Because It's Different When They Do It

Washington Post Op-Ed Writer Who Claims Buccaneers' Name Is Problematic Has An Interesting Tatto

In a very interesting plot twist, it turns out the Washington Post op-ed writer who blasted the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and called the use of the Buccaneers’ name “problematic” because it is “romanticizing ruthless cutthroats” has an interesting tattoo and selective outrage.

“While this celebration of piracy seems like innocent fun and pride in a local culture, there is danger in romanticizing ruthless cutthroats who created a crisis in world trade when they captured and plundered thousands of ships on Atlantic trade routes,” Jamie L.H. Goodall wrote in the Post op-ed. 

Goodall, who received a PhD in history in Pirates in the Atlantic/Chesapeake/Caribbean from Ohio State University, says she can be found at the Maryland Renaissance Festival “dressed as my alter ego: Torienne, Ship’s Scholar of the crew Mare Nostrum,” according to her website.

“I drink and I know things,” she adds.

 Maybe she should change her flavor of Kool-Aid. 

It’s like Jamie didn’t think people would go looking into her past to see what her story is. There is no need to get into some philosophical battle with PhD nerds over this story. Let’s pretend we’re having garage beers here. Jamie clearly thinks it’s horrible that Tampa Bay uses Buccaneers as a nickname because her politics tell her it’s supposed to be bad, and when you’re woke there are no days off. You have to be fully outraged at all times, even if you have this as a shoulder tattoo.

Now Jamie will fade off into Internet history, and she’ll go back to romanticizing pirates. Her work here is done. Football teams aren’t allowed to romanticize pirates, but Jamie is.

Why does an apparently moderately well educated woman think she can cosplay as a pirate while decrying a football team named after pirates? Because she knows that her class abhors the class of people who like football, and any thing she can do to denigrate them will be well received by her "peers." 

Election 2020: Shampeachment 2.0 Day 2

Yesterday, Mitch McConnell and Chuck Schumer apparently argued over the size and shape of tables... Sundance at CTH, Schumer and McConnell Agree to Senate Impeachment Trial Rules. Rules, they need rules for this absolutely Kafkaesque affair? WaPoo, Trump’s trial promises historic firsts, For both sides, constitutional issues at heart of atypical case. Bullshit; there are no constitutional issues at the heart of the Democrat case, it's "Orangeman bad" all the way down. And, to emulate the Red Queen, of course, they're already counting votes despite having presented no evidence. Whip count: Where Democratic and Republican senators stand on convicting Trump

At AmThink, Jonathon Mosely tells us What to Expect from Trump's Upcoming Impeachment Trial while William Levin explains: Why Chief Justice Roberts is Not Presiding over Trump’s Impeachment Trial,because it's debasing the Constitution

At Fox, Sen. Tim Scott: Trump is 'simply not guilty' on impeachment and at Newsweek, Congressmam Chip Roy opines that Trump Should Not Be Convicted. And Cruz and Hawley Are Not Seditionists. Sundance features Ric Grenell, who says “They Want to Cancel Trump” Atop da Hill Doug Kmiec claims Donald Trump should be convicted unanimously by secret ballot, because nothing say Republican style of  government like representatives voting by in secret. Of course, the idea is that half the Republican Senators hate Trump and would vote to convict if they weren't being held accountable by their voters. According to 538 (if you believe them) Barring Trump From Office Is More Popular Than Convicting Him.  From PM, Sen. Rand Paul calls for the impeachment of Sen. Chuck Schumer ""I think if we're going to criminalize speech, and somehow impeach everybody who says 'oh go fight to get your voices heard,' I mean really we ought to impeach Chuck Schumer then." And at Breitbart, Paul: If We Are Going to Criminalize Speech — Schumer, Maxine Waters, Ilhan Omar Should Be Held Accountable and Maxine Waters: I Have Never Glorified or Encouraged Violence Against Republicans  (yep, you did) and a Flashback from Matt Margolis at PJ Media, Kamala Harris Joked About Killing Trump, Pence, and Jeff Sessions. Fox, AOC won't apologize for tweet accusing Ted Cruz of nearly having her killed. Stupid bint. 

Which brings us to the Capitol Incursion. Althouse, Page 7 of Trump's Trial Memorandum concedes the very fact upon which I've said his guilt hinges.

Here's a PDF of the document. From page 7:

Law Enforcement Had Reports Of A Potential Attack On The Capitol Several Days Before President Trump's Speech.

Despite going to great lengths to include information regarding Mr. Trump's comments dating back to August 2020 and various postings on social media, the House Managers are silent on one very chilling fact. The Federal Bureau of Investigation has confirmed that the breach at the Capitol was planned several days in advance of the rally, and therefore had nothing to do with the President's speech on January 6th at the Ellipse. According to investigative reports all released after January 6, 2021, "The Capitol Police, the NYPD and the FBI all had prior warning that there was going to be an attack on the Capitol."

Obviously, Trump's lawyers think it's exculpatory that there was an advance plan. But I have been saying the opposite. Here's my January 10th post:

Look at the picture on wall

At TNP, ‘Inconsistent, Conflicting’ And Ignored Threat Assessments Ahead Of Jan 6 Capitol Attack. and from across the Pond at the Independent, Man charged in US Capitol riot worked for FBI and held top-secret security clearance, lawyer says "'He has been vetted and found numerous times as a person worthy of the trust,' attorney says" How many FBI agent provocateurs participated, I wonder. And an amusing finding at AmThink by Thomas Lifson, FBI criminal complaint on Capitol incursion used Photoshopped 4chan hoax picture as evidence Clearly using doctored evidence, albeit unwittingly.

At Ace's Morning Rant, Oregon Muse reminds us

Hey, remember the riots that erupted in Washington DC back in January 2017 when Trump was first inaugurated? When the rioters marched, threw stuff at cops, vandalized buildings, set cars on fire, that sort of thing? Remember that?

Then they arrested what, 100, 200 violent protesters. And you remember what happened next, don't you? Sure you do.

All of the charges against everyone who was arrested were dropped.

 Dan Greeenfield at Front Page calls it The Reichstag Fire of the Democrats "A pretext for political terror." CNS News, Rep. Jackie Speier: 'Time to Call Republicans the Terrorist Right?’ Fox, Price tag surges to keep National Guard in DC, now estimated at $483 million. Because nothing says a free and fair election like needing to close down the Capital to protect the "winner." Insty, WHAT ARE THE DEMOCRATS SO AFRAID OF? GOP congressman: ‘We still don’t have answers’ to why National Guard remaining around Capitol.

How can the impeachment trial be fair if the Capitol is ringed with troops controlled by the man who beat Trump in the disputed election? That’s the sort of question we’d be hearing everywhere if the parties were reversed. Intimidation!

A fair trial? What a quaint idea! CNN proudly informs us, Less than 10% of Americans like QAnon, but then, almost nobody knows what QAnon is, except from CNN et al, who hate it. QAnon = Immanuel Goldstein. 

John Solomon at JTN,  Momentum building in Nebraska to censure anti-Trump U.S. Sen. Ben Sasse. From Da Wire, Cheney Says She Won’t Step Down After State Party Censures Her, Calls For Resignation and at PJ Media, Stephen Kruiser says Liz Cheney Is a Cancer That Could Kill GOP's 2022 Hopes, but regarding Liz Sundance warns PAY ATTENTION – Those Still Advocating Against a Third Party Need to Move to Acceptance Phase, GOP is NOT Recoverable. Never-Trumper Charley Sykes, The Prodigal Republicans. Politico thinks they know Where Democrats and Republicans agree on Trump "Both parties want to be rid of him. They just differ on the means."

NYPo, Trump ‘happier’ now that he’s off social media: former aide. Wouldn't we all? and White House says Biden doesn’t have final word on refusing Trump intelligence briefings. Does he have to get Kamala's permission? 

And speaking of intelligence, and lack thereof, in Jaw-Dropping Audacity, James Clapper Says President Trump Used Classified Information “To Target Political Enemies” (Sundance). My irony meter is long broken, however. 

In spite of what you hear bandied about on the MSM news, In Two-Thirds of Election Lawsuits Where Merits Considered Decisions Are Favorable to Trump (ET)

Of the 22 cases that have been heard by the courts and decided on their merits, Trump and Republicans have prevailed in 15, according to citizen journalist John Droz Jr., a physicist and environmental advocate in Morehead City, N.C.

This means Trump has won two-thirds of the cases fully adjudicated by the courts.

Three of the 15 cases whose rulings were favorable to Trump were filed on or after election day, Nov. 3.

Aww, Brindisi Concedes! The NY-22 Race Is Really Over Insurrectionist:

It has been the honor of a lifetime serving my hometown, the place I grew up and am raising my family. Unfortunately, this election and counting process was riddled with errors, inconsistencies and systematic violations of state and federal election laws. My one disappointment is that the court did not see fit to grant us a recount. Sadly, we may never know how many legal voters were turned away at the polls or ballots not counted due to the ineptitude of the boards of election, especially in Oneida County. My hope is some authority steps in and investigates the massive disenfranchisement of voters that took place during this election…

And find plenty more at the Wombat's In The Mailbox: 02.08.21, JJ Sefton's The Morning Report - 2/9/21 at Ace's and Larwyn’s Linx: Six attorneys general send a stern warning to Biden over his radical policies

Tuesday Tune - Shaking

Hazel English is an Australian-American indie pop musician based in Oakland, California. She fronts a band of the same name.

The Wombat has Rule 5 Sunday: A Death Goddess For Your Consideration ready for your consideration at The Other McCain.

Bay Report 2/8/21

There were few signs of yesterdays "Snowmaggedon" at the beach today, a little snow in the shadows mostly.

A high tide was not conducive to finding teeth, but I did find seven, including this smallish White Shark tooth 

On the way up, I got a call from Pete who wanted company on a short trip to check out fishing at the power plant, so we turned around and headed back before we reached the tangle.

Alas, after crunching through ice to get out of the harbor, the fishing was no better than last time. 

Election 2020: Shampeachment 2.0 Week Begins

Having absolutely nothing more important do than impeaching a President after he left office, the Senate is taking up the House's article of impeachment against him this week.WaPoo wails As impeachment trial nears, court documents cite Trump’s rage-fueling rhetoric. Eugene Kontorovich, at  NYPo, Trump’s impeachment trial sets a troubling precedent. David Marcus at Da Fed, This Impeachment Is A Disgraceful Sham "Your betters want to decide who you can and cannot vote for. You should be angry." Insty, If they weren’t afraid that Trump might win again, they wouldn’t be doing this. So the goal is to ensure a majority of American voters can’t get what they want. For a more reasoned approach try Josh Blackman's  New Evidence and Arguments About the Scope of the Impeachment Disqualification Clause: A Response to the House of Representatives' Managers' Trial Memorandum and What Do "Many" of the 140+ Law Professors Think About the First Amendment and Impeachment?  at the Volokh Conspiracy. My own view is that constitutional or legal arguments have very little to do with this. Right now, the Senate has the power try Trump, and will so, so why argue over the nits. Emily Zanotti at Da Wire, Rand Paul: There Is ‘Zero’ Chance Trump Will Be Convicted, Impeachment A ‘Partisan’ Hearing

Just make it reflect poorly on Democrats. To that end, at DISRN Jeffrey Swindoll claims Trump's impeachment defense team will show video clips of Dems urging violence in 2020 Matt Margolis at PJ Media says Trump Impeachment Lawyer Reveals Part of Defense Plan, and It Is Brilliant If true, YouTube will ban it, assuming Judge and Juror Patrick Lahey allows it.  

“There’s a lot of tape of cities burning and courthouses being attacked and federal agents being assaulted by rioters in the streets, cheered on by Democrats throughout the country, and many of them in Washington using really the most inflammatory rhetoric that’s possible to use,” Castor pointed out before noting that Democrats were not accused on inciting that violence, yet Trump is on video stating clearly that he wanted people to march peacefully to the Capitol.

“You better be careful what you wish for,” Castor said of the Democrats.

An amusing sidelight at the NYT (from Hot Air), Trump Lawyer Asks To Pause Impeachment Trial If It Runs Into Sabbath, and from the Slantic, David Frum claims Impeachment Is Working — Just Not As The Framers Expected. If so, it's being used improperly. Remember the precedent. Nick Arama at Red State, Pelosi Snaps at a Reporter Over Impeachment Question, Then Makes It Worse "Pelosi, asked about Lindsey Graham's threat to bring in the FBI to testify in Trump's impeachment trial, replies: "your question is a waste of time" and takes a different one." Althouse catches NYT editors wishing it away, "What if They Held an Impeachment Trial and Nobody Came?/Maybe it’s a good thing that we’re more focused on Biden. Or maybe we’ve just given up.... Let’s not start with impeachment trial No. 2...."

At Anxious, Scoop: McCarthy told Cheney to apologize after impeachment vote. If true; I doubt it. A waste of time. She did it, and she meant it, and has to live with the consequences, which are entirely political. Mediaite, Liz Cheney Says GOP Shouldn’t Be ‘Embracing’ Trump: ‘Does Not Have a Role as the Leader of Our Party Going Forward’  WaEx, Liz Cheney becomes latest GOP lawmaker who voted to impeach Trump to get censured in home state. She pissed off the only people who count, her constituents. Speaking of Liz Cheney (to name one) Matt Vespa at Town Hall asks So, What Do Never Trump Republicans Do Now That We Told Them to Screw Off? Get jobs in the Biden administration? 

If these Never Trump clowns think we’re just going back to the Kasich-Ryan-Romney days, they’re delusional. We’re through with those losers. Done. Even members of the most vocal anti-Trump group said that there really isn’t a market for them anymore. Politico had a piece about this last December:

Horse, barn door, SAG-AFTRA Voted To Ban Trump Forever After He Resigned From Union Membership. Don Surber wonders about Trump fatigue?

But Donald Trump's best bet for now is to relax, enjoy his grandchildren, and golf with friends. That seems to be his plan. The president told Congress he will skip the impeachment trial. Surely even the angriest of loons in the Senate now realizes that a conviction and a ban on future candidacies will make him a martyr.

Neo Neo on Time on the vast conspiracy to “save” the 2020 election before it even took place

My guess is that this story was going to get out anyway – or already has, in the right’s “paranoid fever dream” that turned out to have been correct – and the group wanted to make sure it is defined and described in the way they would like the public to think of it: as a “for your own good” protective device that fortifies democracy.

And they have a bridge in Brooklyn to sell you. Cheap. Oh, and Russian collusion elected Trump in 2016.

I want to doubly highlight the last sentence of that quote from Ball’s article: “And they believe the public needs to understand the system’s fragility in order to ensure that democracy in America endures.” In other words, they have to continue to manipulate and massage the way information gets to you, as well as to use the legal system, in order to “protect” you from yourselves and the ugly populist democracy you’d like to vote for. So get ready for more of the same, and even an intensification of the control they will wield now that they are in power.

At Da Caller, A Bipartisan Group Supports Domestic Terror Laws Despite Opposition From 150 Civil Rights Organizations  At the New York Times Post? How to Defeat America’s Homegrown Insurgency meaning Trump supporters. Joh Black at SOFREP warns military personnel You May Have Been Identified as an Extremist within the Ranks and Had No Idea

Hey, remember when electing Biden was going to stop the violence? BLM and Antifa march in DC, threaten to 'burn down' Washington, from, appropriately enough, Da Blaze. "Protest leaders delivered lectures about 'race, Black and Indigenous lives' to diners at restaurants."

At Sundance's (CTH) Sunday Talks, Peter Navarro Talks About Bill Barr DOJ Working to Advance Interests of Joe Biden

Take away the bigger big-picture. The people inside the Department of Justice, most of them installed during the Obama-Holder-Lynch administration, are entrenched ideologues. It did not matter who the Attorney General was. The gears inside the machine were disconnected from the person who held the controls.

WaPoo whines  Trump’s lie that the election was stolen has cost $519 million (and counting) as taxpayers fund enhanced security, legal fees, property repairs and more. Now do the BLM/Antifa riots encouraged by Kamala Harris and other Democrats. NYT whines Pushing QAnon and Stolen Election Lies, Flynn Re-emerges QAnon = Immanuel Goldstein. They don't supply any evidence of QAnon links, they just try to smear him.

Althosue  "We have to be very cautious in our celebration of these lawsuits, because the history of defamation is certainly one in which people in power try to slap down critics."

Said Yochai Benkler, "a professor at Harvard Law School who studies disinformation and radicalization in American politics," quoted in "Lawsuits Take the Lead in Fight Against Disinformation/Defamation cases have made waves across an uneasy right-wing media landscape, from Fox to Newsmax" (NYT).

“The competitive dynamic in the right-wing outrage industry has forced them all over the rails,” Mr. Benkler said. “This is the first set of lawsuits that’s actually going to force them to internalize the cost of the damages they’re inflicting on democracy.”
Mr. Benkler called the Smartmatic suit “a useful corrective” — “it’s a tap on the brakes” — but he also urged restraint....

The article also quotes the First Amendment lawyer Martin Garbus: “Will lawsuits like this also be used in the future to attack groups whose politics I might be more sympathetic with?”

Stacey Lennox at PJ Media, Democrats in the House Had a Group Therapy Session But They Need a Mirror

Ocasio-Cortez organized this time on the floor after she was outed for several inaccuracies in her Instagram storytime regarding her own experience. Pelosi should have given these children some puppies and Play-Doh and told them to go into the Rotunda and reflect on their own behavior this summer. Of course, that would mean the entire Democrat Party, including President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, would have to reflect on their own. Along with the whole corporate media ecosystem.

None of them ever condemned antifa and BLM activists’ violence this summer while cities were burning, and lives were ruined. After CNN commentator Don Lemon said publicly that the riots were hurting Democrats in the polls, Biden gave a tepid statement about political violence, never naming the groups involved in one of the most disgusting displays of bothsidesism ever recorded.

What did Ocasio-Cortez have to say to terrified citizens at the time? Get over it unless you signed up for all of her pet policy preferences . . .

Motoring in Monday

 A little change of pace:

The Wombat has Rule 5 Sunday: A Death Goddess For Your Consideration ready for your consideration at The Other McCain.

Election 2020: Snowmaggedon 2021 2.0

They've been hyping it on TV for days now, Winter Storm Quade as the weather channel likes to call it. When I got up at 7 AM, it was raining, but a quick look at the radar revealed we were right on the rain/snow line. A few minutes later it started to snow, and well, here we are now:

Points north are expecting considerably more, and it will be a good excuse for Washington D.C. to do more nothing, which is generally a good thing. Now back to our election coverage.

Althouse: I have been reading and trying to get around to blogging "The Secret History of the Shadow Campaign That Saved the 2020 Election" since 2:10 p.m. yesterday.

This is a long article, and understanding it, for me, involves figuring out why Time published it and understanding the possible bias of the author, Molly Ball. It's hard not to read "saved the... election" as rigged the election. Why is this coming out now, just before the weekend before the impeachment trial begins? Time is openly proclaiming that something "secret" happened in the "shadow"?

As is often true, much of the thought is in the comments, e.g Gahrie:

Why was it published? They really believe they did nothing wrong.

Oh they know they did something wrong. But half the fun is getting away with it, and the other half is taunting the Deplorables about it afterward.

Jeff Charles at Red State also wonders  Why Did TIME Magazine Spill the Beans About Anti-Trump Shadow Campaign?

What this all boils down to is the reality that the far-left has become too cocky for its own good. We have already seen their overconfidence manifest in their push for a second impeachment that is sure to end in utter failure. In their arrogance, they cannot see how trying – and failing – to remove a president who is already out of office is making them appear to a public that simply wants to move on from 2020.

Meaning in History argues Why The Time Election Narrative Is Good News

1) The Establishment realizes that they have so far been unable to control the public perception that Election 2020 was a Big Steal. That remarkably wide perception--in the face of a relentless full court disinformation press--bodes ill for the 2022 elections

2) As a result they're putting out a counter narrative to the Big Steal, the purpose of which is to make it look legit. In other words, it's yet another attempted exercise in perception management--and that's what tells us that they know they're failing. They wouldn't bother, otherwise. The appearance of candor in the story is simply part of the technique and is another indicator of desperation.

 Beckett Adams at WaEx thinks The Time magazine expose on the conspiracy to elect Biden is not what you think it is. What, she can read my mind? 

Again, conservatives and Trump supporters have been told they are paranoid to believe in such things, the idea that an alliance of powerful elites could work together quietly to influence the outcome of a presidential election.

But that is apparently exactly what happened.

And onto the continuing saga of Marjorie Taylor Green. At Town Hall,  'Morons': Marjorie Taylor Greene Reacts After Getting Booted from Committees "I'm fine with being kicked off my committees, because it'd be a waste of my time," she argued, adding that this means she can now "talk to a whole lot more people, all over this country." At NR, "the editors" claim Democrats Will Regret Their Move against Marjorie Taylor Greene. They usually call it "unfair" when it's their turn in the barrel. 

If the majority can keep members of the opposition party off of committees based on incendiary comments, it’s not clear why the GOP ever let, say, Maxine Waters serve on any committees when it had control of the chamber, or why it ever will again.

Kicking off Greene will come to be remembered as another inflection point in the steady unraveling of institutional norms on Capitol Hill.

Andy Fienberg at the Independent say  Kevin McCarthy got exactly what he wanted from the Marjorie Taylor Greene vote. A precedent to do unto others, and Andy's not happy about it. 

Such a miscalculation has significantly raised the stakes of future elections because of the GOP’s propensity to abuse power, they said: “After this, we can never afford to lose the majority again.”

Robby Soave take to Da Beast to claim I’ve Documented Cancel Culture for Years. Marjorie Taylor Greene Is No Cancel Culture Victim. "If it’s wrong to punish her for the views she expressed on political topics, democracy itself is wrong: Picking and choosing leaders who have sound opinions is the whole point." Tom Maguire at JOM, I'm With Crazy. For Now.

Well. It what might be a Fifth-Dimensional Genius Chess Move, maybe Reps could re-brand as the Greene Party! Tell the Q-ers that they back Marjorie and tell the suburbanites they have become more eco-friendly. Might work!

At NR, Trump Impeachment Trial: Former President Should Receive a Fair Chance. "Should" being the operative word. He won't, but as Politico notes, Trump impeachment lawyer says he'll use video of Dems' own remarks at trial "If my eyes look a little red to the viewers, it's because I've been looking at a lot of video," I expect judge and juror Patrick Lahey will take a dim view of that. And WST whines that  Primary Challenges Proliferate Against Republicans Who Voted to Impeach "Republican lawmakers who supported President Donald Trump’s second impeachment are attracting potential primary challengers for 2022" If you're elected officials don't represent you, elect ones that do.

Byron York has a list of  What we don't know about the Capitol riot

1. How many Capitol Police officers were injured in the riot?
2. What were their injuries? What is their condition now?
3. Did Capitol Police confiscate any firearms from rioters? If so, how many and what types?
4. What is the status of the investigation into the killing of Officer Sicknick?
5. Is there an autopsy report for Officer Sicknick? If so, will it be released to the public, or will its key findings be released to the public?
6. What is the status of the investigation into the shooting of Ashli Babbitt? Has it been ruled a justifiable shooting?
7. Who was the officer who shot Ms. Babbitt?
8. Did any other officers discharge firearms during the rioting? If so, under what circumstances?
9. Did any rioters discharge any firearms during the rioting? If so, under what circumstances?

At NR, Andy McCarthy agues DOJ Should Think Twice Before Aiming RICO at Capitol Rioters and at Rassmussen Reports, Michael Barone discusses 'Mostly Peaceful' Violence and Dueling Double Standards and Teach at Pirate's Cove reports Erin Hawley, Wife Of Senator Hawley, Files Criminal Complaint Against “Protest” Organizer. Expect that to go nowhere. NYPo, NYC, Portland, Seattle ‘anarchist jurisdiction’ labels may go away: White House. You can't call a spade a spade anymore, and I'm sure Antifa will give up burning Portland any day now.

At Reason, JD Tuccille reasons Americans Shouldn't Be Treated Like ISIS Insurgents "Adopting "counterinsurgency" tactics for use against wide swaths of Americans can only make the situation worse." But  Robert Spencer at PJ Media says, Fight Trump Supporters Like We Fought Al-Qaeda? under Obama/Biden? Good Idea.

The UN and other organizations will take up the problem of Trumpophobia and call upon member states to establish legal safeguards to protect Trump supporters and to admit more to their countries, if they choose to leave the U.S. as refugees. The establishment media will regularly feature admiring pieces about moderate Trump supporters who are working hard to clear away “misconceptions” about what support for Trump really means. Those who ask these Trump supporters to state for the record that they oppose the storming of the Capitol and any attempt to overthrow the government will be drowned out by cascades of accusations that they are trafficking in “hate” and otherizing an entire community. The entertainment industry will go out of its way to feature wise, genial Trump supporters in movies, characters who are often unjustly suspected of terrorism but are ultimately found to have been fighting against terrorism all along.

Meanwhile, the U.S. government will implement programs of outreach to moderate pro-Trump organizations, who will enjoy virtually unfettered access into the three branches of government at all levels. Presidential candidates will angle for the votes of Trump supporters and their allies by promising to appoint more Trump supporters to his administration. The military will begin to arm and train moderate Trump supporters to fight against the militants, and if indications appear that any of the people they took to be moderates are actually aiding those militants, military brass will turn away and pretend they didn’t see a thing, for the sake of the greater good involved.

AllahPundit at Hot Air wonders No, Really, Why Did Fox Fire Lou Dobbs? It makes them look weak. Breitbart, Donald Trump Backs Lou Dobbs After Fox Ends Program: ‘Nobody Loves America More’, a martyr to the cause? Slate tried to make The Case for Trump’s Permanent Ban From Social Media. Liberals used to be for freedom of speech, when they were really liberals, and not fascists. 

And Sundance passes along the Mike Lindell Documentary: “Absolute Truth”

Mike Lindell (the MyPillow guy) has produced a video documentary highlighting the 2020 election and some of the evidence he finds troubling. The first hour might be familiar to many, but the second hour contains details not presented before.

2 hours? Maybe later, if it keeps snowing. 

Palm Sunday

 Another dose of Jennifer Nicole Lee:

Linked at Pirate's Cove in the weekly Sorta Blogless Sunday Pinup and links. The Wombat has Rule 5 Sunday: A Death Goddess For Your Consideration  ready for your consideration at The Other McCain.

Russiagate Still Clinging to Life

Lloyd Billingsley at Front Page would like to introduce you to  the DC Judge Who Let the FBI Criminal Off Light?

Carter Page might expect the judge to lecture Clinesmith about the lawyer about sullying the reputation of the FBI and DOJ, and betraying the federal government that employed him to uphold the law. None of that for District of Columbia judge James Boasberg. He opted for leniency because the allegedly remorseful Clinesmith had suffered by losing his job and “standing in the eye of a media hurricane.” It was a curious choice of words for the Obama appointee.

“Crossfire Hurricane” was the name of the FBI-DOJ covert operation against candidate and President Trump. And as it turns out, according to official sources, since 2014 Boasberg has served as the presiding judge of United States Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court.”

That detail failed to turn up in news reports on Clinesmith’s slap on the wrist, which was much less than three to six month prison sentence sought by special counsel John Durham. After appointment by attorney general William Barr in May, 2019, Durham has failed to bring any criminal charges against major “Crossfire Hurricane” players James Comey, Peter Strzok, Lisa Page and others.

With the tap on the wrist for Clinesmith, Boasberg sends the message loud and clear. The DOJ and FBI may conduct covert operations against a duly elected president of the United States, violating federal law and abusing the FISA process, and avoid all prosecution. For 74 million Trump supporters, that is bad news going forward.

Sundance at CTH had Devin Nunes and Kash Patel Discussing Kevin Clinesmith’s Light Sentence For Lying to FISA Court, but Fox News took it down. At Am Great, And They Got Away With It

Clinesmith did not act in a vacuum. As I noted in August, Clinesmith made sure his superiors knew exactly what he was doing before doctoring the false evidence for the consumption of the FISA court. His attorney told us, “Mr. Clinesmith had provided the unchanged C.I.A. email to Crossfire Hurricane agents and the Justice Department lawyer drafting the original wiretap application.”

Rosenstein personally oversaw the application and the team that sought to continue the spying that began in July 2016. Thus, it should come as no surprise that Clinesmith’s leverage over powerful Justice Department co-conspirators coincided with a farcically light non-prison penalty for the most serious and easily proven criminal behavior by the get-Trump deep state.

No wonder he was one of the few Trump appointees who was on Joe's  "keeper" list. Paul Sperry

TOP SECRET: FBI Director Christopher Wray is covering up, er, classifying at top levels, all documents referring to the "Crossfire Hurricane Fusion Center." He won't let Congress know what it was, where it was based or who was assigned to it.

Sundance, Declassification and The DeceptiCon Agenda

A Question presented:

“Why do you think Trump didn’t do much in the last three months including declassifying stuff?“

The answer is simple, yet politically complex. President Trump’s cabinet, specifically those cabinet members feeling a greater responsibility to protect their institutions, would not comply with any executive office requests to declassify material. . . .

 Also Systemic Contingencies – The Need For Bill Barr’s Positioning Revealed, 2018 and Systemic Contingencies – They All Knew – Lessons From Spygate About Severity of DC Corruption

Robert Mueller had two goals as special counsel. Goal #1 was to continue the fraudulent DOJ/FBI “Stop Trump” operation initiated by James Comey, Andrew McCabe and their crew technically named Crossfire Hurricane. Goal #2 was to bury the illegal action; to create the cover-up needed for everything that took place in the “Stop Trump” operation.

It is the second goal that most people never reconciled; however, it is also that second goal that’s the most important. Everyone in DC knew Mueller’s objective. Every person in every branch of government and every federal agency knew Mueller’s real purpose.

Which is definitely not what Robert Mueller himself told Chuck Rosenberg, reported by Dan Chaitin at WaEx, Robert Mueller reveals why he became special counsel

News Max, Prosecution of Comey Reportedly 'Unlikely' After Durham Probe. Too bad. That sends a bad message.

WaPoo, Manhattan district attorney considering prosecuting Stephen Bannon following his pardon by Trump in federal fraud case. Going scorched earth, of course. If Republicans ever get control again, I hope they remember.

PM, WATCH: Jimmy Kimmel says retail investors are 'Russian disruptors' in response to GameStop stock market saga, Ace, Fatass TV Clown Jimmy Kimmel Claims That WallStreetBets Redditors are "Russian Disruptors" "How the Establishment's Gollums and Wormtongues scramble to the defense of their Dark Lords."

An explanation frequently invoked by Eric Swallowell, Woe is he! Media shed light on what Eric Swalwell had to contend with ‘after being unwittingly linked to a Chinese spy’ You might think sleeping with the enemy was a bad thing.

There is a colleague of mine who sent a tweet out just attacking me, and I texted him and I said, “Really?” He called me, and he was like, “Hey bro! How you doing, man?” I’m like, “How am I doing? You just sent out a tweet attacking me. Why are you doing this?” He goes, “I didn’t know I sent a tweet.” I’m like, “What do you mean you don’t know you sent a tweet?” He said, “Oh, let me check on that.” He called me back, “Oh, my staff sent it.”

I said, “Well, take it down. Why don’t you call me if you have questions?” He goes, “Well, I don’t think you did anything wrong. You did exactly what you’re supposed to do.” I said, “Well, then take down the tweet, don’t be a part of this feeding frenzy.” He’s like, “It’s coming down, I swear.” He texts me, “Just talked to them, it’s coming down.” But he didn’t take it down, so I called him again, and he goes, “Hey man, so my staff said that this is the best performing tweet we’ve had. And I’m not going to say anything else. If I’m asked about this publicly, I’m going to say you did the right thing. But if we take it down, it will be so obvious.” I’m like, That’s courage around here?

Beach Report 2/6/21

Another remarkable weather day for February; temperatures in the high 40s, mostly sunny skies;

There was more wind than the pictures credit, 10 knots, but it was nearly due West, and barely raised a ripple close to shore. You can see Georgia and Skye way up ahead. I liked the clouds. 

One of our friendly local seagulls trying to glean something off the rocks to eat. Looks pretty skimpy to me.

We managed 21 teeth, all unremarkable, but the most amusing find was this Sponge Bob egg. These are used by the power plant to clean fouling out of the condenser tubes. I think they try to catch them, but a few seem to end up on the beach.

Election 2020: Time Admits the Election was Rigged, and It Was a Good Thing

They don't mean to admit the law was broken, of course, just that the entire weight of the MSM, the social media giants, and all the bureaucracies of the government got together and rigged the game. The original article: The Secret History of the Shadow Campaign That Saved the 2020 Election

Bonchie at Red State, TIME Claims a Secret Cabal Manipulated the 2020 Election to Stop Trump, and People Have Questions

TIME wrote a very interesting piece making some very alarming claims. Namely, that a secret cabal banded together across the country to stop Donald Trump from winning re-election. This included everything from manipulating media coverage to getting election laws changed, at least according to TIME’s account.

Yeah, this seems like a pretty big deal to me, and nakedly undemocratic, at least if you care about that sort of thing. Politics is inherently manipulative on some level, I suppose, but working to change election laws and quenching the flow of information to affect an election is a bit past your typical bluster on the stump.

Stacy McCain, You Can’t Say ‘Rigged’. But I just did. 

This story is nearly 7,000 words, which is a lot to chew on, but here’s one part that attracted my attention:

The racial-justice uprising sparked by George Floyd’s killing in May was not primarily a political movement. The organizers who helped lead it wanted to harness its momentum for the election without allowing it to be co-opted by politicians. Many of those organizers were part of Podhorzer’s network, from the activists in battleground states who partnered with the Democracy Defense Coalition to organizations with leading roles in the Movement for Black Lives.
The best way to ensure people’s voices were heard, they decided, was to protect their ability to vote. “We started thinking about a program that would complement the traditional election-protection area but also didn’t rely on calling the police,” says Nelini Stamp, the Working Families Party’s national organizing director. They created a force of “election defenders” who, unlike traditional poll watchers, were trained in de-escalation techniques. During early voting and on Election Day, they surrounded lines of voters in urban areas with a “joy to the polls” effort that turned the act of casting a ballot into a street party. Black organizers also recruited thousands of poll workers to ensure polling places would stay open in their communities.
The summer uprising had shown that people power could have a massive impact. Activists began preparing to reprise the demonstrations if Trump tried to steal the election. “Americans plan widespread protests if Trump interferes with election,” Reuters reported in October, one of many such stories. More than 150 liberal groups, from the Women’s March to the Sierra Club to Color of Change, from Democrats.com to the Democratic Socialists of America, joined the “Protect the Results” coalition. The group’s now defunct website had a map listing 400 planned postelection demonstrations, to be activated via text message as soon as Nov. 4. To stop the coup they feared, the left was ready to flood the streets.

Do you see that these dots connect in a non-random way? And do you understand how the news media was part of this coordinated operation?

Via the Wombat's In The Mailbox: 02.05.21, Hogewash: Spinning The First Draft Of History To Fit The Narrative, the Victory Girls,  Left Admits 2020 Election Was “Fortified” The Democrat Way  and Vox Popoli:  They “Saved” The Election. Sundance at CTH, Interesting Admissions – Lawfare Outlined as Part of ‘Secret Campaign Group’ Coordinating to Influence 2020 Election. Spinning Strangeness, Out: claims the elections are rigged are conspiracy theories. In: TIME magazine article about why rigging the election was a good thing. Ace, Time Magazine: You're G**damn Right We Ordered the Code Red on Rigging the Election. And We Should Get Medals for It. "Will Time be deplatformed for admitting this? Nah." But would people who feel that strongly about an election cheat, or condone those that did? You betcha.

Please, don' throw me in dat briar patch! WaPoo, After losing committee assignments, Marjorie Taylor Greene says she has been ‘freed’ to push the GOP further right and AllahPundit at Hot Air whines Marjorie Taylor Greene: I Feel Liberated By Not Having To Do My Job Anymore. A Marjory Taylor Greene tweet:

I woke up early this morning literally laughing thinking about what a bunch of morons the Democrats (+11) are for giving some one like me free time. In this Democrat tyrannical government, Conservative Republicans have no say on committees anyway. Oh this is going to be fun!

Pretty much what I said yesterday. Matt Vespa at Town Hall, Did a CNN Reporter Really Just Say That About Marjorie Taylor Greene?

John Harwood 

the problem w/Republican warnings that Democrats will one day get the MTG treatment is that no Democrat in Congress is remotely comparable to MTG

Matt Margolis at PJ Media has a list of 9+ Democrats Who Should Be Ousted From Their Committees by the Marjorie Taylor Greene Standard. Why stop there? If Republicans get the House back in 2022, take out every Democrat, just to make the point. 

The Bulwark Boyz want you the have their Understanding of the House Republican ClusterFrick. No thanks. And at the WSJ Peggy Noonan opines Liz Cheney Wins One for Sanity But Liz Cheney doesn't care about the the Constitution. Natalia Mittelstadt at JTN. Ken Starr: Impeaching Trump post-presidency 'is a flagrant violation' of the Constitution "Starr says it is a constitutional violation for the Senate to hold an impeachment trial without the chief justice." Ex-Republican Capt. Ed at Hot Air has the sads that  Fewer Than Half Think Senate Should Convict Trump In Next Week’s Trial.

Kurt Schlichter at Twon Hall, Trump Moves Out of the White House and into Their Heads while across the Pond, at Da Mail, they think Trump is planning a revenge tour: Ex-president is 'plotting to settle the score with disloyal Republicans who voted for his impeachment after his trial concludes'. Could be. 

Fox, Rep. Nancy Mace: 'I'm sick and tired' of AOC trying to 'politicize literally everything' "Mace accused Ocasio-Cortez of not being completely honest about what happened Jan. 6". Western Journal, at the National Prayer Breakfast: Biden Talks About Capitol Incident 5 Times Longer Than God. National Whine Breakfast? PM, WATCH: House Democrats apologize for privilege, discuss their trauma related to Jan 6 Capitol riot. Ugh; no thanks. From Sundance, Video Documentary – The Pre-Planned Capitol Hill Protest and Riot Narrative Exposed

NYTimes. They Stormed the Capitol. Their Apps Tracked Them. "Times Opinion was able to identify individuals from a trove of leaked smartphone location data." I'll bet they didn't try in Portland or Seattle. 

Ace, Marc Elias -- A Lawyer at the FusionGPS-Hiring Perkins Coie, and Hillary Clinton's Lawyer for the 2016 Election -- Files Lawsuit to Get Election Overturned, Claiming That Machines Undercounted "Hundreds if Not Thousands" of Votes, "This is in the race for New York's 22nd Congressional District -- a district in which the Republican is ahead by a crucial handful of votes." but I'm sure Smartmatic won't sue him. CNN, 'There is real teeth to this': Legal experts weigh in on Smartmatic's $2.7 billion lawsuit against Fox News, WaEx, Smartmatic files $2.7B lawsuit against Fox News, Giuliani, and Powell over election fraud claims. LAT cited at Hot Air, Breaking: Fox News Cancels Lou Dobbs’ Show

The cancellation comes a day after voting software company Smartmatic filed a $2.7 billion defamation suit against Fox News and three of its hosts — Dobbs, Maria Bartiromo and Jeanine Pirro. The company claims the hosts perpetuated lies and disinformation about Smartmatic’s role in the election, damaging its business and reputation.

Sundance, Fox News Cancels Lou Dobbs – Their Number One FBN Show "There is only one-way to look at this announcement…. corporate U.S. media is in the tank for the cancel-culture policy against all things President Trump related.  P.e.r.i.o.d."

And Speaking of NY 22nd, Republicans win the last disputed congressional race from November's election "The GOP pickup in the House shrinks the Democrats’ majority to 221-212" It's insurrection to dispute this now, right? 

Nick Rowan at WaEx, Supreme Court to consider election lawsuits in February. A little later, AMI right? But I thought the courts had ruled!

The Supreme Court on Friday listed several high-profile election lawsuits for consideration at its mid-February conference.

The cases include challenges to the 2020 election from Trump-aligned lawyers Lin Wood and Sidney Powell, as well as Republican Rep. Mike Kelly's Pennsylvania lawsuit. Nearly every lawsuit takes issue with the expanded use of mail-in ballots by many states.

The decision came after the court declined to fast-track all election-related litigation in early January.

In nearly every plea for expedition, lawyers backing former President Donald Trump told the court that if the cases were not heard before President Biden's inauguration, their success would be unlikely.

But after the court pushed them off, many lawyers said that the challenges were still important and could have long-term implications for election fairness. Trump lawyer John Eastman told the Washington Examiner that even with Trump out of office, it was important to settle the issues raised by expanded mail-in voting.

"Our legal issue," he said, referring to the way in which Pennsylvania conducted the 2020 election, "remains important and in need of the court’s review."

Similarly, Kelly's lawyer Greg Teufel, told the Washington Examiner after the court refused to hear his case before the inauguration that the 10-year congressman and major Trump ally had no intention of dropping the suit.

As election litigation continues to play out in the courts, many Republican state legislators have begun introducing bills to curb mail-in voting through law.

It would be funny if the court ruled that Trump won the election fair and square and that Biden and crowd were out. Funny, but very unlikely.

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

Rule 5 Saturday - Getting Fit with Jennifer Nicole Lee

This week Rule 5 special goes to Jennifer Nicole Lee

Jennifer Nicole Siciliano was born in Rochester, New York, to Italian immigrants; the family later moved to Tennessee.
. . .
Lee describes herself as having "no athletic background whatsoever," and says she has struggled with her weight her entire life. She weighed 170 pounds when she married, and continued to gain weight during both of her pregnancies, eventually reaching 200 pounds after the birth of her second child. Lee lost 70 pounds, was crowned "Miss Bikini America" in 1996, and launched a career as a "fitness guru". JNL, Inc. (now JNL, Inc. Worldwide) was founded in January 2004. Her books have been published both electronically and in print. She also launched a line of swimwear. 

OK, that's an impressive weight loss. 

Lee has two clothing lines. The Jennifer Nicole Lee Collection through Rogiani is designed by Elisabetta Rogiani for fitness model photo shoots. Lee's own line is called the JNL Clothing Line, which includes gym and streetwear. 

In March 2011, Lee opened the Fitness Model Factory in Miami, Florida, a production studio containing photography and videography studios, hair and makeup styling, and coaching for fitness models. 

Lee is the creator of a fitness program called JNL Fusion which emphasizes "super spiking," or the introduction of cardio between weight training exercises. Lee states that JNL Fusion is designed after her own workout routine: 4 training sessions of 45 minutes each per week. The workout method is targeted to women.

Lee's trademark phrase is "Strong is the new skinny."

I'd be leery of her swimsuits; they seem to have a habit of falling apart. Or maybe she just needs a good fisherman to show her how to tie a knot.

Some carefully staged NSFW.

Linked at Pirate's Cove in the weekly Sorta Blogless Sunday Pinup and links. The Wombat has Rule 5 Sunday: Hedley Lamarr Presents The Teutonic Titwillow, Lili von Shtupp! and FMJRA 2.0: White Collar Holler ready and willing. Linked at Proof Positive in the weekly Best of the Web* and at The Right Way in the weekly Rule 5 Saturday LinkOrama. Linked at American Power in Rule 5 Saturday.

Beach Report 2/5/21

I like the glossy green and purple on this male Bufflehead, who headed out as Sky and I got onto the beach.

A pretty remarkable February day, low 50's, mostly sunny and strong SW wind, which doesn't cause much ruckus at the beach.

Sixteen shark's teeth, none really exciting.