Wednesday, March 19, 2025

The Wednesday Wetness

Every time you take a sip from your water bottle, you are depositing bacteria inside and over the course of a day these can multiply by the millions. Here's what scientists say you can do about it.

Carl Behnke had always wondered how clean his reuseable water bottle was. When he stuffed some paper towels inside and smeared them around, he was in for a shock.

"The towels were white – until I pulled them out," says Behnke, an expert in food safety at Purdue University in Indiana, US. "I realised that the slippery sensation I felt in the interior of the bottle was not because of the material but rather because of a bacterial build-up."

His next step was to design a study. Behnke and colleagues stopped passers-by in a corridor at Purdue and asked if they would be happy to loan their water bottles to them as part of their research – to see how clean they were.

"One thing that stood out from the project was the number of people who didn't want to know the results," recalls Behnke. "Basically, they knew that their cleaning habits were poor to non-existent – something the data later confirmed." The results confirmed that those bottles were brimming with bacteria.

Tuesday, March 18, 2025

Flotsam and Jetsam - Trump Declares Biden's Autopen Pardons Void and Vacant

Oh my. This should be fun. Beege Welborn at Hat Hair, The Biden Years: 'I've Got a Pen and I'm Not Afraid for Someone Else to Use It' and then BREAKING: This Will Cause Some Heartburn: Trump Declares POTATUS Auto-Pen Pardons 'Void' Donald J. Trump Posts From His Truth Social@TrumpDailyPosts "The “Pardons” that Sleepy Joe Biden gave to the Unselect Committee of Political Thugs, and many others, are hereby declared VOID, VACANT, AND OF NO FURTHER FORCE OR EFFECT, because of the fact that they were done by Autopen. In other words, Joe Biden did not sign them but, more importantly, he did not know anything about them! The necessary Pardoning Documents were not explained to, or approved by, Biden. He knew nothing about them, and the people that did may have committed a crime. Therefore, those on the Unselect Committee, who destroyed and deleted ALL evidence obtained during their two year Witch Hunt of me, and many other innocent people, should fully understand that they are subject to investigation at the highest level. The fact is, they were probably responsible for the Documents that were signed on their behalf without the knowledge or consent of the Worst President in the History of our Country, Crooked Joe Biden!" Capt. Ed at Hat Hair, NEW: Trump Declares Biden Pardons 'VOID, VACANT, AND OF NO FURTHER FORCE OR EFFECT'. At NRO, Trump Declares Biden’s Last-Minute Pardons ‘Void’ over Autopen Signature. Sundance at CTH, President Trump Calls Biden J6 Pardons Null and Void Following Revelations of Auto Pen Use. Ace breaks out the flaming skull for Trump Declares the Presidential Pardons Signed Not by Biden But By His Aides Operating the Auto-Pen to be "Void". PJM's Matt Margolis explains The Brilliance Behind Trump’s Move Declaring Biden’s Pardons ‘Void' "Trump's second Truth Social post cuts right to the heart of the matter: "The necessary Pardoning Documents were not explained to, or approved by, Biden. He knew nothing about them, and the people that did may have committed a crime." This isn't just about pardons; it's about who was really running our government." Althouse reads the NYT, "President Trump wrote on social media on Sunday night that he no longer considered valid the pardons his predecessor granted to members of the bipartisan House committee that investigated the Jan. 6, 2021, attacks on the Capitol..." ""... and a range of other people whom Mr. Trump sees as his political enemies, because they were signed using an autopen device....But Mr. Trump’s assertion, which embraced a baseless right-wing conspiracy theory about former President Joseph R. Biden Jr., was a new escalation of his antidemocratic rhetoric. Implicit in his post was Mr. Trump’s belief that the nation’s laws should be whatever he decrees them to be. And it was a jolting reminder that his appetite for revenge has not been sated. . . AND: Based on the text of that Truth Social post, I'd say Trump is, first, clearing the way for doing an investigation that will produce evidence of wrongdoing (if there was any and perhaps even if there wasn't) and that will feel deeply painful to the persons whose actions are targeted. He wants those people to "fully understand" what it's like to be subjected to a "Witch Hunt," as he believes he was. And, second, he wants to smoke out who took over and exercised the power of the presidency if/when Biden was incapacitated. He's already asserting that the people who received the pardons/"pardons" were "probably responsible" for manufacturing the fake/"fake" documents." Volokh at the Volokh Report asserts Pardons and Autopen Signatures: A 2024 Appellate Decision Says Pardons Don't Have to Be Signed (or Even Written) at All, "Of course, something is required, and that something is presumably a statement by the President that he is pardoning someone. If (and this is a very big if) a President actually didn't make such a statement, and an assistant just affixed the President's signature to a document purporting to be a pardon without the President's authorization, then I don't see how that would be a valid pardon (at least unless it's somehow ratified by the relevant President). But that turns on a factual question about whether the President was actually involved in the creation of the pardons, not on a legal question about whether an autopen signature renders the pardon invalid." Laughing Wolf, SQT: Pardon Invalidation. "By making his declaration, Trump just waved a red flag in front of the Deep State. Those holding pardons now are directly effected and five will get you ten that some are already with lawyers looking to both judge shop and challenge the declaration. Since they are directly effected, they have standing. What’s more, it will be them and the DNC who start the ball rolling in the courts." Sarah Arnold at TownHall, Is This the Aide Behind Biden's Controversial Autopen Signings? "Reports suggest Neera Tanden, Biden's former White House Staff Secretary, may have used the autopen to sign pardons while President Biden was golfing in St. Croix in December 2022." Benny Johnson@bennyjohnson, "BLOODBATH! Karoline Leavitt is undefeated against CNN's Kaitlan Collins. LEAVITT: "Was he aware of his signature being used on every single pardon?" COLLINS: "Do you have any evidence on that?" Leavitt: "You're a reporter, you should find out." Capt. Ed, Leavitt to Media: Trump Was Just 'Begging the Question' You Should Have

NYPo, Trump strips Hunter and Ashley Biden of Secret Service protection ‘effective immediately.’ When he found out Hunter was dodging subpoenas in South Africa. 

JFK Files Release Today: 80,000 Pages of History Unlocked "Last updated 10 hours ago President Trump has announced that approximately 80,000 documents related to the assassination of John F. Kennedy will be made available to the public today. These documents, expected to be unredacted, aim to shed light on historical inquiries that have persisted for over six decades. The release is part of a commitment to transparency, though specifics about the content of the files have not been disclosed in advance." Sundance, President Trump Says “JFK Files to be Released Tomorrow” by Tulsi Gabbard. I don't expect to find much. Anything that implicates the FBI or CIA has long since been burned, and its ashes scattered at sea.

Libs of TikTok@libsoftiktok"NBC News poll: Trump’s approval rating just hit an all-time high." Don Surber asserts 47 is better than 45, "This time he is a politician who dodged a bullet. Literally."

Stephen Kruiser says President Trump Spent the Weekend Golfing and Hunting Pirates. Capt. Ed, Trump: 'Iran Will Be Held Responsible' For Every Houthi Shot Fired. Insty cites CDR SALAMANDER: Breaking the Bad Houthi Habit. Kurt Schlichter @KurtSchlichter, "I think when third world barbarians fire on our shipping, we should kill them" Quote Ann Coulter@AnnCoulter, "Why did we have to do this? Is it part of our constitution that we must be bombing someone at all times?" Ace, US Warplanes Pound Houthi Terrorist Camps in Yemen as SecDef Hegseth Promises More; Trump Warns Iran. "Trump ordered the airstrikes after coming in from a round of golf."

Sundance reports President Trump will Speak with Russian President Putin on Tuesday. Politico claims the White House is seriously considering deal from Oracle to run TikTok, "Any deal could face security concerns from China hawks in Congress." Nick Arama at RedState sees a MIC DROP: Karoline Leavitt Delivers Epic Response on French Politician Who Wants Statue of Liberty Back ‘Give us back the Statue of Liberty. We gave it to you as a gift, but apparently you despise it. So it will be just fine here at home.' Rapid Response 47@RapidResponse47, "@PressSec responds to the low-level French politician who apparently wants the Statue of Liberty back: "It's only because of the United States of America that the French are not speaking German right now.""

Sundance hosts President Trump Holds Impromptu Presser Aboard Airforce-One. Roger Kimball at Spec World discusses Vance Derangement Syndrome, "Bret Stephens has once again demonstrated that the Hitler wheeze, though tired, still has a bit of mileage in it."

At the Peacock, Treasury Secretary Bessent says White House is heading off a ‘guaranteed’ financial crisis. VodkaPundit at PJM, So a Cabinet Official Just Went on a Sunday Show to... TELL THE TRUTH??? "“The market and the economy have become hooked, become addicted, to excessive government spending and there’s going to be a detox period," Bessent told "Meet the Press" host Kristen Welker." At WaT, Joe Biden leaves Donald Trump with deteriorating deficit. Ted Cruz@tedcruz "An absolute bombshell from @elonmusk on the latest episode of Verdict. He reveals there are 14 magic money computers in the federal government that send money out of nothing!" Roger Kimball at The Telegraph, Ending America’s addiction to high debt, big government was never going to be easy. "Stock markets may be panicking. But Trump and Musk are honest enough to admit that there’s no gain without some pain ." Dave Strom at Hat Hair, sees Tesla Terrorist Troops Try To Terrify.

Kurt Schlichter at TownHall says Boot the Ungrateful Foreigners the Hell Out of America. At Fox, Networks hide Mahmoud Khalil's pro-Hamas message, show lots of sympathy "Mahmoud Khalil and his group are pro-Hamas. This should not be whitewashed as "pro-Palestinian." But this is what the broadcast networks do." Laughing Wolf has SQT: Muhammed Khalil "This story stinks worse than that which was rotten in Denmark. So, Some Quick Thoughts (SQT) on it." John Sexton at Hat Hair, Jewish Columbia Grad Student: Khalil Hates Israel and America Too. At Ace, Trump Deports Pro-Hezballah Professor. At Hat Hair, Sec State Rubio Clarifies Who Made It To El Salvador That Dems Wanted to Remain Here. Secretary Marco Rubio @SecRubio "We have sent 2 dangerous top MS-13 leaders plus 21 of its most wanted back to face justice in El Salvador. Also, as promised by @POTUS, we sent over 250 alien enemy members of Tren de Aragua which El Salvador has agreed to hold in their very good jails at a fair price that will also save our taxpayer dollars. President @nayibbukele is not only the strongest security leader in our region, he’s also a great friend of the U.S. Thank you!" Autism Capital @AutismCapital, "NEW: A reporter asks Karoline Leavitt about the White House Social Media strategy and why they're posting illegals being deported to the song "Closing Time" LEAVITT: "I think it sums up our immigration policy pretty well. You don't have to go home but you can't stay here."" Libs of TikTok @libsoftiktok "Tom Homan BODIES idiotic question from reporter: Reporter: "You're using a 200-year-old law to circumvent due process" Homan: "An old law? Not as old as the Constitution and we still pay attention to that don't we?" BOOM" Jen Van Laar at RedState, likes how Stephen Miller Obliterates CNN Anchor's Line of Questioning on Tren de Aragua Deportations. Cynical Publius @CynicalPublius, "The most brilliant part of the Tren de Aragua deportation flight is that it forced Democrats to defend and uphold literal narco-terrorists who have murdered Americans and destroyed the neighborhoods of working class voters. I am 100% sure that the Trump team did a careful mission analysis on the best way to get Dems to embarrass themselves more than usual, right down to the careful timing of having the judge impose his TRO while the plane was in international airspace. This was a carefully planned operation that was executed to perfection."

Ace, Judge Orders Trump To Turn Deportation Plane Around and Bring the Illegals Back to America; Trump Pulls the Old "My **dio Is Break*** **, Can You Re***?" Gag, "Trump sent a planeload of illegal alien criminals to be held in El Salvador's vibrant and diverse prisons. A federal judge decided he's the Commander in Chief now and ordered the plane to return. Trump said "whoops, the plane's gone too far, can't call it back now, gee willickers sorry." And the left is having a nervous breakdown." Althouse, "The Trump administration on Monday repeatedly stonewalled a federal judge seeking answers about whether the government had violated his order barring the deportation..." ""...of more than 200 noncitizens without due process, escalating a conflict that threatened to become a constitutional crisis.... Judge James E. Boasberg... said, he wanted only to figure out the timeline of the flights to determine whether they were in violation of his ruling. But [Justice Department lawyer, Abhishek Kambli] repeatedly refused to say anything about the flights, citing 'national security.' He simply reiterated the government’s position that it had done nothing to violate Judge Boasberg’s order..." The NYT reports." Insty at his NYPo gig thinks Federal judges’ Trump hate is only harming the courts themselves. Mark Hemingway@Heminator, "It’s pretty clear at this point rogue judges, not the Trump admin, are posing a threat to rule of law. SCOTUS needs to acknowledge this and reassert the judiciary’s role—best way to do that IMO is require TROs to be done by a three judge panel w/ expedited SCOTUS review." Insty, FROM THE BARELY-PARODY DEPARTMENT:
Complete Colorado reports Biden appointee makes $360K soft landing at University of Colorado. Andrew Mayock became the vice chancellor for sustainability as of March 10, for a whopping $360,000 per year. According to a CU media release, the position is “newly created.”


Stephen L. Miller@redsteeze "Schumer spent years rousing his activist base to protest and riot and now won't face them." Quote Annie Karni@anniekarni, "Replying to @anniekarni Statement: "Due to security concerns, Senator Schumer's book events are being rescheduled." Capt. Ed, Oh My: Schumer Book Tour Events Postponed for 'Security Concerns'; UPDATE: Entire Tour 'Postponed'. Reuters, Top Senate Democrat Schumer postpones book tour for security reasons. Ian Miles Cheong @stillgray, "Democrats say there will be violence unless Trump is removed from office." Video. Twitchy, White House Protesters Say Remove Trump or There Will Be Violence. Shooting News Weekly reports Swatting Of Conservative Media and Online Figures Continues Across the Country. Bob Spencer at PJM, Woman Wearing MAGA Hat Denied Service, Threatened With Baseball Bat at Indianapolis Jazz Club.

From Fox, Fani Willis ordered to pay $54K for violating open records laws in Trump case. "Judge Rachel Krause ruled that Willis' office was 'hostile' and 'intentionally' violated Georgia's open records laws." Matt Margolis chuckles when Judge Slaps Fani Willis With Huge Fine.

At Hat Hair, John Sexton has More on the NY Times' Take on the Lab Leak Theory. We denied it because conservatives touted it and Dave Strom shows the COVID Origin Coverup Was Worldwide. Everybody Knew, Everybody Lied. At PJM, Paula Bolyard, NYT: We Were 'Badly Misled' on Covid Lab Leak. But Guess Who's to Blame? Ace, Now It Can Be Told: UK "Intelligence" Also Knew Covid-19 Was Manufactured in Fauci's Wuhan Lab, and Also Lied to the World About It, "Are these the West's intelligence services, or China's? Before getting to that, the New York Times now admits the truth: Yes, covid-19 came from the Wuhan lab. Why did they participate in this massive lying psyop against the American people? They didn't, they say! They were "badly misled," you see." Michael Shellenberger @shellenberger, "The former head of the UK's foreign intelligence agency, MI6, told Boris Johnson in early 2020 that the Covid virus escaped from the Wuhan lab. That means that the US, UK, Chinese, & German governments all knew the truth, covered it up, and spread disinformation. Case closed."

Anna Paulina Luna @realannapaulina "I seldom respond to nasty headlines because I don’t like giving trash credibility, however, being that there is allegedly a book coming out with me named and attacking
@POTUS , his marriage, our first lady, and frankly implying something distasteful about me, I am responding
. I was very pregnant and at the time experiencing pre-eclampsia symptoms, but was not diagnosed. As soon as @realDonaldTrump boarded the plane, being the gentleman and good person that he is, said if I did not feel well, I could use the back room. He did this in a respectful way and in front of my husband, of which we thanked him. He also assured me that they had a medical team on board in case anything happened and they were aware of how pregnant I was. This was the most compassionate thing that could’ve been done at the time. I find it disgusting that the author fails to recognize that. A few weeks later, I was induced because I did have pre-eclampsia . The author of this book never reached out to me for comment. Which means that this book is likely going to be a shit hit piece. If people in POTUS orbit are talking to this author, they need to be cut off immediately. This is gross." The Daily Beast @thedailybeast "The new revelations reveal how Trump reportedly offered a female congresswoman his bed, as long as she kept it a secret from his wife."

From Campus Reform, USC removes Office of Diversity and Inclusion webpage amid compliance review after Trump executive order. Dave Strom reports UNC Triples Down on DEI Hiring. Althouse, "A new report is shedding more light on why UW-Madison’s director of Division of Diversity, Equity & Educational Achievement lost his job." "The report, which was released Friday, details how former DDEEA chief LaVar Charleston spent millions of dollars, handed out bonuses and raises, and never fully communicated any of it to anyone else at the school.... But perhaps the most damning part of the report came from what Charleston spent on training, travel, and events. Which totals over $2.5 million last year alone..." It's always been a grift.

John Sexton, HHS’ Civil Rights Office: Maine VIolated Title IX by Allowing Boy to Compete in Girl's Sports and Beege Welborn, VA Secretary Cuts Off Trans Treatment. Libs of TikTok @libsoftiktok, "@CityofOshkosh discuss a taxpayer funded drag show for little children that the City arranged and gush over toddlers tipping drag queens."

A Tuesday Tune - Nothing Else Matters

 

The pianist with the appearance of a top model conquers the world with her musical talent and virtuosity.

Her extravagant approach to music and fashion, explosive virtuosity, sensibility and beauty of musical arrangements, and model looks have made her one of the most desired artist at the most luxurious corporate parties around the world in the field of fashion, beauty and business


Performing on luxury yachts such as the premiere of Sunreef Yacht at the Dubai and Monaco International Boat Shows, events at the famous W Doha hotel in Qatar, luxury birthday parties in India, and prestigious music stages such as the Salle Bourgoe Hall (Montreal, Canada), at festivals in Italy and Spain (Beyond Music), at Alexei Kozlov's club in Moscow, Zhanna is a true a star, combining musical talent with a bright model appearance.
She knows the classics, too.