Showing posts with label New Years. Show all posts
Showing posts with label New Years. Show all posts

Thursday, January 1, 2026

Flotsam and Jetsam on the First Day of 2026

You probably won't be surprised that the Minnesota fraud story still dominates. Bad Hombre @Badhombre "Did I call it or did I call it?" Quote Bad Hombre @Badhombre, "Within the next 72 hours, expect a Jussie Smollett-style fake bomb threat against a Somali “learning center” that Democrats will try to blame on MAGA right-wingers on X. They desperately want to distract in any way they can from the fraud." Upstate Federalist @upstatefederlst "Wow it's crazy that vandals would steal *checks notes* all the evidence that investigators would want." !Quote Ismail Royer @IsmailRoyer "The Minneapolis daycare center targeted by this tweet, Nokomis Daycare Center, received telephone threats of violence & was broken into last night & vandalized, & checkbooks & parents’ documents were stolen. x.com/crimewatchmpls…" From Ace, Somali Pirate: Racist Thieves Broke Into Our Very Legitimate Day Care and Stole All the Enrollment and Employee Records That Would Prove This Is a Legitimate Business and Not a Pirate Plundering Operation, "Drat -- the racist thieves stole the very documents that would allow the pirates to clear their good piratical names! Oh, and he slips it in that they tore off checks from the "day care's" checkbook, too. Not the whole checkbook, for some reason, but just certain checks. So if you find any checks from the company going to pay for obviously-personal luxuries -- well, that must have been the racist thieves. So convenient of the thieves. He also -- get this -- claims to be a victim of racism, you Racists."

At RCP, Nick Shirley: A Kindergartener Could Find The Fraud Going On In Minnesota, But Tim Walz Wants Their Votes. Hat Hair's Dave Strom sees Laughable Criticism of Nick Shirley Tim Carney @TPCarney "I'm not sure the viral critique of Minnesota day cares is totally accurate. I am certain that *according to the government, there's no fraud in this government-funded program* is the farthest thing from journalism." Quote CBS News @CBSNews "A recent video by conservative YouTuber Nick Shirley alleged nearly a dozen day care centers in Minnesota that are receiving public funds are not actually providing any service. . . . CBS News' review also found dozens of citations related to safety, cleanliness, equipment, and staff training, among other violations, but there was no recorded evidence of fraud." Christopher F. Rufo @christopherrufo, "This dunce didn’t do an investigation into fraud, he simply read a government compliance website and concluded that everything is fine. This is Soviet-style media. Bari Weiss has a lot more work to do." He did his job. He was sent not to find fraud and he didn't look until he didn't find any. OTH, at Reason, ABC, NBC Barely Touch Minnesota Fraud, While CBS Delivers the Goods. At Althouse, The NYT puzzles over the Nick Shirley video. "I'm reading "An Intense White House Response From a Single Viral Video/A video purporting to expose extensive fraud at child care centers in Minnesota shows the relationship between the Trump administration and self-described citizen journalists" (NYT)." Drew Holden @DrewHolden360 "Unbelievably CNN to see all the smoke and fire around the Minnesota fraud story and decide to ask the tough questions to…the guy who reported on it all." Quote Anderson Cooper 360° @AC360 "Following a viral video, federal resources have surged to investigate alleged child care fraud in Minnesota. CNN's Whitney Wild had a chance to question YouTuber Nick Shirley about his claims." jay plemons @jayplemons, "Nick Shirley reveals he's facing serious threats after exposing billions in alleged Minnesota fraud.@nickshirleyy "There's bounties on me here in Minnesota, because people are so upset as far as the fraud that's being exposed, because they know their time's up, and they know everyone's just sick and tired of this happening inside their own state and across America."" Stephen L. Miller @redsteeze, ""Youre laughing? The City Hall reporter for the Minneapolis Star Tribune, the major city news publication run by a Tim Walz appointee, just went and deleted her account for threatening posts against fraud whistleblowers, and you're laughing." AAGHarmeetDhillon @AAGDhillon, "ANY state official who chills or threatens to chill a journalist’s 1A rights will have some ‘splainin to do. @CivilRights takes potential violations of 18 USC § 242 seriously! Govern yourselves accordingly!" #1A" Quote Libs of TikTok @libsoftiktok. "Washington State Attorney General is now accusing journalists of “harassment” for investigating fraud and fake daycares Democrats don’t want us uncovering fraud because they’re the ones committing it and benefiting from it." From Hollywood in Toto, Late Night Won’t Touch Somali Scandal, So "Indie content creators rush in, satirize Minnesota's massive child care debacle."

Joe Teirab @JoeTeirab, "I’m an AO OG, but if @DavidAFrench is referencing MAGA’s critique of the MSM’s coverage of the recent rampant fraud in MN and elsewhere, respectfully, he’s just wrong. I’m a regular reader of both the @nytimes and @StarTribune, and helped prosecute fraud in MN as an AUSA. No fair observer could say the scope of the coverage was commensurate with the scope of the fraud. You just can’t." Quote David French @DavidAFrench, "One thing to remember as we go through the one millionth right-wing cycle of "Why hasn't the mainstream media covered" the thing that it has repeatedly covered ... The vast majority of the MAGA doesn't read the MSM, but they eagerly consume attacks on the MSM." John Hinderacker at Power Line finds the left Desperately Defending Timmy. Send Tim Walz To Somalia Simulator @fleshsimulator, "I like how he just tries to slide in the phrase “White men commit the most crime” like it’s a given Here’s the homicide data for the state of Minnesota, and the total crime data for Hennepin county Not only do white people not commit the most crime, they don’t even commit most of the crimeS You have 5x as many white people in Minnesota as black people. Somehow the 169K black people committed almost twice the total number of crimes that 857K white people did over the same time span I get that it’s tacky to bring up crime stats but this is utter horseshit, and an outright, bald-faced lie. I’m not going to just sit here and accept him saying this and not push back." LHGrey @grey4626, "No, Tim. This isn't Trump's "long game." This is you getting caught with your hand in the cookie jar...except the jar is stuffed with taxpayer dollars, and you've been smashing it open for years while pretending to be the victim. Minnesota under your watch became a five-star resort for fraudsters. . . ." Dave Strom, It's Not One Thing; It's EVERYTHING: Molly Pitcher @AmericanMama, Assisted living fraud in Minnesota. This particular facility is owned by Gandhi Muhammad and he’s been indicted for money laundering $1 million for the Feeding Our Future scam. His wife still runs the facility and the state continues to pay as Mohammed awaits trial.

Jen O'Connell at RedState reports a Former TSA Agent Exposes Somali Fraud in Real Time at Minneapolis-St. Paul Airport. Suitcases of cash headed for Mogadadishu. Hat Hair's John Sexton finds More Suspicious Daycare Activity, This Time in Washington Cam Higby @camhigby, "SOMALI FRAUD IN WASHINGTON: @choeshow and I spent yesterday investigating Somali daycares in WA. “Dhagash Childcare” has received over $210,000 just this year. People living at the address claim there has never been a daycare there. We lay out the facts in this teaser." Ace, More Daycare Fraud Suspected, This Time in Washington. Greg Price @greg_price11, "Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine's office on potential fraud at childcare centers in Columbus-- which has the second highest Somali population in America: "This is something that is unfortunately the cost of doing business."" From Shipwreckedcrew, COVID Fraud In California Makes The Losses in Minnesota Look Like A Rounding Error. "Under Gavin Newsom, $30 billion in fraudulent unemployment compensation claims were made on COVID relief funding -- including a huge amounts paid to the "unemployed" state prison inmates." DogeDesigner @cb_doge, "DAVID SACKS: "In California, we have $24 billion going to homeless programs, and yet the number of homeless people keeps rising. They can't pass an audit. The state refuses to even permit an audit. We know there's massive fraud going on in that program." PJM's Matt Margolis looks at The Massive Fraud Scandal No One Is Talking About and sees a Bombshell Report that Exposes Billions in Biden-Era Fraud That Went to Dead People and Non-Citizens. At Campus Reform, Son of Minnesota AG collecting $110,000 city salary despite full-time Harvard fellowship 1,000 miles away.

John É… Konrad V @johnkonrad, "LONG POST WARNING: How did this Somali fraud happen? I have a close relative who works inside this system. She processes medicalcare claims for a large provider, we’ll call it SMH, in a deep-blue state (not Minnesota). What people miss is that the biggest fraud isn’t the checks written to individuals. It’s the staggering cost of administering the programs. . . ." Dave Strom, Despite It All, They Will Continue to Vote for Democrats. Despite it? Because of it! It's also a massive vote buying scheme. Also, Denaturalizing Fraudsters Will Accomplish Almost Nothing. "Evicting a few dozen will accomplish nothing aside from providing emotional satisfaction that at least a few people faced justice." I'll take that. William Wolfe @WilliamWolfe, "It's becoming increasingly undeniable that every left-coded "government program" that woke Christians used empathy to defend and demand we support... Daycare, healthcare, refugee resettlement, welfare, etc. Are all just fraudulent ponzi scheme kickbacks for godless Democrats." Stephen Miller @StephenM, "What if I told you our national debt is the tab for the mass looting of the American economy and the mass theft of the American dream?" Jim Williams @Alpowolf "As Thomas Sowell has pointed out, it’s a mistake to judge a law or program by the stated good intentions of its creators. You have to judge it by the incentives it creates. This program creates vast financial incentives for fraud…so that’s what we get." Timur Kuran @timurkuran, "The Somali daycare scandal is not just about Somalis, or immigration, or Minnesota. It’s also, and more importantly, about declining trust in government and betrayal of the people’s compact. She nails it." Quote QE Infinity @StealthQE4, "Great rant. I think many are starting to feel this way. You go girl!" Kurt Schlichter at TownHall thinks Republicans Are Slowly 'Learing' How to Fight the Democrats.


Jack @jackunheard, "BREAKING: Zohran Mamdani stuns New York, putting Ramzi Kassem — 9/11 Al Qaeda defense lawyer — in charge as Chief Counsel New York, what have you done?" Why should this surprise anyone? Stephen L. Miller @redsteeze, "As I've been saying, the political right has an antisemitic influencer problem, while it's completely institutionalized on the left. Candace Owens isn't going to be the mayor of New York City. Every Democrat nominee for president is going to appear on this woman's podcast before 2028. She will most likely have a speaking slot at the DNC." Quote Nicholas Fondacaro @NickFondacaro, "Jennifer Welch claims Zionists, not the CCP, control TikTok's algorithm and are using it to manipulate everyone to support Israel and ignore how they want to "ethnically cleanse Gaza." She claims Israel spent a lot of money to make "Islamophobia" they next big thing." Wall Street Apes @WallStreetApes, "Seattle is screwed Democrat Katie Wilson, winner in Seattle's mayoral race, gives her first speech “I do think that we will need to pursue new progressive revenue in order to fund our priorities and make sure that we're delivering services” Progressive revenue = More taxation." Teddy Schleifer @teddyschleifer, "NEW: Peter Thiel is opening an office in Miami for his personal investment firm, Thiel Capital. Thiel just put out this press release. Why? Because he is trying to show publicly that he is a taxpayer in Florida, not California. Note that it says the lease was signed Dec. 2025."

From NYPo, Trump calls for ‘peace on Earth,’ vows to ‘get to the bottom’ of Minnesota fraud at glittering Mar-a-Lago New Year’s Eve bash. Althouse finds The Washington Post Editorial Board lists "25 Good Things That Happened in 2025" and not one thing is attributed to Trump. "The name Trump doesn't even appear — see for yourself here (gift link) — though "capitalism gets a favorable mention* and two of the items are educational policies associated with the conservatives.**" Catturd ™@catturd2, "2026 is gonna be the best year ever for the United States. Block or mute all black pill, Panican, pessimistic losers. 100 things can be going perfectly and one thing wrong. And they’ll dwell on that one thing wrong all day, every day, on X. Eliminate these losers from your life, or they’ll drag you down into their never-ending negativity with you. Enjoy the next three years. Be positive, be happy, and ignore the people who just can’t be happy for some reason no matter what happens." The Telegraph opines Donald Trump enters 2026 as the real leader of Europe.

Capt. Ed at Hat Hair cites the WSJ: Trump Really Did 'Kick Epstein Out of Mar-a-Lago for Being a Creep' – In 2003. At Althouse, What was that "Incident That Prompted Trump to Ban EpsteinFrom Mar-a-Lago's Spa"? ""Mar-a-Lago sent an 18-year-old spa worker on a house call to Jeffrey Epstein in 2003. She complained to her bosses that Epstein pressured her for sex," The Wall Street Journal reports. "A manager sent Trump a fax relaying the employee's allegations and urged him to ban Epstein, some of the former employees said. Trump said it was a good letter and said to kick him out. The beautician disclosed the house call to the club's human resources team, one of the former employees said. The incident wasn't reported to Palm Beach police, according to the former employees and police. The department didn't begin investigating Epstein until two years later, when a parent told them Epstein molested a 14-year-old girl from a local high school. Epstein was arrested in 2006 after several underage teens told police he paid them for sex...."" Ace, Wall Street Journal: Yes, Trump Kicked Epstein Out of Mar-a-Lago in 2003 After Being Informed Epstein Pressured an 18-Year-Old Spa Worker for Sex, "But-- but-- But Muh Trump."

From NYPo, Mali and Burkina Faso announce reciprocal travel ban on US citizens. Well, damn, there go those vacation plans. 


From NYPo, Former FBI agent Nicole Parker explains how DEI split the agency and led to disaster: ‘They were hiring idiots "While standards “deteriorated” during the era of President Barack Obama and bureau Director James Comey, Parker claimed, under President Joe Biden and Director Christopher Wray “it really amped it up” and “morale took a serious hit.” “Under the Biden administration, they were hiring idiots,” Parker bluntly claimed to The Post. “Hiring standards dropped and it was noticeable, lowering the standards to meet quotas.”" Daniel Friedman @DanFriedman81, "Through Obama’s first term, Democrats compensated for the fact that they didn’t represent mainstream Americans’ values on many issues with a reputation for competent technocratic governance. Since around 2014, they have sacrificed that for racial wealth transfers and DEI hiring in every role from schoolteachers up to Vice Presidents and Supreme Court Justices."


Stephen Kruise picks My 2025 Person of the Year — ICE.

Jeff Charles at TownHall see CNN Panelists Melt Down After Scott Jennings Uses The Left’s Favorite Show Against Them “You’ve got to admit, though, the catering to the Somali community that goes on by the Democrats in Minnesota is a little weird, is it not?” Jennings said. “A small proportion of the population.” Jennings continued, “They got the lieutenant governor up there dressed like The Handmaid’s Tale. I mean, why do they care?”

Crémieux @cremieuxrecueil "I win again! This newly-released CDC data shows us that the rise in autism in the United States between 2000 and 2016 was (drumroll)... ENTIRELY (98.25%, not significantly different from 100%) DRIVEN BY A SHIFT IN DIAGNOSTIC STANDARDS. The autism epidemic is incredibly fake." I've always been suspicious this was true.

NYPo reports Nearly 30 Yale undergraduate departments have no Republican faculty, Buckley Institute report finds. I was more shocked that there were 30+ departments.

From Lawrence Person's BattleSwarm Blog reports Musk Backs Wilco GOP Chair In Tranny Bathroom Wars

The Wombat has FMJRA 2.0: On An Even Keel up on time and under budget at The Other McCain.

Happy New Year!

The Wombat has Rule 5 Sunday: Old Trucks & Young Girls up on time and under budget at The Other McCain.

Sunday, December 28, 2025

Flotsam and Jetsam - In the News Dessert

I'm calling it the news 'tain't, 'cause 'Tain't Christmas and 'tain't New Years, so there was almost no meat in the news yesterday, and I expect less today, so we'll have to make do on cotton candy and chocolate cake. Clay Travis @ClayTravis, "Biggest one year drop ever in murders per ⁦@axios⁩, zero illegal border crossings, record high stock prices, plummeting inflation, Trump’s first year is objectively the greatest in any of our lives." At Hat Hair, Stephen Moore says It's a Wonderful President, "I feel like the angel Clarence in the iconic 1946 film "It's a Wonderful Life," who convinces Jimmy Stewart at the end of the movie: "You see, George, you've really had a wonderful life,"" Saleno Zito hears Trump Explains How Charlie Kirk's Murder Changed His Life "After surviving two assassination attempts, one of which nearly killed him, and seeing the brutal murder of his friend Charlie Kirk, Trump recognizes that returning to huge outdoor rallies is impossible. Kirk's death, he says, has changed him, shaping not only how he thinks about security but affecting him personally as well." It's not paranoia when they really are out to get you. And Dave Strom explains why he thinks The Trump-Class Battleship Is Not the Ship the Navy Needs, it's the Trump-Class Cruiser. Why not both? The Free Bacon declares 2025 Men of the Year: Big, Beautiful Bunker Busters. It's one thing to have them, it's another to use them. Often the turd in the punchbowl, sundance at CTH obsesses on Cutting Through the Fog and Conflict Within Current U.S. Republican Politics.

Matt Margolis at PJM sees Things Just Keep Getting Worse for Tim Walz. Elon Musk @elonmusk "Prosecute @GovTimWalz," Quote Nick shirley @nickshirleyy, "Here is the full 42 minutes of my crew and I exposing Minnesota fraud, this might be my most important work yet. We uncovered over $110,000,000 in ONE day. Like it and share it around like wildfire! Its time to hold these corrupt politicians and fraudsters accountable." I'm amazed we got through the general election without this becoming a major issue. VodkaPundit at Insty fears SARAH HOYT’S SHOCKED FACE MIGHT HAVE TO BE PERMANENTLY RETIRED: Ilhan Omar’s hubby’s $30M firm quietly scrubs names from website – as ‘Squad’ member faces mounting questions on sudden wealth amid Minnesota welfare fraud. Joe Chalfant at TownHall, Why is Ilhan Omar's Husband's Investment Firm Removing Names From Their Website? DataRepublican (small r)@DataRepublican " THREAD: Timothy Mynett: Ilhan Omar's husband and the progressive money man you've probably never heard of Ilhan. Omar's wealth headlines ($30M net worth 👀) are dominating today's feeds. But behind that story is someone far less visible: her husband, Tim Mynett. . . . Cynical Publius crystallizes some thoughts I've had about the Somali fraud in Minnesota (and elsewhere): Cynical Publius @CynicalPublius, "RE: Fraud in Minnesota I’m not sure that most Americans understand that in large swathes of humanity, there is no actual concept of “fraud,” particularly fraud against the government. Instead, there is a belief in the virtue of getting away with what you can to help yourself and your tribe. . . " And the welfare state makes it much easier than the Sicilians had it, when they came over from a clannish society in Southern Italy. 

DataRepublican (small r) @DataRepublican "I had this idea… “what if autism diagnoses are partially from fraudulent billing?” And then poked around a bit. And … turns out that the whole “1 in 30” statistic isn’t based on official diagnoses; ADDM has clinicians review school records and if the record fits then it counts as autism even if there’s no medical diagnosis. Then that statistic is quoted to justify increased ABA centers, increased research, all kinds of grants. I’m questioning literally everything now."

Hat Hair's John Sexton hears Progressives to Newsom: Tax the Rich or Else. Under pressure to solve California's budget woes so he can run for preznit, he has two choices, cut spending or raise taxes. The Progressives want him to give the super-rich a hair cut, a 5% tax on all assets. Robert Bryce sees Gavin Newsom Sticks It To California Ratepayers "Last week, his appointees ordered the Ivanpah solar boondoggle to keep operating, which will cost California residents an extra $100 million per year."

From Twitchy, Swivel Defense: Scott Jennings Halts Tezlyn Figaro’s Dizzying Spin on Democrat Redistricting Efforts, which basically boils down to it's bad when Republicans do it, but good when Democrat's do it.

Insty says MAKE THEM PAY: Make ‘Em Pay: It’s Time to Hit Back at States That Turn Criminals Loose, Then Commit Crimes in Other States. Cam at Bearing Arms thinks Anti-Gun Attorney Behind Mexico's Lawsuit Against Gun Makers Brings the Stupid Back to SCOTUS.

NYPo hears a Jewish group warned police of terror plot at Hanukkah event before Bondi Beach attack, but it wasn't a specific warning, just that Islamists were out there, and it would be nice if you actually protected Jews for a change. 

RedState's Rusty Weiss sees ‘ICE Never Sleeps’: Stephen Miller Hails Holiday Deportations, Illegal Shot Trying to Run Over Agents and Nick Arama say it's a 'Blooper for the Books': Check Out Who This Illegal Alien Accidentally Hit With Her Car. Commander Op At Large CA Gregory K. Bovino @CMDROpAtLargeCA, "This blooper is one for the books! A driver ran a red light in Slidell, LA and accidentally crashed into a vehicle used by Operation Catahoula Crunch. It turns out she was an illegal alien from Honduras. Apparently she never learned the lesson that red means stop, not “accelerate and collide with a government vehicle actively enforcing federal law.” No injuries were reported, but she was certainly taken into custody. Unlucky for her. Lucky for us." Mike LaChance at LI hears Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass Says it’s ‘Sad’ That Latino Americans Are Joining ICE. At TCW, How to destroy a country, part 4. "Introduce mass immigration. The white working class ‘betrayed’ the hard left when they failed to rise in the much longed-for proletarian revolution, and they failed to rise because they had become too affluent. The Marxist solution was to introduce a new, foreign-born ‘oppressed proletariat’ as a means of enabling Socialism’s march toward total power. The number of Third World immigrants in Britain runs into the millions. This deliberate racial dilution and dispossession of an indigenous people has never happened on such a scale – unless under threat or use of extreme violence."

At the College Fix, U. Arizona professor alleges retaliation for opposing DEI hiring practices. From Campus Reform PROF. JENKINS: If DEI is so good for men, why hasn’t it been? "In their efforts to attract more women, higher education institutions have achieved that goal but at the cost of alienating men. Indeed, in many cases, they haven’t just alienated men—they’ve positively vilified them." And then they wonder why men, especially white men, overwhelmingly vote against them. Ed Ring at Am Great discourses on Feminism, Anti-racism, and the Unraveling of Western Civilization

Statistics from media, academia, and law suggest meritocracy has given way to ideology—reshaping institutions, sidelining men, and raising hard questions about the West’s long-term viability.

The Wombat has Rule 5 Sunday: Old Trucks & Young Girls and FMJRA 2.0: On An Even Keel up on time and under budget at The Other McCain.

Sunday, January 5, 2025

Sunday Sunrise

Hundreds took in the first sunrise of the New Year on Isla Mujeres Wednesday. Locals began to arrive at the Punta Sur Sculpture Park before daybreak.

The annual tradition is practiced around the state from various beaches where people gather to take in the first sunrise of the year. Hundreds of people were reported gathered at Punta Sur on the southern tip of the island early Wednesday morning where many arrived before 5:30 a.m.

Linked at the Pirate's Cove in the weekly Sorta Blogless Sunday Pinup and links.  The Wombat has Rule 5 Sunday: Golden Globes up on time and under budget at The Other McCain.

Wednesday, January 1, 2025

Monday, January 1, 2024

Saturday, January 1, 2022

Happy New Year

From 2021, the year that told 2020 "Hold my beer and watch this!" to 2022. Here's Hoping for a better year.


The Wombat is back from the hospital and cleaning up old business with Rule 5 Sunday: Clearing Out The Bodacious Babe Backlog.

Friday, December 31, 2021

New Years Eve Election Coverage

Are Biden’s Approval Numbers Even Worse Than Reported?, AJ Kaufman at PJ Media suspects so. Julia Azari at NYT (cited at Haut Hair) worries Are Democrats bad at politics? If so, they haven't done that bad. From her mouth to God's ears, at Da Mail, Hillary Clinton suggests The Squad and progressive Democrats could SINK the party in 2022 midterms because voters want a Congress that can 'get things done'. Atop Da Hill, The party of 'Karens': The new Democratic Party alienates nonwhite voters, And Anxious is anxious as Exclusive poll: America's fears rise for 2022.

At Fox, Kamala Harris struggles through question on inflation during CBS interview. Coherence is not her strong suit. “Inflation is always and everywhere a monetary phenomenon in the sense that it is and can be produced only by a more rapid increase in the quantity of money than in output.” - Milton Friedman. 'Bonchie' at Red State thinks Kamala Harris Illustrates Exactly Why the White House Has Such a Problem With Her

I’d tell you to watch the clip to hear what Harris has to say, but why bother? She never really says much of anything in these settings and this was no exception. Clearly, the vice president wasn’t prepared to even talk about the most important domestic issue of the day when queried on it. Instead, Harris tripped over some badly delivered talking points about the supply chain and then mentioned the “Build Back Better” bill, a massive boondoggle that would only increase short-term inflation. Is any of that word salad supposed to make normal Americans feel confident that their government knows what it’s doing?

NYPo reports  Kamala Harris asking Wall Street CEOs, business leaders for advice, and they'll tell her exactly what they think she wants to here. They're here for longer than she is. At NewsWeek, Froma Harpop says As Presidential Nominee, Kamala Harris Is Not the One

Fox, AOC in Miami Beach for 'taste of freedom' as New York sees record number of COVID cases, "GOP Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis' office was among those responding on social media to NY Democrat's pre-holiday visit."  "Welcome to Florida, AOC!" the tweet said. "We hope you’re enjoying a taste of freedom here in the Sunshine State thanks to @RonDeSantisFL’s leadership." NR (cited at Haut Hair), AOC spotted in Miami amid NYC's huge COVID case surge. Twitchy, REALLY says it all –> #AOCLovesDeSantis trends as the Socialist Democrat STAR is caught living it up in mandate-free Florida while her constituents suffer.

MTG utters tweets what most of us are thinking,

For your information, we Republicans don’t want your blue votes ruining our red home states! We don’t want high taxes, high crime, high amounts of perverse school curriculums, loss of freedoms, & AUTHORITARIAN big government in our red states! That’s what you Dems vote for!
In A (statistical) journal of the plague year, Michael Barone at WaEx looks at the exvasion of California et al. 

At WaEx, Emily Brooks elaborates, ‘National Divorce scenario’: Marjorie Taylor Greene floats tax and voting penalties for those fleeing blue states, which prompts Rep Jamaal Bowman to wonder "Why does Marjorie Taylor Greene still have her seat?" (KT at Haut Hair).



NPR features As the Jan. 6 attack anniversary nears, one Capitol officer fears a violent repeat. Is he the one who beat an unarmed woman to death? "He's in therapy for his mental health, and as the one year anniversary of the riot approaches, he says what's on his mind is "anxiety"." Frankly, he sounds unfit. Tristan Justice at Da Fed, sees As 2021 Closes Decked In Democrat Disasters, Pelosi Clings To Jan. 6. Her mind doesn't have capacity for much else. She's desperately hoping this will keep her in power. Mike Miller at Red State thinks he know why Why Pelosi Just Can't Quit Jan. 6. Because most of the other issues aren't working well for Democrats. CNSNews wonders As Dems Prepare to Commemorate January 6, Do Americans Share Their Enthusiasm? Hey, we'll always take a day of paid vacation! You commemorate what you want, and we'll commemorate what we want. The Guardian warns ‘Patriots’ are undermining American democracy. I don't take advice on liberty from Brits.  And Da Beast whines Jan. 6 Was Just the Start of Radicalizing Trump’s Republican Party. Sorry, I didn't read it, it's paywalled.

Eva Warner of Beaverton, Oregon, who police said was also known as Joshua Warner, was charged in September 2020 with felony civil disorder.
. . .
Portland Police said Warner directed a high-powered laser into the eyes of law enforcement officers trying to disperse the crowd. Warner resisted arrest, prompting officers to use force, the DOJ said. A laser pointer was found on Warner.
That's something we never saw on Jan. 6. It would have required premeditation. 

The redoubtable Julie Kelly takes on the FBI over the Whitmer kidnapping plat at Am Great, The FBI’s Criminal Lead Informant in Whitmer ‘Kidnapping’ Caper
In June 2020, as the country attempted to recover from deadly and destructive riots after the death of George Floyd, a man from Wisconsin hosted a national conference of self-styled “militia” members in a suburban Columbus, Ohio hotel. Stephen Robeson, founder of the Wisconsin chapter of the Three Percenters, an alleged militia group on the FBI’s naughty list, pestered his contacts across the country to participate in the gathering.

People who attended the conference, including two men later charged with federal crimes related to a plot to abduct Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer from her vacation cottage in 2020, observed that the hotel was crawling with federal agents.

One of the feds at the conference was none other than Stephen Robeson himself.

Without Robeson’s deep involvement as an FBI informant, the Whitmer kidnapping caper never would have made national headlines a few weeks before Election Day; in fact, the whole pre-election drama wouldn’t have materialized at all. A longtime FBI asset, Robeson was one of at least 12 confidential human sources embedded in the failed plot, which concluded when several men were arrested attempting to buy explosives from an undercover FBI agent in October 2020.

Defense attorneys are building a convincing case that the FBI entrapped their clients, who stand accused of perpetrating an act of domestic terror; a motion to dismiss the federal kidnapping count was filed on Christmas Day. “[The] evidence here demonstrates egregious overreaching by the government’s agents, and by the informants those agents handled,” five defense attorneys wrote to a Michigan judge on December 25. FBI agents and informants, according to the filing, “concocted, hatched, and pushed this ‘kidnapping plan’ from the beginning, doing so against defendants who explicitly repudiated the plan.”

Stephen Robeson played as instrumental a role as any other FBI informant or agent. In addition to organizing the June militia conference, Robeson arranged a military-style training exercise in Wisconsin in July; another gathering in Ohio a week later; a meeting in Delaware in late summer; and a night time surveillance mission outside Whitmer’s vacation home in September. “He also urged people to plan violent actions against elected officials and to acquire weapons and bomb-making materials,” anonymous attendees told BuzzFeed News reporters in July. “Some of those contacts say he called them nearly every day.”

But Robeson had another secret he withheld from the group of would-be kidnappers whom he coaxed into an FBI trap; Robeson is a convicted felon several times over with “a rap sheet stretching back to the early 1980s that includes fraud, assault, and sex with a minor,” BuzzFeed News confirmed.

And Robeson didn’t suspend his criminal ways while working on behalf of the federal government. At the same time Robeson was producing all the optics later used as evidence against the Whitmer “kidnappers,” he committed at least two other crimes.

At this point, the FBI is a criminal conspiracy, and if Judge Andy is right, the CIA is worse,  The Deep State and Its Tentacles

Over the Christmas holiday, CIA officials leaked to friendly reporters at CNN their determination to overhaul their network of spies, cease paramilitary actions — which presumably include torture — and return to the "quiet statecraft" of spying on "adversaries" like China and Russia. Then the CIA learned that it has failed to recruit enough Mandarin- and Russian-speaking agents to do so. Criminal and inept.

We also learned shortly before the Christmas holiday from testimony at Guantanamo Bay that nine FBI agents were formally transferred to the CIA so that they'd be free to engage in torture themselves without damaging the reputation of the FBI. CIA agents apparently don't care about their employer's reputation the way their bosses do.

During the Christmas holiday, former FBI agents revealed that they and others had secretly gone undercover and pretended to be part of the mobs that engaged in the riots in 2020 in Portland, Oregon. There, 200 folks were arrested in a six-month period and charged with various crimes, which ranged from unlawful assembly to obstruction of justice to using violence to destroy government property.

When FBI agents go undercover, their task is to blend in with the folks they are secretly monitoring. That often means committing the same crimes as these folks. Thus, 100 of the 200 cases were dropped because the FBI agents who were sent to join the mob and who pretended to be part of it failed adequately to chronicle what they saw.

Or so their now-retired former colleagues say. We will, of course, never know the true reasons why these cases were dropped. Nor will we know which of these crimes where actually provoked or committed by FBI agents.

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

Tuesday, December 31, 2019

The Counting of the Year Jar

After Skye, Georgia and I completed our last beach walk of 2019 this afternoon, I came home, and sorted out the fossils collected for the year:


There you go. 2,785 sharks teeth, adding up to 2 lbs 5 oz (or 1.057 kg for you metric buffs). The big bone beside the jar is a whale (or very large dolphin) axis vertebra, which I posted about when I found it, on the other side a large bony fish vertebra I found a week or so ago, and didn't post. The pile of black dots on the left are 2 years worth of drum's teeth, and mixed in with the top shelf teeth are a number of more or less complete ray plate chevrons of various sizes.

All in all, a little down from last year, which posted a total of 2,964 teeth but a slightly lower weight, at 2 lb 3 oz. I would say that all in all the quality of the best teeth this year wasn't quite as good, and we had no Megalodons, except for some edge fragments. 

Wednesday, January 2, 2019

New Year's Chesapeake Style

Easton Rings in 2019 with Crab Drop
Easton, Maryland welcomed 2019 with a Chesapeake Bay answer to the Times Square ball drop: its customary “Crab Drop” at the stroke of midnight.

You may have seen it on TV, along with the rest of America, when CNN sent a camera crew to capture the crab drop five years ago.

Discover Easton, the city’s Business Alliance, caught this video of the crustacean’s big moment:



It’s just one of more than a half-dozen quirky New Year’s Eve “drops” around the Bay. A duck for Havre de Grace, a crab pot for Cape Charles, and, of course, a muskrat for the Eastern Shore city of Princess Anne.
Here in St. Leonard, somebody dropped a bottle. 

Tuesday, January 1, 2019

The Counting of the Year Jar

Jan. 1. Time to count the shark's teeth we collected this year, and get ready for the next. A quick view:


At the very top, the pint jar full to the brim with run of the mill ordinary teeth, then 3 large "cookies", or vertebral growth plates from juvenile whales, with some shark vertebrae and a large skate mouth plate piece. Next row is from the "top shelf" window sill, Georgia's big porpoise tooth, some crocodile teeth, and the best of the sharks teeth, including 2 small Megalodon, and the biggest upper and lower Mako and Snaggletooth, and some random things. Next is a row of better than average Mako teeth, then two rows of better than average Snaggletooth uppers, and a small row of Snaggletooth lowers.

Some additional info on when we collected these:

Jan - Feb                142
March                     120
April                        217
May                        304
June                       363
July                         420
Aug.                        379
Sept.                       133 (we were in California much of the month)
Oct.                         458
Nov.                         242
Dec.                         174

Top shelf (no month known) 12

For a grand total of 2.964 shark's teeth, 2 lbs 3 oz in the jar, not counting what's laid out on the counter, or 973 grams for metric snobs. Also many miscellaneous Tillie Bones, stingray mouth plates, stingray barbs, scutes, and drums teeth not shown.


Happy New Year!

It ain't the Illuminati Ball, but it will have to do:





Wombat-socho has Rule Five Tuesday up at The Other McCain.

Monday, December 31, 2018

Reason #6974 - 6984 That Trump Was Elected

At Althouse! "Trump's Top 10 Achievements of 2018." At Real Clear Politics.
1. Brett Kavanaugh on the Supreme Court...

2. Confronting China... America now embraces its strong bargaining position and demands reciprocity in trade and an end to rampant industrial theft and piracy.

3. Middle-Class Wages Rise – Incomes in general soared in 2018...

4. U.S.-Mexico-Canada Trade Deal...

5. Ending the Iran Nuclear Deal...

6. Moving the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem...

7. Smashing the ISIS Caliphate and Exiting Syria...

8 Increasing Minority Jobs...

9. Holding the Line with Migrant Caravans...

10. Record American Oil Production – In 2018, the U.S. surpassed Russia and Saudi Arabia to become the world’s largest producer of crude oil....
Of course, some of these are repeats, but it's a good day to remember what we got for all the noise.

All Kneel Before the Illuminati!

Cynthia von Buhler
An inside peek at the erotic New Year’s Eve ‘Illuminati Ball’
In this day and age, risqué can be risky. But Cynthia von Buhler is bringing sexy back to NYC.

The illustrator has thrown, by her own estimation, hundreds of over-the-top parties over almost three decades. But this year marks her first-ever New Year’s Eve bash — and she’s going all out: hosting a massive, “Eyes Wide Shut”-style blowout for 800 guests at the Williamsburg Savings Bank Tower.

Attendees, who are shelling out $200 to $400 per ticket, are coming “from all over the world — Amsterdam, Germany, Australia,” said von Buhler, 54. “We have people flying in just for this.”


‘New York has become more sanitized, and this is old-school underground craziness.’

Although von Buhler makes clear the Illuminati Ball “is not a sex party,” there is no mistaking the titillation factor. Hers is a sophisticated, fun brand of sexiness — giving guests the old-fashioned thrill of the tease.

“New York has become more sanitized, and this is old-school underground craziness. It’s respectful, but erotic and decadent,” she said. “I think this is a chance for people to really let their hair down and be free.”


At the Dec. 31 bash, there will be a human “cake” — with a model’s face, hands and feet sticking out of a body-shaped dessert — and a swimming mermaid in a tank. Von Buhler plans to create her own version of the New Year’s Eve ball drop: acrobats descending from the bank’s famed stained-glass dome.

And then there’s Kamadhenu the cow goddess and her four maidens. “You can milk the maidens’ [fake breasts] and also taste their milk [from a baby bottle],” the hostess said.


Although she doesn’t want to give away too much of the plot line, she revealed that the New Year’s Eve story centers around “human-animal hybrids who have escaped a lab,” including half-woman, half-bird sirens.

By day, von Buhler is a Newbery Medal-winning illustrator and children’s book author. By night, she has developed a reputation for throwing some of the sexiest, most provocative parties around. Last year, she hosted two Illuminati Balls, with scantily-clad fire-breathers, contortionist and aerialists, guests in masks and bustiers, and dancing men in bondage-style bikinis.
She writes kid's books? Now that's unsettling.

Sounds like a heck of a party. Sorry to miss it!

Wombat-socho has Rule Five Tuesday up at The Other McCain.

Friday, January 5, 2018

Trump Celebrated New Years with Playboy

Not Donald Trump, Tiffany Trump: Tiffany Trump rings in the new year with Playboy bunnies
Tiffany, the daughter of President Donald Trump and Marla Maples, was guest of honor at the Playboy event, hosted by Hugh Hefner’s son Cooper at LA’s Culver Hotel, where Georgetown Law School student Tiffany was photographed by Playboy’s Miss December 1979 Candace Jordan wearing a low-cut, silver-sequined cocktail dress.

It was claimed that mom Marla turned down a $1 million deal to pose nude in Playboy in the ’90s.

“I didn’t want to exploit it,” said Marla. “How would I ever be taken seriously?” Indeed.
He does make good looking kids.

Hat tip to The Last Tradition. Wombat-socho has "Rule 5 Sunday: Jenna Jameson" up for your viewing pleasure.

Monday, January 1, 2018

Happy New Year!

It's been a pretty good year for us. How about you?


Wombat-socho has "Rule 5 Sunday: Jenna Jameson" up for your viewing pleasure.

Saturday, December 31, 2016

2016 In Review

It seems like everyone is calling 2016 the worst year ever, for various reasons, so I'd like to present my view.

Starting at the beginning, at the end of the year previous, on Halloween day, we broke down and adopted a new dog. Suspiciously similar to our last one, Skye, she was a Siberian Husky, of the black and white "felty" furred variety, also named Skye. The only physical difference is two blue eyes instead of one, and about 5 lbs greater in size and strength. In personality, she has similarities, friendly with both people and other dogs, a stubborn streak, a desire to walk and run, but some major differences. She is much "mouthier" barking to get things, like food, walks, and attention both from people and dogs. She is a runner and can't be left off the leash in an unfenced area, most particularly the beach. As dogs will, she has made a big change in our life. Leaving the house is sometimes problematic; you have to plan more. But most of all, she demands (and I do mean demands) a big exercise event each day, either a long walk, or a visit to the dog park. Our choice. One result is that I have unexpectedly lost about 10 lbs this years, despite no better attention to my diet.

For 65, I think I'm in reasonable health. Sure, I have some achy joints, but nothing life altering. I can walk, fish, garden, and get out as much as I would like. Between gym exercise 3 days a week, and walking Skye, I'm probably as strong and fit as I have ever been, but that's never been an especially high bar. My eyes continue to be a problem; the "leaky" left eye (vitreous hemorrhage) remains unsettled. I think it still leaks a little once in a while; I see more little spots that are the shadows of blood cells on the retina, but nothing like the torrent from earlier in the year. The retina Dr. thinks I'm wrong, but can't find a source. The other eye is now ready, as defined by insurance, for cataract surgery, but I just got new glasses to keep that at bay a little longer. Maybe another year, maybe not.

Georgia continues her long battle with what can only be described as chronic fatigue syndrome, only because nothing striking can be found physically. There have been a lot of hints, many conflicting, but little actual progress. She still tires early in the day, but can't sleep. Many treatments have been tried, but none have produce more than a hint of success. We keep hoping to find the magic bullet, but it continues to elude us. It's extremely frustrating.

Of course, there's the family story. Our first grandson, Graham Robert, was born to our son Alex his wife Kelly on Jan. 24, 2016. We've been able to see him several times, but not as often we'd like. We hear he started walking a few hours after we left on our last visit. We should see him again on his birthday later in Jan.

2016 will also be memorable as the year my mother, Mary Elizabeth passed on. But first, the whole family, my parents, my brothers and their while families, and both my sons and their families, got together for a family reunion. There was never one as complete before, and cannot be again.


It was less than a month afterwards that mother suffered a fall, a blood clot, and the decline which lead to her death. We had to travel back to California to help with the arrangements. Father, almost as old, continues on without her, still living in their house in Murphys with the help of my brother Ted and his family, and a housekeeper.

Alex and Kelly seem to be doing well in their work; Alex at his studio/music store. U Rock Music Center in McMurry, PA, and Kelly at her corporate job.

The year is also also notable for the late return of our prodigal (for more reasons than one) son, Corwin, who asked if he could come home from his years of wandering in the wilderness this Christmas. We said yes, and picked him up from the bus station just before Christmas, even though we were fresh out of fatted calf. He is home now, and working at job and trying to put his life back together again. We're holding our breathes.

So, did you hear there was an election in the United States this year?  A Republican with a libertarian streak, my preferred candidates did not win the nomination. Well, with 14 candidates, it was unlikely all along. I was not pro-Trump, but I was never never-Trump. At least now Hillary will never be President. For better or worst, next year should be interesting politically.

And I hear a few celebrities died. Well, that's the way it goes. Celebrities are just people. They may be better known than the rest of us, but for the most part they are not better people, do not have better lives or live healthier lives. They arise from the populace slowly, by dint of newsworthy activities in music, politics, entertainment or sports, like trees growing in the forest. They are only notable in when they fall, and only because there are people there to hear and pay attention. A new crop is growing all the time.