ages (18 to 24) have attempted suicide already?

— xoxo, Gaga (@ladygaga) July 26, 2017

Yes, because the best thing the military can do with a bunch of suicidal maniacs is to give them access to all of our advanced weaponry.

It takes a special genius to advance an argument for your position that is actually an argument against it. For this reason, I'm rating this tweet at 1200 millikohns.

Close it up

Mid-Morning Open Thread

—CBD

His father, Abraham Pether, and his brother, Sebastian Pether were also artists and known for their moonlit scenes.

Obviously it was a family of werewolves.

The Morning Report 7/27/17

—J.J. Sefton

Good morning kids. I don't think the image above needs a caption. We know what happened and we knew it in advance, so why get worked up over it? I think the time is approaching if it's not here already to strongly consider actively abandoning the GOP. Perhaps as someone suggested the President himself can instigate the formation of an actual opposition party, not to oppose Democrats but to oppose Washington DC as it exists today. He's not going to get much accomplished through normal order and legislative processes. And after he departs, seven years from now (please G-d) the cancer will still be here. So now is the time to lay the groundwork for the long war. And battle number one is assembling an actual army composed of people on our side with our ideals and goals in common. And that would be his greatest accomplishment.

In other news, the psychotic Left has gone apeshit over the President's banning of mentally defective individuals from military service. And the complete press embargo on the Awans and Debbie Wasserman Schultz's coverup of criminal activities within the DNC continues. Lastly, Rush has an interesting take on what is really going on with the President's open conflict with Jeff Sessions and the DoJ.

Anyway, links from around the world, across the nation and up your street. Have a better one and remain blessed.

• Ex-Male Ex-SEAL Challenges PDT Over Transsexual Military Ban
  
• Greenfield: Transgender Ban Isn't Fair, Neither Is War
  
• Rabid, Obscenity-Spewing Homosexuals Stage Protests in NYC, LA, Elsewhere
  
• Senate Democrats Delay Witness from Testifying Against Fusion GPS
  
• Scaramucci Denies Threatening Priebus with FBI Probe
  
• GOP Repeals and Replaces the Tea Party
  
• It's Time for Single Payer --- The Consumer to Provider
  
• Now GOP Mulls Tax on the First Amendment
  
• Rush: What's Really Going On with Sessions?
  
• Dems Paid Millions to Data Firm Backed by Google's Eric Schmidt
  
• ISIS in Oakland: "Redefine Terror," Kill 10,000, "Whole Bay Area Up in Flames"
  
• The Imminent Death of Venezuelan Democracy
  
• Always Do More of What the Media Forbids
  
• Palin to Subpoena Two Dozen Reporters in Defamation Suit
  
• TX Booms +3.9%, CA Flatlines 0.1%, as Mining, Manufacturing Drive Growth
  

Wednesday Overnight Open Thread (7/26/17)

—Misanthropic Humanitarian

Quote I

If you want to improve, be content to be thought foolish and stupid. Epictetus

Quote II

Doesn't matter what you say or do; people can always find a way to call you a dick. Dave Attell

Quote III

I love those who can smile in trouble, who can gather strength from distress, and grow brave by reflection. 'Tis the business of little minds to shrink, but they whose heart is firm, and whose conscience approves their conduct, will pursue their principles unto death. Leonardo da Vinci

*****

Snowflake. Real or Fake? h/t ibguy.

*****

Another victory for law abiding citizens in Washington, D.C. Another victory for gun rights.

A federal court struck down the District of Columbia's gun-carry law as unconstitutional on Tuesday.

In a 2-to-1 ruling the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit said the city's requirement that those who apply for a gun-carry permit must show "good reason" beyond the desire for self-defense or residence in a high-crime area before being granted one runs afoul of the Second Amendment. The court said the Constitution guarantees a right to carry a firearm for self-protection for the law-abiding, even outside of the home. The ruling is the latest in a series of federal court rulings rebuking the nation's capital for unconstitutional gun laws that stretch back more than a decade and include a half dozen decisions against the city.

*****

Well, this explains a lot. Jimmy Carter had an E.T. moment before becoming president.

Believing anyone who claims to have seen an unidentified flying object is a tricky proposition. For most of us, seeing is believing, and unless we were the one who spotted it with our own eyes, it can be hard to take someone else’s word for it.

But what happens when the source claiming to have seen a strange object hovering in the sky is the President of the United States of America? That might make some believers out of us all, right? In 1969, a young Jimmy Carter—then just a Georgia politician—reported having seen a UFO, though people were largely skeptical of his claim.

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Don't care about your kids or anyone else? Don't vaccinate your offspring.

With firm vaccination campaigns, the US eliminated measles in 2000. The highly infectious virus was no longer constantly present in the country—no longer endemic. Since then, measles has only popped up when travelers carried it in, spurring mostly small outbreaks—ranging from a few dozen to a few hundred cases each year—that then fizzle out.

But all that may be about to change. With the rise of non-medical vaccine exemptions and delays, the country is backsliding toward endemic measles, Stanford and Baylor College of Medicine researchers warn this week. With extensive disease modeling, the researchers make clear just how close we are to seeing explosive, perhaps unshakeable, outbreaks.

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OMG, the sky is going to fall. People will die. Doctors and nurses will be unemployed. Hospitals will go dark. Well, that's what the left says.

The likeliest option is that senators will vote on a bill that gets rid of just parts of Obamacare—the individual and employer mandates, which impose penalties on individuals and businesses above a certain size that refuse to buy health insurance. Abolishing these mandates is considered a “skinny repeal.”

What will that mean?
Josh Bivens, research director at the Economic Policy Institute, says it would be catastrophic. Canceling the employer and individual mandates would, according to a CBO estimate, lead to 15 million people losing health insurance over the next decade. That’s not as bad as a complete repeal (32 million) or as the various proposed versions of the Republican health-care bill (22-23 million). Indeed, notes Bivens, the skinny repeal preserves Obamacare’s expansion of Medicaid, the government health program for the poor, and “most of the people who got coverage [under Obamacare did so] through Medicaid expansion,” so those, the most vulnerable, are protected.

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Adam Carolla and Dennis Praeger.

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Part Mad-Max, part The Gauntlet, ISIS cars.

And here you thought they only banged goats.

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Firefighter rides hose.

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14 common features of the eternal fascist. Right or wrong?

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The ONT Musical Interlude

July 26, 1943, Born on this day, Mick Jagger, vocals, The Rolling Stones, (1969 UK & US No.1 single 'Honky Tonk Women', and over 35 UK & US Top 40 singles and albums). Solo (1985 UK No.1 single with David Bowie 'Dancing In The Street'). 1985 UK No. 6 solo album 'She's The Boss.' In 2003 he was knighted for his services to popular music and in early 2009 he joined the electric supergroup SuperHeavy. via thisdayinmusic.com

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*****

July 26, 1986, Peter Gabriel went to No.1 on the US singles chart with 'Sledgehammer', a No.4 hit in the UK. The song's music video has won a number of awards, including a record nine MTV Awards at the 1987 MTV Video Music Awards, and Best British Video at the 1987 Brit Awards. Gabriel was also nominated for three Grammy Awards. As of 2011, 'Sledgehammer' is the most played music video in the history of MTV. via thisdayinmusic.com

*****

Jamey Johnson.

Jamey Johnson stands up to House of Blues. And House of Blues cancels his concert.

ut they found an obstacle between them and the stage. And it was all in the name of ‘safety’.

What they were looking for, of course, was the band to be disarmed.

Jamey Johnson had no interest in being disarmed, not for them, not for anybody.

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Bill Burr NSFW

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Gavin McInnes NSFW

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Everyday we are bombarded with Transgender stories/links. What is their goal?

he transgender issue is evolving into the pursuit of a more radical cultural agenda as well. You might be surprised, given how often transgender kids issues appear in the news cycle these days, that they only make up less than .5 percent of the population. If the mainstream media were to tell it, parents are encouraging more and more kids to embrace their transgender nature and transition from the gender they were born with to the gender that aligns with their feelings—psychiatrists say this begins with gender dysphoria. From Jazz Jennings, who now has her own TLC show, to Corey, Elizabeth, Jackie, and Jacob, a steady stream of these stories are featured on primetime shows like Nightline, Good Morning America and the evening news.

Despite increasing news coverage, evidence shows that encouraging kids to transition at a young age, before hormones kick in, ultimately hurts kids. For example, this pediatrician describes finding after finding—from increased risk of suicide to the harmful effects of puberty blockers—that show how the push to encourage gender transition can harm children.

*****

Maybe we don't want to reproduce anymore. Perhaps we have said "Fuck It!". Sperm count down-Big time.

Sperm counts among men have more than halved in the last 40 years, research suggests, although the drivers behind the decline remain unclear.

The latest findings reveal that between 1973 and 2011, the concentration of sperm in the ejaculate of men in western countries has fallen by an average of 1.4% a year, leading to an overall drop of just over 52%.

“The results are quite shocking,” said Hagai Levine, an epidemiologist and lead author of the study from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

*****

Psychopaths have feelings: can they learn how to use them?

Psychopaths have long captured the imagination. The names of famous psychopaths, such as Jeffrey Dahmer and Ted Bundy, evoke a morbid curiosity. The crimes committed by these men are so vicious, so unfathomably cruel, that it’s impossible to imagine how someone could do such a thing. The severed heads kept as mementos in Bundy’s apartment or the partially eaten body parts stowed away in Dahmer’s refrigerator are the result of simply inexplicable personalities. So it makes sense that the psychopath is often portrayed as cold-blooded and fearless, and, most of all, as a predator incapable of human emotion. However, research is growing to suggest that this might not be totally accurate.

*****

Coming to a village, town, city near you. Listen To America Tour.

Why anyone would care about the opinions of a basket of deplorables is beyond me; Clearly, the Huffpost's “Listen to America Tour” never would have happened had Hillary Clinton been elected.

*****

Just another reason to avoid Face Book like the plague. Mom. Pot. Bong. Breast. Baby. Some assembly required.

And here we have the trash bag of the week.

There are a lot of great moms out there. But then of course there are a lot of crappy moms as well. And this article here will focus on the latter. And who has the spotlight? An Oregon mom named Kayla Marlow who thought it would be a brilliant move to breastfeed her baby all while smoking from a bong. Oh, and she shared a photo of it as well on Facebook.

*****

Suspicious vehicle? Really. Genius Award Winner.

*****

To serve and protect. And to hike the football on 2. Tonight's Feel Good Story of The Day.

*****

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

Notice: Posted with permission by Ace Corp, LLC. Reading The ONT may cause restlessness.

Close it up

Puppy Wants to Play With Tennis Ball, But Isn't Quite Sure How

—Ace

Night!

Total CNN and MSNBC Blackout of Arrest of IT Guy Continues; Print Media Mentions the Story -- with Hilarious Understatement

—Ace

Total blackout for facts which a non-corrupt media would find worth a mention:

Major cable news networks have given no coverage to the burgeoning scandal involving IT staffers to former DNC Chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz, according to a Washington Free Beacon analysis.

Reporting by the Daily Caller News Foundation has revealed that Wasserman Schultz's top information technology staffer Iman Awan was arrested Monday after trying to flee the country amidst investigations into Awan concerning banking fraud and a criminal cybersecurity probe. Awan wired over $280,000 to Pakistan after the FBI recently recovered multiple smashed hard drives from Awan's home.

Despite being blocked from the House computer network since February amid allegations of "committing serious, potentially illegal, violations on the House IT network," Awan remained employed by Wasserman Schultz's office. He and four of his relatives have received $4 million by working for Democratic members of Congress since 2009.

Wasserman Schultz finally fired Awan on Tuesday, after he attempted to flee the country. His wife already fled to Pakistan with $12,000 in cash. Awan and his relatives had full access to the emails of the Democratic members they worked for, and Wasserman Schultz's password to her iPad she used while she was head of the DNC.

If you're coming late to this story, Jim Geraghty has a recap.

By the way: Guess wyo Iman Awan's just-hired lawyer has deep connections to?

No seriously, guess.

Chris Gowen, Imran Awan’s lawyer, is a long-time campaigner for former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and a member of an attorney team that brought a fraudulent lawsuit against energy giant Chevron.

...

Politico reported the criminal probe concerned “serious, potentially illegal, violations on the House IT network.”

Gowen described Awan’s arrest as “clearly a right-wing media-driven prosecution by a United States Attorney’s Office that wants to prosecute people for working while Muslim.”

...

His official bio on the firm’s web site notes that he “left the Public Defender’s office to work for former President William Jefferson Clinton and then-Senator Hillary Clinton. Chris was a fact checker for President Clinton’s memoir, My Life.”

“He also served as a traveling aid for President Clinton’s national and international trips. Chris finished his tenure with the Clintons by directing the advance operations for then-Senator Hillary Clinton during her 2008 presidential campaign.”

So let's digest this story. In a media environment obsessed with the DNC hack, it turns out five individuals were abusing their access to the DNC email system while -- possibly -- committing an assortment of crimes.

* Imran Awan's wife (herself one of the IT 5) already fled to Pakistan, carrying $12,000 in cash with her.

* Imran Awan man himself wired $280,000 to Pakistan, then attempted to flee there.

* Debbie Wassman-Schultz has threatened "consequences" against the Capitol Police unless they return her hard drives before the police are done using them as evidence in a case they're investigating against the IT 5. Almost as if she has something to hide.

* Despite the IT 5 taking all sorts of liberties with the DNC email and passwords while the DNC freaks out about an email hack, and despite them doing shady shit on the side (Imran Awan was arrested for bank fraud), they somehow manage to land a big attorney with deep DNC/Clinton connections.

* The Daily Caller reported that stolen hard drives were recovered from Imran Awan "smashed" by hammers. (His new Friend of Bill lawyer denies this.)

* Despite all these goings-on, Debbie Wasserman-Schultz actually kept Imran Awan on the payroll for reasons unknown, even as he was subject of a Capitol Hill police probe. She only (finally!) fired him after his arrest, then refused comment.

So: lot of interesting stuff going on here.

The National Laughingstock did file an obligatory the-right-wing-is-making-fun-of-us-for-embargoing this story.

Check out the grabby, juiced-up, must-read, must-RT headline they gave this compelling set of facts:

Can you feel your pulse quickening with the thrill of the journalistic hunt?

Can you feel your breath catching in your throat?!

Wow. It's almost as if they want to be able to say "we covered that story" while doing everything possible to bury it.

Almost as if that's what they were attempting, mind you:

CNN did post an online recap of the story -- pioneering the the innovative Don't Read This Boring Story Which the Right Is Forcing Us to Mention format that the National Laughingstock later imitated:

Gee I wonder if they'd downplay this story to such a laughable degree if it had been Paul Manafort wiring $280,000 to a foreign safe harbor and then attempting to abscond.

Hall of Shame: The Six #FakeNewsRepublicans Who voted for Obamacare Repeal in 2015 But Voted to Save It Today

—Ace

Susan Collins, who should be primaried, voted against the repeal in 2015 too. So she's a liberal Obama stooge, but she's not a liar.

But these six are damned liars-- including the supposed "hero" John McCain, of course.

Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va. Dean Heller, R-Nev. John McCain, R-Ariz. Lisa Murkowski R-Alaska Rob Portman, R-Ohio

I bet you others -- such as John Cornyn, Bob Corker, and Lindsey Graham -- would have voted "no" if necessary to save Obamacare, but voted yes for the sake of appearances.

This is the party whose "principles" Trump is tarnishing?

What principles?

Will John "Build the Dang Fence" be giving us more lectures about Honor (which he alone possesses, according to his own reports) and "loud-mouths" who expect elected Senators to honor promises they made when seeking votes?

Must-Read Piece About Fusion GPS

—Ace

Lee Smith details the history of the firm.

Why work for a salaryman's wage when you can make a pile of money running a corporation funded by other well-heeled corporations, organizations, and even foreign governments?

Basically, some reporters realized that the model of news-researched-by-newspapers was over. So they opened a research/"comms" shop to research the news (or "news," or even #FakeNews) and just deliver it to friendlies, chiefly on the left, who have neither the institutional support nor the personal work ethic to do the work themselves.

Reporters know about Fusion GPS, Lee Smith says, but they don't mention them -- they don't mention them because they don't want to burn their sources. They want Fusion to deliver them scoops (or even "Scoops") that have been paid for by political/agenda-driven groups. They want to hide the hand that delivered them their stories, both for personal aggrandizement (they don't want to admit they're just pass-throughs for a privately funded opposition research group) and to make sure the free stories keep coming.

And Fusion GPS was working closely with Russia -- they were among the shops hired to get the Magnitsky Act overturned.

Reporters know this, obviously -- but how often do you ever see this mentioned in a story?

Why do you imagine that is? Why does someone hide from the public a fact that they know, if their entire job is (supposedly) to "report the truth"?

Here's Smith:

There is no accurate accounting of how many of the stories you read in the news are the fruit of opposition research, because no journalist wants to admit how many of their top "sources" are just information packagers--which is why the blinding success of Fusion GPS is the least-covered media story in America right now. There's plenty of oppo research on the right, but most of it comes from the left. That’s not because Republicans are more virtuous than Democrats and look for dirt less than their rivals do. Nor conversely is it because Republicans make a richer subject for opposition research because they're so much more corrupt. Nope, it’s simple arithmetic: Most journalists lean to the left, and so do the majority of career officials who staff the federal government. There are more sounding boards on the left, and more sources. It’s not ideological, it's business.

Thus, most of Fusion GPS's contracts seem to come from the left--except for its most famous project, the Russia dossier. Before it was passed on to the Democrats, it started on the right, when one Republican candidate--thought to be Jeb Bush but never confirmed--hired the outfit to amass damning material on Trump. From humble beginnings, it has taken on the shape of a modern-day legend....

The Trump-Russia story has frequently been likened to Watergate, a specious comparison since the latter started with evidence of a crime and the former with publication of an anthology of fables, pornography, and Russian-sourced disinformation put together and distributed by partisan political operatives. The salient comparison is rather in the effect--it has the same feel as Watergate. And it's taking up the same space as Watergate--and that's because comms shops-for-hire like Fusion GPS have assumed the role that the American press used to occupy.

Susan Collins: That Guy Who Called Me a Sell-Out for Defending Obamcare to the Hilt Sure is "Fat" and "Unattractive"

—Ace

She said this to Jack Reed, who is of course a liberal Democrat Senator. Because of course a liberal Democrat is, John McCain style, her very good friend.

Just a lot of bitchiness from our degenerate Mean Girls political caste. This isn't a very serious offense -- but then, nothing they do or say is actually serious. It's all high school Mean Girls put-downs and posturing for social position (such as posturing about opposing Obamacare).

Collins issued her apology after she was heard telling Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I., that Farenthold is "so unattractive it's unbelievable" after a Senate Appropriations subcommittee hearing Tuesday.

"Well, fat guy. He's huge," Collins told Reed. "He's so … he's so unattractive, it's unbelievable. Did you see the picture of him in his pajamas next to this bunny, this Playbook bunny?

Anyone seen Susan Collins? She's not exactly the gold standard of physical beauty herself.

Collins' catty remarks were caught on hot mic. They were a response to Farenthold's statement on a talk radio show that some "northeastern" senators had sold out the party on Obamacare (which is true), and that were this a different era, and were those senators male, he might challenge them to a duel.

The last bit seems a bit histrionic and Social Positioning itself.

Still, it's pretty clear who Susan Collins' Very Good Friends are, and who she considers to be The Deporables in the national high school.

Trump Tweets Repudiation of Obama's Very Late Transition to Let Transgenders in the Armed Forces

—Ace

It's Colonel Steve Austin, not Eve Austin.

Someone in the Trump White House bragged (at least, so a journ0lismist claims) about the political impact of the transition:

Quote from a Trump administration official: "This forces Democrats in Rust Belt states like Ohio, Michigan, and Wisconsin, to take complete ownership of this issue. How will the blue collar voters in these states respond when senators up for re-election in 2018 like Debbie Stabenow are forced to make their opposition to this a key plank of their campaigns?"

I don't understand why you'd publicly declare that a policy had been chosen on the merits, and then also -- quite publicly -- leak it that the policy was chosen mostly on the political advantage of it.

You would have this political advantage without telling people about the political advantage. In fact, you'd have more political advantage. Because now Democrats can deflect the very "ownership" spoken of by saying, "This is just a political ploy by the White House, as a White House staffer admitted..."

Seems to be someone who wants to tell us all how clever he is.

Pro-Tip: Clever people don't have to tell people how clever they are. In fact, clever people often try to make themselves seem not very clever at all.

Princeton U. Looking to Hire Certified (Certified!) "Men's Engagement Manager" to Combat Aggressive Masculinity, Teach Men Not to "Get Tougher," And Help Them Transition Into Docile Young Women

—Ace

I added the last part, but it seems implied, no?

There were four alleged rapes this is in response to -- three allegedly committed by Princeton U. employees, and one allegedly committed by... a student working on the SHARE committee.

A committee which patrols for sexual harassment.

Well done.

Why does everyone else have to pay for Princeton employees' and sexual harassment SJWs' sins?

The job involves 'challenging social constructs that contribute to violence'

They include upturning stereotypes of 'tough men' who can't be 'vulnerable'

The listing appears to frame sexual violence as purely male-on-female

There were 13 violations of sex codes, including rape, at Princeton in 2015-16

Four of them were made by employees; the sex of those involved is unclear

In April, SHARE, the office advertising the new position, was named in a lawsuit

It says 'John Doe' was sexually assaulted twice by a male SHARE associate

Although "John Doe" could be a woman, I'm going to assume it was in fact a guy, making the alleged perp also a guy.

Are you quite sure that masculinity per se is your problem?

The New Jersey university's job listing calls for experts in women's and gender studies, social work or similar fields to 'foster an environment for healthy male social development.'

That will come by 'challenging belief systems and social constructs that contribute to violence and offering alternative options,' the listing says.

...

They will do that by 'enhancing awareness and challenging gender stereotypes, increasing the community's understanding of interpersonal violence dynamics, and reducing behaviors that lead to both perpetration and victimization.'

That includes practices such as telling men that there is nothing shameful about showing vulnerability, and that males should not be encouraged to 'act tougher,' a related Princeton site says.

The clinician may also apply the 'compulsory accountability program for students accused of sexual misconduct under Title IX.'

I got this from a Dan Riehl tweet. Note that the entire tweet is so unbelievably effeminate that Twitter asks if you'd like to translate it from French.

Seriously. I hope that shows up on your screen:

The Morning Rant

—OregonMuse

"Russia is a big story because journalists love America, and America was attacked last year" -- @brianstelter on CNN yesterday

— Michael Tracey (@mtracey) July 25, 2017

"Any of you see that lying little sh*t-weasel Brian Stelter yesterday on CNN? What an embarrassment. 'Journalists love America', my left nut. Stelter and all his journ-o-list buddies have trashed America for years, and now suddenly they're Ernie Pyle? Give me a break. And since when does creepy John Podesta falling for a e-mail phishing scam constitute an 'attack' on America? Stelter is a carbuncle that aspires to be a pimple, and he makes Chris Hayes look like a tower of masculinity. His only good point is that he's not as repulsive as Kurt Eichenwald."

NOW THIS IS JUST MEAN:

BREAKING: Comedian Amy Schumer has been injured and is being rushed to the emergency room for treatment. pic.twitter.com/dJ1gUmhKij

— Black Women 4 Trump (@TallahForTrump) July 22, 2017

Looks like CNN is right about something for once:

Genius:

This wins the internet forever. pic.twitter.com/irRZitb2NP

— Chicks On The Right (@chicksonright) July 25, 2017

And for pure, unadulterated class hatred (and a large dose of pig ignorance), some of the replies to this tweet are hard to beat. I would've thought that a successful business owned by African-American women would be a reason for celebration, but I guess not:

Patricia Williams and her 2 daughters own McDonald’s franchises in LA that employ more than 700 people and make almost $50 million annually. pic.twitter.com/nebrp2dePC

— Crystal Johnson (@Crystal1Johnson) July 21, 2017

(h/t CBD)

Close it up

Mid-Morning Open Thread

—CBD

Some of his works are gauzy (like this one), and some are crisp and clean and almost photo-quality.

The Morning Report 7/26/17

—J.J. Sefton

Good morning kids. Yesterday's kabu-kakke theatre has just left me depressed. And combined with the seeming failure of Jeff Sessions and now evidently Rex Tillerson, I just have to throw my hands up in disgust. So, let's say PDT replaces both of them and if need be his entire cabinet with unapologetic fighters for the cause, there is still a political/bureaucratic machine ready to blockade anything that will take away one iota of power and one red cent of its ill-gotten lucre. That was, is and always will be the problem.

I suppose the most galling thing was the revolting display surrounding John McCain as he entered the Senate in the guise of some revered elder statesman and great American. He's not. He disgusts me. His entire life in politics has been in service of himself and his great, crashing ego. No doubt, in what may have been one of his final performances in the well of the Senate, he showed a complete lack of humility and willingness to even concede that those who oppose him (including people like us) did so quite passionately yet with no personal rancor. He has lived his life as an embittered old hack, defending a corrupt and immoral ruling class while railing against a decent and honest citizenry that seeks moral, civil and cultural restoration. Sadly, since if this revolting display is how he has chosen to exit this mortal coil, alll I can say is "go." And give my regards to Teddy Kennedy when next you see him.

On a more positive note, a woman from PDT's home turf of Queens named Vickie Paladino let loose an epic tirade against Bill DeBolshevik. I don't know what her professional background may be, but as to her temperament, I hope the President finds people exactly like her to staff his administration. Bra-effing-vo!

Anyway, links from around the world, across the nation and up your street. Have a better one and remain blessed.

• GOP-e Hell Bent to Preserve, Protect and Defend Obamacare and Screw Over America
  
• After 51-50 Win to Open Debate, Senate Blocks Immediate Repeal/Replace Bill
  
• In Probable Swan Song, McStains Delivers Embarrassing, Pompous, Bitter Screed
  
• Medicaid: The Snag in the Obamacare Repeal
  
• Dem Leader Flees From Questions About Arrested IT Staffer Imran Awan
  
• Republicans Warn PDT: Do Not Fire Jeff Sessions
  
• John Brennan Openly Incites Executive Branch Insurrection if PDT Fires Mueller
  
• House Opens Its Own Investigation into Lynch/Clinton Relationship in E-Mail Probe
  
• Terrorist-Linked Gutierrez Has Now Funneled $400Gs in Campaign Funds to His Wife
  
• Rush: PDT Stem-Winder at Boy Scout Jamboree Drove the Left Nuts
  
• Cal-Exit Campaign Given Green Light to Start Gathering Signatures
  
• With DNC "Rebranding" Effort, the Far Left Hand Doesn't Like What the Left Hand is Doing
  
• From the Sewer: Why Is Ben Carson Keeping Odious Obama Policies Alive at HUD?
  
• Outstanding! 63-Year-Old Queens Woman Utterly Destroys DeBolshevik in Front of the TV Cameras
  
• Greenfield: Is Turkey Preparing for War with America?
  
• New Pentagon Warning: Whoa, Fat! Could Launch ICBMs Within One Year, May Resume Testing Later This Week

Tuesday Overnight Open Thread (7/25/17)

—Misanthropic Humanitarian

Quote I

“You can't be a real country unless you have a beer and an airline - it helps if you have some kind of football team, or some nuclear weapons, but in the very least you need a beer.” ― Frank Zappa

Quote II

“The best beer in the world is the one in my hand.” ― Charles Papazian

Quote III

“Do you remember your first sip of beer? Terrible! How could anyone like that stuff? But beer, you reflect, is an acquired taste; one gradually trains oneself—or just comes—to enjoy that flavor. What flavor? The flavor of that first sip? No one could like that flavor! Beer tastes different to the experienced beer drinker. Then beer isn't an acquired tast; one doesn't learn to like that first taste; one gradually comes to experience a different, and likable, taste. Had the first sip tasted that way, you would have liked beer wholeheartedly from the beginning!” ― Douglas Hofstadter

Quote IV

“A man has no more right to an opinion for which he cannot account than for a glass of beer for which he cannot pay.” ― Anonymous

Snowflakes. Special f*cking snowflakes. It appears that millennials are killing the beer industry.

*****

A Mother & Father say goodbye to the child they never got to meet. Love.

My daughter was stillborn on July 7. It did not come as a surprise. We knew she was going to die due to an extremely rare fatal neural tube disorder called exencephaly, but we had hoped for a live birth and a few hours with her. A week after the delivery, I spoke about her too-short life for the funeral service at Sunrise Baptist Church in Custer, Washington.

How do you eulogize a girl who never lived? She never crawled, walked, spoke, cried. We don’t even have honest dates for the tombstone, since that clock starts at birth. By the time of her delivery, my daughter had left the building.

*****

Meet Donnie Bumanglag, U.S. army medic who saved Omar Khadr, foreign fighter. Now one rich motherf*cker. Do no harm.

“My mission, my job was just to save him, keep him alive. There was no politics in it then. I was a young Ranger and this was my chance,” Bumanglag says. “I worked on him for over two hours in the back of a helicopter as the sun went down. At the end, I’m working under finger light.”

A young American, half a world away without the 20/20 vision of an armchair quarterback. Or a crystal ball to see the outrageous act of a certain Canadian P.M.

******

Today's modern radicalism. Diversity, it's worse than you thought.

I recently attended an academic conference at the University of Notre Dame called “Intersectional Inquiries and Collaborative Action: Gender and Race.” It felt like a return to my undergraduate years in the early 1990s. I saw women with shaved heads wearing ethnic print scarves, Birkenstocks, and baggy black clothes. Many of the participants smelled of curry and incense. I attended the conference because I was researching the concept of “intersectionality” as part of a year-long fellowship to study academic diversity. A year ago, I knew almost nothing about the diversity movement in academia. Now I’ve learned that it is only the tip of a very large iceberg, and that this movement is more extensive, and more radical, than the anodyne term “diversity” would lead one to ­believe.

*****

Atheism > Christianity, good. Atheism > Islam, bad. Very bad.

Here, by way of example, are a couple of stories readers asked for my thoughts on in the last 24 hours:

Richard Dawkins has become the latest speaker to be prevented from speaking at Berkeley. Professor Dawkins is a world-famous scientist, whose book The Selfish Gene has just been voted "the most inspiring science book of all time" in a poll commissioned by the Royal Society.

His science is not the problem. Dawkins is also an atheist.

That's not the problem, either - or it wasn't when he was principally urinating over the Pope ("a leering old villain in a frock") and the Catholic Church (an "evil corrupt institution" that's also a "child-raping institution"). All three quotes are from just one Washington Post column: that's how respectable and mainstream Dawkins was back then in 2010.

UC-Berkeley a campus full of lily-livered spineless pussies.

*****

Is this "rock star" a busy body who should mine his own business?

“I’ve been doing this for 20 years and I’ve never walked of [sic] stage during a song before,” he wrote. “For almost a whole song I watched a guy stand a row behind a girl flirting and then trying to kiss her… At times she seemed ok with his advances but after the second time of watching her push his face and hands away and try to turn back to watch the show I asked the security guard to go check on them.”

The ONT's opinion. If it was such a problem in the audience, let individuals involved or nearby settle it.

*****

Fake news. Biased news. The News is biased and it is as simple as what is and isn't published/broadcast. Not all deaths are equal.

How many deaths does it take for a natural disaster to be newsworthy? This is a question researchers Thomas Eisensee and David Strömberg asked in a 2007 study.1 The two authors found that for every person killed by a volcano, nearly 40,000 people have to die of a food shortage to get the same probability of coverage in US televised news.2 In other words, the type of disaster matters to how newsworthy networks find it to be. The visualizations below show the extent of this observed “news effect”. The first chart shows the proportion of each type of disaster that receives news coverage, and the second shows the “casualties ratio”, which tells us—all else equal—how many casualties would make media coverage equally likely for each type of disaster.

*****

The 1st Amendment, funny or tasteless?

*****

I don't know about you, but when I went to summer camp it was a vacation for my Mom & Dad. Are 'Helicopter Parents' ruining summer camp?

"It beeped in the envelope. That's how we knew."

Leslie Conrad is the director of Clemson Outdoor Lab in Pendleton, S.C., which runs several different camps during the summer. Clemson bans cellphones and other electronic devices for campers.

That makes sense. We traditionally think of summer camp as a place to swim in the lake and weave friendship bracelets, not text and play video games.

But sometimes, Conrad says, parents will give their children a decoy to turn in and a second phone to keep hidden. And, a few years ago, an 11-year-old camper was sent a cellphone in a care package. "We just held on to it and sent it back home at the end of the session," Conrad says.

*****

When is a sammich not a sammich? When the local fishwrap says it is.

It is difficult to admit when you are wrong, so it’s all the more admirable that the Louisville Courier-Journal has issued a correction to six previous articles, published between 1887 and 1966, which erroneously refer to “hot dogs” as “sandwiches.”

*****

The ONT Musical Interlude

July 25, 1960, Roy Orbison reached No.2 on the US singles chart with ‘Only the Lonely,’ his first hit. The song was turned down by The Everly Brothers and Elvis Presley, so Orbison decided to record the song himself. via thisdayinmusic.com

***

July 25, 1970, The Carpenters started a four week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with '(They Long To Be) Close To You'. The first of three US No.1's and 17 other Top 40 hits. The song was written in 1963 by Hal David and Burt Bacharach and was first offered to Herb Alpert, who said he didn't feel comfortable singing the line 'so they sprinkled moon dust in your hair'. via thisdayinmusic.com

*****

In a just world, certain people would never see the light of day. Islamic female genital mutilation.|

On July 19, U.S. District Court Judge Bernard Friedman denied bail for Dr. Jumana Nagarwala, a physician, as the Detroit Free Press reported, “accused of cutting the genitals of two Minnesota girls as part of a religious procedure.” According to the court, Nagarwala may have subjected as many as 100 girls to the procedure over the last 12 years.

Prosecutors also accuse co-defendant Dr. Fakhruddin Attar of letting Nagarwala use his clinic for the genital mutilation, with his wife Farida Attar “holding the girls’ hands during the procedures.”

What a barbaric faith.

*****

Truth or bullshit? Snopes needs to raise money or go bust.

Snopes.com, one of the internet's first and most famous fact-checking websites, said Monday that a previous website hosting vendor continues to "hold the Snopes.com web site hostage," and the site is in danger of shutting down if it doesn't raise $500,000.

Snopes has started a GoFundMe campaign and has raised just under $55,000 by just over 2,000 people in 4 hours.

*****

This makes me want to run out and sign up for Single payer health care here in the U.S.A.

Medicaid patients with glaucoma received less testing than those with commercial health insurance, according to a study from the American Academy of Ophthalmology.

Researchers evaluated 21,766 individuals who were 40 years or older and newly diagnosed with open-angle glaucoma between 2007 and 2011. Of these individuals, 18,372 were covered by commercial health insurance and 3,394 were covered by Medicaid.

"Medicaid recipients were 234 percent more likely to not receive any glaucoma testing in the 15 months after initial diagnosis," the study explains.

*****

Bill Whittle and the "boys" are at it again. Always entertaining, always educational.

*****

From tonight's You can't make this shit up file.

He soon met the minor for the first and only time — describing her as a “wonderful girl” — but after taking a DNA test, learned she was not his after all.
Only Cornejo’s ex-girlfriend and the state still want the $US65,000 ($82,000) in back payments. “I never thought in my whole life I would have to defend myself of something that I am innocent of,” he said.
Texas’ family code, chapter 161, states that even if one is not the biological father, they still owe support payments that accrued before the paternity test proves otherwise. In Cornejo’s case, that amounts to some $US65,000.

******

Hey Whitey, No need to apply. Or this isn't going to work out well. h/t ibguy

*****

If you're naked, stay home and don't become a Genius Award Winner.

*****

HIV cured? Tonight's Feel Good Story of The Day.

*****

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

Notice: Posted with permisson by AceCorp, LLC. Microchip Free.

Close it up

Department of Justice Lawyers Still Suing Little Sisters of the Poor and Other Religiously-Oriented Organizations Over Obamacare Birth Control/Abortion Mandate

—Ace

Message to Trump: This must end. End it.

DOJ lawyers have continued to keep alive a slew of cases appealing a 2014 district court ruling that granted an injunction from the mandate to several Catholic organizations. The Supreme Court vacated an appeals court ruling against The Little Sisters of the Poor and similar organizations in 2016, sending the cases back to the lower courts. Many religious freedom advocates expected that the Trump administration, which has vowed to protect The Little Sisters and other organizations burdened by the contraceptive mandate, would drop the legal campaign against the religious organizations. But more than six months into the Trump era, the legal fights are still alive.

Although Trump signed an executive order directing the DOJ to consider and propose an alternate rule which would insulate religiously-oriented organizations from compliance with the birth control/abortion mandate in Obamacare, no such rule has actually been published, so the situation remains as it was.

Also seems like a possible firing offense.

Adam Kredo Reports State Department Was in "Open War" With White House, Ignoring Policy Edicts and Hiring Orders

—Ace

Maybe it's time to clean house -- finally.

The State Department under Secretary Rex Tillerson has been locked in a growing power struggle with the White House that has angered officials in the West Wing and sparked claims that the Trump administration's top diplomatic organ is now in "open war" with the White House on a range of critical issues, including the Israeli-Palestinian impasse, Iran, the crisis with Qatar, and other matters, according to multiple sources who spoke to the Washington Free Beacon about the situation.

The State Department is said to be in a state of "massive dysfunction," with top officials working under Tillerson ignoring White House directives on critical staffing issues and key policy matters, according to multiple sources, including administration allies who are said to be increasingly frustrated with what is perceived as the White House's inability to control its own federal agencies.

BTW, remember that Tony Scaramucci said he'd be having a sit-down with his underlings yesterday and would fire any leakers?

This FoxNation article isn't coming up for me, but the twitter headline is White House Aide Quits Before Scaramucci Can Fire Him.

But I can't read it. Maybe it'll come up for you.

Pakistani-American IT Guy -- Subject of a Criminal Probe, and From Whom the DNC's Hard Drives Were Recovered, But Only After Being Smashed By a Hammer -- Arrested as He Attempts to Flee Country
Update: DWS Fires-- Finally

—Ace

The media continues giving no f***s.

Update: Charged with bank fraud.

Update: Fired. Finally.

Trump Shifts Iran Compliance Certification Authority Away from State Department to His Own Team
Update: Tillerson Now "Taking a Little Time Off"

—Ace

Or at least he's trying to do that.

President Donald Trump has reportedly sidelined the State Department and entrusted White House staffers with making the potential case for withholding certification of Iran at the next 90-day review of the nuclear deal, Foreign Policy reported.

According to the report, the president made the decision after his "contentious meeting" with Secretary of State Rex Tillerson last week.

Newsmax reported:

“This is about the president asking Tillerson at the last certification meeting 90 days earlier to lay the groundwork so Trump could consider his options," one of the sources said.

"Tillerson did not do this, and Trump is infuriated. He can't trust his secretary of state to do his job, so he is turning to the few White House staffers he trusts the most," the source added.

Tillerson, it is reported, is generally "frustrated" (possibly by this maneuver specifically) and is considering resigning.

CNN reports that Secretary of State Rex Tillerson is becoming “increasingly frustrated” with President Donald Trump and his administration to the point where he is allegedly considering a resignation from his post, and could quit before 2017 ends.

Sources reportedly close to Tillerson told CNN that the Secretary of State is losing patience with Trump and, as a result, there may be a “Rexit” in the near future.

Except for the Iran certification, Tillerson hasn't impressed me as especially good or especially bad. He's just a warm body filling a hole.

My problem with forcing Tillerson out is the same I have with forcing Sessions out: Who's going to take this job?

No one takes a stressful job except for one reason: to increase their reputation, power, and personal earning potential.

It doesn't seem like being a Secretary in the Trump Administration is the gateway to accomplishing any of those things.

So who comes in? Who has the stature enough, and the Establishment blessing enough (because you know no man comes into the Kingdom of Government except through the Establishment), and is also willing to be professionally humiliated down the line, to become the SecState?

Update: Tillerson "taking a little time off."

McConnell's Next Mysterious Obamacare Gambit: A "Skinny" Repeal of Just the Least Popular Parts of Obamacare?

—Ace

It's not nothing, but it does seem to be very low-cal and unsatisfying substitute for what we were promised.

Republican senators are planning to pursue a "skinny" repeal of Obamacare if Tuesday's Senate votes to open debate on health care and pass the current GOP bill both fail.

The so-called "skinny" repeal would be a series of amendments to dispose of a few key components of the Affordable Care Act that Republicans have identified as being particularly burdensome, NBC News reports.

The first vote on Tuesday will be to open debate on the health care measure. Should that "motion to proceed" pass, the Senate will debate and vote on multiple approaches to the current health care bill.

...

The Senate would then move to vote on the current Senate replacement bill, the Better Care Reconciliation Act. However, the BCRA includes newly added amendments from Sen. Ted Cruz (R, Texas) and Sen. Rob Portman (R, Ohio) that have not been scored by the Congressional Budget Office and would likely need 60 votes, rather than a simple majority of 50, to pass.

McCain's headed to Washington, and Mike Pence is standing by to break ties, for these votes.

But the #FakeNewsRepublicans -- Collins, Murfluvsky, and Caputo -- have already vowed they won't pass any kind of repeal without a "replacement." In other words, they just want to keep Obamacare.

Protesters have delayed the beginning of the vote, chanting "Kill the bill, don't kill us."

#FakeNewsRepublicans Lisa Muffzinsky and Susan Collins have re-announced they will fight to keep Obamacare. If any other #FakeNewsRepublicans defect, they can't even have a debate on the question.

Decision "Soon" on Whether Sessions Will Stay or Go

—Ace

Sessions' allies -- including many conservatives -- are angry at how Trump has treated Sessions, including Trump recently tweeting that had he known Sessions would recuse himself in the Russia matter, he'd've never appointed him AG.

Or, like this one:

I don't think Trump can have what he wants here. He seems to be pressuring Sessions to either un-recuse himself and end the Mueller probe or resign so he can appoint someone new who will end the Mueller probe.

The first seems impossible -- Sessions has declared himself conflicted on that issue -- and the latter seems no more likely.

Anyone Trump names as AG nominee will of course be asked -- repeatedly, and with no wiggle room -- if they think Mueller should continue doing his job. No one, not even in DC, is going to claim the Mueller probe should go on just to get confirmed and then turn around and fire him post-confirmation.

Further, I don't even see who would agree to take the job, given Trump's public scoldings of Sessions.

Trump wants something impossible from the AG.

If Trump wants Mueller fired, he's going to have to step up to the plate and do it on his own authority, without trying to find the cover of a lackey to do it for him.

Kurt Schlicter lays out the case for Trump to just man the hell up and fire Mueller -- the right way -- here:

Trump must eventually fire Robert Mueller, a partisan tool carrying water for his Establishment pals as he oversees an utterly corrupt “investigation” where the only person we actually know committed any wrongdoing is his bestest buddy Jim Comey. But Trump can’t just lash out and do it, though it is well within his political and moral right to do so. No, he’s got to do it cleverly, with cunning, in a way that shows the American people exactly why Mueller’s witch hunt is a flaming dumpster fire of conflicts of interest and contempt for the right of normal Americans to have a say in their own governance.

Trump has to set the stage before he pulls the trigger and puts the coup de grace into the temple of this appalling fiasco. He has to do it so the American people will see and understand why ending this idiocy is so absolutely necessary to preserve our Republic despite the mainstream media’s best effort to hide the truth.

Trump needs to seize the initiative from Leaky Bob. You know, I keep hearing how Mueller was this squared-away Marine officer, but through these incessant leaks his organization demonstrates a complete lack of both integrity and discipline. Mueller seems unwilling or unable to exercise any kind of leadership over his team of Hillary donors, or to instill a culture of seriousness and impartiality. The continuing misconduct of his out-of-control, ever-expanding fiefdom demonstrates that he must be relieved of command. And here’s the letter the president should send to him to set the stage to do it....

Huh, maybe Trump should name Schlichter as attorney general. He is a lawyer and an Army cavalry Colonel. Colonels get promoted to general all the time.

BTW: IBD also argues that Mueller's decision to grant himself additional jurisdiction -- and go outside his appointed ambit to search for whatever financial irregularities he can find -- is an automatic firing offense and should be treated as exactly that.

Fusion GPS Co-Founder Will Plead the Fifth

—Ace

Not that it matters. Apparently the only thing that matters is Jared Kushner's closed door testimony, and what Adam Schiff will claim he heard leaked about it later.

Glenn Simpson, whose Fusion GPS firm has been tied to anti-Trump efforts and pro-Russian lobbying, will not talk to lawmakers in response to a subpoena, the leaders of the Senate Judiciary Committe said Friday.

Committee chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, and ranking member Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., confirmed in a statement that they subpoenaed Simpson to appear before the committee Wednesday as part of a hearing about the influence of foreign lobbying in last year's presidential election.

"Simpson’s attorney has asserted that his client will invoke his Fifth Amendment rights in response to the subpoena," Grassley and Feinstein said.

It's an op.

By the way, the Democrats took "intel" from Russian spies and spread it around.

While the mainstream news media hunts for evidence of Trump-Russia collusion, the public record shows that Democrats have willfully used Moscow disinformation to influence the presidential election against Donald Trump and attack his administration.

The disinformation came in the form of a Russian-fed dossier written by former British intelligence agent Christopher Steele. It contains a series of unverified criminal charges against Mr. Trump’s campaign aides, such as coordinating

...

Mr. Steele makes clear that his unproven charges came almost exclusively from sources linked to the Kremlin and Russian President Vladimir Putin. He identified his sources as “a senior Russian Foreign Ministry figure,” a former “top level Russian intelligence officer active inside the Kremlin,” a “senior Kremlin official” and a “senior Russian government official.”

Morning Rant

—OregonMuse

"So I'm watching CNN the other day (stop laughing) and they show a bunch of anti-Trump protestors marching around and waving signs, and it's obvious that the signs all have the same slogan and all look to be professionally printed. Why does it never occur to any of CNN's crack journalists to ask one of the protestors where did they get their signs from, and who printed them? Or, how about: did you ride to the protest on one of those buses over there, and where did the buses come from and who paid for them? These seem to be simple, basic, Journalism 101 questions that they ought to be asking right out of the gate, but never do. Sigh. Nobody listens to a gorilla."

Below the fold, why Britain is doomed:

You can't hide from us if your spewing abuse from behind a computer screen. Our boys & gals in blue will find you 💻 👀#999WhatsYourEmergency

— Wiltshire Police (@wiltshirepolice) July 24, 2017

Also, just a reminder, in case you need one, that progressives will never stop trying to separate you from your life, liberty, and property:

Update: Abi claims to have been assaulted by Uber.

(h/t @ghostie55555 on Twitter)

Close it up

Mid-Morning Open Thread

—CBD

The Morning Report 7/25/17

—J.J. Sefton

Good morning kids. Only Tuesday and we're chock full 'o linkage this morning. First up, the rumors around the President's displeasure with the performance of Jeff Sessions and the latter's departure are swirling, with reports of him being replaced by Rudy Giuliani and now Ted Cruz appearing. I have always thought of Jeff Sessions as a decent, honorable man who was one of PDT's first, full-throated supporters right out of the box. He has been very good so far on one of the President's biggest policy items, border control and immigration. Yet, in many other ways, he has, to say the least, been a disappointment. In his defense, when you have a DoJ that consists of thousands of employees who not only oppose their boss but are actively sabotaging him and dare I say would not be at all upset if he suffered the same fate as Steve Scalise, your effectiveness cannot help but be compromised. But there is no excuse for Sessions stepping on his johnson and recusing himself, thereby allowing the kangaroo court of the Russia hoax to go forward. That so good a man should be so lousy an AG. If he does go, maybe the next AG will actually RICO the shit out of Soros, Hillary and Obama. I can dream, can't I?

The other big story is today's vote on the GOP version of kabu-kakke healthcare Three Card Monty. The only thing that should be voted on, in a just and sane world, is the repeal of the 2010 ACA in full as well as the dismantling of the industry-imposed and government approved monopoly on health insurance. But the only thing that is immortal in this world is a government bureaucracy. And now, irony of ironies, with the GOP in full control of the government, the Left is floating the idea of Charlie Gard-care thinking that the GOP wing of their party will embrace "bipartisanship!!!" and actually institute single payer. Think of that; the Left is electorally neutralized and yet they have a chance to institute their 100-year wet dream of national health --- while being completely out of power. If the GOP even so much as hints that this is open to consideration, it really is the bitter end. For them and probably for us as well.

On a positive note, I throw you a lifeline of a tax plan proposal from the conservatives that abolishes the IRS. Yeah, I know. But at least it's something to raise your spirits even if it doesn't have a snowball's chance in Hell. If nothing else, it's good to know that some people are thinking right.

Anyway, links from around the world, across the nation and up your street. Have a better one and remain blessed.

• McStains Returns to Senate Ahead of Healthcare Renege/Relabel Vote
  
• GOP Hurtles Towards Healthcare Vote Despite Lack of Details and Doubts on Vote Count
  
• Jeff Sessions Is on the Way Out
  
• Report: Teh Ted to Replace Sessions
  
• Rush Responds to Ryan Saying "We Weren't Elected to Defend Trump": FOAD
  
• Red Meat: Over 150 Conservatives Call for Abolishing the IRS as Part of Ambitious Tax Reform Plan
  
• Fire Mueller
  
• AIDS Breakthrough? Drug Cocktail Reportedly "Virtually Cures" 8 Year-Old Girl
  
• Caliphate-fornia: Davis Imam Openly Calls for Annihilation of Jews in Public Sermon
  
• Former Aide to Colon Bowel: Biggest Threat to Middle East Christians --- JOOZ
  
• Palestinians, Murderer's Mother, Hand Out Candy Celebrating Slaughter of Jewish Family
  
• Sewer Notes 1: HUD Inspector General Touts Transparency, While Covering Up Huge Agency Problems
  
• Sewer Notes 2: USDA Defies PDT by Promoting Trade with Iran
  
• Horrifying Video from Last Year Released Showing Jordanian Soldier Killing 3 Green Berets
  
• Good Roger Simon: Chuck Schemer's Criticism of Hillary Is Worse Than it Seems
  
• Chi-Coms Reinforce Border with Whoa, Fat! In Advance of Possible Crisis
  
• What People Pressuring Pregnant Women to Abort for Medical Reasons Never Tell Them

Monday Overnight Open Thread (7/24/17) Nothing In Particular Edition

—Misanthropic Humanitarian

Quote I

Fettucini alfredo is macaroni and cheese for adults. Mitch Hedberg

Quote II

Experience is that marvelous thing that enables you to recognize a mistake when you make it again. Franklin P. Jones

Quote III

However beautiful the strategy, you should occasionally look at the results.Sir Winston Churchill

A few more things to think about. Little known facts about serial killers.

*****

Previously, The ONT covered the dust up between Olive Garden and a blogger. Olive Garden backs down.

Regardless of the threat, Malone has kept his faith in Olive Garden, and told Gizmodo that he thinks the letter is just “a misunderstanding by an overeager young member of their legal team, or possibly an automated system.”

And he is right. An Olive Garden spokesperson told Gizmodo that allofgarden.com “was flagged through automated means and the letter was generated.” The company has since reviewed the complaint and determined that no action was necessary.

*****

Doomed! Doomed!!! Breastfeeding woman sues McDonald's. Oh yeah, she was breastfeeding a DOG.

*****

Shit continues to hit the fan at Chipotle.

It’s been a hard week for ol’ Chipotle: On Tuesday, a franchise in Virginia closed briefly after multiple customers fell violently ill with what turned out to be norovirus, a throwback to the Great Chipotle Poisonings of 2015. But there’s more, because while burrito fans were getting sick in Virginia (and documenting their experiences in great detail), customers at a Dallas location complained that mice were falling from the ceiling, on account of what a Chipotle spokesperson said was a “small structural gap in the building.” (It has since been repaired.)

And now, FOX31 reports, shareholders have filed a class-action lawsuit against the chain, claiming Chipotle “deceived them with misleading information that the company had fixed its problems with food safety and now stocks are sinking.”

*****

Board games. A staple among Americans for years. One of the favorites, Monopoly. The origin of Monopoly.

Determined to prove the merit of George’s proposal, Magie invented and in 1904 patented what she called the Landlord’s Game. Laid out on the board as a circuit (which was a novelty at the time), it was populated with streets and landmarks for sale. The key innovation of her game, however, lay in the two sets of rules that she wrote for playing it.

*****

One of Abraham Lincoln's greatest writings, May not have been written by Lincoln.

The rumor that Lincoln hadn’t written the Bixby letter was apparently started by the man who claimed to be the true author: Lincoln’s secretary, John Hay.

*****

As Harry Callahan would say, A woman has to know her limitations.

*****

Perhaps they should stick to Dominion over the earth and saving souls.

“From the scientific point of view, the sentence that the earth is warmed by human activity is as true as the sentence: The earth is round!” said Archbishop Marcelo Sánchez Sorondo.

The archbishop has been a consistent and zealous promoter of manmade climate change as a non-negotiable Church issue, despite the status of care for the environment as a prudential matter.

Climate change ideology continues to be contested as a ploy perpetrated with manipulated data by the left to enact environmental regulations and taxes.

Even so, Archbishop Sorondo dismissed deniers of climate change in a recent Vatican Radio interview as “a small, negligible minority.”

Minority? I would be careful on the majority and minority outlook on things, Padre.

*****

As a child my younger brother and I would bicycle for hours. We would travel to see friends. Travel to the store. Where a quarter got you a bottle of pop and a candy bar. Travel to diffferent towns. If we weren't bicycling we were playing pickup ball games with neighborhood kids, building forts in a nearby woods. There were chores involved as well. We didn't have cable tv. Hell, I was my Dad's remote control for our 3 channels after dinner. Did we turn out badly? Nope, don't think so. Today's child rearing ways may not be good for the children.

Yet one thing is certain – the level of parental involvement and supervision in the 1970s was not a tenth of what is expected today. Fast forward to 2014 and a woman was arrested for allowing her nine-year-old to play in the park while she worked.

So what impact do increasing levels of parental involvement have on children? Let’s take a look at the evidence.

A recent survey of children aged eight to 12 found that indoor play is now the norm, a third have never splashed in a puddle and the distance children are allowed to play from home has shrunk by 90% since 1970.

*****

The next preventable crisis in the Arab Penninsula? Cholera.

"The great tragedy is that this cholera outbreak is a preventable, man-made humanitarian catastrophe," Maurer said in a statement. "Further deaths can be prevented, but warring parties must ease restrictions and allow the import of medicines, food, and essential supplies and they must show restraint in the way they conduct warfare."

The report came as the number of Yemenis killed by the disease exceeded 1,800.

Cholera, a highly contagious diarrheal infection spread through water contaminated by human waste, can be efficiently treated with the immediate replacement of lost fluids. Without treatment the disease can kill even healthy adults within a few hours.

*****

Mayor de Blasio, a man of the people. Clean people that is.

Mayor de Blasio ventured into the city’s decrepit subway system on Sunday — but didn’t have to face the foul-smelling and often crazy vagrants that ordinary New Yorkers are forced to contend with every day.

That’s because police were ordered to roust all the homeless people from two stations ahead of the mayor’s four-stop press event as he rode from his Park Slope gym to his new re-election headquarters in Downtown Brooklyn, law-enforcement sources told The Post.

*****

Good work if you can get it. Dean Wormer he isn't.

Puliafito resigned his $1.1-million-a-year post in March 2016, in the middle of the spring term, saying he wanted to explore outside opportunities.

Three weeks earlier, a 21-year-old woman had overdosed in his presence in a Pasadena hotel room. The woman was rushed to a hospital, where she recovered. Police found methamphetamine in the hotel room, according to a police report, but made no arrests. Puliafito has never spoken publicly about the incident, which is being reported here for the first time.

*****

The ONT Musical Interlude

Are you familiar with Frank Zappa's Tinsel Town Rebellion LP? If you are, then you are aware of the Frank Zappa Panty Quilt.

Frank Zappa's 1981 tour featured a musical sequence called "Panty Rap" that you don't want your boss to hear at the workplace, due to the subject matter. He encouraged women to throw their underpants on stage. Many women responded, and bras were often thrown, too. After the tour was over, he commissioned this quilt made of the collected underwear. Emily Alana James is the artist who converted the clothing into a quilt

July 24, 1965, The Byrds were at No.1 on the UK singles chart with their version of the Bob Dylan song 'Mr Tambourine Man'. The first Bob Dylan song to reach No.1. The Byrds' recording of the song was influential in initiating the musical subgenre of folk rock, leading many contemporary bands to mimic its fusion of jangly guitars and intellectual lyrics. via thisdayinmusic.com

July 24, 1971, Paul Revere and the Raiders went to No.1 on the US singles chart with 'Indian Reservation'. The song was first recorded in 1959 by Marvin Rainwater and released as 'The Pale Faced Indian' and then later by Don Fardon in 1968. via thisdayinmusic.com

No word if this is the 2020 theme music for Liz Warren.

*****

Fake science. Fake news.

Neuroskeptic, a working neuroscientist who anonymously blogs about science for Discover, set up the sting, submitting the nonsensical study to nine scientific journals – only to have four of them accept it.

The journals approached are among those sometimes described as predatory in science circles because they exploit researchers into paying fees to have their papers published in them.

But in this case, three of the publications just went ahead and published the fake paper straight up – clearly not having read or checked it first – even without requiring payment of a fee.

*****

He led the Wisconsin brigade of Never Trump. He left his successful radio program in part because he was tired of Trump voters. He now lives and writes in the "faculty lounge" . What Trump is doing to the conservative character.

Trump will not, of course, always be with us. But he will leave a mark on the culture and character of conservativism for a very long time.

Yes, Hillary Clinton as the POTUS wouldn't have a left on mark on culture.

*****

Taking Pride: The ‘Walmart Guy’ vs. Anti-Capitalism Millennials.

Though we have never met, I smiled recently seeing my favorite Walmart employee. For over ten years, I witnessed him gathering shopping carts in the parking lot. He is a white millennial who only has the use of one arm, walks with a severe limp and appears slightly mentally challenged. I once saw him leaving work driving a new looking compact car. My wife Mary prepared his taxes when she worked for a tax preparation company. I thought, “Hey, this brother has got it goin’ on — doin’ his thing.”

The Walmart guy could easily qualify for disability; sit home on his butt allowing taxpayers to take care of him. Far too many able-bodied millennials feel entitled, believing government should provide them free everything.

*****

Want to meet a fun girl? Elisabeth Sherman. Not.

At least one U.S. publication doesn't see the big deal. Food & Wine—a magazine devoted to celebrating some of the specific things Rome has banned: food and wine—apparently doesn't see the big deal with the Roman law.

"Truthfully, it doesn't sound like the law should be difficult to abide," writes F&W's Elisabeth Sherman. "You'll still be able to enjoy Rome with respect, and a glass of wine in your hand, at least until two in the morning. By then, you should be in bed anyway."

She's not fun and neither is Italy and their new food laws.

*****

The US often follows the lead of Europe. Will the US follow again? The U.K to register drones.

The government of the UK said on Saturday all drones larger than 250 grams—slightly more than half a pound, for all you ignorant Americans—will need to be registered with the Department of Transport following a report by aviation authorities drones as small as 400 grams could damage helicopter windshields. Drone owners will also be required to pass a “safety awareness test” demonstrating they understand UK rules on safety and privacy.

Aviation Minister Lord Martin Callanan said in a statement on the government’s web site that he recognized the usefulness of drones, but “Like all technology, drones too can be misused. By registering drones, introducing safety awareness tests to educate users we can reduce the inadvertent breaching of airspace restrictions to protect the public.”

*****

Socialistic paradise, not really paradise.

MEXICO CITY (Sputnik) — On Friday, the country’s parliament appointed 13 judges of the Supreme Court and their 20 deputies. The day before, the Supreme Court itself denounced the appointments as non-legitimate.
"All of them, one after another, will go in jail, and they will all have their assets and property frozen," Maduro said late on Sunday in his weekly TV address.

*****

Ethanol bill defeated in the US Senate.

In a major defeat for the ethanol industry, senators of both parties joined forces late last week to sink a controversial bill that would’ve allowed gasoline with 15 percent ethanol to be sold year-round.
The measure had become a flash point on Capitol Hill, dividing both Republicans and Democrats — with senators from ethanol-producing states supporting the bill — while also uniting diverse groups in opposition, such as environmentalists, boaters and motorcyclists. The legislation also represented a key opportunity for the ethanol sector, as the expansion of E15 sales would’ve been a financial boon and, to at least some degree, a marketplace defeat for the oil industry

*****

With a headline like this: That pigs are smart and sensitive is not in doubt. How can we justify continuing to kill them for food? The ONT had to share with you.

Pigs aren’t just cerebral, though: they have heart. When others are in distress, they can express concern and act with empathy. A description of pig behaviours, derived from scientific experiments and compiled by Lori Marino of the Kimmela Center for Animal Advocacy and Christina M Colvin at Georgia Institute of Technology is so impressive, you might think it was about chimpanzees, elephants or whales.

How do we justify killing pigs? Because they taste damn good!!!! That is reason enough.

*****

NEW AMSTERDAM LAW CRIMINALIZES THE ACT OF UNSUCCESSFULLY FLIRTING WITH WOMEN IN PUBLIC

Amsterdam, the largest city in the Netherlands and once a mecca for those interested in pot and prostitution, is in the process of criminalizing men approaching women. Though the Netherlands has enjoyed a reputation as a liberal country sans the SJW extremism of Scandinavia, this might be about to change.

The new laws in Amsterdam are aimed at male actions that “frighten” women, according to one of the lawmakers responsible. This kind of highly subjective test, in an age where women write 2,000 word diatribes on “manspreading” on public transportation, is ripe for abuse and overuse.

*****

Can't fall asleep? Crank up the adrenaline and become a Genius Award Winner.

*****

Placing their welfare aside, Tonight's Feel Good Story of The Day.

******

Tonight's ONT has been brought to you by Moron Meetups.

*****

Notice: Posted with permission by AceCorp, LLC. Made with pride in the U.S.A.

Close it up

Berkeley Radio Station Cancels Richard Dawkins Appearance Over His Denigrating Comments About Islamism-- But Not Over His Far More Extensive History of Attacks on Christianity

—Ace

Feels like our Masters have now settled upon our official State Religion.

Dawkins himself brought up the question on everyone's minds:

I am known as a frequent critic of Christianity and have never been de-platformed for that. Why do you give Islam a free pass? Why is it fine to criticise Christianity but not Islam?

And Here We Go Again: "Thor," Who Was Turned Into a Woman in the Comic Books and Saw Sales Plummet, Now Says James Bond Should Be a Woman Too

—Ace

Marvel Comics has replaced almost every single marquee character with a more "diverse" one: Thor is now Natalie Portman (Jane Porter). Captain America is now a Nazi/Hydra undercover operative, so the mantle of Captain America is worn by Sam Wilson, formerly called The Falcon. The Hulk has been replaced by the long-standing character She-Hulk -- though she's now just the Hulk -- and also by a young Chinese-American Millennial called Amadeus Cho, often called "Amadeus Bro" because of his Millennial/Radical, Dude! sort of persona.

His book isn't called "The Incredible Hulk." His book is called "The Totally Awesome Hulk." Because Radical, Dude!

Ironman is now "Ironheart" -- Tony Stark is missing in action, and a 15 year old black girl is now Ironman.

Even Wolverine isn't Wolverine any more -- Wolverine is now that girl from the Logan movie, called, formerly, X-23, but now officially "Wolverine." (An old version of Logan from a different timeline is also present in the universe, but he's called Old Man Logan, not Wolverine.)

How are the sales doing?

Dumpster fire, baby.

Marvel Comics aren’t doing well. Sales have declined, even as Marvel has pushed out every major event and crossover it can over the past two years. In a recent interview during the Marvel Retailer Summit, Marvel VP of Sales David Gabriel decided to ignore all the problems and criticism in order to place the blame on diversity.

What we heard was that people didn’t want any more diversity. They didn’t want female characters out there. That’s what we heard, whether we believe that or not. I don’t know that that’s really true, but that’s what we saw in sales. We saw the sales of any character that was diverse, any character that was new, our female characters, anything that was not a core Marvel character, people were turning their nose up against. That was difficult for us because we had a lot of fresh, new, exciting ideas that we were trying to get out and nothing new really worked.

Has it occurred to any of these people that Tony Stark is more than just the suit? Like, Batman is more than just the costume; people respond to the character of Bruce Wayne, too. You can't just take a completely different character -- and one the audience hasn't spent decades following -- and put him in the same costume or give her the same name and say "This is your new Batman."

I guess Chris Hemsworth doesn't know the gender switch was tried for the character he plays on screen -- Thor changed into "Thor, The Female Version" -- and the numbers cratered.

Because now he's calling for the same thing for James Bond.

Chris Hemsworth is best known for his role as the Norse god Thor in the “Avengers” movies. But outside of cinema, Hemsworth has had a hard time fitting in with the progressive left, who have slammed him for violating every progressive tenet, ranging from cultural appropriation to transphobia.

Unable to stop making politically incorrect gaffes, Hemsworth has now taken it upon himself to call for a woman to play the role of the next James Bond.

In an interview with W Magazine about the new film “Atomic Blonde,” the actor revealed that he would like to see Charlize Theron take on the role.

If Charlize Theron is already playing a super-spy clearly modeled as a female version of James Bond -- why does she actually need to play "James Bond" as well?

It's as if they're admitting from the start that they have no faith in a real female character. It has to be a knockoff gender-swapped female character who just cannibalizes the existing fan base of the male original.

This is so stupid -- "James Bond" isn't a unique individual. He's a 00 agent -- and there are more of them. If you wanted a "female James Bond," you could just run a movie in the same universe as the James Bond franchise, and just make her -- get this! -- a completely distinct, original character that is a female 00 operative.

Say, aren't Shared Universes the big thing anyway?

You wouldn't even have to make her a British agent. You could say the CIA has its own 00-type program and she's an American. To make her different than the James Bond character. What an idea.

Then you could make money by following the Avengers model of a crossover/team-up. Why, they could even start on opposite sides of the adventure and have a fight before realizing they're actually working against the same enemy, albeit from two different angles.

But no, we should all follow the Lady Ghostbusters and Marvel failed models of just gender-swapping established heroes and hope it'll work out better this time.

Can we have any female characters who aren't fundamentally parasitic free-riders on the goodwill and legacy of male characters?

I guess not. I guess we're all done with making new characters or any kind of new movies, period.

Frankly, I want the media destroyed far more than I care about another dismal James Bond movie so I hope they actually take Hemsworth's advice and just set their IP on fire, forever.

Trump Cuts Funding for Extremely Ineffective Teen Sex Education Program, and Media, Get This, Flips Out About It

—Ace

They want to control our bodies!

Well, maybe. Or maybe they just don't see the point of pissing away tens of millions of dollars on teen sex education programs in which the students have unsafe/unprotected sex just as frequently as kids who did not attend any program at all.

Mollie Hemingway reports:

In response to the weak evidence of positive effects, much less positive sustained impact, Health and Human Services recommended defunding the program after June 30, 2018. A non-profit news site called Reveal News wrote a highly critical piece on the funding change, without mentioning the ineffectiveness of the programs. Many other media outlets followed suit, publishing one-sided stories that treated good intentions as sufficient proof of good-enough results for hundreds of millions of dollars in taxpayer funding. Some media outlets falsely stated that the funded teen pregnancy programs have been shown to be effective.

“Trump’s hires at HHS were notably hostile to teen pregnancy programs that worked. Now they’ve killed them,” claimed one fact-challenged columnist at the Los Angeles Times. No media outlet mentioned the ineffectiveness of the programs, whether it was NPR, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Politico, Business Insider, The Independent, Forbes, Teen Vogue, or Bustle, even though effectiveness reports are right there on the agency’s web site.

After noting that, she goes through the studies proving the complete non-effectiveness of the sex programs (including the abstinence only ones). In only a handful of cases are programs effective even in slightly reducing sexual activity (or unprotected sexual activity, depending on the program's agenda) and only that for a short period of time -- after a number of months, sexual activity returns to what it was before, and just like kids who never went to these Let's Put the Taxpayer's Money in a Joker-Sized Pile and Burn it programs in the first place.

It's almost as if their agendas are spending other people's money and sexualizing teenagers and not, as they may claim, teaching teens to be "responsible" when it comes to sex.

This Guy

—Ace

I wonder what his girlfriend thinks about all of this. *

* No I don't.

New White House Comms Director Anthony Scarmucci: If People Keep Leaking, I'm Going to "Fire Everbody"

—Ace

I like this man's enthusiasms.

Enthusiasms. Enthusiasms.

Regarding leakers:

"They will get fired. Tomorrow I'll have a staff meeting, and it will be very -- I'm not going to make any prejudgments about anybody on that staff, if stay, they're going to stop leaking. If the leaks continue, we are strong is our weakest link and I'll say it differently in a pun where a strong as our weakest leak. If you guys want to keep leaking, get together and make a decision as a team that you're going to stop leaking. If you're going to keep leaking, I'm going to fire everybody."