A New Comet Coming

Explosive brightening of approaching green comet – may be plainly visible in August

A comet that could become visible to the naked eye in August has just exploded in brightness. Amateur astronomer Michael Jäger‎ of Austria reports that Comet PANSTARRS (C/2017 S3) brightened 16-fold during the late hours of July 2nd, abruptly increasing in magnitude from +12 to +9. He took this picture of the comet’s expanding green atmosphere shortly after the outburst:

“The gas cloud around the comet’s nucleus is about 4 arc minutes wide,” says Jäger‎. That means the comet’s atmosphere is 260,000 km in diameter, almost twice as wide as the planet Jupiter. These dimensions make it a relatively easy target for backyard telescopes.

Comet PanSTARRS is falling toward the sun from the Oort cloud, a vast reservoir of fresh comets in the distant outer solar system. It has never visited the inner planets before, and, as a result, no one can say what will happen when its fragile ices are exposed to solar heat as it approaches the sun in August. Previous estimates of the comet’s brightness max out at magnitude +4–that is, barely visible to the unaided eye from dark-sky sites. Additional outbursts could boost its visibility even more.

The comet was discovered on Sept. 23, 2017, by the PanSTARRS telescope on the summit of the Haleakalā volcano in Maui. PanSTARRS’s primary mission is to detect near-Earth asteroids that threaten our planet. In the process,it sweeps up variable stars, supernovas, and comets like this one. With almost a year of data in hand, astronomers have been able to nail down the comet’s orbit. Click on the image to launch an interactive 3D visualization from JPL:

This is an extraordinarily cool animation. Go play with it!

Comet PanSTARRS is approaching the sun on a hyperbolic orbit–a narrow open-ended path that will ultimately fling it back to the outer solar system. At perihelion (closest approach to the sun) on August 15-16, the comet will be inside the orbit of Mercury, blasted by solar radiation at point-blank range. What will happen then?

I hope this one is clearly visible from earth. I've been disappointed by comets before.

Largemouth Bass Virus Linked to Susquehanna Smallmouth Bass Disease

A little Largemouth Bass

Scientists scrutinize virus, contaminants in smallmouth bass die-off

For more than a decade, biologists have been picking away at a mystery: What caused a years-long decline of smallmouth bass in Pennsylvania’s Susquehanna River starting more than a decade ago?

Some think they may have finally cracked the case. The results of recently published research, lauded by some as “the smoking gun,” points to a virus once thought not to affect smallmouth bass. In a series of laboratory experiments, scientists from Michigan State University found that largemouth bass virus can indeed be fatal to young smallmouth bass.

Others are not ready to stamp “case closed” on the mysterious die-off, saying the full explanation is much more complicated.

A bigger Largemouth Bass

Biologist Vicki Blazer of the U.S. Geological Survey Leetown Science Center is one of them. Blazer has been leading a long-term study of wild bass from the Susquehanna. Her team of federal and state researchers has been working on the premise that multiple infections of disease and parasites caused the widespread deaths of young smallmouth bass that was first observed in 2005.

Those infections, she argues, may have been triggered by a brew of chemicals polluting the Susquehanna that weakened fish immune systems.

“The bottom line was, from site to site, there was no one pathogen that we were finding,” Blazer said. “Most of the places that had mortality had multiple pathogens. That led us to think that something was going on to be immunosuppressing those fish and making them more susceptible to disease.”

Brooke Thomas displays a beer and a Smallmouth Bass

When fish get ill, they often fall prey to numerous secondary infections. You have to be very careful to actually get to the bottom of the reason for the illness. Vicky Blazer has a hammer, and she's looking for a convenient nail.

That’s not to say that largemouth virus isn’t the cause of the fish kills.

“The research has shown that the largemouth bass virus is capable of killing smallmouth bass at water temperatures that continue to exist in the Susquehanna,” said Coja Yamashita, a fisheries biologist with the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission who worked with the Michigan lab during the study. “The virus is one piece of the puzzle, just a much larger part than we originally thought.”

Yamashita said that while there’s no way to remove the virus from the river, educating anglers and boaters is needed to help stop its spread. The virus was most likely transported by boats and equipment from other waters into the Susquehanna.

“As far as what Vicki Blazer is doing, there’s no doubt that contaminants in the water aren’t helping the situation,” he said. “Identifying which toxins are the worst for fish health — that’s something we can do something about.”

The Susquehanna is sick, and only a serious cleanup is going to fix it.

Wombat-socho was a day late with "Rule 5 Sunday: Crystal Hefner".

Your Acquiescence is Mandatory

At least in Canada, where the concept of free speech is less than fully enshrined in their constitution. The Canadian Menace: Facebook Censors Critics of CBC’s Homosexual Propaganda

Jessi Cruickshank is a personality on the Canadian government’s official propaganda channel, the CBC, which promotes homosexuality. On June 1, Ms. Cruickshank hosted a number of young children on her CBC program, encouraging them to celebrate homosexuality. Robert Gagnon of the Federalist describes this bizarre Canadian propaganda:

Jessi Cruikshank sits at a table with a garland of rainbow balloons, providing lead-in questions to two girls and two boys, who seem to be ages five to eight. The purpose of the video is simple: to proselytize for support of “Gay Pride Month.”
Cruikshank started by proclaiming, “Happy pride, everybody!” and asked, “Who knows what ‘gay pride’ means?” After getting an answer she gushed with glee: “It’s a celebration of sexual diversity!” Then she enlisted them in the “LGBTQ” cause by telling them: “So I’m not gay, but I’m a gay ally.” As an authority figure, she coaxed them to join her, asking, “Are you gay allies?” Subtext: You better be, if you know what is good for you.
Not being entirely corrupted at such a tender age, one girl thought that Cruikshank was referring to the game of Hide and Go Seek (bless her innocent heart) when asked, “What does it mean to come out of the closet?” Cruikshank pressed on: “What do you think about gay marriage?” “Do you think it would be cool to have two moms?” “What would it be like to have two dads?” Cruikshank worked to foster a view of “advantages” to same-sex parents.

Cruikshank launched into a litany of “gay celebrities” or “gay icons,” most of whom the children did not know. When a girl asked who Jodie Foster is, Cruikshank outdid even herself: “Jody Foster is a woman and she made me question my sexuality when I was a child because I liked her so much. And she was nude in a film ‘Nell,’ not that I remember watching several times as a child.”
How creepy is that? One of the two little girls answered with an awkward “Wow,” accompanied by an eyeroll, as if to say, “I didn’t need to hear that.” She didn’t. Cruikshank then summed up for the children: “Remember: What are we to the gay community?” She was expecting to hear “gay allies,” but some in their confusion responded, “Gay icons.” To this Cruikshank added: “Everybody should grow up and aspire to be a gay icon.”
Throughout the presentation, Cruikshank fulfilled the Orwellian role of reinforcing “correct” responses with: “Great answer!” “Makes sense.” “Right!” There was one and only one right response to the presentation: Complete, unequivocal agreement with “LGBTQ” ideology.

Don't believe it?



She really needs to talk to them about anal and oral sex.

This video of Ms. Cruickshank promoting homosexuality to children was posted to Facebook, and Facebook censored Gagnon’s criticism:

On June 14 at 1:09 PM I learned that Facebook blocked me for 24 hours because of my alleged “hate speech.” . . . I was directed to the “community standards” that prohibited “a direct attack on people based on what we call protected characteristics — . . . sexual orientation . . . gender identity.” . . .
My posting on this video was straightforward:

This clip is about celebrating sexual perversity, not ‘sexual diversity.’ Brought to you by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the Canadian equivalent to our PBS, paid for by tax dollars. No indoctrination or recruitment going on here (or on PBS), right? Any resemblance to Orwell’s Big Brother (or Kim Jong-un) is purely coincidental? It is a measure of how corrupt things have become that this woman is not vilified throughout Canada and legislators are not threatening to remove funding from the CBC. By the end the woman is talking to little children about Jody Foster helping her to question her own sexuality as a child and about Foster’s nudity in a film.

I consider my post a reasonable response to corrupt indoctrination of children. It is certainly a stance in line with my religious beliefs. Associating “sexual perversity” with “sexual diversity” is consistent with the Christian stance on homosexual practice as “abhorrent” and intrinsically self-“dishonoring” activity (Leviticus 18:22; 20:13; Romans 1:24-27). . . .
Facebook violated its own community standards by attacking my “protected characteristic” of “religious affiliation”: treating a central belief and practice of historic Christian faith as “hate speech.” Facebook members can say virtually anything about Christians who uphold a male-female foundation for sexual ethics, without fear of “Facebook jail.” But I can’t do the same thing from my own religious perspective.
(Hat-tip: Jeanette Runyon on Twitter.)

It should not be necessary to say — and I think every intelligent person can see — that there is a vast difference between (a) encouraging an attitude of tolerance, civility and kindness toward others, and (b) advocating sexually deviant behaviors to impressionable children.

US consumers, and our politicians must also be careful not to allow Facebook to decide what will be censored and what will not, because we know that it will not be even-handed. Facebook: The Declaration Of Independence ‘Goes Against Our Standards On Hate Speech’

Wombat-socho was a day late with "Rule 5 Sunday: Crystal Hefner" and "FMJRA 2.0: Day Late & A Dollar Short With Astrix."

Post Fireworks Russiagate

I can't believe this much accumulated on July 4th.

Kelly Cohen at the Washington Examiner: Senate Intel concludes Russia interfered in 2016 presidential election, preferred Trump over Clinton. I agree with that, with the proviso that they didn't think she could lose, and they just wanted to weaken a President Hillary Clinton. If they knew they could affect the outcome of the election, they're so much smarter than us we should just give up now.

The panel said it supports the assessment that Russian efforts to influence the 2016 election “represent the most recent expression of Moscow’s longstanding desire to undermine the U.S.-led liberal democratic order, but these activities demonstrated a significant escalation in directness, level of activity, and scope of effort compared to previous operations.”

Further, the Senate intelligence panel said it agrees with the finding that Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered the interference campaign, with the goals of “undermining public faith in the U.S. democratic process,” as well as “denigrate” Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton.

Jeff Carlson at Director Blue:  Devin Nunes: His Growing List of Names, Including One Victoria Nuland: Expect much more weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth from Democrats.

Nunes referred seventeen highly recognizable names to the joint task force of Committees on Oversight & Government Reform and the Judiciary for open-setting interviews.

On July 2, 2018, Nunes added ten names to his list in a follow-up letter, expanding it to twenty-seven individuals (complete list w/descriptions at bottom). The new names are:

• Elizabeth Dribble
• Jonathan Finer
• Colin Kahl
• Kathleen Kavalec
• Lewis Lukens
• Shailagh Murray
• Victoria Nuland – See, New Details of Victoria Nuland’s Role in the Steele Dossier
• Jake Sullivan
• Thomas Williams
• Jonathan Winer

Note that names cut off at a certain political level. Below Sally Yates at DOJ. Below Comey at FBI. Below Kerry at State.

Following the addition of new names, Nunes appeared on the Laura Ingraham Show. His comments were noteworthy. I encourage you to read them in full. Nunes specifically notes he intends to refer more names later this week.

Showing that he's nowhere near done torturing Trump Mueller Taps More Prosecutors to Help With Growing Trump Probe (Bloomberg)

 Special Counsel Robert Mueller is tapping additional Justice Department resources for help with new legal battles as his year-old investigation of Russian interference with the 2016 election continues to expand.

As Mueller pursues his probe, he’s making more use of career prosecutors from the offices of U.S. attorneys and from Justice Department headquarters, as well as FBI agents -- a sign that he may be laying the groundwork to hand off parts of his investigation eventually, several current and former U.S. officials said.

Mueller and his team of 17 federal prosecutors are coping with a higher-then-expected volume of court challenges that has added complexity in recent months, but there’s no political appetite at this time to increase the size of his staff, the officials said.

According to his most recent statement of expenditures, more money is being spent on work done by permanent Department of Justice units than on Mueller’s own dedicated operation. The DOJ units spent $9 million from the investigation’s start in May 2017 through March of this year, compared with $7.7 million spent by Mueller’s team.

Meanwhile, former Mueller investigator and Anti-Trump FBI Agent Peter Strzok May Ignore Congressional Subpoena, His Lawyer Says (Chuck Ross, Daily Caller). Gee, and I thought he wanted to get his story out. Spencer Ackerman FBI Taught Agents They Could 'Bend or Suspend the Law'. Their defense is that only about 1% of their training materials actually encouraged agents to break the law.

Alas, according to the estimation of the  estimable Andrew McCarthy, Michael Flynn’s Guilty Plea Isn’t Going Away

. . . This brings us to the issue of vacating Flynn’s guilty plea, which his fans ardently hope against hope will happen. . . . It won’t.

Non-lawyers understandably focus on the equities that are in Flynn’s favor. They skip over the inconvenient fact that he got up in court, pled guilty as charged, and provided the court with an explanation of why he was guilty. Legally, it is almost impossible to un-ring that bell. A plea proceeding is an exacting affair, in which the accused is thoroughly advised of all the rights he is waiving, and the judge takes pains to ensure that he is pleading guilty because he has committed illegal conduct with criminal intent. It is exceedingly rare for a plea to be vacated after it has been accepted by the court.

More importantly (and this is the point people tend to miss), the accused usually pleads guilty because it is a good deal. In Flynn’s case, he could have been charged with multiple false-statements counts; in addition, because of Mueller’s harsh treatment of people who act as agents of foreign governments without registering with the Justice Department (an offense heretofore very infrequently prosecuted), there was the possibility of charges involving his company’s work for the government of Turkey, in which Flynn’s son may have been implicated.

Understand: I am not saying Flynn is necessarily guilty of additional crimes. I am saying that even if by some legal miracle Flynn were permitted to withdraw his plea, Mueller is not going away. If the plea deal were broken, all bets would be off. The special counsel could then indict him on any and all charges that were dropped in exchange for the guilty plea. Flynn, and perhaps his son, would face the extensive time, crushing expense, and high anxiety of defending against the case.

General Flynn pled guilty precisely to avoid dealing with all of that, to put this dark chapter behind him and his beleaguered family. Whatever suspicions there may be about the validity of the false-statement plea, they do not make the rest of Flynn’s potential problems disappear.

That is why the plea will stand . . . unless President Trump pardons him.

Personally, I believe Flynn should be pardoned, forthwith. His investigation was politicized. His prosecution should never have happened. There does not appear to be any viable “collusion” or obstruction case against President Trump, much less one in which Flynn would be a critical witness. If such a case were unexpectedly to develop, Flynn has been cooperating with Mueller, so there are presumably FBI reports (perhaps even grand jury testimony) outlining Flynn’s version of events. There is no reason to believe a pardon would induce Flynn to change his tune and lie on the president’s behalf; in the highly unlikely event that he did, Mueller could prosecute him for perjury.

Alas, a Flynn pardon will not happen at this point because the politics militate against it. Eventually, I believe, Flynn will be pardoned because he deserves to be. I could be wrong, but about this much I am confident: If Flynn gets a reprieve, it will be because the president exercised clemency, not because Judge Sullivan vacated his plea.

Pardon Flynn, investigate Mueller.

Daniel Greenfield at Front Page: Sex, Lies and the Deep State - What the affairs of the deep state tell us about it.

At the heart of the effort to bring down President Trump were two affairs. Unlike the bizarre lies about Moscow hotel rooms and prostitutes in the Steele dossier that was used by the Clinton campaign and its allies to smear President Trump and generate an investigation against him, these affairs truly took place.

And they didn’t just expose the malfeasance of four people, but of a corrupt political culture.

The affairs between Peter Strzok and Lisa Page in the FBI, and between Senate Intelligence Committee security director James Wolfe and New York Times reporter Ali Watkins, did more than betray the spouses of Strzok, Page and Wolfe. They also betrayed the duties of the two men and two women.

The affairs were not private matters. The two illicit sexual relationships were also illicit political arrangements. As the Inspector General’s report noted, Deputy FBI Director Andrew McCabe, a Clinton ally who has since been fired, used Page as his liaison with Strzok to circumvent the chain of command on the investigation. McCabe used Page as his conduit and Watkins’ media employers used the young reporter as a conduit to her older married lover and the leaked information he allegedly provided her.
. . .
How significant was the Ali Watkins and James Wolfe affair? Former New York Times editor Jill Abramson, in her furious defense of Watkins, noted, "most crucially, the value of her journalism (her Carter Page scoop in BuzzFeed actually helped lead to appt of Mueller)." Strzok was forced to leave the Mueller investigation due to the exposure of his texts with Lisa Page. Watkins’ affair with Wolfe has been credited by a key media figure with helping create the monster that is the Mueller investigation.

At the rotten heart of the campaign against Trump lay the betrayal of private and public fidelities.

But the Strzok-Page and Watkins-Wolfe affairs were also crucial in bypassing formal lines of communication. Illicit affairs are popular espionage tradecraft not just because they provide blackmail material against influential officials, but because their very informality makes it easy to create covert networks within organizations as personal intimacy is used to maintain political intimacy.

Read it all.

Stormy Daniels

Joe Simpson at da Caller: People Are Now Paying $10,000 To See Stormy Daniels Strip In DC. You need scare quotes around strip:

Allegations aside, men are willing to pay big bucks to see the 39-year-old mother bare it all at the strip clubs like the Cloakroom during her tour across America.

The club is offering VIP skyboxes for $10,000 a show, according to the Washingtonian. “You’d have to buy it, and then I’ll let you know,” Cristina Horcasitas told the magazine after being asked what $10,000 bucks gets ticket-holders.

For a mere $50, there is access to get in and hopefully sit on a barstool. At the next level, $100 gets access to better seating and a private bar.

“She’s unpredictable. She’s fun,” says Horcasitas. “She’s excited to put on a good show.”

Recently, Daniels said she would be visiting the U.S.-Mexico border and using her “platform” to help shed light on the Trump administration’s immigration policies toward children.

I'd expect a lot for $10k, IYKWIMAITYD, although Washington D.C. prices do tend to be pretty high. And speaking of Stormy, her lawyer Michael Avenatti vows to run for Preznit, if Trump stands for reelection. Oh, please!

IF (big) he seeks re-election, I will run, but only if I think that there is no other candidate in the race that has a REAL chance at beating him. We can't relive 2016. I love this country, our values and our people too much to sit by while they are destroyed. #FightClub #Basta

— Michael Avenatti (@MichaelAvenatti) July 4, 2018

Wombat-socho was a day late with "Rule 5 Sunday: Crystal Hefner" and "FMJRA 2.0: Day Late & A Dollar Short With Astrix."

Your Thursday Morning Wake Up

Pretty sure I got this from Theo. Wombat-socho was a day late with "Rule 5 Sunday: Crystal Hefner".

Is This a Great Country or What?

After this afternoon's beach walk, a near duplicate of yesterday's except that Georgia came too, and the tooth hunting wasn't nearly as good (only 55 teeth between us), we came home and cooled off a while before going to the pot luck at the marina, where we had hot dogs, hamburgers, and a great selection of salads and desserts, we walked down to the beach, and waited for the customary fireworks show. Totally unsolicited, a bunch of different people buy them and shoot them off over the beach all without the regulation and permission from the government, and most of the community comes down to watch:

 There were big candles from the ground

 Kids with sparklers

 And big aerial rockets.

There were at least 3 groups of people with large collections nearby, and many more displays could be seen up and down the coast, and even on the eastern shore.

Reason #5947 That Trump Was Elected

Trump Administration Reverses Obama-Era Guidance On Affirmative Action

The Trump administration is advising schools to avoid using race in admissions decisions. The change will reverse guidance issued by the Obama administration which recommended that schools consider race as one factor in admissions. The NY Times reports the change appears to be aimed at having an impact on a lawsuit filed against Harvard University over its admissions policies:

The Obama administration believed that students benefit from being surrounded by diverse classmates, so in 2011, the administration offered schools a potential road map to establishing affirmative action policies that could withstand legal scrutiny.
In a pair of policy guidance documents, the Education and Justice departments told elementary and secondary schools and college campuses to use “the compelling interests” established by the court to achieve diversity. They concluded that the Supreme Court “has made clear such steps can include taking account of the race of individual students in a narrowly tailored manner.”…
The Trump administration’s plan would scrap the existing policies and encourage schools not to consider race at all. The new policy would not have the force of law, but it amounts to the official view of the federal government. School officials who keep their admissions policies intact would do so knowing that they could face a Justice Department investigation or lawsuit, or lose federal funding from the Education Department…
Anurima Bhargava, who headed civil rights enforcement in schools for the Justice Department under President Barack Obama and co-authored the Obama-era guidance, said that the policy withdrawal was timed for brief filings in the Harvard litigation, due at the end of the month.
“This is a wholly political attack,” Ms. Bhargava said. “And our schools are the place where our communities come together, so our schools have to continue to promote diversity and address segregation, as the U.S. Constitution demands.”

As I pointed out last month, Harvard University is being sued by a group called Students for Fair Admissions. The group argues that Harvard’s admissions would be up to 40% Asian American if only grades and test scores were considered. But Harvard also rates the character qualities of applicants in a way that consistently undermines Asian students. Here’s how a NY Times opinion piece described the process:

Harvard evaluated applicants on the extent to which they possessed the following traits: likability, helpfulness, courage, kindness, positive personality, people like to be around them, the person is widely respected. Asian-Americans, who had the highest scores in both the academic and extracurricular ratings, lagged far behind all other racial groups in the degree to which they received high ratings on the personality score.
“Asian-American applicants receive a 2 or better on the personal score more than 20% of the time only in the top academic index decile. By contrast, white applicants receive a 2 or better on the personal score more than 20% of the time in the top six deciles,” wrote Mr. Arcidiacono. “Hispanics receive such personal scores more than 20% of the time in the top seven deciles, and African Americans receive such scores more than 20% of the time in the top eight deciles.”…
Mr. Arcidiacono found that an otherwise identical applicant bearing an Asian-American male identity with a 25 percent chance of admission would have a 32 percent chance of admission if he were white, a 77 percent chance of admission if he were Hispanic, and a 95 percent chance of admission if he were black.

So the Harvard admission people really hate Asians, don't like WASPs too much either, sorta kinda like Hispanics, and really love Blacks. How convenient.

The way to end racial discrimination is to stop discriminating on the basis of race. I heard that somewhere.

Maryland, My Maryland

Stacy McCain brings news: Bisexual ‘Gender-Fluid’ 7th-Grader Leads Pride March in Maryland Capital

Recent news you might have missed:

In steamy, rainy conditions Tuesday afternoon [June 19], a cluster of rainbows made its way through Annapolis.
The city’s first official pride celebration — a walk from City Hall to the Loews Annapolis Hotel — started with a seventh-grader.
Twelve-year-old Claire Drapeau has been out as bisexual since she was in fifth-grade at Crofton Middle School. This year after telling friends, family and classmates she also identifies as gender-fluid, Drapeau wanted to join in on a pride celebration.
Instead of taking a trip to D.C. Pride as she planned, Drapeau told her mom she just wanted to walk around downtown Annapolis waving her rainbow flag and handing out stickers, which she saved up to buy herself.
“I wanted to show no matter who you are, love is love. You can love someone no matter your sexuality or gender,” she said. . . .
When Drapeau’s mother posted on Facebook asking if anyone would join them, Mayor Gavin Buckley saw it and decided to join in.
Two weeks ago, Buckley declared June Annapolis’ first pride month in solidarity with national celebrations. He hadn’t planned an event until a parade set for 2019.
“We can’t let our ruling principles be fear and greed. We need them to be love and pride,” he said after the walk. . . .
About 50 people joined them in walking along Green Street, Main Street, Church Circle and West Street donned head to toe in rainbow colors.

Actually, they look pretty much like people in summer around here, with the exception of Claire.

Because the reader is now probably confused and dismayed, let me help you focus your mind on a short list of obvious points:

1. She declared herself bisexual in fifth grade? Let any adult think back to when you were in fifth grade. In what alternative universe does it make sense to have 10-year-olds “coming out”?
2. What does it mean to be “gender-fluid” in seventh grade? Shouldn’t such behavior be considered potentially symptomatic of abuse? Is it not self-evident that this child is emotionally disturbed?
3. Who are this child’s parents? What sort of people think it’s a good idea for a 12-year-old girl to be a “gender-fluid” bisexual marching around downtown waving a rainbow flag?
4. Anita Bryant could not be reached for comment.

We are through the looking-glass and down the rabbit hole here. Bizarre stories like this are a tip-of-the-iceberg phenomenon, evidence of a momentous cultural shift, which is a direct consequence of “fundamentally transforming the United States of America.”

Is this another case of rapid-onset gender dysphoria?

Well, just don't scare the rockfish.

Revolution Day Russiagate

Happy 4th of July, y'all. It continues hot here, although perhaps a degree or two less today they say. We'll see. Russiagate today is an odd lot; not too much pattern. Maybe reporters were snipping off loose ends as they prepared for the holiday. Suitably illustrated.

Not so much real Russiagate as a comment on the efficacy of the attacks, Trump Approval Jumps As Attacks From Critics Backfire; Trump Now More Popular Than FBI: IBD/TIPP Poll. Lord knows Trump has been fortunate in his enemies. Speaking of whom, "Tyler Durnden" at Zero Hedge: Did Sen. Warner And Comey 'Collude' On Russia-gate? At Warner's behest, Comey broke up a deal with Julian Assange that might have actually solved the hacking. But they don't really want to know the truth, do they?

Another view of the timeline from Disobedient Media: Questions Concerning the Collusion Investigation and the role of the mysterious, and now vanished Dr. Misfud, whose name reminds me of Mr. Mxyzptlk from the Superman arc. It keeps looking like a set up. Chuck Ross at Director Blue: LET’S ROCK: Devin Nunes Closes In on Corrupt Obama Officials. Late is better than never.

Norman Eisen and Andrew M. Wright at USA Today: How Donald Trump could speed up Robert Mueller's Russia investigation: Talk to him. I still think Trump should put Mueller under oath and ask him some leading questions; maybe even a perjury trap or two.

Chris Enloe at The Blaze: Stunning revelation buried deep in IG report blows hole in Lynch-Clinton tarmac meeting narrative. The infamous tarmac meeting had advance planning:

The report states that the DOJ department of public affairs supervisor traveling with Lynch told internal DOJ investigators that Clinton’s Secret Service detail contacted Lynch’s security detail ahead of time to arrange the meeting.

Clinton’s plane was parked next to Lynch’s, the report revealed, or about just 20 to 30 yards away.

Clinton told investigators he only learned the plane next to his was Lynch’s after being briefed by his staff. He claimed he then debated whether or not he should “say hello” and “shake hands with the Attorney General.”

What? Bill Clinton lied to us? Who could see that coming?

Michael Cohen? Here Are The Documents Recovered From Michael Cohen’s Shredder

Now, BuzzFeed News has obtained documents reconstructed by the FBI. A close examination shows that the records are a combination of documents that prosecutors already had, handwritten notes about a taxi business, insurance papers, and correspondence from a woman described in court filings as a “vexatious litigant” who claims she is under government surveillance.

Rebuilt from thin strips of paper, the shredded records are sometimes difficult to comprehend. One page doesn’t include full words and is a jumble of numbers, letters, and bar codes. One document appears to be part of an envelope. There are fragments of handwritten notes. There is an invitation to a reception in Miami to meet with business representatives from Qatar. Several of the records seem to be insurance forms for an apartment.

So why did the FBI leak this shit? Hope springs eternal at the Washington Post: To lawyers like us, Michael Cohen looks like he’s ready to flip on Trump

Sundance at CTH: Hogwash – Brian Ross Didn’t Resign Over the Fake News Flynn Story, He Resigned Because He Was “Reporter 4” Within James Wolfe Indictment – Senate Intelligence Leak Investigation…

By now everyone has reported about ABC journalist Brian Ross and his Producer Rhonda Swartz resigning from the network. However, almost everyone pointing back to Ross’s fake news report on Michael Flynn in December; and almost no-one is pointing out the more obvious motive for the resignation.

Brian Ross was almost guaranteed to be “Reporter 4” in the federal indictment of Senate former senior senate intelligence committee staffer James Wolfe. The notorious Senate Intelligence “leaker”.

CTH originally pointed this out when the details of the indictment were released (full pdf below), and research was possible to determine each reporter. It did not come as a surprise to see the staff from this specific committee leaking secret and top-secret classified information. The committee rots from the head down.

And Reporter #2? Jon Levine at the Wrap: New York Times Reassigns Reporter Who Had Sexual Relationship With Source

The New York Times has reassigned reporter Ali Watkins after news emerged last month that she had a sexual relationship with a source while she was at her previous employer BuzzFeed.

“We are troubled by Ali’s conduct, particularly while she was employed by other news organizations,” said Times executive editor Dean Baquet in an internal memo on Tuesday. “For a reporter to have an intimate relationship with someone he or she covers is unacceptable. It violates our written standards and the norms of journalism.”

“After careful examination and discussion, I have decided to reassign her to a position in New York for a fresh start, where she will be closely supervised and have a senior mentor,” he added along with a promise to put in new internal safeguards to ensure similar situations do not arise in the future.

Remember the 11th Commandment and keep it wholly: "Don't get caught!" Wombat-socho was a day late with "Rule 5 Sunday: Crystal Hefner" and "FMJRA 2.0: Day Late & A Dollar Short With Astrix."

Happy Fourth of July!

Linked at Pirate's cove in "If All You See…"

A Hot Trip to the Beach

 After a short walk around the neighborhood, using shade from trees as much as possible, Skye more or less told me she had no interest in a long walk on the beach with little or no shade, and water the temperature of a bathtub. Georgia decided she'd rather stay home and watch paint dry, so I had to do it alone.

The beach was pretty quiet, only a few hardy souls. The tide was low, and the waves were just right to pile up a nice line of shell hash along the shoreline.

 I walked way up past Matoaka Cottages, up to the creeks that come down across the beach there.

My shirt was dripping wet the whole time, and it wasn't spray, that's for sure. But a light south breeze made it sort of tolerable.

A Zebra Swallowtail who stopped to puddle in the wet beach

I had a real haul today. 78 shark's teeth, a couple of crab claws, one shard from a crocodile tooth, some ray plates, a fish spine, and one thing that might be a porpoise tooth with all the enamel worn off, or the skinniest Tilly Bone I've ever found.

Rage Against the Russiagate Machine

Jonathon Turley at the Hill thinks that If Rod Rosenstein feels conflicted, he should simply recuse himself. clearly, though, Rosenstein thinks he is too important to abide by the conflict of interest rules.

The Washington Examiner reports on how Devin Nunes refers 17 DOJ, FBI officials to Trey Gowdy, Bob Goodlatte to grill on surveillance abuse, while Breitbart notes that 10 of them are Obama Holderovers, who should have been evicted a long time ago.

The list includes a number of U.S. officials who were working at the U.S. Embassy in London, where the alleged conversation between Australian diplomat Alexander Downer and then-Trump campaign adviser George Papadopoulos in May 2016 was reported.

Interviews with those officials could reveal whether the FBI lied when it said it began investigating the Trump campaign on July 31, 2016, after it received information from Downer after stolen Democratic National Committee emails were published on July 22, 2016.

Leaks to the New York Times and the Washington Post earlier this year revealed that an FBI and CIA informant, Stefan Halper, reached out to then-Trump campaign adviser Carter Page as early as June 2016 — revealing that the FBI may have actually started its investigation of the Trump campaign much earlier than stated.

Kathryn Blackhurst at LifeZette: Schiff and Dems ‘Have All This Blood on Their Hands,’ Nunes Says. Metaphorical blood. I agree with his point, but at this point, he might consider toning down the rhetoric.

Democrats “have all this blood on their hands” because they “completely destroyed the FBI and DOJ” by digging up dirt on President Donald Trump in 2016 Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton’s favor, House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence Chairman Devin Nunes (R-Calif.) said Monday on Fox News’ “The Ingraham Angle.”

“They’re the ones that have all this blood on their hands. They’re the ones who completely destroyed the FBI and DOJ,” Nunes insisted. “How did they do that? They did that by digging up dirt — the Clinton campaign dug up dirt, put it into a dossier, fed it into the FBI. The FBI used our counterintelligence capabilities against a political campaign. That’s what happened here.”

Allahpundit: Sore loserman Romney: The Russiagate Probe Is “Totally Appropriate” And I’m Not Sure Who I’ll Vote For In 2020. It won't be Romney; he had his chance, and he was way too nice.

Adam Mill at the Federalist: A Factual Comparison Of Watergate And Russiagate Shows They’re Mirror Opposites. A series of contrasts in a history lesson.

Contrast 1: The Apprehension of the Burglars - In the Watergate scandal, the burglars were discovered by a hotel security guard and arrested by local police on the very first day of the scandal. On day 90 of the Watergate scandal, a grand jury indicted the Watergate burglars plus G. Gordon Liddy and E. Howard Hunt, two of the break-in organizers.

In contrast, the 2016 DNC cyber burglars, whoever they are, have never been arrested or indicted. In fact, the DNC has refused to allow law enforcement to inspect the crime scene—i.e., the server itself. The conclusion that Russians hacked the DNC server relies solely upon the opinion of DNC-funded Crowdstrike, a firm hired by Perkins Coie, which also hired Hillary Clinton- and DNC-funded Fusion GPS to conduct opposition research on Trump. . . .

George Newmayr at the American Spectator on Mueller’s Kafkaesque Probe - As the Michael Cohen frenzy underscores, this is a “collusion” investigation that has nothing to do with collusion.

The chattering class’s frenzied discussion of the Mueller probe is like listening to George Carlin’s old parody advertisement in which he gushes over a product that he never bothers to identify: “Get one now! Everybody has one! They’re almost gone! They’re portable, lightweight, easy to use, collapsible, convenient and guaranteed! Get one now! The new Super Jumbo Deluxe! Handy, pre-wrapped, designer colors and available in all sizes! Get one now! They won’t rust, tarnish, blister, crack or peel but they might kill you.”

Turn on the television at any hour and the gibbering about the Mueller probe takes on that tone: endless talk about people “flipping” and so on but without any relationship to the mandate of Mueller’s probe. Mueller was supposedly completing a counterintelligence investigation. But almost everything we hear about it pertains to something else. His “collusion” probe is looking at everything but collusion.
. . .
Through ruthless, abusive, and absurdly open-ended prosecution, Mueller has grabbed people within Trump’s orbit and made them political problems. But that’s all they are. This is just power politics, and it can only work if a president slinks away. Trump won’t. He is nothing if not an effective vanquisher of political mobs. Against an unelected mandarin like Mueller, who has already worn out his welcome in the eyes of much of the public for conducting a proxy coup on behalf of official Washington, Trump just finds himself in one more political fight, perhaps trickier than the others, but one he will still win. Whatever embarrassments irrelevant to his mandate that Mueller tries to dress up as impeachable offenses in the final report, it will be seen by at least half the country for what it is: a partisan railroading straight out of a Franz Kafka novel.

ABC Exclusive by George Stuffinevnelopes: Michael Cohen says family and country, not President Trump, is his 'first loyalty'. I don't believe that country business for a moment. Family first, then money maybe. Ed Morrissey at Hot Air. Warning Shot From Cohen: “I Will Not Be A Punching Bag As Part Of Anyone’s Defense Strategy”

Perhaps more ominously for Trump, Cohen has stopped publicly claiming that the payment to Stormy Daniels was his idea alone. In fact, he’s stopped answering the question altogether, although he tells Stephanopoulos that “I want to answer.” His attorneys have advised him to stop talking about the case, Cohen explained, and so he’s not commenting at all. Given that the heart of any case against Cohen relates directly to this point, one can understand why his attorneys want him to keep quiet about it. If Cohen’s ready to cut a deal on this issue, it could get very unpleasant for Trump, although the failed prosecution of John Edwards for a similar set of circumstances calls into question just how unpleasant it could possibly get.

But it's different because a Republican did it! I want to know why Mueller's crowd isn't going after Stormy Daniels for blackmail, since that's exactly what she's doing. Prosecution porn: Prosecutors Now Have 1.3 Million Michael Cohen Files. They like collecting other people's dirty laundry.

Andrew Harris at Bloomberg: Paul Manafort's Lawyers Want to Know Where Jurors Get Their News. Disqualify them if they get their news from biased sources like CBS, NBC, ABC, Shep Smith, NPR, WaPo or NYT. Speaking of "fake news" Brian Ross is leaving ABC after botched Michael Flynn report

ABC News’ Brian Ross — who was suspended last year as chief investigative correspondent for a faulty report on Michael Flynn — is leaving the network, Page Six has exclusively learned.

ABC suspended Ross last December for a month without pay for a botched report on ousted White House national security adviser Flynn that reported President Trump directed Flynn to make contact with Russian officials. The mistake even sent stocks tumbling, and ABC issued an apology saying: “We deeply regret and apologize for the serious error.”

Brian Ross was also the culprit when ABC misidentified the Aurora shooter as a Tea Party member. He will not be missed.

Deborah C. Tyler at the American Thinker thinks IG Horowitz Overlooks the Improper Consideration Called Hate

Historians will note that DOJ vs. the Constitutional Presidency has had at least three sordid phases. The first was the DOJ crime wave necessary to protect and exonerate the corrupt, conspiratorial Democrat candidate while sabotaging, booby-trapping, and illegally surveilling the Republican candidate's campaign. The second was using the power of the DOJ to conspire with other departments and private actors to manufacture and plant evidence first of the non-crime of collusion, then of anything else that could possibly be used to impeach the president. The third wave, which is just heating up in its second year, is to use the unlimited, extra-constitutional powers of a special prosecutor to selectively investigate, terrorize, persecute, imprison, and destroy the family, employees, and associates of the president.

Mr. Horowitz has fulfilled the task of cataloging about 10% of the crimes and irregularities committed during phase one. His job was to waste a lot of time, run everything past his DOJ compatriots, repackage what everybody already knew: the DOJ from Attorney General Lynch on down criminally conspired to protect Hillary Clinton while trying to destroy the Trump candidacy, based in their fear and hatred. He had to do this in a manner to ensure that no one would be held criminally responsible. Then he had to play footsies under the table with Director Wray for a few afternoons.

Now I.G. Horowitz is going to take another year to investigate the open secrets of illegally obtained FISA warrants. That takes care of another maybe 3 to 5% of DOJ vs. the Constitutional Presidency. It is certain that Mr. Horowitz's next opus will again find no evidence of improper considerations. What remains to be seen is if anyone will bother to read it.

Wombat-socho was a day late with "Rule 5 Sunday: Crystal Hefner" and "FMJRA 2.0: Day Late & A Dollar Short With Astrix."

I Wonder How Many Skinned Knees and Elbows This Took?

Viola Brand, Germany:

Wombat-socho was a day late with "Rule 5 Sunday: Crystal Hefner".

A Quickie Russiagate

Not much after a hot weekend, but it's what we got. First, poor James Comey says most Republicans don’t talk to him anymore: ‘I’ve succeeded in pissing off everyone’

Former FBI Director James Comey says that despite his affiliation as a Republican, most Republicans have ceased speaking to him over his handling of the investigation into President Trump's campaign.

At the Aspen Ideas Festival in Colorado on Saturday, the former FBI chief acknowledged in a discussion with Katie Couric that Americans on both sides of the political spectrum have criticized his actions.

"Most Republicans don't talk to me anymore," Comey said. "I've succeeded in pissing off everyone."

Comey added in the interview that the Justice Department inspector general report, which came out near the end of his media blitz for his book "A Higher Loyalty: Truth, Lies, and Leadership," was "painful" to read as it faulted him for his handling of the investigation into Hillary Clinton's use of a private email server.

"It's painful to read yourself being criticized," he added. "Even though I expected to be criticized."

Despite criticism of his handling of that investigation, Comey added that he received a hug from former Obama Attorney General Loretta Lynch after his firing by Trump last year.

"And I'm an awkward hugger to begin with," Comey said to laughs, joking about the two officials' height difference.

What a baby!

And last, by way of Maggie's Farm, Victor Davis Hanson, on many thing, but first of all, Russiagate: Victor D Hanson Perfectly Breaks Down FBI Trump/Russia Debacle "Who's The Real Friend Of Russia"

Down Under Damsel Finds Out About Sharks the Hard Way

Shark drags woman into crocodile-infested waters in Australia

A “once-in-a-lifetime” trip in May for a woman in Australia quickly turned into a harrowing experience when she suffered a bite while feeding a shark, which then dragged her into the water.

Melissa Brunning, 34, was on a yacht in the remote Kimberley region in the northwest part of the country, located about 1,550 miles north of Perth, when she tried to hand-feed up to four tawny nurse sharks swimming around her boat.

Brunning told the West Australian that she didn't realize she shouldn’t hand feed a shark, until the animal became "like a Hoover," sucking her right index finger into its mouth full of rows of razor-sharp teeth.

“I think the shark was in shock as much as I was ... the only way I can describe it is this immense pressure and it felt like it was shredding it off the bone,” she told the paper. “I came up and I was like, ‘I’ve lost my finger, my finger’s gone.’”

Video of the attack at the link. It's not all that bad. The shark apparently confused her finger with a wiggly piece of chum; a perfectly natural mistake in the circumstances. She got off pretty lightly.

The shark also pulled her into the water of Dugong Bay, which is inhabited by saltwater crocodiles that can grow up to 23 feet long and weigh more than a ton, according to Sky News.

While salties do, in fact, cross large areas of blue water in their travels, they mostly hunt in turbid estuaries, so the chances of being eaten by one in the few seconds she was in the water were vanishingly small.

The entire harrowing encounter was captured on video, which shows Brunning screaming as she is dragged into the water before the boat's crew and her friends pull her out.

Nurse sharks are "bottom-dwellers" that are mostly harmless to humans, according to National Geographic. They are up to 14 feet long and have "very strong jaws filled with thousands of tiny, serrated teeth," the magazine notes.

The shark was identified as a Tawny Nurse Shark, a common enough shark known to most eat octopuses, crustaceans and small fish. It has a lot of small, sharp teeth which account for the shredding her finger received.

From her Instagram posts, Melissa seems to be an outdoorsy, nature loving sort. I hope this doesn't do more than teach her a little due caution where toothy critters are concerned.

Wombat-socho was a day late with "Rule 5 Sunday: Crystal Hefner".

Reason #5946 That Trump Was Elected

Illegal immigrant is arrested for 'starting dozens of wildfires in Colorado that forced hundreds to evacuate and destroyed 38,000 acres of land', as video shows blaze rapidly engulfing one of the many decimated homes

A man was arrested on Saturday on charges of starting a forest fire in Colorado that has destroyed structures and forced hundreds to evacuate their homes in one of dozens of wildfires raging across the drought-hit U.S. southwest.

Jesper Joergensen, 52, was taken into custody last Saturday for the suspected arson that started the Springs Fire, according to Costilla County Sheriff’s Office Facebook page.

Joergensen is not a U.S. citizen and will be handed over to ICE once he has faced arson charges, said a Costilla County detention officer.

The officer could not immediately say what nationality Joergensen held.

The fire has scorched over 38,000 acres (15,378 hectares) between the towns of Fort Garland and La Veta in southern Colorado, forcing more mandatory evacuations of homes and ranches on Saturday in a mountainous area of public and private land.

Send him back after he's made full restoration to all the people who lost property. Being that it also burned Federal lands, I expect to see him charged under the same terrorism statute that the Feds used to put the Hammonds in prison on.

And what's a filthy illegal Scandi doing in the United States starting fires anyway. Doesn't he know the scandahoovian countries are all paradise on earth?

Russiagate: What to Do About Rosenstein?

Starting off with a raft of Rosenstein links, "Tyler Durnden at Zero Hedge: Rosenstein Refuses To Discuss Whether Obama Spied On Trump Campaign, of course. S. Noble at the Independent Journal:   Sara Carter Blasts Rosenstein, Wray, “Nothing More Disgusting…”

Investigative reporter Sara Carter blasted the Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein and FBI Director Christopher Wray on ‘Hannity’ after their testimony yesterday.  They “undermined the American people,” she said.

“They really believe that these guys that think they were better, smarter and they think they are the super patriots and we the people are stupid,” Hannity blasted FBI investigators in discussing Thursday’s contentious hearing in which Rosenstein and FBI Director Christopher Wray faced lawmakers demanding answers.

Rosenstein seemed to think the entire event was humorous because he did a lot of smirking. Wray is arrogant as well.

“They undermined the American people. They undermined the system that our nation is founded on,” Carter said.  . . .

Hot Air cribs from the paywalled New York Times: “Shaken” Rosenstein Felt Used By White House In Comey Firing

In public, Mr. Rosenstein has shown no hint that he had second thoughts about his role — writing a memo about Mr. Comey’s performance that the White House used to justify firing him. “I wrote it. I believe it. I stand by it,” Mr. Rosenstein said to Congress last year.

But in meetings with law enforcement officials in the chaotic days immediately after Mr. Comey’s dismissal, and in subsequent conversations with colleagues and friends, Mr. Rosenstein appeared conflicted, according to the four people.
He alternately defended his involvement, expressed remorse at the tumult it unleashed, said the White House had manipulated him, fumed how the media had portrayed the events and said the full story would vindicate him, said the people, who in recent weeks described the previously undisclosed episodes.

Patricia McCarthy at American Thinker: How do you solve a problem like Rod Rosenstein?

How do we solve a problem like Rosenstein and tamp down the controlling sensibilities of the American left?  They have to be defeated, completely.  Such people have no business telling our elected officials what they can and cannot have access to.  This is not the Soviet Union or East Germany before the fall of the wall.  Their hollow claims of "confidentiality" are bogus. They are covering up their own grievous crimes against the nation.  It was our own FBI, DOJ, and CIA who colluded  with one another and a host of nefarious, underworld informants in an attempt to bring down a legitimate Presidential candidate, and then a President-elect.  Rosenstein lied through throughout that hearing.  Wray was incidental; he is no leader equipped to reform the FBI. It is as though they all are aware of how corrupt each agency is and they are all afraid for themselves and their cushy jobs. Not one of them cares about the country, the Constitution or what is right and honorable.

Judicial Watch: Federal Court Orders DOJ to Begin Searching and Producing Fusion GPS Records in Response to Judicial Watch Lawsuit Judicial Watch is still doing the job that Congress can't or won't do. Randall D. Eliason at WaPo Why are Republicans hiding Peter Strzok’s testimony? I think it's a little early to accuse them of that, since there is still a plan for a public hearing, but it's the WaPo and they have an agenda to get out.

Larry O'Connor at The Washington Times: IG Report confirms Obama lied about Hillary's emails.Yup. Which is why the FBI/DOJ treated her with kid gloves.

At da Caller: AGENTS PROVOCATEUR: Did Comey’s Informants Fabricate Russian Collusion Evidence? Another spin through the timeline, that strongly suggests the FBI started in investigating the Trump campaign preemptively. Was John Brennan the decisive trigger? George Neumayr at the American Spectator: John Brennan, the Revolutionary Who Never Grew Up.

Daniel Greenfield at Frontpage Mag notes how Mueller Targets Trump Over Russian Billionaires Linked to Hillary Clinton  It's like history started over when Trump was elected.

John Hinderacker at Powerline: Manafort’s Judge Blasts Special Counsel Practices. Chuck Ross at da Caller:  FBI Might Have Raided Manafort’s Storage Unit Based On Tip From Associated Press Just think of them as Democrat operatives with bylines.

I'll Bet You Could Run These Out of Washington D.C. Everyday

All aboard the bondage boat! Hundreds of leather-clad Germans set sail for the world's largest floating fetish festival

This weekend, hundreds of latex-loving Germans set sail for a floating fetish boat party.

The Torture Ship is the world's largest party for fans of BDSM and takes place on board a moving barge which has set sail across Lake Constance on the Germany-Switzerland border every summer for the past 22 years.

500 people attended the event as participants flaunted an impressive array of bondage gear, including gimp masks and figure-hugging corsets. . . .