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AoSHQ Writers Group
A site for members of the Horde to post their stories seeking beta readers, editing help, brainstorming, and story ideas. Also to share links to potential publishing outlets, writing help sites, and videos posting tips to get published.
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Los Angeles hospice fraud reaches billions as Medicare providers scam federal system with fake companies
Medicare chief says fraudulent providers scam taxpayers with ghost patients and sham companies in scheme involving corrupt doctors
Ghost patients, sham companies, offshore owners and corrupt doctors. Auditors and prosecutors say hospice fraud in Los Angeles is off the charts, with providers scamming billions from taxpayers for patients that don't exist, poor care and no care.
"Hospice is crazy here," says Dr. Mehmet Oz, head of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
"You've got hospice that's grown seven-fold in the last five years. They represent about three and a half billion dollars of fraud, we believe, just in LA County."
Backing him up was California Attorney General Rob Bonta, who said last year, "Hospice fraud has become an epidemic in California, specifically in the greater Los Angeles area."
Bonta says fraudulent providers submit false claims for unnecessary services, and recruiters get kickbacks for signing up seniors, whether they're sick or not. Hospices also enroll patients who don't even know they've been scammed until they seek out medical care.
"As a hospice owner, I could sign up everybody in this room for hospice," an LA hospice owner told us.
A whistleblower told us there's no limit on the number of hospices an individual can own, and applicants can live abroad.
"It's all just paperwork. I could fill [an application] out in Kazakhstan if I want, and get a hospice license."
He explained how the scam works:
Recruiters go to shopping centers and senior centers to sign up patients, promising them walkers, a month's supply of nutritional drinks, cash and weekly visits in exchange for a Medicare number.
Recruiters then sell that "benny" or beneficiary's Medicare number to a provider for a $1,000 to $3,000 and receive a cut for every month the senior stays on their rolls.
Hospice enrollees are supposed to have a terminal illness or life expectancy of six months or less. But frequently hospice owners treat patients like trading cards, moving them from one provider to another if they stay too long, which raises a red flag with auditors.
In the U.S., more than 50% of hospice patients die within 18 days or less. In LA, the average length of stay is more than three months, and, in many hospices, patients never die, with court records showing hospices billing the federal government for 18 months and more.
In LA, a hospice is paid by the federal government $260 a day for each day a senior is under its care.
...
"A Medicare MIB number is more lucrative than a credit card," says Sheila Clark, president of the California Hospice and Palliative Care Association, referring to the 11 character code each Medicare recipient has that allows federal reimbursement. "They're human traffickers. They're trafficking beneficiaries in and out of hospices, home health."
At City Journal, a Democrat whistleblower in Minnesota affirms that the fraud is real and spectacular.
The Minnesota Department of Human Services is the state agency responsible for overseeing the programs at the heart of the scandal. Faye Bernstein has been a DHS employee for two decades, including stints working in contract management and as a compliance officer.
During the early years of Governor Tim Walz's administration, Bernstein says that she began raising concerns internally at DHS about concerning practices that exposed tax dollars to fraud. In response, Bernstein claims that her DHS supervisors retaliated against her.
In a recent interview with City Journal, Bernstein painted a picture of a toxic workplace culture at DHS that allowed Minnesota's fraud scandal to metastasize. This interview has been edited for clarity and length.
City Journal: When did your concerns about fraud begin?
Faye Bernstein: In 2018 and 2019. I had just gotten a promotion to a lead position. That meant I saw everybody's contracts from our work area [Behavioral Health Administration]. They all funneled through me. Over the years, I had often thought that DHS is sloppy. But 2018 and 2019 are when I saw, oh gosh, this is beyond normal. If we don't have fraud today, we're going to have fraud soon.
CJ: Can you give an example?
FB: I could give a contract to my sister for a million dollars because she has a different last name, pay out that contract, and nobody would notice. We did not monitor conflict of interest. It would have been easy to give a contract to a family member or to a nonexistent person. That's when I realized, this sloppiness is way beyond normal. We really are at risk of fraud.
CJ: Can you give other examples of things you saw?
FB: The reason I can confidently say that I could give a contract of this sort to my sister was because I had come across a contract that DHS had given to a former employee who had left the department within the past year. I immediately recognized her name, so I went to the person who initiated that contract and said, "What's the deal with this? I want to make sure everything's okay, that we don't have a conflict."
The person immediately went to our deputy director, who then came to me and said, "Why are you asking these questions?"
And I said, "Well, gosh, this is just a perfectly normal question."
"No, it's not. You're upsetting people. You've just made a lot of enemies by asking these questions."
It made no sense to me. We were constantly getting into risky territory. And if you spoke about it, it was very clear what would happen. Even our human resources people would tell us, "If your supervisor tells you to do something, you must do it." And when you didn't, the word "insubordination" came up. They considered it insubordinate if you resisted an unlawful direction.
CJ: Did this culture at DHS help facilitate fraud?
FB: It definitely did. Where we are today is completely predictable from where we were in 2019. There was no other way for this to go. The handwriting was on the wall. Until only about a year ago, our whistleblower policy required us to report internally; that did not comply with the law. The only reason [DHS had that policy] was so that they could find out who was reporting.
- 18% of THE WHOLE COUNTRY’S home health care billing is coming out of Los Angeles County - One doctor billed the government $120 million in a single year claiming to oversee 1,900 patients - With almost 2,000 hospice agencies, Los… pic.twitter.com/0mTPG1ENL2
I’m depressed that even after this massive Somali fraud was exposed by brave Nick Shirley, the feckless Senate still voted against Rand Paul’s amendment to cut $5 Billion in new refugee welfare. It would have passed with a simple majority, but 21 Republicans voted with the Dems! https://t.co/Pr3pZzPJzA
Why Did John Brennan Deliver a Secret CIA Award to Obama's White House Counsel and Very Good Friend of Jeffrey Epstein Kathryn Ruemmler?
—Ace
We know she received this secret award from John Brennan for unknown services provided to the CIA only because she immediately wrote to her BFF Jeffrey Epstein-- who sent her gifts like a $9,400 handbag -- immediately after receiving the secret honor.
Why?
And why was it kept secret? People usually publicize their CIA awards. They show you're In the Club.
We only know about this secret CIA award because Ruemmler bragged about it to Jeffrey Epstein, and his emails were just released.
So why was the reward given? I'm quoting Mike Benz's thread, but he points out this wasn't awarded for work she did during the Obama Administration. This was awarded when she was in the private sector, specifically working for Democrat law firm Lantham and Watkins.
A firm that was instrumental in perpetrating the Russiagate hoax on the country.
So... is that why John Brennan gave the award to her? Because she assisted in his own disinformation campaign against the American taxpayer, which he perpetrated while being paid by the taxpayers?
Mike Benz
@MikeBenzCyber
19h
A couple interesting notes on the reveal that Obama's White House Counsel (top lawyer to the President) Kathy Ruemmler emailed Jeffrey Epstein she was awarded the CIA Agency Medal just hours after getting the award 🧵
2) When I saw this, I wondered why I'd never heard this before. Her CIA Agency Award in 2015 was not and still has never been reported by any press outlet whatsoever, not even a fringe one. It's not in her Wikipedia. It's not in her extensive current Goldman Sachs bio.
3) I've covered many times, for example, how BlackRock's Vice Chairman proudly lists his winning the CIA's Director's Award openly on his official BlackRock bio.
4) The award is a big deal and she was clearly so excited and proud of it she rushed to tell Jeffrey Epstein mere hours after CIA Director John Brennan awarded her, and then sought validation from Epstein over it.
5) Now, this is where it gets interesting. Ruemmler had already left government and returned to private practice at Latham & Watkins 8 months earlier. When she won the CIA Agency Medal, she was a private citizen. A civilian.
6) As it turns out, non-CIA civilians can receive the CIA Agency Medal -- privately with no public release -- if they have played a meaningful role in enabling CIA operations, providing critical access, or helping clear high-stakes legal or operational obstacles the CIA faced
7) The reason the CIA doesn't publicly disclose CIA Agency Medal winners who are non-CIA civilians is because those winners, as nominal civilians with no CIA overlap, may not want the public to know they covertly helped the CIA overcome sensitive legal or political obstacles.
8) Of course, you can't rule out simple cronyism back-scratching. It was Ruemmler who fought to legally block CIA disclosures on Benghazi from Congress to save not-yet-CIA-Director John Brennan's Senate confirmation bid, 2 years before Brennan gave her the CIA Agency Award.
9) Worth noting Kathy Ruemmler, who fought to make John Brennan the CIA Director and then won the CIA Agency Award, was so close to Epstein she was the backup executor of Jeffrey Epstein's will.
Wait, what?
Remember, Ruemmler continues insisting that she was never a paid client of Epstein's and barely even knew him.
Despite him giving her $9,400 handbags and other luxury gifts.
10) But the pure cronyism explanation doesn't sit right with me. For one, anyone can get a CIA Agency Award at any time. It's not "once a year" doled out in one batch. Brennan became CIA chief in March 2013. He didn't give her the award until 2 years later, after she left gov't
11) Second, if Brennan had given Ruemmler the CIA Agency Medal earlier while she was still White House Counsel, she could forever-after confidently share the honor publicly without needing to hide it, since everyone would presume it related to her official White House legal role
12) Now, it's possible Brennan issued her the award while she was White House Counsel but then kept it in CIA custody until she left gov't, if political sensitivities or the covert operation the award related to were still ongoing. I found examples of that in declassified docs
13) But still, something doesn't sit right. Even if you never announce the CIA Agency Award to the public, there's still a real benefit to getting one: privileged inside access, weight & deference, plus more opportunities channeled to you in ongoing and future CIA relationships.
14) So wherever Ruemmler worked when she got the award, the CIA effectively had "their woman" in the room for all manner of "informal consultation" or info-sharing. Well, in 2015, when she got it, she was at Latham & Watkins: a central firm in the CIA-led 2016 Russiagate affair
The full thread, with screencaps of supporting documents, is here.
There are at least two occasions on which it is alleged Epstein handed large sums of money to Lord Mandelson or his husband.
His husband.
Mandelson directly referenced one of the claims when announcing his resignation from the Labour party. Bank statements held among the Epstein files released by the US Department of Justice appear to show that in 2003 to 2004 the disgraced financier paid a total of $75,000 (£54,750) into bank accounts of which Mandelson -- then a Labour MP -- was believed to be a beneficiary.
The former cabinet minister had already come under pressure over the second allegation that his husband, Reinaldo Avila da Silva, had received £10,000 from Epstein about two months after the registered sex offender was released from prison in 2009.
...
The files also show evidence Mandelson advised Epstein on how the investment bank JP Morgan might lobby the government -- of which he was a part -- on plans for a tax on bankers' bonuses.
Among the documents is a chain of emails between Epstein and Mandelson, in which the former asks if the new tax might only apply to the cash portion of bonuses. "Trying hard to amend," Mandelson wrote back on 15 December 2009. "Treasury digging in but I am on case."
Mandelson, who was then business secretary in Gordon Brown's government, suggested two days later that the head of the investment bank call the then chancellor, Alistair Darling, and "mildly threaten" him.
I make no judgments about the policy nor whether it should have been opposed or not. But we once again see Epstein's hand behind political decisionmaking.
It had been known for years that Mandelson was linked to Epstein. It has long been a matter of public record Mandelson stayed in the disgraced financier's flat in New York while the latter was serving his prison term. And a briefing delivered to the prime minister, Keir Starmer, on the reputational risk in appointing Mandelson as ambassador to the US mentioned official records showing he had facilitated a meeting between Epstein and Tony Blair in 2002.
But a glimpse of the extent of the relationship between the former minister and Epstein would lead to Mandelson's withdrawal from Washington in September 2025.
Documents released then showed Mandelson had referred to Epstein as his "best pal" in a letter included within an alleged birthday book that was released by US lawmakers.
...
The prime minister, who had been facing questions about his judgment after standing by Mandelson, removed him from his post when it emerged he had emailed Epstein suggesting his 2008 conviction for soliciting a child for prostitution was wrongful and should be challenged.
No 10 said it had not known about emails, in which Mandelson wrote: "I can still barely understand it. It just could not happen in Britain. You have to be incredibly resilient, fight for early release and be philosophical about it as much as you can."
Meanwhile, released emails indicate that Jeffrey Epstein had a secret baby with an unknown woman.
Convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein appears to have had a secret child 15 years ago, according to a bombshell email reportedly sent by Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor's ex-wife, Sarah Ferguson.
Ferguson congratulated him in the note sent on Sept. 21, 2011, after he was already convicted of sex with an underage girl, according to the latest drop of Epstein files.
"Don't know if you're still on this bbm but have heard from The Duke that you have had a baby boy," Ferguson wrote, according to the released email.
"Even though you never kept in touch, I still am here with love, friendship, and congratualtions [sic] on your baby boy. Sarah xx."
In another message, Ferguson claimed Epstein had disappeared and said she wasn't aware he was about to become a father.
Epstein's last known girlfriend was Karyna Shuliak and he reportedly wanted to leave her his infamous private Island as well as $50 million and his Upper East Side townhouse. He signed his will on Aug 8, 2019 -- just two days before he was found dead in his Manhattan jail cell.
These cases will be won on claims of lack of informed consent, and that's 100% real and 100% a violation of basic medical ethics. Sex "transition" procedures are sold to patients like they're used cars the dealership must get off the lot. Doctors do not explain all the many side-effects and poor outcomes, and on the other hand, they claim that the procedures are basically magical and will cure all of the patient's mental illnesses.
One major adverse outcome they refuse to discuss with patients is the fact that many will seek to detransition -- they pretend that detransitioners don't exist and if they do exist they're just brainwashed by MAGA supremacists. Failing to tell patients about the actual rates of transition-regret, and the fact that these procedures are essentially irreversible and will leave patients "disfigured" for life, is a violation of the duty of care a doctor owes to a patient.
Jurors on Jan. 30 found a psychologist and surgeon liable for malpractice after they supported and performed breast removal surgery on a 16-year-old girl who at the time identified as transgender.
Jurors awarded Fox Varian, now 22 and no longer identifying as transgender, $2 million in damages, with $1.6 million for past and future pain and suffering, and another $400,000 for future medical expenses.
The jurors found that in many respects the surgeon and psychologist had skipped important steps when evaluating if she should go forward with the surgery and had not adequately communicated with each other. These missteps were a "departure from the standard of care," they decided.
During closing arguments, Varian's attorney Adam Deutsch had asked the jury for $8 million in damages. To justify that sum, he quoted earlier testimony where Varian described her reaction to seeing her post-surgery chest.
"I immediately had a thought that this was wrong, and it couldn't be true," Varian said. She also said that the surgery left her with nerve pain, which she described as "searing hot ... ripping sensations across my chest."
"Shame. I felt shame," she added. "It's hard to face that you are disfigured for life."
The RINOs will soon be passing legislation to block these lawsuits, arguing, disingenuously, that Conservative Principles dictate that they do all that they can to stop all lawsuits.
Note that he says it's a $2 million judgment. That may be technically correct, but I'm adding in the $1.6 million in pain and suffering and $400,000 in lawyers fees to the $2 million malpractice judgment.
He says there were only two -- TWO! -- reporters at the trial, including himself, and the only other "reporter" there barely bothered to take notes.
A lot of no-talents had a lot of virtue signalling thoughts.
"Bad Bunny," the transvestite communist that the NFL will feature as their Super Bowl halftime act, says that hate is bad:
Bad Bunny says "ICE OUT" at the #Grammys and receives a massive standing ovation:
"We are not savage, we are not animals, we are not aliens, we are humans and we are Americans. The hate gets more powerful with more hate. The only thing that is more powerful than hate is love.… pic.twitter.com/IFzvguqdCR
The left is giddy over the possibility that this transvestite will wear a dress to a formerly wholesome sports exhibition beloved by little kids:
And Trump's fans are about to get more upset. The rumor mill has it that Bad Bunny, in a nod of support to the LGBTQ community and as just another norms-pushing statement, plans to don a dress during the Apple Music Super Bowl LX Halftime Show. TMZ initially reported the "rumor," with a follow-up report saying they couldn't confirm what he's wearing, citing "production sources."
At my behest, internet sports book BetOnline.ag created a betting line for "Will Bad Bunny wear a dress during Super Bowl halftime show?" The website has it at -150 (bet $150 to profit $100) he will, and +110 (wager $100 to profit $110) he will not. Here's the rub, though: as the prop bet is "for entertainment purposes only," the max wager is $25.
Not enough action for you? You can also bet on the type of dress Bad Bunny will wear, should he defy TMZ. The most probable type of dress is a ball gown (7/4, +175), with a halter dress (3/1) and a shirt dress (4/1) rounding out the favorites. A bodycan and a qipao are both available at 5/1. Long shots are a maxi-dress (6/1) and an A-line (7/1).
I saw rumors a couple weeks back that "Bad Bunny" had been told by the NFL not to wear his typical transvestite attire, but I guess he's gonna let his freak flag fly.
Billie Eilish says "f*ck ice" during her #Grammys acceptance speech: "Nobody is illegal on stolen land. We need to keep fighting and speaking up. Our voices do matter." pic.twitter.com/Sz1um3afYJ
Bringing these stories together: While Noah Trevor defames Trump as an Epstein colleague, he for some reason "forgets" that rapper Jay-Z has been named in the Epstein files, as has his wife, the world's most annoying feminist Beyonce.
And Jay-Z, for some reason, was given the power to produce the Super Bowl halftime shows, and he hired the transvestite for this year's degradation pageant.
Trevor Noah omitted to mention that Jay-Z is accused of having sex with young minors:
Are y’all understanding that these ppl have been sacrificing children as a way of gaining & maintaining power? If you ever vote DemonCrat again, you’re just as soulless as they are & will perish. Maybe it’s time for me to do some story times — since I was trying to not say what I… pic.twitter.com/yZTcthaMpM
She also linked a picture of a young man who is trying to force Jay-Z to take a paternity test -- because he claims that Jay-Z raped (statutory rape, I think he means) his mother when she was 16.
Minnesota CEOs Request ‘De-Escalation’ of Federal Immigration Law Enforcement; Perhaps Federal Laws that Protect Minnesota Corporations Should Also Not Be Enforced
—Buck Throckmorton
The capture of corporate executive suites by the left is something I never would have predicted a few decades ago, because a fundamental tenet of the left has been state ownership of all enterprises. But with many corporations actively advocating for the advancement of the left’s radical agenda, corporations have bought themselves a level of protection from left-wing politicians. In addition, many corporate executives are clearly true believers in the left’s effort to reorganize civilization.
We on the right have no obligation to continue defending corporations who are allied with the left against us.
Last week the CEOs of dozens of corporations headquartered in Minnesota released a letter requesting that the federal government stand down and stop enforcing immigration law, specifically requesting “an immediate deescalation of tensions” and instead of enforcing the law, demanding that the federal government work with state and local officials “to find real solutions” other than removing criminal illegal aliens.
Among the signers were the CEOs of Target, Best Buy, US Bank, General Mills, 3M, and Red Wing Shoes.
These CEOs are advocating for selective non-enforcement of federal laws that protect everyday citizens from the pathologies that have been brought to this country by a flood of millions of illegal immigrants, many of whom are hardened criminals. Since these CEOs believe that enforcement of federal law is optional, surely they would be OK if federal laws that protect their corporations are not enforced too, correct?
Here are some more opportunities for selective non-enforcement of federal law:
Target has a famous logo protected by US trademark laws. If Target is cool with federal immigration laws not being enforced, I’m cool with allowing any retailer to use Target’s logo without any enforcement of federal trademark laws.
3M is an industrial powerhouse that has prospered from its development of patent-protected products. Perhaps the federal government should “de-escalate” enforcement of 3M’s patents when competitors sell knock-offs?
Red Wing Boots is a market leader in premium-priced work boots. Since its CEO is advocating for federal laws not to be enforced, there is a great opportunity to sell cheap imitation boots with Red Wing branding, and have the federal government stand down in protecting Red Wing’s trademark.
US Bank relies on the federal government to enforce laws that protect banks from criminal fraud. Enforcing these laws requires federal manpower and taxpayer money. Since US Bank’s CEO is advocating for the federal government not to enforce immigration laws, perhaps we can extend the same courtesy and have US Bank exempted from federal protections against bank fraud.
If Best Buy’s CEO is going to advocate for the non-enforcement of federal law, I might in turn advocate that any electronics retailer be allowed to put up a sign identifying their store as a Best Buy.
General Mills sells Cheerios, among other cereals, and other well-known consumer products such as Pillsbury and Betty Crocker, which are all protected by trademark law. It seems to me that by signing the letter requesting that immigration law not be enforced, General Mills’ CEO is also announcing that federal laws protecting its trademarks can be ignored too. Selling generic oat cereal as authentic Cheerios sounds like a good business opportunity.
Laws that protect corporations and laws that protect individuals are all part of the social contract that keeps this country functioning. It is reckless for either corporations or individuals to advocate for the selective non-enforcement of laws that don’t specifically benefit them...but that’s what these Minnesota CEOs are doing.
If the “real solutions” that these CEOs seek is to allow criminal aliens to avoid arrest and deportation, then those companies can surrender federal protection of their intellectual property as part of those “real solutions.”
When I hear the MN corporate CEOs request the federal government stand down on enforcing immigration law that protects citizens, I also hear them saying it’s OK to no longer enforce federal laws that protect *their* businesses, such as Intellectual property & false advertising.
Good morning kids. As I and many of you for sure have pondered lo these many months going on perhaps years now if we are in a state of civil war, but for sure we are in a phase of accelerating societal breakdown. On the surface, life goes on much as it always has, kids go to school we go to work or otherwise go about our routines mostly as per usual. Beyond the violence and mayhem we are witnessing in Minneapolis and elsewhere, the most alarming aspect is the utter breakdown and corruption of our judicial system that has now been infiltrated and weaponized against us.
First, Judge Gregory Carro in New York State argued that Luigi Mangione, the leftist terrorist, wasn’t a terrorist because he said he wasn’t.
. . . More of the same now at the federal level where Judge Margaret Garnett, a recent Biden appointee, decided that Luigi Mangione stalking Brian Thompson in order to kill him wasn’t a “crime of violence”. . . The only thing tortured and strange here is that Democrats are trying not to pretend that they’re bailing out a leftist terrorist. Had Luigi Mangione worn a red cap and hunted down and killed a liberal judge, all of a sudden all of these rulings would be the opposite of what they are, and the ‘tortured and strange’ parts of them would be the sound of the law creaking to be bent backward the other way.
You better believe that the ICE agents who took down Good and Pretti, should some Soros prosecutor get the ball rolling are going to get the Derek Chauvin treatment if not a cell on death row. Donald Trump and Kristi Noem as well. The DemoKKKrats are already making noises about impeachement should they win back Congress this coming November and beyond that, they are itching to see those two and others dangling from a hangman's noose.
They've learned their lesson. Next time they will completely wipe out all opposition to them and seize absolute power. And anyone who objects will ironically and disgustingly be labeled as a terrorist and insurrectionist, and be subject to the harshest of penalties. Like J-6 the process will only be the beginning of the punishment.
It is clear that the Democrat Left has the ability and the willingness to mobilize an armed force of internal terrorists and insurrectionists who will do their bidding knowing they face no repercussions. At least no repercussions in the legal sense.
Can you imagine if average law abiding and armed citizens had a similar system to communicate and rapidly mobilize to be on scene to counter the criminal terrorist insurrectionists and stand shoulder to shoulder with law enforcement, or to oppose any Don Lemon squad of goons bent on invading a church service?
We are heading down that road. But considering our innate sense of morality (that has been completely burned out of the Left since childhood over the past 60 years or more) and concomitant abhorrence of violence, Perhaps it might never come to armed response.
Democrats spent years pushing for gun restrictions. Now they’re rushing to buy firearms and invoking Second Amendment rights after federal agents killed a licensed gun owner in Minneapolis.
The shift has drawn accusations of hypocrisy from conservative critics. Writing in The Hill, columnist Robby Soave noted that progressives “favor all sorts of restrictions on gun ownership” yet now champion constitutional gun rights following Alex Pretti’s death. The ACLU even backpedaled on whether it supports concealed carry rights for protesters, Soave wrote.
But, they will acquire and use firearms in an offensive manner and when the smoke clears claim self defense as a judge like the one who let Mangione off the hook and the one who railroaded Derek Chauvin will agree. When you have mayors and governors now openly going after and attempting to impede ICE and other federal agents from doing their duty, no doubt their armed Antifa goons and gang-bangers as in Long Beach CA will be deputized and given the full protection of a bastardized legal system.
Unfortunately or fortunately? We cannot deny anyone their second amendment right to bear arms based on their political beliefs. But considering a frighteningly large number of individuals not only want to destroy America as founded but as we have seen not just in Minneapolis but since the 1960s are willing and able to use violence to achieve their aims. Worse the Democrat Party in its eternal quest to seize absolute power is giving them political and legal cover to act as their street goons/enforcers.
If by some chance their election rigging machine fails to deliver them control of Congress, what we're seeing in Minneapolis is just a foretaste of what is to come that will be orders of magnitude worse. The President will be forced to respond and in so doing potentially play into their hands despite being completely in the right to quash an armed violent leftist/Democrat insurrection.
. . .What happens if the Republicans lose control of Congress in the mid-terms this November?
We don’t have to wonder, because the Democrats have told us. Expect a 180-degree reversal of everything President Trump has done. We can expect as abrupt a change, on a national scale, as the radical onslaught incoming Governor Abigail Spanberger is imposing on the commonwealth of Virginia. Elections truly have consequences.
And if the Democrats re-gain the White House in 2028, things will be even worse. President Trump’s historic victory in 2024, and the MAGA agenda in general, will be foiled by the Democrats’ radical policies . . The Constitution, as we know if, would be shredded.
And for me it would essentially be the end of even the veneer of the illusion of regular order/business as usual that we barely are able to delude ourselves into believing. They will go all out to seize absolute power, crush any and all opposition and that will be that. A run of 250 years as they traipse around in the skin suit for another century or so demanding respect.
Unless something radical changes the course of history back towards sanity. As we had hoped the election, three times!, of Donald Trump would do.
Have a great day.
And lastly, a quick shout-out and a huge thank you for your continued support in hitting our tip jar. It truly is appreciated more than you can know.
ABOVE THE FOLD, BREAKING, NOTEWORTHY LINKS
Just how do they “spontaneously” materialize en masse to scream profanities, blast whistles and block official vehicles? . . . When I deployed to Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom, I saw similar spotter tactics employed by any number of guerilla groups who communicated via handheld radios to initiate IEDs on roadways traveled by American troops. I’ve seen insurgencies up close — and anti-ICE actions look eerily familiar
In 1776, pamphleteer Thomas Paine, in a series of essays entitled “The American Crisis,” exhorted the besieged colonists during the Revolutionary War to stand strong in their struggle for freedom. His opening line was “These are the times that try men’s souls.” The same is true today. However bleak conditions may appear, we must remain committed to victory. The New American Crisis
The left cheers lawlessness abroad and at home, punishes dissent, and excuses violence—America faces decay if moral fanaticism goes unchecked. The War on Terror Came Home
It may not even be a true story, but it teaches a lesson about when leftists resort to tactics they’d rather not experience themselves. When a Leftist Doxxer Gets Doxxed
Martinez is one of five declared candidates for the November 2026 election to lead the city of about 450,000, having completed his Candidate Intention Statement in late 2025, according to the Long Beach City Clerk’s website. He originally posted the more than two-minute-long video message to Instagram declaring, “Long Beach needs to be ICE FREE.” He also expects to “see 55 gang leaders in front of City Hall this Monday at 5pm [sic].” (RELATED: Antifa Influencer Declares ‘Guerrilla War’ Against ICE After Minnesota Shooting) California Mayoral Candidate Rogelio Martinez Rallies Gang Leaders To End Federal Law Enforcement In Long Beach
The Minneapolis-based Headwaters Foundation for Justice awarded $3,321,013 in funds and non-cash assistance since 2014 to groups that now seek to monitor Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) or protest the agency, according to a Daily Caller News Foundation analysis of tax filings, activists’ websites and their social media posts. One related protest at the Minneapolis-St. Paul (MSP) airport led to around 100 arrests on Jan. 23. (RELATED: Radical Groups Like Renee Good’s Are Tailing ICE All Over America) (Where is the joint IRS/82nd ABN operation? - jjs) Minnesota Anti-ICE Activists Get $3.3 Million From Soros-Backed Charity You’ve Never Heard Of
American radicals borrow the rhetoric of 1776 while channeling the chaos of 1789—and the mobs they summon won’t take orders. The Left’s Revolutionary Confusion
Wilson’s measures aim to thwart the enforcement of federal immigration law in Seattle, despite no current evidence of a particular increase in ICE activity in the city. Far-Left Mayor Orders City Police to ‘Investigate’ ICE.
U.S. District Court of Minnesota Judge Katherine Menendez on Saturday denied a motion to enjoin the federal government from continuing its immigration law enforcement surge in the Twin Cities. Federal judge denies Minnesota motion to end immigration surge
“No one wanted to put that pain on the American people again. The Democrats forced it. We were insistent that we would not allow that to happen,” the speaker added. “…Republicans are going to do the responsible thing.” The dynamic of the current government shutdown is very different from the 43-day record-breaking one last year, when the two sides deadlocked for weeks without a clear path out of it. Mike Johnson ‘confident’ gov’t shutdown will end Tuesday – as he shoots down Dem demands
"Conveniently missing from what you just showed, George, is the appellate court and a judge on the appellate court who said just a few days later there was clearly probable cause, and it wasn't even a close question," Blanche explained. “So, and by the way, a grand jury, which is what our system has set up to determine whether probable cause exists, concluded that there was probable cause. That indictment is now public. Everybody in this country can pull it up and read for themselves and see what the grand jury found that, that Mr. Lemon did.” Deputy AG Todd Blanche Annihilates Stephanopoulos Over Don Lemon
Democrats spent years pushing for gun restrictions. Now they’re rushing to buy firearms and invoking Second Amendment rights after federal agents killed a licensed gun owner in Minneapolis. The shift has drawn accusations of hypocrisy from conservative critics. Writing in The Hill, columnist Robby Soave noted that progressives “favor all sorts of restrictions on gun ownership” yet now champion constitutional gun rights following Alex Pretti’s death. The ACLU even backpedaled on whether it supports concealed carry rights for protesters, Soave wrote. Left-Wing Groups Suddenly Discover The Second Amendment
THE 2020 and SUBSEQUENT ELECTION HEISTS , SHENANIGANS/FRAUD and AFTERMATH
For more than a year now, rightwing influencers have been opening the Gates of Toledo, injecting figures who are not even plausibly rightwing, who try to secure real world political victory for liberals, and who in every ambiguous situation will always take the side of the Left, into the highest levels of rightwing discourse. Escape Velocity: Evaluating the first 12 months of the 2nd Trump administration (Hat tip to commenter "The Lower Depths" - jjs)
Minnesota’s political battleground sparks unrest, shapes elections, and shows how closely the nation’s future can hinge on one state. Minnesota, the Land of 10,000 Lunatics, Turning Red This Year?
(If they can steal $9+ billion, they can steal elections, just ask Norm Coleman - jjs)
Roger Kimball: Elite opinion hardens into “wisdom,” but conservatism thrives on realism, humor, and hard-earned limits—antidotes to the gloomy utopianism of perpetual reform. Conservatism’s Case for Cheerful Realism
. . . I found this Nick Freitas video really helpful and I wanted to pass it along. Nick explains a strategy for improving our representation and where to find better information about a politician's true loyalties. (hat tip to commenter Emmie! - jjs) The Worst RINOs in America
French officials have recently introduced an aggressive social media strategy in an effort to promote the country’s political messaging and combat the spread of alleged disinformation from the U.S. and other countries, Politico reported Thursday. French Officials Try Outdoing Trump Admin In New Strategy
DEFENSE, MILITARY, SECURITY AFFAIRS
The issue of Chinese corporate espionage has been a serious problem in the United States and in other Western nations in recent years, especially in the AI and semiconductor industries. Former Google Engineer Convicted of Spying for China. (Why aren't his lungs being waterboarded to mush? -jjs)
"That's the left's Charlie Kirk. They're gonna get shirts 'I am Renee Good. I am a dumb, retarded lesbian.' Get your shirts right now. Benbankas.com," he continued. "I mean, if you watch the footage, she should have been shot ten minutes before that. The way she was acting, driving around with cops, and they gave her a break. They didn't shoot her right away because they're like oh, she's a dumb, retarded, crazy lesbian; she doesn't know what she's doing; she's white, so she's never committed a crime before... they gave her the benefit of the doubt." Comedian's Sold-Out Minnesota Shows Canceled... Because He Made a Joke
Thad McCotter: What once seemed a frantic modern world now looks quaint, as technology and postmodern ideology combine to turn everyday life into a nonstop sprint of stress, indulgence, and negation. Koyaanisqatsi Reconsidered
Hillary speaks, but she doesn’t listen. She half-absorbs events and the lives of other people, and coughs out a kind of instinctive Reader’s Digest annotated version, but mangles all the details as efficiently as bad AI. Saint Hillary Is Here To Tell You You’re A Terrible Christian
ALSO: The Morning Report cross-posts at CutJibNewsletter.com usually within an hour or so of posting here, if you want to continue the conversation all day.
You're probably safe to click on that link. I think.
The server providing software updates for Notepad++ got hacked to selectively deliver malware, apparently by West Taiwan targeting specific users in Taiwan.
This went undetected for months because of the focused nature of the attack; if it had affected everyone who uses the software it would have been uncovered the next day. And would also have been a global catastrophe, because that would have given the attackers an indirect back door into basically everything.
So it could have been worse, but is more than a little worrying.
Sunday Overnight Open Thread - February 1, 2026 [Doof]
—Open Blogger
Photo credit - Howard in Alberta
Howdy Hordelings - welcome to February! Did you participate in "Dry January"? I most definitely did not. Maybe next year. Probably not. Anyway, the ONT is here and so are you. Any lurkers in the house? Why not make tonight the night to delurk? Regulars - be nice!
A simple stretching of the neck caused a young woman to temporarily lose her vision as well as the ability to speak after suffering a stroke.
KayLynne Felthager was driving home from Walmart when she felt a headache coming on and instinctively stretched her neck to the right to relieve some tension. It had become somewhat of a habit to crack her neck after a long day at work, but this time was different. Almost immediately after hearing the crack in her neck, Kaylynne felt a sharp pain in her neck.
The pain in Felthager’s neck didn’t feel normal, and the fact that it did not subside over the next several days didn’t exactly feel reassuring, but she only relied on over-the-counter pain medication to deal with it, instead of seeing a doctor. It wasn’t until five days later that things really took a turn for the worse.
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Once at the hospital, doctors performed a CT scan, which revealed that she had suffered a stroke. After talking to medical staff about the pain she felt after stretching her neck in the car a few days prior, KayLynne was told that the innocent neck cracking had caused an artery dissection, which later resulted in a blood clot reaching her brain and causing a stroke. Luckily, the blood clot dissolved quickly, so the doctors didn’t need to operate.
Seriously -- be careful!!
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AI is asshoe. For real. This is some of the stupidest stuff I have ever seen. Yet there are people who find this interesting and entertaining??
Conjoined twins Valeria and Camila are the latest AI influencers to go viral on social media, gaining hundreds of thousands of followers in a very short time.
With more and more AI models and influencers competing for real humans’ attention, creators have to, well, get creative when designing their avatars. Flawless skin, perfect figure, and dazzling eyes just aren’t enough to cut it on social media today, but the AI conjoined twins niche is apparently right for the picking!
Enter Valeria and Camila, probably the most attractive conjoined twins the world has ever seen. A quick perusal of their Instagram page tells you they are digitally rendered avatars, not real people, but many of their 280,000 followers don’t know, or simply don’t care. The comments section of their posts is always full of compliments, invitations, and heart emojis.
The creators of Instagram’s most popular conjoined twins even created a backstory for them, complete with AI-generated childhood photos and made-up stories about their daily lives. This only made their fans more invested in them, to the point where they ignore the fact that they aren’t real.
I'm choosing not to include any photos of this ridiculousness. Feel free to hit the link if you want to see any.
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Been waiting for a good time to drop this. Seems appropriate given that story.
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Apologies if this has already been shared here at the HQ. Hopefully at least some of you haven't seen it yet.
'Ette behavior? Probably not. But admit it, 'rons -- you kinda want to meet her!
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I can't confirm or deny, but this looks like something you'd see on BlueSky
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'Ette Couture (Courtesy of Piper)
It's that time of the week - when we turn the ONT over to our good friend Piper for a bit. Here's this week's fashion pr0n.
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Hello, darlings! (your mind just created a picture of me rushing in carrying loads of shopping bags to our couch, didn’t it?). The 68th Annual Grammy Awards are tonight and will be live from Crypto.com Arena. It is the perfect moment to reflect on when the Grammys truly became synonymous with unforgettable fashion.
The ceremony began in 1959 as a modest, black-tie affair: elegant tuxedos, classic evening gowns, pearls, and quiet sophistication at dual dinners in Los Angeles and New York. Fashion was present, but it played a supporting role, polished and understated, much like a well-curated family heirloom collection. There was no dedicated "red carpet" spectacle, no paparazzi swarm, and little media focus on attire.
This shift toward the Grammys being known for bold, boundary-pushing fashion began in the 1970s, when music's evolving creativity spilled onto the arrivals. Cher's 1974 look, a daring, midriff-baring ensemble with a massive crystal butterfly headdress symbolizing new beginnings post-divorce, marked one of the earliest headline-grabbing moments. It blended whimsy, rebellion, and personal narrative, proving the carpet could be as expressive as the performances inside. Around the same era, artists like Stevie Nicks brought bohemian mystique, while others experimented with glitz and drama, setting the stage for more audacious choices. Aretha Franklin graced the stage in flowing, diaphanous gowns that spoke of quiet sovereignty. Donna Summer brought a touch of disco-era drama with structured leopard prints and dramatic tulle.
By the 1980s, the evolution accelerated: Michael Jackson's 1984 bedazzled military jacket and signature single white glove turned personal style into cultural iconography, while Cyndi Lauper and others embraced outrageous, headline-making eccentricity. While the Oscars play it elegant and the Met Gala goes full fantasy, the Grammys let stars strut like it's their personal runway. It is a platform for musicians to treat fashion as performance art. It is eclectic, theatrical, and tied to their artistic identity.
The tipping point that cemented the Grammys' reputation as fashion's most adventurous red carpet came around the turn of the millennium. Jennifer Lopez's legendary green Versace plunge gown at the 2000 Grammys was so searched online that it inspired the creation of Google Image Search—a literal cultural phenomenon. From there, the event's fashion coverage exploded: archival couture (Cardi B's 2019 Thierry Mugler "Venus"), sculptural risks (Lady Gaga's 2010 galactic Armani Privé), and maximalist statements became expected rather than exceptional.
Today’s arrivals may add the next chapter revolutionary dresses - or they may just be audacious for the sake of being loud. Regardless, we will break down the best and worst looks together next week.
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Thanks, Piper!
On a related note, here's an interesting article that hit my feed recently.
The difficulty level for this one is probably lower among the Horde (I'll say 1 out of 5) compared to that of the general public (probably 4 out of 5). The 3rd one gives it away for most of you.
To make it a bit more difficult for you, please don't just give me the the common thread / common meaning / common leitmotif -- tell me specifically how each song fits in.
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Tonight's ONT brought to you by an unexpectedly cool guy named David
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Tonight's ONT is proudly presented by Doof Enterprises, LLC. Subscriptions for premium content are available by request.
Your feedback may or may not be very important to Doof Enterprises. Follow Mr. Doof on X @doof2112 or do the email thing – doof2112 at proton dot me.
Howdy, Y'all! Welcome to the wondrously fabulous Gun Thread! As always, I want to thank all of our regulars for being here week in and week out, and also offer a bigly Gun Thread welcome to any newcomers who may be joining us tonight. Howdy and thank you for stopping by! I hope you find our wacky conversation on the subject of guns 'n shooting both enjoyable and informative. You are always welcome to lurk in the shadows of shame, but I'd like to invite you to jump into the conversation, say howdy, and tell us what kind of shooting you like to do!
Holy Shitballs! How in the ever-loving Hell did it get to be the First February Edition? Show of hands - who is already sick of winter? I know that I am. I do not think we have been above freezing here for two weeks, and it's becoming annoying.
With that, step into the dojo and let's get to the gun stuff below, shall we?
So what are you doing fundamentals-wise to keep in practice? Going to an indoor range? Practicing dry fire at home? Skills are perishable, so it's probably a good idea to do something during the off season. Please let us know how you're staying sharp in the comments.
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$700 vs. $2,000 AR
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CMP - Philippine Return Garands
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44 Magnum
Six rounds in 1 second with our pal 'Jer'!
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Whoopsie-Doodle!
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Ax Weasel
Q: Weasel, what is life like on a modern farm?
A: See below
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Our Pal Frequency Modulation
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FSJ and Gertie Protest Winter
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Highway Patrol!
This week's episode: Desert Town
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War Between The Planets!
Holy Crap!
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Cigar of the Week
This week our pal rhomboid scores again with this excellent review of the La Palina Red Label
A "cedar" note is one of the most common flavor elements described for premium cigars. With good reason, it's a feature of many. But like most flavor notes, it usually eludes me. Finally I came across a stick where the cedar is clear and predominant. The La Palina Red Label is a nice looking medium brown cigar with an Ecuadorean sun grown wrapper around Nicaragua and Dominican fillers. Draw on these toros I smoked was perfect. Body was definitely medium, very smooth. Lots of smoke, burn line didn't require constant management.
Cedar predominated throughout for me. Many reviewers find nuttiness and spice as well - I'd say subtle elements of those probably added to the overall flavor at various points. A nice thing about the Red Label is the cost. Definitely a good value proposition, with this quality. These toros can be found online for $4.50 and up, just above a bundle style price but well below most cigar prices these days, which seem finally to have jumped a bit after holding fairly steady through our recent, ruinous Inflation-o-rama.
Excellent, rhomboid! Thank you!
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Here are some different online cigar vendors. You will find they not only carry different brands and different lines from those brands, but also varying selections of vitolas (sizes/shapes) of given lines. It's good to have options, especially if you're looking for a specific cigar.
A note about sources. The brick & mortar/online divide exists with cigars, as with guns, and most consumer products, with respect to price. As with guns - since both are "persecuted industries", basically - I make a conscious effort to source at least some of my cigars from my local store(s). It's a small thing, but the brick & mortar segment for both guns and tobacco are precious, and worth supporting where you can. And if you're lucky enough to have a good cigar store/lounge available, they're often a good social event with many dangerous people of the sort who own scary gunz, or read smart military blogs like this one. -rhomboid
Anyone have others to include? Perhaps a small local roller who makes a cigar you like? Send me your recommendation and a link to the site!
Please note the new and improved protonmail account gunthread at protonmail dot com. An informal Gun Thread archive can be found HERE. Future expansion plans are in the works for the site Weasel Gun Thread. If you have a question you would like to ask Gun Thread Staff offline, just send us a note and we'll do our best to answer. If you care to share the story of your favorite firearm, send a picture with your nic and tell us what you sadly lost in the tragic canoe accident. If you would like to remain completely anonymous, just say so. Lurkers are always welcome!
That's it for this week - have you been to the range?
Food Thread: Bourbon, Cornbread, And Bacon, The Three Legs Of The American Meal
—CBD
Commenter "Pete Bog" poses the question: "Too much bacon?"
After I moved past the embarrassment of the question...the answer is obviously, "not enough."
In fact, it is an even more flawed question, because the bacon in the photo is homemade bacon, made from a 4H pig, which was no doubt lovingly raised by a very motivated teenager. Pete Bog, aside from his Paella-stirring blindness, is no slouch in the kitchen, and has embraced the real (not virtue-signaling) concept of "Farm To Table" and "Nose To Tail!"
Obviously not all of us have access to 4H pigs, but trying to keep the food we eat as close to the source as possible is a fine goal. Bags of chopped vegetables, containers of cut fruit, supermarket-roasted chickens, and even more processed foods are undoubtedly convenient, but they are often more expensive, expose us to food-borne illness at a higher rate than our home kitchens, and remove us from the elemental joys of preparing our own food from start to finish.
One of the things that has convinced me of the virtue-signaling silliness of most of the current food craze is the plethora of (____) milks. Show me the nipples on an almond or an oat, and I will accept them as real. But a glance at the ingredients of these ultra-processed foods should convince you of the silliness of their positions as natural replacements for evil cow milk.
But back to bacon! Even store-bought mass market bacon is tasty. I don't recall ever having bad bacon, unless it was under-cooked or burned beyond recognition. But there is a big difference between Safeway bacon and a well-made bacon or homemade. Yes, you can spend a ton of money...try Neuske's if you have some extra cash, but Costco thick-sliced bacon is quite good! Certainly better than generic supermarket bacon, and it is less expensive to boot.
The rambling point is; We can eat well and healthfully without breaking the bank, as long as we pay a bit of attention to what we start with. And that isn't necessarily more time consuming! The undeniable bonus is that it is often fun and satisfying!
Yum! Lovely, complex, with some nicely balanced sweetness, and a bit of vanilla and butterscotch. And the alcohol is perfectly in balance! It is 129 proof, and it drinks like a 100 proof bourbon.
Sadly, it is north of $60, but if you are going to splurge on a bourbon, this is a strong candidate.
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My experiment with bacon/buttermilk cornbread from last week was interesting, but unsuccessful. This week I was kicked off cornbread duty, and to my everlasting disgust and disappointment, last night's version was excellent! A bit too sweet for my taste, but it was delicious nonetheless. Honey Butter Cornbread is a keeper!
Pre-cooked pasta? Hell, even nurse ratched can cook pasta!
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I love the crap that pizzerias make to use up their extra dough. Garlic Knots are sort of disgusting, but damn, they are also delicious. I use more garlic and also dip them in olive oil, because why the hell knot?
I have a cold from hell, I will be in and out. Please play responsibly, and don't leave the rice out on the counter overnight.
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A friend graciously gave me some genuine grown-in-the-USA garlic, and I tasted one clove and planted the rest, because my pathetic failure last year is an anomaly...right? I hope so, because it's in the ground (actually, a large pot), and it had better work this time!
Send all of your extra antelope to: cbd dot aoshq at gmail dot com.
Rumor has it that the Bourbon Bubble is bursting. I have seen no evidence of decreasing prices, but maybe the bursting started somewhere else! I think the sweet spot is $40-$60 for excellent and interesting bottles, and bumping that to $100 gets you an incremental improvement in quality, but nothing mind-blowing. More than that and I think you are paying for hype and rarity, which may look good in your liquor cabinet, but doesn't translate to more quality in the bottle.
The problem...or the solution...is to buy lots of bourbon, take tasting notes, and eventually arrive at your favorites! It should take forty or fifty years, but it is worth it!
For some unfathomable, deeply anti-freedom reason, lip balm tubes always advance the lip balm into the top while resting in my pocket, rather than it being a random thing...sometimes advancing and sometimes retracting. And of course the balm nestles into the top and then breaks off from the rest, and there we have it...the crisis of the lip. Should I use my little finger to try to dig it out? Advance the remaining balm in hopes that it will adhere to the separated balm and then...impossibly...retract whole back into the body of the dispenser?
It is obviously a vast conspiracy between Big Lip and Big Balm, and the engineers who designed this one-way screw mechanism should be arrested, tried, and executed.
As The UK Circles The Drain, The Labour Party Resorts To -- You Already Know The Answer -- Demagoguery
—CBD
Never mind that the Reform candidate is stating the obvious, that what he is saying is objectively true. The existential crisis that the UK finds itself in is almost entirely the result of catastrophically poor decisions made during the dissolution of the empire, when they welcomed their former subjects into England, assuming that they would continue on the path to 1st world civilized behavior, culture, and morals. Then, to make it even worse, they began to import cheap labor from the 3rd world because, frankly, they were too stupid to cultivate home-grown labor, and needed the endless expansion of the welfare state to continue.
“Goodwin has claimed non-white people cannot truly be English. He said if we'd listened to Tommy Robinson and the English Defence League, we would have ‘avoided some of the problems’ we face today.
“He complained about our civilisation being ‘drained away’ by ‘people from inferior cultures’. He's even suggested women should be told when they should have children.
“This isn't mainstream politics. It's extreme – and Reform chose Goodwin deliberately to drive a wedge between voters.”
The United Kingdom is unrecognizable, and it is trending toward 2nd world status. In London, White Britons are no longer the majority, and a trip on the Tube suggests that English is not the most popular language in the city!
Vast swaths of the country have been taken over by immigrants from the UK's former colonies, and they brought the worst of their countries without embracing the best of British culture. Add in a healthy dose of illegal immigration, and the former jewel of the civilized world is a few generations from losing its position in Western culture, and entering the miasma of the developing world.
But Labour, as it has always done, is fanatical about splitting away immigrants from any sense of patriotism or love of country that may develop, and continues to either demonize traditional Britons or push them farther into the vicious cycle of welfare dependence.
How this shakes out in 2029 when Britain goes to the polls again is hard to predict, but if Britain does not arrest the multicultural catastrophe that is its current domestic politics, then it is lost. The current trend of an ascendant Reform party is full of risk for both the Conservative Party, which has plummeted to practically minor-party status, and for Labour, which may lose not only its absolute majority in Parliament today, but may become a minority party.
But the election is three and a half years away, and that is an eternity in parliamentary politics. It is possible, but not likely, that the prime minister will call an election earlier, simply to protect as many seats as possible . He would lose his position, and it is distinctly possible that Reform would win. But to avoid a catastrophe in 2029, that may be the best choice.
Of course the Labour party is busily trying to lock in its gains, and the destruction of free speech, the resistance to any controls over the border, and the expansion of the welfare state may well cement their gains of last year. That would be the end of "Great" Britain, but that is a cost they are happy to pay to retain power!
Good morning, ‘rons and ‘ronettes. It’s time once again for the semi-regular MP4-hosted Sunday Book Thread. Dress is country club casual, but hats for ladies are required, such as this:
So ask the barman for an Old Fashioned, covfefe or tea and let’s get started!
Today’s opening topic is a two parter:
First Book: I suspect most of you are like me, in that you can’t remember a time when you couldn’t read. My grandparents had a separate room that held not just their own books, but ones that my mother and aunt had read during college. There was the usual 1960s crap like The Organization Man and The Feminine Mystique, but also wonderful ones that have stayed with me to this day. The first books I can distinctly remember reading were Lewis Carroll’s Alice books and – oddly – Nineteen Eighty-Four. Both had me hooked from the start; Carroll not so much for the story or wordplay, but for Sir John Tenniel’s illustrations, which made Victorian fashion my go-to ever since. And as far as Orwell, who could stop reading after his opening sentence, It was a bright cold day in April and the clocks were striking thirteen? I couldn’t understand the machinations of the Party and the constriction of Newspeak, but as I got older, the book became ever more chilling and so much closer to reality.
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Books That Changed My Life: Two other books I discovered fairly early in my reading life were the Victorian-era erotica Venus in Furs and A Man with a Maid, which, I suppose, could be considered books that changed my life, since they’ve colored my views of and relationships with women ever since puberty. I’d be less than honest if I didn’t admit that.
But the book that I can truly say changed my life was one that I mentioned a few weeks ago: Donald Rumbelow’s The Complete Jack the Ripper. I knew nothing about the case when I first saw it – in fact, my first reaction was, “how can there be an entire book about Jack the Ripper?” – but after reading it, I delved deeply into the world of the Whitechapel Murders, eventually corresponding with and meeting some of the most respected names in true-crime writing, editing a magazine about the murders and the world of 1888, as well as writing a reference book and penning a to-this-day regular column in the specialist magazine Ripperology. It was after I finished my JtR book that I looked around for another subject, thought about tackling the idea of a silent film mystery with Theda Bara as an amateur detective. . .and here I am, with two Bara novels under my belt and a third on the way.
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What about you? Do you remember the first book you ever read? What book, if any, changed your life and made you who you are today?
He explained that the real story is that Nvidia is not going to invest $100 billion in OpenAI:
"Sam is closing the round (of investment) and we will absolutely be involved," Huang added. "We will invest a great deal of money, probably the largest investment we've ever made."
Asked whether it would be over $100 billion, he said: "No, no, nothing like that."
So there you have it. Nvidia will absolutely definitively be going ahead with investing some amount in some company at some point maybe.
Saturday Night Club ONT - January 31, 2026 [Double Vision]
—Open Blogger
Welcome to Club ONT - Seeing double? D and D? This is a collaboration of The Disco and The Dino.
The parking lot may still not be fully cleared from last weekend's snow storm, but we are full open for both business and fun! Don't let the lyrics to tonight's mystery click give you any ideas about our guests there on that table. They are friends, not food!
And on the first day of creation, God created the cat.
On the second day, God created man to serve the cat.
On the third day, Gold created tuna, mice and all the animals of the earth to serve as potential food for the cat.
On the fourth day, God created honest toil so that man could labor for the good of the cat.
On the fifth day, Gold created the ball of yarn, the feather thingie on a string, and the catnip mouse so that the cat might or might not be amused.
On the sixth day, God created veterinary science to keep the cat healthy and the man broke.
On the seventh day, God tried to rest but the cat woke him up at 5:00am.
Hat tip: Iris
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Late one afternoon, the Airmen out at Area 51 were very surprised to see a Cessna landing at their "secret" base. They immediately impounded the aircraft and hauled the pilot into an interrogation room.
The pilot's story was that he took off from Vegas, got lost, and spotted the base just as he was about to run out of fuel. The Airmen started a full background check on the pilot and held him overnight during the investigation.
By the next day, they were finally convinced that the pilot really was lost and wasn't a spy. They gassed up his airplane, gave him a terrifying "you-did-not-see-a-base" briefing, complete with threats of spending the rest of his life in prison, told him Vegas was that-a-way on such-and-such a heading, and sent him on his way.
The day after that though, to the total disbelief of the Airmen, the same Cessna showed up again. Once again, the MP's surrounded the plane, only this time there were two people in the plane.
The same pilot jumped out and said, "Do anything you want to me, but my wife is in the plane and you have to tell her where I was last night!"
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Drink of the Night
Tonight we drew the 5 of Spades from our deck of playing card cocktails
Even though the word "conch" rhymes with BONK, we won't do that to you if you mispronounce it!
Putting this in the mystery click would have been too easy!
How about a version you've probably never heard?
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Someone say "double"??
Some retro commercials for Doublemint Gum!
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Top 10ish Comments of the Week
Definitely not a Comment of the Week:
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Club ONT Brought to you by...
Dumb and Dumber spinoffs
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Club ONT is a retard free zone. Please leave your retard at home. Know the difference between a retard and a Moron. Please don't pet or feed the iguanas. The iguanas are sensitive to flash photography. That means do not flash them while taking a selfie. You don't want to know what happens!
Perhaps this thread is a continuation of the previous Saturday threads.
Tonight's theme I guess is, Does music bring you joy? If music doesn't bring you joy what does?
Some of you know that I dabble with paints. I find it more than a hobby. It is a passion rather than a hobby. Music brings joy to the studio. And one never knows what will be playing in the background of MisHum Studio. The creative process of painting involves an eclectic mix from Adele to Zappa surging through the speakers.
Lately I have been finding myself on listening binges of various artists. So no boys and girls and everything in between, it's not Frank Zappa here 24/7/365(6).
Tonight's Thread has been brought to you by Playlists & The Maestro, FZ.
Welcome hobbyists! Pull up a chair and sit a spell with the Horde in this little corner of the interweb. This is the mighty, mighty officially sanctioned Ace of Spades Hobby Thread. We gave the Ace of Spades Wheel of Hobbies (TM) a spin it landed on sea shells.
Best wishes to Morons in the midst of the current weather event. Feel free to check in with weather reports.
As per usual Hobby Thread etiquette, keep this thread limited to hobbying. All (legal) hobbying is welcome. Discussion of current events, religion and politics can elsewhere. Pants are optional. As always, puns are welcome and encouraged.
Play nice. Don't be a troll and do not feed the trolls.
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Let's thing warm thoughts and talk sea shells. Like snowflakes, no two are exactly the same. They fuel the ultimate beach scavenger hunt. No matter how many you have or have seen, there always might be one more gem hidden in plain sight, just waiting to be discovered.
Shells are simply skeletons of animals, the remains of dead organisms. But unlike humans and most other animals, these mollusks, such as snails, clams, oysters and mussels, have an exoskeleton, meaning it's on the outside of their bodies.
The process of making a shell is known as biomineralization. How marine animals build their shells can vary greatly depending on the species, but all of these animals have special tissues to make their shells, just as humans have special tissues to grow and strengthen our bones.
Most marine animals form their shells from calcium carbonate, which is a tough mineral also found in limestone. Some sponges and microorganisms use another compound silica. There is also a group of brachiopods that build shells using calcium phosphate, which we use to build our bones, too.
More than 50,000 mollusk species live today on our planet, and most of them make shells. But each species makes a different shell. This accounts for the huge variety of shapes and sizes in the seashells you find on the beach.
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Shells of Sanibel and Captiva, Florida (click to embiggen):
Living sand dollars are not white. They're usually brown, gray, or even have a purplish tint, with tiny, fuzzy spines covering their bodies.
They're related to starfish and are burrowing sea urchins.
Sand dollars eat using tiny hair-like structures called cilia, which move food particles to their mouth on the bottom side.
They can burrow into the sand to protect themselves from rough waters or predators.
Like tree rings, sand dollars' ages can be determined by counting the growth rings on their exoskeleton.
Sand dollars typically live for 6-10 years.
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Horde hobbying from PA Dutchman:
This is a Type 1 Chi-He medium tank from Fine Molds. Only 170 were built and all were kept on the home islands, mainly Kyushu, in anticipation of Operation Olympic. They were the first Japanese tank to include a radio as standard equipment and a mechanism to raise and lower the gun barrel.
Outstanding!
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Impressive. Pretty amazing that the guy still has all his fingers. I couldn't tell how the threads were added but maybe that's a trade secret.
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Did you miss the Hobby Thread last week? We did an wood carving and tools theme. The comments may be closed, but you can re-live the content.
Bonus content carryover:
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Notable comments from last week:
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Words of wisdom:
"Because despite all our troubles, when things are grim out in that wide round world of ours, that's when it's really important to have a good hobby." Posted by: tankascribe at June 22, 2024 07:41 PM (HWxAD).
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If you have trouble finding something in the content or comments that resonates with you, contribute your own. Send thoughts, suggestions and photos of your hobbying to moronhobbies at protonmail dot com. Do mighty things.
Our own Dr _ No has been experimenting with AI. Dogs are good subjects for imagination.
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Cats are also good subjects for imagination.
Courtesy Terry Glenn
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A friend went hiking with a grandchild during a time of medical stress at Wild Burro Trail at Lake Pleasant in Arizona. They met some wild burros.
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Stress relievers. At least on this day.
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Meet The PetMorons
A week after we lost Kroger, we were contacted by a regular client who wanted to rehome their boy because they were expecting their first child. We quickly accepted and a few weeks ago, Domo arrived in the house. He's very sweet and as laid back as any normal Greyhound. Here he is discovering that he has toys at his disposal.
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And as you can see, he's very helpful when it comes to chores like making the bed.
-NR Pax
So sorry you lost Kroger. Glad you got sweet Domo. We can see that you needed help making the bed.
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PetMoron Adjacent Animals
Encountered by Members of The Horde
From By-Tor
Brown Pelicans followed our boat back to the dock, hoping for scraps from the deck hands that were cleaning our fish.
Great photos, as usual!
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Thank you for sharing your pets and animal photos and stories with us today.
If you would like to send pet and/or animal stories, links, etc. for the Ace of Spades Pet Thread, the address is:
petmorons at protonmail dot com
Remember to include the nic or name by which you wish to be known when you comment at AoSHQ, or let us know if you want to remain a lurker.
Podcast:Jim Lakely of The Heartland Institute joins us for a wide-ranging discussion of Heartland's recent Anti-Davos initiative: The World Prosperity Forum. We also discuss MN's all-encompassing graft, free markets as an antidote to misery, the truth behind the ICE riots in Minneapolis, and more!
Podcast: CBD and Sefton talk about insurrection in MN coming to NYC? Trump's Greenland rhetoric was over the top, the Gaza Peace Panel is anything but, Minnesota churchgoers need to step up, and is it possible that if the Persian people toss out the Mullahs they will begin a Muslim reformation?
Long-time Coblogger and commenter "Niedermeyer's Dead Horse" is having significant health issues, and would appreciate the thoughts and prayers of The Horde. If you wish to reach out, use @NiedsG on X/Twitter. [CBD]
Disclose.tv
@disclosetv
30m
JUST IN - DOJ investigating Governor Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey for conspiracy to impede immigration agents -- CBS
Podcast: CBD and Sefton chat about the end game in Iran, what to do about the Fed, its supposed "independence," and its hyper-politicized chairman, the housing crunch, and Trump's harebrained suggestion to decrease credit card interest!
Scott Adams, the creator of Dilbert, and an always interesting observer of the human and political condition, has died. RIP. [CBD]
Tousi TV: France closes embassy in Tehran, US Department of State advises all US citizens to get out of Iran He's been saying that Tuesday will be a decisive day. Other reports say that Trump is in the last stages of planning an action against the mullahs. (And other reports say that Tucker Carlson Simp JD Vance is attempting to get Trump to agree to "negotiations" with Iran -- for fucking what? What do we get out of saving the fucking mullahs and letting them kill and torture their own people? Apart from Tucker Carlson getting to pretend he's a Big Man Influencer and that he's worth all the Qatari money he's receiving.)
Asmongold predicted that AWFLs would turn on immigration the moment we started importing hot women into the country, and he was right via garrett
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