MDDNR Posts New Striped Bass Regs

Striped bass season to open in May with one fish per day limit

The striped bass season opens May 16 in most areas of the Chesapeake Bay and its tidal tributaries with a limit of one fish per day per person under new regulations announced by the Maryland Department of Natural Resources.

The 2021 summer-fall season will be open May 16 through July 15, and resume Aug. 1 through Dec. 10, DNR said in a release.

 

Anglers would be able to keep one striped bass per person, per day, with a minimum size of 19 inches. During a chartered fishing trip, the captain or mate would not be permitted to land or possess striped bass for personal consumption.

During the closure period from July 16 through July 31, anglers will be prohibited from targeting striped bass, which includes catch-and-release and charter boats, DNR said.

Actual regulations here at DNR. For the first time since the moratorium, there appears to be no trophy season, fishing for stripers is forbidden from April 1 to April 30, and catch and release only until May 15. 

The Wombat has Rule Five Sunday: Happy Easter!  ready for your amusement at The Other McCain.

Beach Report 3/31/21 - Beginners Luck

Skye and I left home with both the sky and weather radar threatening rain in the not to distant future. Except for a few drops, we managed to walk up to our usual turn around spot above the big falls with out any significant weather.

As we were passing through Matoaka, we stopped to talk (yes, Skye talks) to a couple, who called us over to ask if we lived locally and if I knew anything about sharks teeth. She told me they were new to the east coast, lived in Virginia and were amateur rock hounds, and had come to Matoaka after seeing it on the internet. She showed me this gorgeous Hastalis tooth that she had just picked up laying in band of shell hash, 2 3/8ths inches by my Leatherman's ruler. It was their only tooth so far. Without showing too much jealousy, I told her all about it, and what a great find it was. 

I found 13 very ordinary teeth.

The sky opened up as Skye and I pulled into the garage.

Election 2020: Most Capitol Protesters Won't Face Jail.

And, here we go again. Back on the subject of the Capitol incursion, and first, by way of the Wombat's In The Mailbox: 03.30.21 (Evening Edition), Don Surber says Most Capitol protesters won't be jailed. Media angry. Well, it is their perpetual state. Stacy McCain, ‘Insurrection’? Most Capitol Rioters Probably Won’t Face Prison Time

This should have been obvious from the start: Trespassing and disobeying police commands are the only charges likely to stick against most of the Trump supporters involved in the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol. Most of them just got swept up in the excitement of the moment and certainly were not part of an “anti-government” conspiracy. This reality was obscured by a lot of prosecutorial bluster and media hype. . .

Also from the Wombat's In The Mailbox: 03.30.21 (Evening Edition), Joy Pullman at Da Fed says An FBI So Corrupt It Lets Mass Shooters Rampage Needs To Go, "While the FBI has been failing to stop terrorist attacks by known threats, it has conducted numerous political operations on behalf of Democrats. It's time to clean house." Bonchie at Red State, The Capitol 'Insurrection' Charges Are Falling Apart, and It Shows How Dumb Our Government Is Julie Kelly at Am Great,  The ‘Insurrection’ Probe Is Falling Apart "The government has created, by their own overheated hyperbole, a nearly insurmountable obstacle to proving their initial accusations in court." Insty,  MOST OF THEM WERE JUST PEOPLE IN THE PEOPLE’S HOUSE. Capt, Ed at Hot Hair,  Politico: Capitol Hill Riot Prosecution Might “Embarrass The Biden Administration” In The End. Breitbart, Report: Many ‘Unlikely’ to Face Jail Time for Capitol Riot, ‘Could Embarrass Biden Administration’

“There is a natural cycle to an event like this,” the defense attorney added. “People will say it was the end of the world, then things will calm down, and they’ll begin looking at cases back on what people actually did.”

Althouse is pleased to inform you that the WaPo Fact Checker gives Biden 4 Pinocchios for saying that the new Georgia voting law is "sick … deciding that you’re going to end voting at five o’clock when working people are just getting off work.". Capt. Ed noticed too, WaPo: Four Pinocchios To Biden For Lies About “Outrageous” Georgia Voting Reform Law. Glenn Kessler is the epitome of the broken clock. Using my system of +-2 for evaluating Glenn's grading system, I get six Pincchios, about right. Also from the Wombat's In The Mailbox: 03.30.21 (Evening Edition) The Geller Report  has  Democrats File Lawsuit Against Georgia Election Integrity Law. 

And speaking of Glenn Kessler being wrong, WaPo head 'fact checker' spreads disinformation about Georgia's new election reforms. It's in his job description. Via Hot Hair, Will Bunch at Da Inquirer tells you Why You Should Boycott Coke And Delta Over Georgia’s Voting Law. Time to buy another case. Pam Geller, Democrat Groups File Lawsuit Against Georgia Election Integrity Law. Well duh, that's because they're against election integrity. Breitbart, Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp Slams ‘Ridiculous’ Calls for Boycotts over Election Integrity Law

Natalie Winters at TNP, Election Audit Reveals Irregularities For 1 In 14 Mail-In Votes Cast in Montana. That's enough to tip an election.

An audit of mail-in ballots cast in Montana for the 2020 presidential election reveals a host of irregularities including evidence that “one or several persons may have filled out and submitted multiple ballots” and the failure of a county elections office to provide video footage of vote-counting. 

Twitchy,  BOOM x 2! Brit Hume and Mollie Hemingway NUKE both the media and Democrats with inconvenient poll on Voter ID

1000 National Likely Voters - Yes 

White - 74% Black - 69% 

Oth Non-White - 82% 

All Voters - 75% 

Speaking of the WaPoo, Paul Waldeman claims Opinion: Republicans want you to call their policies ‘racist.’ It’s part of their plan. No, but we're pretty used to it by now. Water off a duck's back. In fact, if they're not calling you racist, you're not trying hard enough.

Andy Coy at Am Think, The Supreme Court: Cowards, Crooks, or Compromised? There are nine of them; plenty of room for all three.

They appear to be cowards or crooks or compromised. Cowards, crooks, or compromised seems to be the only way to explain the decision-making of the United States Supreme Court. The Court's unwillingness to make any decisions regarding the presidential election of 2020 is a historic failure. These last twelve months have seen the Court refuse to do its duty. The Court refused to be a co-equal branch of the federal government.

Ace, Pro-Abortion Corrupt Favor-Trader and Liberal Lisa Murkowski Gets Her First Challenger

Dethroning this serpentess won't be easy. She spreads a lot of money around and of course the Democrats will support her over any real Republican.

But we have to try.

The Wombat has Rule Five Sunday: Happy Easter! and FMJRA 2.0: Day Late & A Dollar Short ready for you amusement at The Other McCain.

 

Your Wednesday Wetness

The Wombat has Rule Five Sunday: Happy Easter! ready for your amusement at The Other McCain.

I Thought Museums were for Real Things

Chesapeake Bay Magazine:  East Coast’s 1st Mermaid Museum Open in Berlin, MD

Berlin, Maryland was once named America’s Coolest Small Town in a national contest, and now there’s a new cool thing to see: the East Coast’s first Mermaid Museum just opened on the town’s main street.

In a soft opening held over the weekend, visitors went in not knowing quite what to expect, but later described the place as “really magical.”

Among the curiosities inside, you’ll find an authentic Fiji Mermaid, that mythical half monkey-half fish said to have been caught off the coast of Fiji and shown off by PT Barnum sideshows. There’s art and cultural artifacts, and even an uncanny mermaid-shaped Cheeto.

 

“I was just called to do a space where people could be in an enchanting environment and learn a bit about why the Mermaid is such an enduring myth throughout all of earths cultures,” owner Alyssa Maloof tells Bay Bulletin.

The Mermaid Museum is located in a historic Odd Fellows building in Berlin, relatively close to the sea at just 20 minutes west of Ocean City. Owner Alyssa Maloof is an artist, and saw inspiration in the town’s early 20th-century architecture.

 

“I tried to have the content of the museum match the historical time period of the building and the town’s structures,” explains Maloof.

“It was the missing puzzle piece to what Berlin was missing,” said visitor Michelle Burke.

The Mermaid Museum doesn’t take itself too seriously: there is a sign at the entrance that warns of “Nudity and fish nudity. Early mermaids didn’t wear suits.”

Maloof says in addition to the main attractions, there are other hidden gems tucked into the museum that you might not find on the first visit. “But if you look closely you will find peeks into other worlds,” she tells us.

Sounds like good fun! 

Linked at The Daley Gator in Mermaids huh? The Wombat has Rule Five Sunday: Happy Easter! ready for your amusement at The Other McCain.

Beach Report 3/30/21

Skye and I set off for the beach before noon to catch the bottom of a low tide. It's a gorgeous day here, low 60s, clear and sunny. The wind was light (10kts)  when we left, but much greater (20 kts) SE when we returned.

I took a picture of this tolerable Sand Tiger (I think) tooth I found on the way up just in case it was the best of the day.

Do you see it?

How about now?

A really nice prehistoric White Shark tooth, Carcharodon hastalis, 1 13/16 inches long, and now the largest of the year, destined for a stay on the kitchen window sill.

All in all 18 teeth, the mandatory crab claw, and a ray chevron, for a pretty nice walk.

Election 2020: At an Inflection Point?

The Peacock whines about  'An inflection point': Congress prepares for battle over massive voting rights bill, "Progressives say the survival of the republic depends on the legislation. Republicans call it a partisan power grab." Republicans are right. Lindsey Graham 2.0 It's 'Sick' for Biden to 'play the race card' on Georgia election law, filibuster "'They use the racism card to advance a liberal agenda, and we're tired of it,' Graham tells 'Fox News Sunday'" When all you have is a hammer  . . . Dave Catron at Am Spec, Election Integrity and Its Discontents "Democrats decry state efforts to bolster ballot security."

At PJ Media, J Christian Adams describes how Facebook money is trying to buy  elections in Lonestar Bias: Texas Election Officials Received $36 Million to Turn State Blue. Is that all Zuck could afford? And where there's money (the blood of politics), there are always parasites willing to tap the flow for personal gain, from Breitbart, Exclusive – Brian Kemp: Stacey Abrams Making Money Off ‘Scam,’ ‘Racket’ Election Bill Disinformation

“Stacey Abrams is making a lot of money off of this,” Kemp told host Matthew Boyle. “She’s getting billionaires and other people and people that don’t even have a lot of money to give money to this cause, really saying things that are untruthful to pad her bank account.”

Kemp also said President Joe Biden — who, like Abrams, criticized the bill as “Jim Crow in the 21st Century” — displayed a lack of awareness for the bill’s provisions, arguing Biden has failed to acknowledge strict voting measures in his own home state of Delaware and that Biden’s focus on Georgia’s new law allows the president to shift attention away from the growing southern border immigration crisis.

“I think Joe Biden’s so focused on Georgia’s election law even though he doesn’t know his own laws in his own state are more restricted than we are to take the focus away from the outrageous things that are happening on the border right now with kids being trafficked and people swarming across the border,” Kemp said.

Mlive,  Michigan man arrested after bragging about storming the Capitol on Facebook. It doesn't sound as if he did anything violent that they can cite, but his phone pinged in the Capitol, and they found his pictures on line. Kinda stupid. Too bad that the media is making sure he can't defend himself, Insty, CANCEL CULTURE IS ALL IN YOUR MIND, THEY SAID: Should Capitol Rioters Be Able to Crowdfund Their Legal Defenses? USA Today Says No…

A team of USA Today reporters targeted online crowdfunding platforms that allow people accused of crimes related to the Capitol riot to raise money for their legal defenses. In fact, the article suggested that USA Today reporters actively pressured companies to cancel defendants’ crowdfunding campaigns. The report painted these desperate people’s attempts to raise funds for their legal defenses as something nefarious.

“Defendants accused in the Capitol riot Jan. 6 crowdfund their legal fees online, using popular payment processors and an expanding network of fundraising platforms, despite a crackdown by tech companies,” USA Today reported. “The Capitol riot extremists and others are engaging these companies in a game of cat-and-mouse as they spring from one fundraising tool to another, utilizing new sites, usernames and accounts.”

In a particularly telling passage, the USA Today reporters appear to brag about getting companies like PayPal, Stripe, and Venmo to drop certain crowdfunding campaigns.

Wednesday, a USA TODAY reporter was able to donate $10 to [Proud Boys member Joe] Biggs’ fundraiser on Our Freedom Funding, using Stripe to process the payment.

A few hours later, his campaign disappeared from Our Freedom Funding.

Friday, a USA TODAY reporter donated to [Proud Boys member Dominic] Pezzola’s fundraiser using Stripe. Stripe told USA TODAY it does not comment on individual users.

A USA TODAY reporter was able to make a $1 donation to Pezzola’s fundraiser using Venmo, a payment app owned by PayPal. After being alerted by USA TODAY, Venmo removed the account.

Soon a PayPal account took its place. PayPal caught that and removed it, too.

“Any attempt to circumvent account closures is not permitted, and the company will ban these accounts when detected,” PayPal’s [spokesman Justin] Higgs said.

Yes, it seems USA Today reporters successfully pressured these companies to remove online fundraisers to raise legal fees for Biggs and Pezzola, who face criminal charges related to the Capitol riot.

Independent journalist Glenn Greenwald called the reporters out on it.

“Congratulations on using your new journalistic platform to try to pressure tech companies to terminate the ability of impoverished criminal defendants to raise money for their legal defense from online donations. You’re well on your way upward in this industry for sure,” he tweeted, sardonically. Greenwald suggested that it “seems like 50% of journalism these days is finding new ways to pressure and shame tech companies to silence, censor and vanish people from the internet disliked by journalists. Their main cause is not transparency but internet censorship.”

TMZ, TRUMP MAR-A-LAGO WEDDING SPEECH ... Enough About The Couple, Let's Talk About Me. Matt Palumbo at Bongino, “Do You Miss Me Yet?” – Trump Surprises Guests at Mar-a-Lago Wedding. When you invite him to speak at your wedding; what did you think you were getting?

Fox reports Alaska's Murkowski to face GOP challenge from state official Kelly Tshibaka "Former President Trump, Alaska GOP have pledged to back a Murkowski primary challenge" Prpnounced "Chewbacha"! Unlike Susan Collins, I think we can do better in Alaska than Murkowski. 

Tuesday Truckin'

The Wombat has Rule Five Sunday: Happy Easter! ready for your amusement at The Other McCain.

Jon Snow Will Be So Disappointed

Stuff Ted sends, from Sci Am, Dire Wolves Were Not Really Wolves

Ever since they were first described in the 1850s, dire wolves have captured modern humans’ imagination. Their remains have been found throughout much of the Americas, from Idaho to Bolivia. The La Brea asphalt seeps famously document how prey animals mired in tar lured many of these ice age predators to a sticky death. The dire wolves’ tar-preserved remains reveal an imposing hunter up to six feet long, with skull and jaw adaptations to take down enormous, struggling megafauna. Though these canids had clearly evolved to handle the mastodons, horses, bison and other large herbivores then roaming the Americas, skeletal resemblances between dire wolves and the smaller gray wolves of today suggested a close kinship. It had long been assumed that dire wolves made themselves at home in North America before gray wolves followed them across the Bering Land Bridge from Eurasia. Now some well-preserved DNA seems to be fundamentally changing the story.

One of the researchers’ questions was how dire wolves were related to other wolves. For decades, paleontologists have remarked on how similar the bones of dire wolves and gray wolves are. Sometimes it is difficult to tell them apart. “My hunch was that dire wolves were possibly a specialized lineage or subspecies of gray wolf,” Mitchell says.

But the new evidence told a different story. Preliminary genetic analyses indicated that dire and gray wolves were not close relatives. “I think I can speak for the whole group when I say the results were definitely a surprise,” Perri says.

After sequencing five genomes from dire wolf fossils between 50,000 and 13,000 years old, the researchers found that the animals belonged to a much older lineage of dogs. Dire wolves, it now appeared, had evolved in the Americas and had no close kinship with the gray wolves from Eurasia; the last time gray wolves and dire wolves shared a common ancestor was about 5.7 million years ago. The strong resemblance between the two, the researchers say, is a case of convergent evolution, whereby different species develop similar adaptations—or even appearances—thanks to a similar way of life. Sometimes such convergence is only rough, such as both birds and bats evolving wings despite their differing anatomy. In the case of dire and gray wolves, lives of chasing large herbivores to catch some meat on the hoof resulted in two different canid lineages independently producing wolflike forms.

In technical terms, the new findings mean dire wolves may need a new genus name to indicate they are no longer part of the genus Canis, to which gray wolves belong. Perri, Mitchell and their colleagues suggest Aenocyon, meaning “terrible wolf.” But the researchers don’t expect their findings to completely overturn tradition, and Aenocyon dirus would likely continue to be called the dire wolf. “They will just join the club of things like maned wolves that are called wolves but aren’t really,” Perri says.

The new findings also add layers to experts’ ruminations on why dire wolves eventually disappeared as the last ice age closed. These predators became specialized in hunting camels, horses, bison and other herbivores in North America over millions of years. As those prey sources disappeared, so did the dire wolves. “In contrast to gray wolves, which are a model for adaptation,” Perri says, “dire wolves appear to be much less flexible to deal with changing environments and prey.”

Nor did dire wolves leave a genetic legacy beyond the decaying DNA in their ancient bones. Although canids such as wolves and coyotes often create hybrids, dire wolves apparently did not do so with any other canids that remain alive today. Perri, Mitchell and their colleagues found no DNA evidence of interbreeding between dire wolves and gray wolves or coyotes. Dire wolves were genetically isolated from other canids, Mitchell notes, so “hybridization couldn’t provide a way out” because dire wolves were probably unable to produce viable offspring with the recently arrived wolves from Eurasia.

Ted's comment with the link was So much for the “Dire Wolf Project”. Not necessarily, while you may not be able to reassemble the actual genes that produced the original Dire Wolf, you could still produce a reasonable simulacrum. And, if you actually have a good sample of the DNA, maybe you can recreate the original, the same way some are trying to recreate the Mammoth from its genes.

The Wombat has Rule Five Sunday: Happy Easter! ready for your amusement at The Other McCain.

OK, Now Do Prosecutors

From Sauron's Eye, New York Office, New York City Ends Qualified Immunity For Police Officers, Becoming 1st In Nation To Do So

The decades-old protection has prevented officers from being sued or liable for misconduct.

New York is now the first city in the country to end qualified. The measure was passed as part of a package of police reform bills.

Critics argued scrapping the protection will make officers less aggressive in fighting crime, if they have to worry about lawsuits.

City Council Speaker Corey Johnson, however, said it “has been used to deny justice to victims of police abuse for decades.”

“Rooted in our nation’s history of systemic racism, qualified immunity denied Freedom Riders justice and has been used to deny justice to victims of police abuse for decades,” he tweeted after the vote. “It should never have been allowed, but I’m proud that we took action today to end it here in NYC.”

I don't have any problem with anyone being held directly responsible for misconduct or criminal action. But does it make sense to take "qualified" immunity away from police, and continue to extend it to prosecutors, who are fairly routinely accused (and caught) ignoring people's civil rights, withholding exculpatory evidence, and seeking persons to prosecute before actually having a crime in mind to prosecute?

Forget It Jake, It's Baltimore

 As usual, it's Jazz Shaw at Hot Air, Baltimore Permanently Abandons Prosecuting Many Types Of Crime

Back in March of last year, Baltimore State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby quietly began the process of “decriminalizing” a number of low-level crimes such as drug possession and prostitution. The move was ostensibly made to reduce jail populations during the pandemic to prevent the spread of COVID behind bars. (We’ll get to the real reason in a moment.) Now, after a year of refusing to prosecute people for breaking laws that are still on the books, Mosby has declared the project to be such a resounding success that she’s going to make those changes permanent, even if we get the pandemic under control. What could possibly go wrong? (Yahoo News)

A year ago, as the coronavirus began to spread across Maryland, Baltimore State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby stopped prosecuting drug possession, prostitution, minor traffic violations and other low-level offenses, a move aimed at curbing Covid-19’s spread behind bars.

That shift — repeated by prosecutors in many other cities — didn’t just reduce jail populations. In Baltimore, nearly all categories of crime have since declined, confirming to Mosby what she and criminal justice experts have argued for years: Crackdowns on quality-of-life crimes are not necessary for stopping more serious crime.

On Friday, Mosby announced that she was making her pandemic experiment permanent, saying Baltimore — for decades notorious for runaway violence and rough policing — had become a case study in criminal justice reform.

Hearing Marilyn Mosby call Baltimore “a case study in criminal justice reform” is a line I wouldn’t have expected to see outside of a Saturday Night Live skit or The Onion. In case that name sounds familiar to you, it might be because Marilyn Mosby (along with her husband, the president of the City Council) is currently dodging a grand jury investigation into a number of her affairs. These include “forgetting” to pay her taxes, a dodgy travel company she started as a side gig, and her recent purchase of two Florida vacation homes while crying poverty back in Maryland. At this point, she’s probably just glad to be generating some headlines about literally anything else than a corruption investigation. . . . 

I have no problem with decriminalizing minor drug possession and prostitution, but the low level violence and robbery need to be enforece.

Election 2020: Democrats have Georgia on Their Minds

The I&I Editorial Board calls Biden Unhinged: Calls Attempts To Stop Election Fraud ‘Sick’ And ‘Un-American’

Biden flew off the handle over the fact that several states are taking steps to reform their election laws in ways he doesn’t like.

“What I’m worried about is how un-American this whole initiative is. It’s sick,” he said. “It’s sick … deciding in some states that you can’t bring water to people standing in line waiting to vote. Deciding you’re going to end voting at five o’clock when working people are just getting off work. Deciding that there will be no absentee ballots under the most rigid circumstances.”

“The Republican voters I know find this despicable,” he added later. “Republican voters.”

He wasn’t done. “I’m convinced that we’ll be able to stop this because it is the most pernicious thing. This makes Jim Crow look like Jim Eagle. This is gigantic, what they’re trying to do.”

So what is it that states are trying to do? First, it’s worth clearing up a few things Biden rattled off.

There is a debate in Georgia about a provision regarding bringing voters food and water while they are waiting to vote. Is that un-American? Not when you consider that such “services” could amount to illegal electioneering. But maybe Biden thinks those restrictions are un-American, too.

That 5 p.m. poll closing time? He’s apparently referring to a plan in Texas that would have polls close in the first week of early voting at 5 p.m. But they’d be open until 7 p.m. in the second week of early voting. And the point of the measure is to create a uniform rule across the state, instead of the wide variations seen in the last election.

And the “no absentee ballots” is bogus. States are trying to rein in mail-in voting that caused massive problems in the last election.

What are some of the other un-American provisions states are considering to protect their elections from fraud? In Georgia, one bill would require voters to include a photocopy of an accepted form of identification with their ballot request form and their absentee vote, instead of a signature, so as to avoid problems with signature matching.

Despicable!

So why wouldn't the lefties current plan for WuFlu vaccine passport also be racist? Jeff Crouer at Am Think, Georgia Drives Democrats Insane. Breitbart, Activists Pressure Georgia to Boycott MLB, PGA After Election Reform Law. From Tristan Justice at Da Fed, Chris Wallace Falsely Claims New Georgia Law Bans Drinking Water While In Line For Voting “This Code section shall not be construed to prohibit a poll officer from … making available self-service water from an unattended receptacle to an elector waiting in line to vote,” the bill reads." But then, as Stephen Kruiser at PJ Media points out, The Morning Briefing: Everything Democrats Say About Georgia Election Law Is a Lie

Natalie Winters at TNP, Zuckerberg’s Election Rigging Group Sends VP To Be Biden’s Tech Director.

A former Vice President of the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative – which funneled $350,000,000 to the Center for Tech and Civic Life – now serves as Special Assistant to the President and Director of Technology in the Biden White House.

The Center for Tech and Civic Life (CTCL) used the hundreds of millions of dollars from the Facebook founder’s organization to overrule local election officials and increase turnout in – almost exclusively – Democratic districts. “CTCL’s Leaders Have Worked for Stridently Progressive Organizations,” the Amistad Project notes.

Clarice Feldman at Am Think thinks  The January 6 Prosecutions Hit a Speed Bump and 'shipwreckedcrew' at Red State does his usual meticulous job of explaining why The Justice Department Is Struggling With January 6 Protest Cases — an Overview

The government has not been reluctant to establish a narrative in the public discourse about its view of the events of January 6 by setting forth in a narrative fashion, in dozens of public filings, its version and description of events on that day.

The protective orders being demanded would prevent any evidence supporting a countervailing narrative from taking hold in public opinion, when the actual evidence is made subject to scrutiny.

It will be a dark day for justice, if the government succeeds in this effort.

Stop the Steal. Kerry Picket at WaEx, House Republicans step up fight to stop Democrats grabbing Rep. Miller-Meeks’s Iowa seat. But really, they have no power. If Pelosi does this, evict her when you regain the house in 2022.

Politico crows about how Collins avoids state-party censure after voting to convict Trump "“Today’s decision is a testament to the Republican Party’s ‘big tent’ philosophy," Collins said." Meanwhile Breitbart whines Maine Republican Party Rejects Censure of Sen. Susan Collins for Vote to Impeach Trump. I'm OK with it. Collins is the best we're likely to get out of Maine for a while. As Ronald Reagan said "The person who agrees with you 80% of the time is a friend and ally - not a 20% traitor."

Sundance at CTH, Senators on Armed Services Committee Promote Expansion of NSA Domestic Data Gathering and Surveillance – NSA Response: “The Fourth Amendment is a “Key Obstacle” You Need to Remove

The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.

Oh, is that all? Could this be NSA's way of saying NFW?  

Linked at Pirate's Cove in the sorta weekly Sorta Blogless Sunday- Happy Easter! and linkfest. The Wombat has Rule Five Sunday: Happy Easter! ready for your amusement at The Other McCain.

The Monday Morning Stimulus

 Better make mine a double

The Wombat has Rule Five Sunday: Happy Easter! ready for your amusement at The Other McCain.

Beach Report 3/28/21

After a little rain this morning, it was an overcast, and fair warm day. My long sleeve shirt was OK

Something odd my son found a few weeks ago, and I keep meaning to get checked, but it think it's a little coral mound,

And a nice little Ecphora, pretty well complete. It had some clay still stuck to it, so I think it's from the fresh slide.

I found a bunch of teeth, 23, and a couple crab claws and a ray chevron, none worthy of the pixels to post them.

Reclaiming Time for Russiagate

One week seems to be about the right length of time these days, not enough material for daily use, too much if you skip a week.

From Chuck Ross at Da Caller, ‘Adam Schiff Took The Bait’: Top Russiagate Investigator Explains GOP Strategy Behind The ‘Nunes Memo’

“Adam Schiff took the bait and put so much more information in his memo than we did in ours, because we knew we would be able to use that information later and prove how wrong they were. It would just take a little bit of time,” Patel said in an interview for The Epoch Times’ “American Thought Leaders.”

We saw that interview last week, but it worth pointing out Sleazy Adam's escapades over again. From Greg Piper at JTN, Judge skeptical of Schiff's argument for keeping impeachment phone subpoenas secret

Todd Tatelman, principal deputy general counsel for the House of Representatives, argued that the Constitution's "speech or debate clause" shields the committee from being dragged into court to divulge the scope of its subpoenas.

"What's your authority for what you just said?" Judge Karen Henderson responded. "I have not found any case that upholds the speech or debate clause immunity with regard to the common law right of access" to public records. Tatelman admitted he didn't know of any.

The judge also found it "noteworthy," if not "ironic," that Tatelman justified hiding the subpoenas to protect the privacy of irrelevant individuals whose personal information could be exposed. Judicial Watch's entire case is about the committee claiming an "unlimited" power to invade the privacy of individuals, Henderson said.

Da Caller, Brother, Sister-In-Law Of Michael Flynn Sue CNN Over QAnon Reporting and  Da  Wire, Michael Flynn’s Family Files $75 Million Defamation Lawsuit Against CNN  

Flynn’s brother and sister-in-law, Jack and Leslie Flynn, sued the network in U.S. District Court in New York City for allegedly portraying them and their family as supporters of QAnon, an online conspiracy theory. The Flynns claimed that CNN deceptively edited footage in a Feb. 4 segment on the conspiracy to implicate the Flynn family, according to the Daily Beast. 

Filed under suits I want to see succeed. John Solomon at JTN, FBI had doubts about Russia informant's allegation that helped prompt Mike Flynn probe "Stefan Halper's story of Flynn trip with Russian woman deemed 'not plausible … not accurate.'" If Stefan Halper is not sent to jail, a miscarriage of justice will have occurred. I hope Durham is looking at his efforts on behalf of the Clinton campaign. 

Speaking of Durham, Sundance at CTH, President Trump Asks a Question, Frustrated Trump demands to know if Special Counsel Durham is still 'living' "Where’s Durham? Is he a living, breathing human being? Will there ever be a Durham report?' Trump said" (Fox) and Da Caller, ‘Is He A Living, Breathing Human Being?’: Trump Wants To Know Where John Durham Is . A good question. A better one is whether or not the Harris/Biden administration will allow it to continue, and if it does, will it make any report public?

Also from John Solomon, DOJ 'unlikely' to represent FBI officials sued by Carter Page for misconduct in Russia case "James Comey and a current FBI analyst have already hired their own private lawyers for civil case after DOJ informs them they are on their own."

The Justice Department has informed current and former FBI officials sued by Russia probe target Carter Page that it is unlikely to represent them in the civil case, signaling they will need to get private lawyers, according to new court filings.

At least two defendants — fired FBI Director James Comey and current FBI intelligence analyst Brian Auten — have already hired private counsel and notified the presiding judge in the case of their representation.

Ordinarily, DOJ represents its employees sued by civilians over their official duties. But court records show the Justice Department has not committed to doing so in this case and told the court as recently as last week it "does not currently represent any of the individual capacity defendants" and needs time to sort through complex issues about whether it should assist in their defense.

"The Department of Justice must determine, among other things, whether the employee defendants reasonably appear to have acted in the scope of employment … whether their representation is in the interest of the United States … and whether legal or factual conflicts exist among the various defendants such that representation of all by the same attorney would be inappropriate," Justice lawyers argued in a motion dated March 15.
. . .
"On March 15, 2021, Mr. Auten was informed that it was unlikely that DOJ would be able to represent any of the individual Defendants in this matter, including Mr. Auten," the new court filing. "On the same date, Mr. Auten requested that the undersigned attorneys of the law firm Steptoe & Johnson LLP act as counsel of record on his behalf in this matter."

 At Bongino, Sen. Grassley Demands DOJ File Charges Against Women That Falsely Accused Brett Kavanaugh. I'm sure we can count on Merrick Garland to get right on that. 

Election 2020: Lindell Claims Smoking Gun

A pretty light load this rainy Sunday morning. Sundance at CTH notices that the Media Starting to Admit Federal Prosecutors Have Scant Evidence Against January 6th DC Protestors as Judges Start Asking Questions

The 2021 political prosecutions against the Oath Keepers and the Proud Boys are essentially akin to former Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein’s 2018 indictments -on behalf of Mueller/Weissmann- for mysterious Russian operatives that never surfaced and were never prosecuted.

As a result, the conspiracy to engage in sedition is to 2021 as the conspiracy to interfere in the Clinton v Trump election was to 2016 (via Facebook memes).

The Associated Press now recognizes something is sketchy about the DOJ shift. Somebody might possibly do something, at some place, in relation to something discussed with someone about some time; thus people were arrested for thought crimes. However, the DOJ cannot show who the somebodies, something or sometime were all about.

BOSTON (AP) — There’s little doubt the Oath Keepers were planning for something on Jan. 6. The question at the heart of the criminal case against its members and associates in the attack on the U.S. Capitol is: What, exactly, did they intend to do?

Authorities suggested for weeks in court hearings and papers that members of the far-right militia group plotted their attack in advance in an effort to block the peaceful transition of power. But prosecutors have since said it is not clear whether the group was targeting the Capitol before Jan. 6.

“The plan was to unlawfully stop the certification of the Electoral College vote … and the plan was to be prepared to use violence if necessary,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Kathryn Rakoczy said during a hearing this month. But the Oath Keepers “did not know precisely the way in which force and violence might be needed to support this plan,” she said. (read more)

Overcharging and then offering plea bargains is the way of life in the US judicial system, unfortunately, prosecutors have neither the time or money necessary to pursue most charges into the courtroom. It's likely that is what they are angling for here as well.

Tyler O'Neil at PJ Media, Biden Goes Berserk on Georgia Election Law

  President Joe Biden railed against Georgia’s new voter integrity law on Friday, slamming the law as “un-American,” “a blatant attack on the Constitution and good conscience,” and “Jim Crow in the 21st Century.” Biden repeated false claims about Georgia’s elections system and mischaracterized key parts of the bill.

Kamala is going to need Georgia in 2024. ET, Biden: DOJ ‘Taking a Look’ at Georgia’s Newly Enacted Election Reform Law. I'm sure the new "independent" DOJ under Merrick Garland will see it his way. Bonnie Kristian at Da Week presumes to tell us Why conservatives should hate Georgia's voting restrictions. I'm always suspicious of liberal who tell me want's good for me. You should be too.

No-Pasaran! One Week Before the Election, the New Yorker Mentioned the 25th Amendment — But Only for Donald Trump; With Joe Biden, There Is Nothing to Fear. From Stacy McCain's Joe Biden’s Potemkin ‘Press Conference’ this little gem (I couldn't avoid Twitter):

Leader of the free world
pic.twitter.com/3FrchEQGK9

— Rita Panahi (@RitaPanahi) March 25, 2021

Sundance keeps score with the GOPe, so you don't have to, John Boehner Backs Ohio Incumbent Anthony Gonzalez Who Voted to Impeach, While President Trump Backs Primary Challenger Max Miller

DJHJ Media, Lindell Tells Bannon That New Movie, Absolute Interference, Is ‘The Smoking Gun’ Evidence Don't tell me, show me!

“We focused on two things in the second movie, the history of Dominion and corruption and how they flipped Venezuela to Communism in two years; look at where we are two months after the election, and we have validated the ID of the computer and IP addresses both here and in China. You have to see this one guy who showed me data on each country, starting in Pennsylvania, where he was hired to look at a race there. When he dug into that by looking at the voting reporting, he remembered seeing some familiar from the 2010 census, and he compared information by counties. Showing the same patterns, he showed that with Math, Trump won by 16%,” Lindell told Bannon.

Bannon asked him about the “big reveal” from the first movie and asked Lindell if the second movie had new experts and showed new proof. “These are acts of cyber proof; we need lots of proof,” Bannon said.

“Yes, new people. Technical experts had to go and validate IP addresses. We have two whistleblowers in disguise. I will tell you one was with the Senate runoff in GA. In that case, we had a guy with burner phones with hotspots. A citizen got a device to find an IP address, and he went into the election area with his devices and found the IP address. We know who did it, the conversations that they had, we have everything. We proved there was an attack on our country. 100% absolute proof, and it matches up with other patterns and algorithms in different states, We are dropping a one-hour version of this information on Wend or Thursday, and it fits like a glove with foreign interference,” Lindell told Bannon.

Lindell is still convinced the election can be flipped. I don't believe it. 

Palm Sunday

Starring this week's Rule 5 lovely, Casey Boonstra.

Linked at Pirate's Cove in the weekly Sorta Blogless Sunday Pinup and linkfest. The Wombat has Rule Five Sunday: Happy Easter! ready for your amusement at The Other McCain.

Annals of the Biden Crime Family - Hunters Got a Gun

 Politico, Sources: Secret Service inserted itself into case of Hunter Biden’s gun

On Oct. 23, 2018, President Joe Biden’s son Hunter and daughter in law Hallie were involved in a bizarre incident in which Hallie took Hunter’s gun and threw it in a trash can behind a grocery store, only to return later to find it gone.

Delaware police began investigating, concerned that the trash can was across from a high school and that the missing gun could be used in a crime, according to law enforcement officials and a copy of the police report obtained by POLITICO.

But a curious thing happened at the time: Secret Service agents approached the owner of the store where Hunter bought the gun and asked to take the paperwork involving the sale, according to two people, one of whom has firsthand knowledge of the episode and the other was briefed by a Secret Service agent after the fact.

The gun store owner refused to supply the paperwork, suspecting that the Secret Service officers wanted to hide Hunter’s ownership of the missing gun in case it were to be involved in a crime, the two people said. The owner, Ron Palmieri, later turned over the papers to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, which oversees federal gun laws.

The Secret Service says it has no record of its agents investigating the incident, and Joe Biden, who was not under protection at the time, said through a spokesperson he has no knowledge of any Secret Service involvement.

At Hot Hair, AllahPundit wonders  Why Did The Secret Service Get Involved In A Gun Case Involving Hunter Biden In 2018?. Always a good question, of course, but the net effect was to cover the involvement of Hunter and Beau's widow. Ace, Secret Service Intervened to Help Hunter Biden Out of Gun Jam. "The fucking Praetorian".  Sundance at CTH, Curiouser and Curiouser, Secret Service Attempted to Cover For Hunter Biden Handgun Thrown in Trash Can.  PM, Hunter Biden under fire for lying on gun background check, getting secret service help. PM, EXC: Hunter Biden’s Texts Confirm Gun Was Taken, Left In Dumpster – ‘Police, FBI, Secret Service Came On Scene’. 'Shipwreckedcrew' at Red State, The Hunter Biden Gun Story: This One Should Be Hard to Make Go Away - Part 1, Part Two — A Hunter, A Gun, Some Drugs, Secret Service Guys, and…. The FBI? and Shipwrecked Crew Discusses 'The Great Hunter Biden Gun Grab' on The Grace Curley Show. It's great to be a Biden, eh?

Hollywood in Toto, ‘My Son Hunter’ – Is This the Movie President Biden Fears Most?

Phelim McAleer returns to tell a shocking story Big Tech and the media covered up. Fox, Hunter Biden probe 'active and ongoing' without White House interference: sources "AG nominee Merrick Garland says he hasn't discussed case with President Biden" Daniel Greenfield at Front Page, Biden Intel Report Reboots Russia Hoax to Censor Hunter Corruption Stories "Denigrating Biden is a national security threat." Nick Arama at Red State, Psaki Gets Hit With a Hunter Biden Question, Her Answer Fails In Every Possible Way and Breitbart, Jen Psaki Claims Ignorance of Senate Report on $3.5M Hunter Biden-Russia Transaction. Ignorance is her middle name. Natalie Winters at TNP, FACT CHECK: Biden Says His Family Weren’t Involved In Govt During The Obama Admin. That’s Not True, also, Jen Psaki’s Sister Gets Cushy Government Job Despite Biden’s “No Family Members” Pledge..

Shmuel K'atzkin at Am Spec, Gaffes and Memory Gaps: What’s Biden Hiding? He wouldn’t be the first president to conceal a serious health problem." Charles Sullivan at Am Think thinks its Time to Review the 25th Amendment. Not gonna happen, until they decide he's outlived his usefulness. Wa Free Bee, Journalists Abandon Crucial ‘Accountability’ Projects in the Post-Trump Era. I'm shocked, shocked. David Harsanyi at NYPo thinks Biden wouldn’t survive his own rules for sexual misconduct accusations. Few Democrats can; by design.

It’s worth reminding people that if President Biden were compelled to live by the standards he intends to institute for college students accused of sexual misconduct, he would be presumed guilty of rape, denied any legitimate opportunity to refute Tara Reade’s charges and tossed from office in disgrace.

Also at Wa Free Bee,  DOJ Nominee Has Up to $55 Million in Trust Used to Dodge Estate Tax "Vanita Gupta's creative accounting puts her at odds with the Biden administration" It's only a tax dodge or a loophole when a Republican uses it. Da Blaze, Biden nominates wife of swing vote Sen. Joe Manchin to cushy $160K-a-year gov’t gig "Not suspicious at all" I'm positive he couldn't find someone better, aren't you? Stephen Green, PJ Media Insanity Wrap #172: Communist China Has a Friend in the Oval Office, No, they have a client. Jazz Shaw, Biden Continues To Fire Trump Appointees From Independent Agencies. So much for "independence."

TNP, By Day 48, Biden’s White House Had Made Major Progress In Destroying America. Time is of the essence; he isn't going to last forever, you know!

This works on a couple levels. 

Beach Report 3/27/21

Much cooler than yesterday, struggling to reach 60 F, but I toughed it out in shorts and a T-shirt again, and was cool, but not miserable.

A fair number of people on the beach, especially at Matoaka, and Skye got lots of attention. Overall, a decent, but not spectacular day for fossils, 17 shark's teeth, 2 crab claws, and a thing that might the be beak of some kind of fish.

An interesting story though. I stopped to talk to a woman and her son who were fruitlessly looking for fossils. I showed them the ones I had so far, explained some things to look for, and before I finished talking to the mother, the son went off and picked up a very nice Snaggletooth lower, about an inch long. The student beat the teacher!

Election 2020: So It's OK to Overturn a Certified Election? Whoda Thunk?

Where to start? Oh, let look at Wombat's links and see if anything sticks out Via In The Mailbox: 03.25.21 The Federalist also, Nancy Pelosi Needs Another House Seat, So She’s Stealing It , also Hogewash, on Making Votes Count, an introduction to Miller-Meeks issue:

One of the House elections in Iowa last year was very close. After careful counting, the Republican candidate Mariannette Miller-Meeks was declared the winner by a 6 vote margin, and she was subsequently seated in the House. Now, the House Democrats want to vote on whether she should remain a member.

I consider it completely unimportant who in the party will vote, or how; but what is extraordinarily important is this—who will count the votes, and how.  — Joseph Stalin

From Ace's Morning Rant

And via the Wombat's In The Mailbox: 03.26.21 (Afternoon Edition) the Weasel Zippers: Nancy Pelosi Thinks She Has The Power To Decide Who Goes To Congress, and from In The Mailbox: 03.26.21 (Evening Edition), The Federalist: Nancy Pelosi On Trying To Steal Iowa House Seat – I Am The House,

 At Da Caller, Pelosi Argues She Has A Right Not To Seat Certified Election Winner In Iowa. Victory Girls,  Nancy Pelosi On Iowa: Certified Elections Don’t Matter. Twitchy, ‘Absolutely unreal’: Jen Psaki confirms that Joe Biden believes overturning certified election results is fine if Democrats benefit. Matt Margolis at PJ Media, Media Fact-Checkers Silent as Nancy Pelosi Falsely Claims She Can Unseat 'Any Member of Congress' She Wants  Karen Townsend at Hot Hair, McConnell, Senate GOP Demand Corporations Halt Donations To Democrats Trying To Steal Iowa House Seat It's fine to call out their hypocrisy, but it won't have any effect. Just unseat her the next time the Republicans win the house. 

Major corporations quickly came out with announcements of pausing donations to Republican lawmakers who voted against certifying Joe Biden’s election victory in January. Specifically, the closing of the corporate coffers was a reaction to the Capitol Hill riot on January 6. Now there is a House race in Iowa which Democrats are trying to steal from the Republican who has been certified by state officials as the winner. Senate Republicans, including Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, now demand that turnabout is fair play.

Sundance at CTH, Four Months After Election and Still No Chain of Custody Paperwork Evident for 404,000 Georgia Ballots Left in “Drop Boxes”, where Biden had a margin of 12,000 votes. I assume all 404,000 are illegal votes for Biden. Prove me wrong. NYPo, Georgia election reform bill signed into law.  At WaEx, Brian Kemp signs sweeping elections bill into law. Da Caller, Georgia State Rep. Dragged Out Of State Capitol For Knocking On Governor’s Door While He Was Signing Bill. Dlearly insurrection, as Democrats use to word.  PM, Democratic lawmaker arrested in Georgia after Gov. Kemp signs elections bill At Hot Hair, AllahPundit whines Does Georgia’s New Election Law Really Make It A Crime To Hand Water To People Standing In Line To Vote?, like that the biggest issue. Can you go pee for them, at least? And Hot Hair cites the NYTs whine in Why Georgia’s Voting Rollbacks Will Hit Black People Hard and AllahPundit cites Biden: This Georgia Election Law Is An “Atrocity”

And speaking of election law atrocities, take HR. 1. JTN, Republicans see Dem drive to rig system, secure one-party rule, despite promises of bipartisanship "Democrats in Congress have D.C. statehood, federal election reform, immigration reform with a path to citizenship and more on their agenda." CNS News, Sen. Cotton: HR1 Would 'Entrench' Democrats 'in Power Forever'. That's certainly the intent. Human Event, Senate Holds First Hearing on Team-Left Legislation to Nationalize Elections: Part 1. But Ryan Tyson at Am Spec speculates Republicans Have Nothing to Fear in Early Voting. Florida Proves It. "Through increased voter access, the GOP can compete in turnout wars — and win." True enough, if the votes are from real voters and counted accurately. HR. 1 seeks to prevent that.

Michael Gray at Am Think, Who Benefited from the Canceling of Congress's 2020 Election Probe? That's not even a decent rhetorical question. The Democrats, of course. 

Capt. Ed at Hot Hair, Trump: Capitol Riot “Zero Threat, Right From The Start”. Mostly peaceful, except for the fights, the broken windows, the bear spray and tear gas, and that unarmed woman being shot by the Capitol policeman. But he did suggest 10k National Guard. Behind the Black, Today’s blacklisted Americans: Democrats go after Parler and its investors

In February Democratic Party congresswoman Carolyn Maloney (D-New York) and her fellow Democrats demanded the social media platform Parler provide Congress a detailed list of all its investors and creditors, while also demanding the FBI investigate the company.

The Democratic Party demands were based on an outright falsehood, that Parler was part of a conspiracy to overthrow the government during the protests at the Capitol on January 6th.

In her letter, the congresswoman goes on to claim that Parler “allowed Russian disinformation to flourish on its platform prior to the November 2020 election, facilitating Russia’s campaign to sow chaos in the American electorate.”

“Individuals with ties to the January 6 assault should not — and must not — be allowed to hide behind the veil of anonymity provided by shell companies,” continued Maloney in her letter.

The problem with this fantasy is that the evidence shows that the public social media planning for the January 6th protest was done on all the platforms, not just Parler, with the bulk taking place on the more established older forums like Facebook, Twitter, and Reddit.

Am Great,  Parler Alerted Feds to Violent Content Ahead of January 6 Riot. They're going after Parler for no reason other than it's a refuge for conservatives from Twitter and Facebook's anti-conservative censorship.

Capt. Ed, Dominion Escalates, Sues Fox News In $1.6 Billion Defamation Claim; UPDATE: Fox News Responds. 

This might be the legal equivalent of tilting at windmills. Suing Sidney Powell, Mike Lindell, and Rudy Giuliani targets the sources of the defamation; Fox News was arguably just an enthusiastic consumer of those conspiracy theories. In some cases with its hosts, very enthusiastic, as the lawsuit contends, but the media outlet exists to report news. If that’s the “commercial interest” that Dominion claims, it’s the same commercial interest that every media outlet in the US has … eyeballs.

If you don't like the news about you, don't make it.

Linked at Pirate's Cove in the weekly Sorta Blogless Sunday Pinup and linkfest.