This Post is For the Birds

We don't really have a beach report today. Oh, we went all right, right into the face of a 20 kt wind. No pictures. So instead, the Nature Conservancy has kindly provided links to three bird cams in the region.

Peregrine Falcon Camera

Baltimore’s very own peregrine falcons! This family has inhabited the 100 Light St skyscraper in downtown Baltimore for over 35 years, a significant achievement for the peregrine restoration efforts over the past few decades.

Osprey Camera

Watch our osprey webcam to see our favorite resident osprey, Tom and Audrey, as they return from their journey, build their nest, raise their chicks, and go about their daily lives. Osprey are great indicators for how well we are doing at protecting the Chesapeake Bay.

Great Blue Heron Camera

Get up close with a great blue heron rookery. This colony of up of 10-12 nests and up to 50 heron in a season, features couple “Rell & Eddie,” named after the surfers Rell Sunn and Eddie Aikau.

I saw birds at the first two. 

Let's Hear it For President NOTA

On of my late brother Ted's favorite libertarian type Sci-Fi authors had a series (that I can't quite put a finger on as I type) in which "NOTA" (none of the above) had been elected for a couple of terms, and the United States was getting along just fine, better in fact. Capt. Ed at Haut Hair has a  Poll: 58% would take "none of the above" in a Biden-Trump rematch. I think Ted would be amused. Paul Bedard at WaEx, 2024 Democratic choice: ‘Not Sure’ beats Biden, 28%-19%. Breitbart has one too, Poll: Only 37 Percent of Voters Want Joe Biden to Run in 2024. Capt. Ed again, Harvard poll: Biden's lost 18 points -- among young voters, but a WaPoo, Molly Roberts opines, Biden hasn’t lost young voters’ love. He never really had it. "If the youths are the future, President Biden, by the latest numbers, might not have much of one." But, but, but, Jazz Shaw at Haut Hair notes Biden actually cancels some specific student debt... sort of. It was already eligible for cancellation, but the paperwork was too daunting even for the Feds. "The problem is that the system was so badly constructed that the government did a terrible job in communicating those qualifications to the public and you wouldn’t have known about it unless you were able to do some very deep research into the rules." 

At NYT, Mark Penn cited at Haut Hair says American voters haven't been afraid like this in a long time. Capt. Ed quotes a  Biden political adviser: His midterm strategy reminds me of his Afghan retreat plan. WaPoo whines Democrats approach a midterm message but struggle to deliver it, "Biden signals a message for the midterms: Democrats bring results, Republicans bring MAGA. But there’s little sign the party is delivering it with any energy or regularity." Dean Obeadallah at CNN, opines Democrats should embrace being woke and make 2022 about GOP's extremism, because clearly they can't run on their record. From the Wombat's In The Mailbox: 04.26.22, Elle Reynolds at Da Fed, The Democrats Are Banking On Smearing & Censoring Their Opposition Because They Have Nothing To Offer  Jazz Shaw, It's getting harder to hide the fact that "something's not quite right" with Joe Biden. And by "not right" he means senile dementia. "Even if Joe Biden resigned or was somehow removed through a 25th Amendment procedure, we’d be stuck with Kamala Harris. Perhaps we just need to ride this out for a couple more years and hope for the best." From the Wombat's In The Mailbox: 04.26.22, Don Surber, Biden heads for bunker. Democrats scramble "There are not enough rugs in DC to sweep all the dirt under." Also, The first 2024 primary.  AllahPundit worries Is Tucker running for president? and is orgasmic to report Stunner: New poll shows Kemp on track to beat Perdue -- without a runoff. Also from the Wombat,  Tristan Justice at Da Fed notes ex-Republican "Evan McMullin Is The Democrats’ Utah Senate Candidate". Ace, Blacks and Hispanics Are More Conservative Than "Woke White Liberals" On Twitter, Democrats Are Warned by... Joe Scarborough, Mike Brzezinski, and Al Sharpton. "This is like AllahPundit warning NeverTrump that they're obsessing too much about Trump for their own political well-being."

Also at Haut Hair, AllahPundit whines Tanking Biden's agenda has made Joe Manchin one of the most popular senators in the country. Da Fed's Nathaniel Blake thinks Democrats’ Culture War Is Destroying Their Ability To Govern Competently Enough To Fool Voters. I think that's right. Matt Vespa, What a Soon-to-be-Ex-Biden White House Adviser Said About Ocasio-Cortez Is...Not Inaccurate, " a “f**king idiot.” Byron York at WaEx, Democrats can't fix their problems by November. True, but they're also going to double down on the idiocy that brought them to this contretemps.  YaHoo! worries about a New Yahoo News poll that shows why inflation could doom Democrats in 2022 midterms as the Peacock notes High inflation may prompt people to change their summer vacation plans. Let's go, Brandon!

From the Wombat, in the Shark Tank: Gov. DeSantis Signs Election Integrity Bill Into Law. Natalia Mittelstadt at JTN, Georgia elections chief hints at organized effort behind ballot harvesting, registering noncitizens. 

At RCP, Confessions of a Coup Plotter, or The Death of Free Speech

Which brings me to my confession. I have to admit that both before and after the Nov. 3, 2020 election, I suspected that the Democrats would rig the election and said so publicly. I encouraged President Trump to fight the election results in the Electoral College, in the courts, in peaceful rallies, and in Congress. It seemed to me that no step short of violence should be omitted in the effort to prove that the election was stolen.

I was not alone. That’s probably what pisses off Democrats so much. There were millions of us, the good old Deplorables, who refused to give up and go away just because we were told by the media that we were crazy. After all, the media had told us we were crazy for thinking The Donald could win in 2016. They told us we were crazy for thinking Hillary Clinton was behind the Russia collusion hoax. They told us we were crazy for believing that a laptop filled with incriminating evidence against Hunter Biden and his father could be anything other than “Russian disinformation.”

At Da Caller, Deputy AG Involved In Jan. 6 Investigation May Be Breaking The Law By Allegedly Using Pseudonymous Email Address, Lawyer Says. Shades of "Richard Windsor!" Peacock worries, Jan. 6 committee's concerns about Insurrection Act should concern the rest of us. The redoubtable Julie Kelly at Am Great takes note, Did a Key FBI Agent in Whitmer Plot Attempt to Surveil Steven Crowder?

Don Surber, again, What the press got wrong on DeSantis and Disney: Everything. They didn't get it wrong; they lied. Insty, COLORADO: Polis gets fact-checked on Disney, Twitter offer. KT at Haut Hair, Woke county judge invites Disney to relocate to Texas. From the Wombat, Disney Fallout Roundup. AllahPundit expresses hope, Tax lawyer: Florida is barred by contractual obligations from unwinding Disney's special district. Remember, there are always lawyers on both sides of every issue. That's what they exist for. 

At PJ Media Megan Fox has the video as Angry Moms Confront LGBTQ Groomers in Explosive School Board Meeting. Ace is gratified that Joe Rogan Gained Two Million Subscribers Since CNN and the Left Tried to Cancel Him, "Womp womp wah wah waaaaah. Joe Rogan is alive and CNN+ is dead." From the College Fix, University of Illinois requires all faculty to engage in DEI activism, or else. 

I'm kind of over the Elon Musk vs. Twitter thing, now that it's effectively a done deal, and it will take a while to sort out, but not every one is. The Wombat comments Day 2 of the ongoing Leftist meltdown over Elon Musk’s Twitter buyout. . . . Silicon Valley delenda est. And includes numerous links. But in case you need some more:

Elon Musk buying Twitter is weird, chaotic, and a little bit awesome – HotAir At Twitter, It's All Over But the Shrieking – PJ Media Twitter executive cries during staff meeting over Elon Musk takeover | The Post Millennial
Ace of Spades HQ MSNBC: Now that Elon Musk Controls Twitter, He Can Rig Twitter's Rules to Favor One Party, Limit the Reach of Certain Speakers, Suppress Stories Before an Election, and Then Hide All His Handiwork With Zero Transparency Jen Psaki: REPEAL S. 230!
Ace of Spades HQ Twitter's Top Lawyer -- Who Has Pushed for Ever More Censorship With the Indignant Fury of a Holy Inquisitor -- Cries In Meeting With Employees UPDATE: MUSK CALLS HER CENSORSHIP OF THE HUNTER BIDEN LAPTOP STORY "INCREDIBLY INAPPROPRIATE"
NY Times: Elon Musk seems to believe in free speech and that's going to be a disaster – HotAir
Elon Musk calls Twitter's Hunter Biden laptop censorship 'incredibly inappropriate' | Washington Examiner
Instapundit » Blog Archive » WELL, IT’S TRUE: Eccentric Billionaire Accomplishes More For Free Speech In One Afternoon Than Repu…
Solid Take from Glenn Greenwald on Elon Musk Motives and Purchase of Twitter - The Last RefugeWill Elon Musk Let Me Back on Twitter? – PJ Media
Accounts Elon Musk Should Restore « Lawrence Person's BattleSwarm Blog
Yasmine Mohammed 🦋 ياسمين محمد on Twitter: "It's so weird how none of you cared that a Saudi owned so much of twitter and that Saudi Arabia literally used the platform to hunt gay ppl so they could be arrested/executed, but you draw the line at the guy who builds electric cars and wants to fly to the moon..." / Twitter
Senate Dem: We need "algorithmic justice" now that Musk owns Twitter – HotAir
Elon Musk’s $21 Billion Mystery: Where Will Tesla Ceo Get Cash For Twitter? | Mint
What is going on with Twitter follower counts? (Progressives lose followers while conservatives gain them) – HotAir
Does Musk's Twitter takeover mean China now has leverage over America's town square? – HotAir
Althouse: A dismaying headline in The New Yorker.

Your Wednesday Wetness

The Wombat has Rule Five Sunday: Lisa Gerrard up and running at The Other McCain.

Beach Report 4/26/22

Got a late start due to a shopping expedition. It's warm today, 60 or so and mostly cloudy, with a storm expected later this afternoon.

The tide was on the high side, coming down, and the beach was pretty narrow.

We found twenty one teeth, and crab claw, and this is the best of the lot, a finger and a half White Shark tooth.

We had a brief sunny period, and I caught this Osprey out fishing.

Elon Buys Twitter

I had an ant farm once, but it died. 

So, apparently Elon Musk made the Twitter BOD an offer they couldn't refuse, some $44 billion and change for control of the media platform, but who's counting, and they really couldn't refuse without a shareholder revolt, and they accepted. It's not exactly chump change even for Elon, currently the world's richest man, about 10% of his net worth. I've always considered Twitter to have net negative value, but it's his money, literally. Maybe he can turn it into something of value.

We'll pick the thread early yesterday, when Jazz Shaw at Haut Hair noted the Twitter BOD pondering  On third thought, maybe Elon's bid isn't so bad. Ace, in an all caps, red italic font, REUTERS REPORTER: TWITTER BOARD SET TO ACCEPT ELON MUSK'S OFFER, "Greenwald: Corporate Journalists "Deeply Upset" By Reduced Censorship Could Just... Build Their Own Twitter."

From Ace's

Then, from Insty, a REPORT: Twitter accepts buyout, giving Elon Musk total control of the company. Elon Musk will buy Twitter for $45.5 billion. "Meanwhile, at America’s Newspaper of Record: Twitter Headquarters Suffers Severe Water Damage From Liberal Employees’ Tears." Ace, with the flaming skull dipped in pudding, and all red all caps, TWITTER: WE'VE ACCEPTED ELON MUSK'S OFFER "Already lefties are vowing that they're leaving Twitter. Good. A great many of them are mentally ill and Twitter has been shown to be very bad for mental health, especially for neurotics and obsessives. I hope they get the help they need. . .  Ah, who am I kidding, they're not leaving Twitter. They're addicts." Althouse, "Twitter’s board has accepted an offer from billionaire Elon Musk to buy the social media company and take it private, the company announced Monday." "Defeat the bots. You've got to be human. And if you are human — be free." Insty, INDEED:

And for Stacy McCain, it's all about Stacy, So … Is #FreeStacy Trending Yet? He can't tell because he was banned a long time ago during the Gamergate eructation, one of the early signs that Twitter intended to unequally police the political battlefield. "Totalitarian ideologues don’t like being called totalitarian ideologues. Now watch the tears fall like rain as Elon Musk takes over Twitter."

Ace, Twitter CEO to Address Employees at 5PM, Serve Them All Grape Kool-Aid With a Sprinkle of You're-Too-Good-For-This-World. The Babylon Bee, Leftists Worried Elon Musk Will Turn Twitter Into A Place Where Terrible People Post Bad Opinions And Fight With Each Other All The Time. John Sexton at Haut Hair, Twitter employees are reacting to Musk's takeover of the company (Update) and not all of them are happy, to say the least. Twitter is locking down it's code to prevent sabotage. More reactions at Twitchy, ‘I feel like I’m going to throw up’: Twitter employees vent about purchase by Elon Musk "They literally got owned." At PM, Twitter employees go 'absolutely insane' after Elon Musk buys company. Twitchy, THERE it is! James Woods shares animated gif showing Lefty’s SPECTACULAR meltdown over Elon Musk and it’s hilarious perfection. Matt Vespa at Town Hall, Total Meltdown: Liberals Absolutely Losing Their Minds Over Elon Musk Buying Twitter and ‘This Can’t Be Real’: MSNBC Host’s Take on Musk Taking Over Twitter Is…Pure Perfection

you don’t say!
pic.twitter.com/2kGCmd3kxb

— Will Cain (@willcain) April 26, 2022

Elon Musk bought Twitter like an hour ago and Psaki announced the White House is already looking into reforming section 230.

Are you paying attention yet?

— John D (@RedWingGrips) April 25, 2022

A number of links from the Wombat's In The Mailbox: 04.25.22, EBL Will Twitter Change Now That Elon Musk Is In Charge?, Louder With Crowder: Blue-Check Twitter Is Awake & Freaking Out Over New Owner Elon Musk, American Power, Elon Musk Buys Twitter, BattleSwarm, Accounts Elon Musk Should Restore, The Geller Report, ELON MUSK BUYS TWITTER, Legal Insurrection: Triggered Leftists Get #RIPTwitter Trending After Musk Buyout, The Federalist: The Best Thing Elon Musk Could Do With Twitter Is Annihilate It and Left-Wing Group Demands Apple Pre-Emptively Nuke TruthSocial

At ET, Roger Simon begs, Can Musk Buy Facebook Too? And last, but not least, from sundance at CTH, Tucker Carlson Gives His Perspective on Musk Successfully Purchasing Twitter Platform. 

So, although the deal doesn't really happen for a few months, I presume Twitter will be on their best behavior, at least for a while. Although I don't really understand the point of it all, I may have to give it a try. 

Truckin' Into Tuesday

The Wombat has Rule Five Sunday: Lisa Gerrard up and running at The Other McCain.

The Answer Is Blowing in the Wind

At WUWT, New Study: Wind, Solar Energy Now Killing 48% Of Priority Bird Species With ‘Population-Level Effects’

From the NoTricksZone By Kenneth Richard

Of California’s 23 vulnerable bird species studied (barn owls, golden eagles, road runners, yellow-billed cuckoos…), scientists have found 11 are now experiencing at least a 20% decline in their population growth rates because wind turbines and solar panels are killing them and/or destroying their limited-range habitat.

 

California’s mild-winter Mediterranean climate is home to some of Earth’s rarest bird ecosystems.

But California is also where some of the most ardent supporters of “green” energy policies reside.

Disproportionately due to California’s activist-level insistence on converting their energy infrastructure from fossil-fuel-based to renewables-based, the US as a whole has facilitated a 300% to 9,400% increase in wind and solar energy generation, respectively, from 2009 to 2019. Nation-wide, the solar power industry alone is poised to detonate from a 0.4 GW energy capacity in 2009 to 75 GW by 2025.

Too few proponents of explosive wind and solar energy expansion are focused on the effect this unprecedented change has had on local ecosystems – especially vulnerable wildlife populations.

To have a “population-level effect” on a vulnerable bird species, the authors of a new study have clarified that fatalities generated by wind and solar energy in California must induce a “greater than or equal to 20% decline in the population growth rates” for the 23 prioritized bird species they analyzed.

 

A deeply concerning 48% (11) of these species are already experiencing population-level effects on their growth rates due to wind turbine and solar panel killings.
Image Source: Conkling et al., 2022

To put this into perspective, marine biologists report that to date (2017) there have been no unambiguous demonstrations of any population-level effects that “anthropogenic ocean acidification” has had on the population abundance or distribution of any laboratory-studied marine species.

Having population-level effects on birds is not necessarily a deal breaker for wind energy. Commercial, and even recreational fishing have well known population-level effects on both target and non-target species. In an ideal world, those effects are understood, managed, and kept to an acceptable minimum (I'm not saying that is always achieved with fish either).

But if wind power is to be dramatically increased to become a major source of power, this aspect must be researched, quantified, and managed  to minimize the losses.

Beach Report 4/25/22

 

It's quite a bit cooler today, in the mid 50s, with a stiff NW wind when we set off, so it was back to long pants, long sleeve shirts and boots.

The tide was just off high, and it was a little dicey getting across the stream at Matoaka, but once we did the way was clear up the the giant clay blocks. 

The wind had the surf crashing pretty good so it was hard to hunt for teeth in the water. I managed to spot this one a little above the water's edge though.

A decent Snaggletooth, partially covered with sand. Georgia found another, almost like it, but missing a big piece of root. Otherwise, not a stellar day, only 7 teeth and a tiny Tilly bone.

Democrats in the Dumps and More

 At the Wa Free Bee, Poll Shows Just How Weak Americans Think Biden Is on Russia, "36 percent back the president's approach." At Am Great Jeff Anderson hopes GOP Gains Could Be Twice What the Cook Political Report Predicts. Well, it could happen, but I'm not holding my breath. Don't get cocky! KT at Haut Hair hears Dem Rep. Cuellar call out Biden for hurting party - "look at the polls" and  Biden White House preps for pain of GOP victories in November, familiar face returns (Anita Dunn). Tom Joyce at WaEx says Democrats are losing Hispanics on culture. At Da Mail, White House claims approval polls don't matter and Biden CAN win in 2024: Chief of Staff Ron Klain points to French President Emanuel Macron's reelection with just 36% approval rating. Indeed, if the media can make the public hate the other candidate more. To that point, Mike LaChance points out the Democrats are leaving nothing to chance, Here Comes the ‘DeSantis is Worse Than Trump’ Narrative, "DeSantis presents an even clearer present and future danger than Trump does”" 

And more bad polling for Democrats, Breitbart reports Most Identify Economy as the Top Issue Determining How They Will Vote in Future Election. Ed Driscoll at Insty reminds us of THE FORGOTTEN ECONOMIC CRISIS OF ’68. Welcome back, Carter LBJ! At Fox Business, The Fed wants to raise rates quickly but may not know where to stop 'The Fed only knows where neutral is in retrospect.' “It's tough to make predictions, especially about the future.” From the Hahvahd Gazette, Summers says pandemic only partly to blame for record inflation, "Former Treasury secretary lays out need for Fed intervention, political costs of higher prices" At the Tampa Freep, Unsatisfied With Mounting Tax Revenue Created By Trump, Biden Demands Higher Taxes While Ignoring Budget Deficit. “Biden is not a champion of the middle class. He is a champion of big government.” Fox noted Liz Warren wants to double down on stupid, "Warren says ‘Democrats are going to lose’ if ‘we don't get up and deliver’ before election"

In miscellaneous political crap, Fox also "reports" Jill Biden's anger at Harris detailed in new book: 'Do we have to choose the one who attacked Joe?' "Joe Biden reportedly thought Harris' past romantic relationship with a mentor should be something 'off limits'" Who doesn't love a good cat fight? News Busters much watch MSNBC: Black Republicans Like Herschel Walker 'Shucking and Jiving' for White Handlers. WaEx claims a Northeast Ohio House seat, a longtime Democratic redoubt, is shifting to GOP. At Da Beast, Elizabeth Warren Tears Into Kevin McCarthy, Calls Him a ‘Liar and a Traitor’ but 'Fuzzy Slippers' at LI debunks the notion, Media Hoax: No, Kevin McCarthy Did Not Say Trump Should Resign Over J6, "McCarthy says he would recommend to Trump that he resign rather than face the humiliation of his Cabinet and Congress deeming him unfit to serve and removing him without his consent," which is very different from how it's being widely reported. At Breitbart, Piers Morgan Stands by Claim Trump Walked Off of Interview Despite Audio. If you shout loud enough and long enough. at RCP, Trump: Our Biggest Threat Remains The Sick, Sinister, And Evil People From Within Our Own Country. It's the well meaning idiots that scare me the most. 

Andrea Widburg at Am Think thinks There's a reason Democrats are desperate to stop Marjorie Taylor Greene, with a fine thread of tweets to show she's not as crazy as she's being portrayed. CBD at Aces details why We Need More Firebrands Like Marjorie Taylor Greene! "

Do I support everything they say? Nope. But I support their full-throated attacks on the Democrats, the Democrat party, the socialist agenda, the deep state, the corporate-government revolving door, and a host of other things that make our current political structure an existential danger to America as founded and as imagined for generations.

But at NR (cited at Haut Hair), never-Trumper (never-Greene?) Kevin Williamson says  Marjorie Taylor Greene should go

So, either charge Marjorie Taylor Greene under the federal insurrection law — or at least start treating January 6 as an insurrection as a matter of law — or defeat her at the polls. The last thing this country needs is another disreputable, sneaky, underhanded, pretextual legal case. The end is a worthy one, but the means would be corrupting.

'Becca Downs at Town Hall has the scoop that Judge Dismisses Lawsuits Trying to Bar Reps. Paul Gosar, Andy Biggs from Running for Re-Election

Morgan Ortagus

At NYPo, the divine Ms. Devine wonders Are Democrats and Joe Biden up to their old election tricks? Why would they stop now? It worked last time. At the Tampa Freep again, REPORT: GOP Warns Raffensperger Of Stacey Abrams’ Voter-Education Initiative For GA Students. At Da Caller, Jim Jordan Says IRS Can’t Be Trusted After ‘Partisan’ Leak Investigation Stonewalls.  Look, I just saved five words. Tennessee Star claims to tell The Real Story of How the Tennessee GOP Followed the Party’s Bylaws to Disqualify Three Candidates from the TN-5 Primary Ballot. From sundance at CTH, Dinesh D’Souza Releases Expanded Preview Trailer for 2000 Mules, The Ballot Harvesting Story of the 2020 Election

From Twitchy, Much stunning, so BRAVE: Taylor Lorenz tells CNN potato Brian Stelter she doxed Libs Of Tik Tok because she ‘COULD’VE been a foreign actor’, also, Taylor Lorenz says she’s been suspended by Truth Social, Trump's social media company. She is a confirmed doxxer, after all. HE, Unsocial Media Monitor: Lefty Twitter revels in WaPo’s threat to safety of individual behind Libs of TikTok account. Thomas Lifson at Am Think observes how the NYT offers doxxing bait on Christopher Rufo. The Daily Caller notices The Media Doesn’t Want To Talk About Why These Educators Featured On ‘Libs Of Tik Tok’ Got Booted From The Classroom. Derek Hunter at Town Hall wonders Liberals Can’t Be This Stupid, Can They?

Brad Slager at Red State is amused that The Disney-DeSantis Dust-up Leaves the Left Outraged Their Tactics Were Used Against Them. The AP whines DeSantis tests limits of his combative style in Disney feud. Deroy Murdock at NYPo sees hypocrisy, ‘Don’t say gay’? Hypocritical Disney makes money in countries that ban homosexuality. The Imain Herald, Is Florida’s rapid-fire smackdown of Disney even legal? Experts raise questions, an issue never raised when liberal governments punish businesses for their stances. At WaEx, Colorado moves to cast itself as the anti-Florida. Just bake the damn cake, will you? 

"If Disney did come here and want to stake a claim for a 40-square-mile piece of ground, [Colorado] would put so many restrictions on them and be concerned about contamination of the environment by the lights and noise and other pollutions, they'd quickly drive Disney back to the friendly confines of Florida," he said. "It's just wacky, the longer you think about it."

Matt Margolis at PJ Media see Libs Throw Tantrum Because No More Pride, BLM Flags Can Be Displayed at ExxonMobil HQ. Look how many words I save there! Kurt Schlichter at Town Hall says Liberal Corporations Are Confused and Scared Because Conservatives Now Fight Back and the NYPo ed board says Hail the new fight to stop burning corporate cash on pushing woke idiocy.

AP Dillon, Orange County (NC) school board member harasses parent handing out info in carpool line
Former OCS board chair and current board member Hillary Mackenzie is seen in the video calling the parent a "fascist." WSMV (Nashville), New bill to not require education leaders to use students’ preferred pronouns. PJ Media's Kevin Downey on why Libs Spending the Weekend Licking Their Wounds While the Good Guys Rejoice

Tristan Justice observes that L.A. Leftists Embrace Permanent Pandemic With New Mask Mandate. That reminds me, I need to call Mark and harass him for living in a stupider state than mine. Richard Shinder at Am Spec on Mask-Shaming, Hypocrisy, and Second-Order Negative Externalities, "There’s no joy in mask-shaming country." At Am Great, Ken Masugi discourses on Masking the Mask Mandate Morass, "Legitimate government must be based on the consent of the governed. And the anti-COVID regime failed this test."

It looks like Elon Musk is still serious about buying Twitter. WSJ, cited at Haut Hair, Twitter reexamines Musk bid, may be more open to a deal, also NYT, Twitter in advanced talks to sell itself to Elon Musk.  Reuters, Twitter, under shareholder pressure, begins deal talks with Musk. At Da Wire, Twitter Facing Mounting Pressure From Shareholders To Take Specific Action Over Potential Buyout: Report. At NR, cited by Hot Hair, Kevin Williamson, who says sensible things sometimes, when he's not talking about Trump on Why it’s so much fun watching Elon Musk slap Twitter in the face. Dan Chaitin at WaEx, Elon Musk sends cryptic 'moving on' tweet, later clarifies it's about Bill Gates. WaPoo's Megan McArdle opines Buying Twitter is one thing. Changing it? Good luck with that.

The Wombat has Rule Five Sunday: Lisa Gerrard and FMJRA 2.0: RIP Klaus Schulze up and running at The Other McCain.

The Monday Morning Stimulus

The Wombat has Rule Five Sunday: Lisa Gerrard up and running at The Other McCain.

Retired Wrinklenose Will Return to DS9, If Allowed To Lecture You

Chase Masterson at Leeta

Bounding into Comics reports Deep Space Nine Actress Chase Masterson Says She Would Only Return For Continuation “If It Had To Do With Social Justice”

Though currently in an age of endless reboots and continuations, some of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine’s cast members – particularly actress Chase Masterson – have made it clear that they have some conditions that must be met before they would even entertain the idea of returning.

Speaking to a crowd of fans at the Deep Space Nine panel held during the recent April 8th-10th Star Trek: Mission Chicago fan convention, series stars Nana Visitor (Kira Nerys), Alexander Siddig (Julian Bashir), and Chase Masterson (Leeta), were asked – as many actors of widely-beloved series are nowadays – if they would ever return to the Bajor-orbiting space station for further adventures.

While all three were open to the idea, each posited that their return would be conditional on any future project meeting individually-specified criteria.

 

Rounding out the trio’s set of answers, Masterson put forth, “I would want to make sure that Lita – I don’t think they need me anymore to be any kind of thing other than a strong character.”

“And I think if it had to do with social justice, it could work,” she continued. “But anything else, I think we’ve already done that. I think moving along the social justice narrative in terms of Latinum not being the focus on Ferenginar. That, I’d like to do.”

Um, no thanks. I was never a great DS9 watcher, although I vaguely recall some of it. The Ferengi were the best part. Why ruin them by reforming them and turning them into good socialists like all of Hollywood. Find a younger and hungrier actress.

Linked as Blog of the Day at Pirate's Cove in today's If All You See… The Wombat has Rule Five Sunday: Lisa Gerrard up and running at The Other McCain.

Maryland, My Maryland

Da Sun, Last year, Maryland started shielding certain arrest records from view. It’s putting the public in danger

In June 2020, a woman in West Baltimore fired a gun at her domestic partner. She had assaulted the same partner three months earlier, was a convicted felon and had violated probation and home detention. Police found evidence that corroborated the shooting.

Nevertheless, when the case came to court, the prosecutor offered, and the defendant accepted, a plea to probation for charges of misdemeanor assault and reckless endangerment. My review of video of the court proceeding revealed that the presiding judge refused to accept the plea because the charges did not reflect the seriousness of what had happened.

In response, the prosecutor dismissed all the charges.

“Unbelievable,” said the judge.

Yes, it was. But no one today would find any evidence that these incidents ever occurred, thanks to laws passed by the Maryland General Assembly that went into effect last year.

First, the legislature expanded the law on expungement to, beginning Oct. 1, 2021, automatically expunge any case that prosecutors drop or that results in acquittal after three years or sooner if the defendant files a waiver agreeing not to hold anyone liable for the charges against him or her. That means no member of the public can access the record. (Expungement does not apply if a defendant is convicted on any one count of a charging document.)

Case Search, the Maryland judiciary’s online archive of court cases and “the primary way that the public may search for records of court cases,” according to its website, goes even further to block information from the public. As of January 2021, criminal and traffic cases that prosecutors abandon or dismiss, or the defendant is acquitted or found not guilty, are suppressed from view in the archive, leaving no public record of the arrest.

This goes beyond automatic expungement in that (1) a dismissed case instantly disappears and (2) any count not resulting in conviction also disappears. Not only can’t the public see when prosecutors completely drop a case, we can’t determine what counts were dismissed in a plea bargain.

I can easily think of three examples why this does not serve the interest of ordinary citizens:

• If the defendant in the shooting case I mentioned tries to enter into a new domestic relationship, her would-be partner could never learn that prosecutors had twice dropped domestic assault cases against her.
• If a family wants to rent out their basement apartment, they can’t discover that a potential tenant was arrested for selling drugs and possessing a gun. Legislators may think this irrelevant to the family’s decision, but the family would not.
• If a prosecutor dismisses a case without telling the victim, the victim can’t learn that from Case Search; it will look as though the case never existed.

I only knew about the domestic shooting case because I had already recorded the case number for a study I was doing on conviction rates. The court file was still available, as was the video of the court proceeding. But when I went back to confirm some facts, it was too late. Gone! The defendant had (presumably) filed a waiver.

Gone also is prosecutorial accountability. When I tracked more than 500 cases to their conclusion at the end of 2021, a full 20% had disappeared from Case Search. While some would have been dismissed because they were transferred to juvenile or federal court, most would have been dropped altogether. But without confirmation, they can’t be fairly counted. The conviction rate I could confirm for the Baltimore State’s Attorney’s Office is 72%, but it is more likely closer to 60%.

Is it in the public interest to conceal this information, or to hide, for instance, armed robbery cases that are plea-bargained to misdemeanor assault and theft?

Recently, a case hit the news about a man who was freed on a plea bargain after setting fire to his ex-girlfriend’s house. I guessed who the prosecutor was before I was told because my study showed that he had handled a number of dropped domestic violence cases and wildly generous plea bargains, including the domestic shooting case. That pattern is now obscured.

It's interesting to note that I came upon this at Haut Hair, where Jazz Shaw had a VIP (paywalled) article, Baltimore has been expunging the criminal records of felons and people are dying, that implied it was a Baltimore problem. It isn't, it extends to the whole state of Maryland. The other significant difference is the Jazz's article focuses on the problem with concealing potential perpetrators habits from the public, which this op-ed does also, but this one emphasizes how it can be used to make prosecutors look good (your won/loss records certainly looks better if you can delete the losses.

Of course, the real problem is the Maryland is a one party state, and that party is dedicated to coddling criminals and protecting civil "servants" from being held account for their actions.

Some Sunday Stuff

 I can't really get a good handle on a title. Breitbart has a Poll: 70 Percent Say Country Is Headed in the Wrong Direction, and 30 percent are either ignorant or evil. Also  Three Signs Republicans May Hammer Democrats in Midterm Landslide.  At Althouse, 'The vibes just feel very off,' said Tré Easton, progressive consultant. Others use words like 'horrible' and 'debacle' to describe a political environment..., "From "'It’s Time to Head for the Lifeboats': Democratic Fatalism Intensifies/Strategists and pollsters are increasingly talking about limiting the party’s expected losses in November rather than how to gain new seats" by Blake Hounshell (NYT)." Paul Bedard at WaEx, wonders about the White House Report Card: Is Biden this bad on purpose? Is he trying to set low expectations? Roger Kimball at Am Great wonders Who Is Running This Show, Anyway? "Things boil down to a question of "Who rules"? Is it the people or a hive of bureaucratic would-be experts?" Bill Whittle, Slip-Slidin’ Away: The Progressive Left Now Gets Thrashed on Every Issue, Everywhere

At WaEx, This House Republican is likely to become speaker if McCarthy bid gets derailed. Steve Scalise. I could live with that, but the fact that Media and Democrats are fighting so hard to stain McCarthy makes him look more attractive. Aaron Kliegman at JTN tells of  The Trump comeback no one's talking about: Still Teflon, "After leaving office on down note, Trump is kingmaker in 2022 — and in pole position for 2024." NewsMax, Trump: JD Vance 'a Guy That Said Some Bad S**t About Me', but supports him anyway. At Desert News, How bad do Utah Democrats want Mike Lee out? Bad enough to ditch their own nominee and back Evan McMullin instead. Spencer Brown at Town Hall, LA Times Endorses Republican in Call for a Check on Democrats' Power. Now you know they're desperate.

Matt Palumbo presents, This Week on Unfiltered With Dan Bongino: Are Democrats Interfering In Another Election? Why would they stop now? Mike LaChance at LI has a Rasmussen Poll: Most Democrats Still Believe Russia Stole 2016 Election From Hillary. At Star News, Newly Released Drop Box Videos in Detroit Reveal Multiple Issues During November 2020 Election. At PM, Dinesh D'Souza's new film '2000 Mules' explores controversies in 2020 presidential election, ""2000 Mules" premieres in select theaters on May 2 and May 4."

The lockdowns and the damage done. The WSJ, cited at Haut Hair says, Anthony Fauci is not the law. ". . .  as Justice Neil Gorsuch wrote in November 2020, “even if the Constitution has taken a holiday during this pandemic, it cannot become a sabbatical.” Michael Barone at WaEx, The verdict on lockdowns: high costs, minimal benefits. Breitbart even catches Bill Maher: Young People Have Anxiety Problems Because They’ve ‘Been Indoctrinated’ on COVID.

Stacy McCain on the trangender/grooming issue, ‘The Enormity of the Crime’

One of the things I’ve always understood about what is now generally called “the LGBTQ movement” (once known more simply as “gay rights”) was that it really wasn’t about fighting oppression, and that the claims of victimhood involved were largely fictitious. And I knew this because I actually knew gay people, none of whom were in the least bit oppressed or victimized, despite the fact that they lived in the heart of the Bible Belt.

Jeremy Carl at Am Great, Refusing What We Are: The Evil of Children’s Transgenderism, "It’s difficult for us to acknowledge the enormity of the crime committed against our children because it’s hard for us to acknowledge how deeply we have failed." Althouse cites the London Times "Vulnerable children are wrongly being given gender hormone treatment by the NHS, Sajid Javid believes, as he prepares to launch an urgent inquiry."

"The health secretary thinks the system is 'failing children' and... is understood to have likened political sensitivities over gender dysphoria to the fears of racism in Rotherham over grooming gangs.... Javid is said to be particularly alarmed by her finding that some non-specialist staff felt 'under pressure to adopt an unquestioning affirmative approach' to transitioning and that other mental health issues were 'overshadowed' when gender was raised....

At WaEx, Disney has lost $50 billion in value since war with Florida began. Sundance at CTH, Disney Corp Has Lost $46 Billion in Value Since Declaring Support for LGBTQ Studies in K-3 Education.  and Governor Ron DeSantis Discusses Disney Controversy With Tucker Carlson. At Fox Business, Former McDonald's CEO: Disney's leaders should be fired. At Ricochete, DeSantis Understands the Best Defense Is a Good Offense. Atop Da Hill, Trump lawyer Jenna Ellis offers to defend Disney against DeSantis administration. At Twitchy, ‘Hey, you do you, boo’: Jenna Ellis makes an open offer to Disney and people have thoughts Jonathon Snyder@JonathonSnyder "Replying to @JennaEllisEsq and @Disney "yes ending special tax benefits and protections not afforded to any other citizen or company is bad and constitutes retaliation, would love to see your arguments on this one." KT at Haut Hair notes that, possibly in response to Disney's troubles in Florida, Exxon bans gay pride, BLM flags from flying over corporate headquarters. At BPR, Democrats demand examples of CRT, Common Core, SEL in rejected math books — Florida delivers!

Bounding into Comics, GAC Media’s Push For True Family Entertainment Panics The Progressive Media: “Rife With Conservative Dog Whistles”. How dare a media company promote conservative values! John Sexton at Haut Hair reviews the Slantics review of Jon Stewarts new show, Atlantic: Jon Stewart's new show takes the clown nose off, 'he’s not even trying to be funny'

At Da Beast What Elon Musk’s Bid Says About Twitter’s ‘Free Speech Problem’ Hey, at least they acknowledge the problem. That's a start. 'Bonchie' at Red State take note that Bill Gates Comes Begging to Elon Musk, Resulting in an Incredible Troll:  Whole Mars Catalog@WholeMarsBlog, "So apparently Bill Gates hit up @elonmusk to discuss “philanthropy on climate change” but Elon asked if he still had a half billion dollar short position on $TSLA. Bill said he hasn’t closed it out, so Elon told him to get lost. No idea if this is true lol" Spencer Brown at Town Hall, Bill Gates Isn't Going to Like What Elon Musk Tweeted About Him

Regarding J6, Politico is shocked, shocked that Jan. 6 panel gets inconsistent testimony on key Trump family conversation, "Witnesses contradict key testimony on how hard Ivanka Trump had to push the former president to call off the Jan. 6 rioters." and GOP lawmakers were deeply involved in Trump plans to overturn election, new evidence suggests. Or trying to prevent the installation of an obviously fraudulently elected President***. Dan Chaitin at WaEx, Secret Service rush to evacuate Pence from besieged Capitol becomes 'coup' focus. I'd like to believe the SS was beyond partisan reach, but these days? Maybe not.

I noted above the desperate attempt to smear Kevin McCarthy before the Democrats lose the House in November. Rajan Laad at Am Think thinks We need to talk about Kevin McCarthy. "If McCarthy is indeed a traitor who wanted to stab President Trump and the MAGA movement in the back, why would the leftist media promote the conversation and hurt McCarthy’s reelection chances and that of him being made Speaker of the House?" Insty, Now: We Need to Talk About Kevin McCarthy: “Is it conceivable that spying on GOP personnel is now standard practice in Washington in order that conversations can be leaked to the media and be amplified for political purposes?" NYT, cited at Haut Hair claims McCarthy's lie puts GOP hypocrisy on Trump on display.  WaEx, McCarthy tells House Republicans Trump isn't mad over leaked Jan. 6 criticisms. And Da Hill is pissed that Trump, McCarthy say relationship is intact after recordings about Jan. 6.

Jazz Shaw at Haut Hair, The MTG inquisition has really been something to see. Can you say "show trial?" Matt Vespa thinks There Is a Logical Alternative to the Legal Circus That's Engulfed Marjorie Taylor Greene. An election?

This is a clown show. There was no insurrection or rebellion. Sorry, feelings are not facts, liberal America. We know you have plenty of feelings, you ooze feelings. More barrels of…feelings have leaked out of you than the BP oil spill. It doesn’t change the fact that this is a pile of hot garbage.

If there was evidence, Trump would be indicted by now, right? He isn’t because there is none. The select committee on this little riot was set up to be the Democrats’ saving grace for 2022. Joe Biden’s failed agenda screwed all of that up, not that it would have saved them anyway because NO ONE cares about the riot anymore. If they have nothing on Trump, and they don’t, then there’s nothing on MTG.

Sundance, The Desperation of Democrats Surfaces in Effort to Block GA Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene from Reelection. At AL.com, Marjorie Taylor Greene testifies at Jan. 6 candidacy hearing: ‘Our 1776 moment’ comment ‘about the courage to object’. Media shocked that "U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene was hostile during testimony Friday in a hearing on her eligibility to run for reelection." WaEx reports Prosecutor plays Independence Day clip during MTG hearing. Just weird. 

Palm Sunday

Linked at the Pirate's Cove in the weekly Sorta Blogless Sunday Pinup and linkfest.  The Wombat has Rule Five Sunday: Lisa Gerrard up and running at The Other McCain.

Maryland, My Maryland

 Former MVA employee pleads guilty after distributing 276 fraudulent driver's licenses

A former Maryland Motor Vehicle Administration employee pleaded guilty Friday to charges that stemmed from her distributing hundreds of fraudulent driver's licenses.

Marion Payne, 55, of Harwood, worked at the MVA's Largo branch when she and a co-conspirator distributed 276 fraudulent licenses between July 2015 and March 2016, according to her plea.

Prosecutors said people paid between $800 and $5,000 in cash for each fraudulently issued Maryland driver's license. Officials said people wanted the licenses because they were in the country illegally.

In exchange for the improperly issued driver's licenses, Payne was paid at least $25,000 in cash and gifts, prosecutors said.

Payne, 55, of Harwood, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to produce and transfer identification documents without lawful authority. Her sentencing is set for Aug. 3. She could face a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison for the conspiracy charge.

As part of her plea agreement, Payne will also be required to pay a money judgment of at least $25,000, which constitutes assets derived from or obtained by Payne as a result of the conspiracy, prosecutors said.

I hope she gets at least 5 out of the 15 years possible, but I don't have much hope in MD.