GIVE TIL IT HURTS!

Gibson amps are BACK, baybee!

Welcome news.

The Falcon Returns | Gibson Roars Back Into the Amp Game
As a “solo act,” Gibson began making amplifiers way back in 1935, summiting with the coveted yet cultish GA series amps of the early rock era, until ceasing production in 1967. Awesome amps, but unappreciated—even with cool names, such as Raider, Invader, Titan, Hawk and others. Gibson tried again in 2005, and made some wonderful-sounding amps, but through no fault of Gibson’s, the earth still did not move.

That all may change with the 2024 introduction of the Gibson Falcon 5 and Falcon 20 amps—a collaboration by Gibson and Northern California boutique-amp innovators, MESA/Boogie. Shazam!—peanut butter and jelly.

The future of the new Falcon amps is yet to be written, of course, but that future looks absolutely luminous.

Brought to the fore by Gibson’s acquisition of MESA/Boogie in 2021, the partnership was also nudged forward by a “Gibson Amp Club” within the company, the increasing values of their vintage amps and a somewhat overlooked sonic characteristic—when cranked to maximum volume, ’60s Gibson amps produce a uniquely riotous overdrive that is, in a word—ferocious.

The Falcon project was also championed by Gibson President and CEO Cesar Gueikian (who acquired a bunch of vintage examples for the company) and Vice President of Product Mat Koehler (a member of the Gibson Amp Club, a talented guitarist and an aficionado of the ’60s-era Gibson GA-19RVT amp).

“The MESA/Boogie acquisition basically added a layer where it was like, ‘Why would we not do the new amps with Boogie?’” explained Koehler.

Boogie’s contribution to the dynamic duo is two legends in the field of guitar amplification—Founder, President and Designer Randy Smith, and Director R&D Doug West. Here, West and Koehler—yes, another duo—share how the Falcon project kicked off, as well as its design strategy, tone challenges and breakthroughs.

Follows, an in-depth interview with the Koehler/West dynamic duo recounting the how’s, why’s, and wherefore’s of getting the Falcon project off the ground and soaring which is bound to be of interest to guitar amp aficionados. Certainly, the new Gibsons are serious eye-candy.

An attractive pair
Even the grab-handle is a work of art
Simple, elegant, NO master volume–now THIS is what a control panel ought to look like!

Years ago I owned one of the vintage Gibson amps, a  57 GA-6, I think it was called. Lemmesee if I can find a…hold on…damned stupid Innarnuts…AH, here’s one!

Yep, that’s like mine, or close enough for rock and roll anyway. The Gibson was a nice enough rig for twangin’ and bangin’ at the house, but not really suitable for actual gigs in a room of any size, being way underpowered for such usage. The sound was as muddy-brown as could be: strong on the lows and low-mids, but far too weak in the higher tonal ranges to appeal to my born-and-bred-on-a-Marshall self.

As described in the interview, there’s distortion aplenty when cranked up to 11, but no real punch or presence like I’d grown accustomed to from the 100 watt Marshall half-stack I had as a teenager. In terms of the several qualities a lead guitarist needs most in an amp, the Gibson didn’t have any. That being so, the poor little Gibson box was extremely vulnerable to being completely lost in the mix onstage, particularly if the drummer had any balls at all.

Even back in their modest (not to say lackluster) heyday the Gibson amps, while a fair few jazz cats swore by ‘em, just weren’t up to bringing the rock and roll thunder, thus were left in the dust of their Fender, Marshall, Vox, and Ampeg competition—soon to wind up discontinued, forgotten, and unmourned by all but a handful of amp-collector geeks bent towards the less-pricey oddballs, orphans, and exotics of the trade.

Can’t recall when I got rid of my old Gibson amp, nor what the specifics of the deal in which it was offloaded were. Most likely, I used it as trade-bait on a gutsier amp with the kind of ferocious OOOOMPH I required. It was in mint condition the day I bought it, and same-same the day I sold/traded/whatever the hell I did with it, having lived peacefully at the house all the years I had it. Hopefully, it ended up in a good, loving home.

With the MESA/Boogie brain-trust helming the design and build, I expect Gibson’s new amplifier line will be bigly improved over the old good-but-not-great models. If so, I wish them nothing but success.

1

Back atcha Part the Third

Keep the skeer on ‘em, as the greatest cavalry officer in history liked to say.

Maine secretary of state’s house ‘swatted’ day after Trump ballot disqualification decision: ‘Unacceptable’
The home of Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows was “swatted” Friday evening, police confirmed Saturday.

Maine State Police responded after an unidentified man lied about having broken into the house.

Bellows and her family were away at the time of the hoax call.

The incident comes after Bellows disqualified former President Trump from the state’s 2024 Republican presidential primary ballot late Thursday, citing Section 3 of the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, which bans from office those who “engaged in insurrection” over his alleged incitement of the Jan. 6 riot.

Bellows made the ruling after some state residents, including a bipartisan group of former lawmakers, challenged Trump’s position on the ballot.

“Swatting” is when someone calls the police under dangerous false pretenses to trigger a law enforcement response, especially a SWAT team to a location.

On Saturday, Bellows called the swatting call “unacceptable” in a lengthy statement on Facebook. 

“Thank you for the messages of love and support,” she wrote. “I’ve been moved by every one and especially by those from friends and loved ones who disagree with my decision but have reached out to express love and respect.”

Bellows added that her staff had faced “unacceptable” and “non-stop threatening communications” on Friday after her decision.

Poor old Goodtime Charlie Jazz Shaw has his panties all in a wad over the SWATting. He is wrong.

This isn’t any sort of case of “all’s well that ends well.” As horrendous as Bellows’ decision to remove Trump from the ballot was, she described the swatting attempt as “unacceptable” and she is correct. This has become an increasingly common trend and it needs to stop. The majority of recent swatting incidents have been against Republicans, including Marjorie Taylor Greene and Congressmen Brandon Wiliams and Kevin Miller. But that doesn’t legitimize a similar attack on a Democrat official.

Swatting is extremely dangerous and people have literally been killed or injured by the police accidentally during these attacks. Filing false reports to the police is a crime and calls intended to produce stressful SWAT Team responses are among the worst. Also, we’re living through a time where crime rates are surging and the police are already overwhelmed in many cities. They don’t need to be wasting their time chasing false reports when there are very real crimes taking place that they need to be responding to.

Simply claiming “but the liberals do it” doesn’t make this any more acceptable.

Oh, doesn’t it? In a better, saner, more just world that would be so, sure. Unfortunately, this is NOT that world—and that is mainly because of the machinations of shitlib swine like the execrable Bellows and her ilk. Which fact, as far as I’m concerned, changes everyfuckingthing.

The only correct response would be to track down the people making these calls and lock them up for a long time as an example to others.

Again: in a just world, wherein the late, lamented rule of law still existed, sure. To date, however, there have been scores if not hundreds of SWATting incidents perpetrated by shitlib trash who specifically hoped to get their conservative victims unjustly arrested or mistakenly killed, and I know of exactly one (1) of the perps being arrested for it…after his victim WAS in fact killed, actually (the incident wasn’t sparked by politics, but over an even more insane reason: a stupid-ass video game).

Shaw’s daintily horrified response puts me in mind of one of my personal favorite LOTR quotes: “You won’t rescue Lotho, or the Shire, just by being shocked and sad, my dear Frodo.” It was true when Tolkien wrote it, and it’s true now, and all the more applicable for being non-fictional this time.

Live by the sword, die by the sword, bitch. As MisHum says, albeit in slightly different words, I am all out of fucks to give.

Update! This shit also puts me in mind of Jefferson Davis’s plea at the end of his first message to the Confederate Congress (Provisional), which inspired me to make a meme:

Same as it ever has, and ever will, it would seem. Here endeth the lesson.

JUDGMENT DAY: Skynet becomes self-aware, slaughters billions!

Actually, there seems to be a good deal less to the story than meets the eye. I’ll boldface what I mean by that.

Tesla Robot Suffers Malfunctions and Attacks Engineer at Texas Factory, Leaving ‘Trail of Blood’
A robotic malfunction at Tesla’s Giga Texas factory resulted in a violent encounter where an engineer was attacked by one of the company’s robots, resulting in significant injuries and leaving a ‘trail of blood.’

According to the Daily Mail, while working on software programming for non-functional Tesla robots, the engineer was suddenly pinned against a surface by a robot tasked with manipulating aluminum car components, with its metal claws inflicted an injury that left an ‘open wound’ on the worker’s left hand.

“Two of the robots, which cut car parts from freshly cast pieces of aluminum, were disabled so the engineer and his teammates could safely work on the machines. A third one, which grabbed and moved the car parts, was inadvertently left operational, according to two people who watched it happen. As that robot ran through its normal motions, it pinned the engineer against a surface, pushing its claws into his body and drawing blood from his back and his arm, the two people said,” The Information reported.

Quick action was taken by Tesla workers who intervened and triggered the emergency shutdown button to halt the malfunctioning robot and prevent further injury to the engineer.

Um, sorry, but the robot was NOT “malfunctioning” at all. One of the stupid humans neglected to switch it off before performing what sounds to me like routine maintenance, then got in its way as it carried on with “its normal motions,” that’s all. It’s way more dramatic and upsetting to report it the other way, so that’s what they ran with, natch. Remember: for today’s über-sensationalist media, if it bleeds, it leads. And sometimes, even if it doesn’t really bleed all that much.

2
1

Come again, now?

Ahh, whatever would we do without the Old Grey Whore of 42nd Street, the execrable NYT, to tell us all what our opinion should be?

The Media Aren’t Quite Hackish Enough For The Biden White House
They’re working on it.

When will The New York Times finally stop pulling punches and go after Donald Trump?

That’s the question Joe Biden’s campaign asked the media this week. “For the political press corp (sic) —especially our friends at the Gray Lady,” pleaded the White House, “it’s time to meet the moment and responsibly inform the electorate of what their lives might look like if the leading GOP candidate for president is allowed back in the WH.”

I think I can answer that one easily enough:

BidenVsMAGA

Any questions, you evil fucking retards?

The New York Times is, indeed, a friend. It “meets the moment” all the time. So, no, Biden isn’t working the refs here. He’s demanding obedience. And the fact that the White House can brazenly petition a supposedly free press to join his campaign effort tells us a lot about how little the contemporary Democrat cares for a free press.

BZZZZT! Wrong, David; actually, they care a great deal about a “free press”—they hate the very idea of such a thing, and are neither afraid nor ashamed to do everything within their not-inconsiderable power to see that one never, ever comes into existence in Amerika v2.0.

3
1

Happy Memorial Day!

As ever, Pedo Pete is a bit confused.

Biden suffers ANOTHER embarrassing gaffe as he stumbles through Veterans Day service and appears to get lost while laying a wreath

  • Biden appeared confused at Arlington National Ceremony to mark Veterans Day
  • The president, 80, needed stage directions after laying a ceremonial wreath
  • In his remarks, Biden said ‘war and conflict’ are ‘part of the American story’

Biden was joined at Arlington National Cemetary by Harris, First Lady Jill Biden and Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff to celebrate the armed services.

Speaking before members of the Armed Forces and Gold Star families, Biden began: ‘Here in Arlington lie heroes who gave what President Lincoln called ‘the last full measure of devotion.’

‘They did not only die at Gettysburg or in Flanders Field on the beaches of Normandy, but in the mountains of Afghanistan, the deserts of Iraq in the last 20 years.

‘Hundreds of graves are here from recent conflicts. Hundreds of patriots gave their all, each of them leaving behind a family who live with their pain and their absence every single day.’

He added that veterans are the ‘steel spine of this nation’, and recounted famous battles that saw soldiers ‘linked in a chain of honor that stretches back to our founding days.’

‘This Memorial Day, we honor their legacy and their sacrifice, duty, honor to their country.’

Saturday’s service was the 70th annual National Veterans Day Observance at Arlington, and followed a private reception in the White House East Room for veterans and military officials.

What a sad, sorry joke this senile old kleptocrat is, was, and shall remain.

3

Do not go gently

Into that no-good prison.

President Donald Trump has declared that he’s “willing to go jail” as he vowed to break a federal judge’s gag order against him.

During a rally in Iowa, Trump told hundreds of supporters in suburban Des Moines that he will never be silenced.

Trump held the rally just 91 days before Iowa Republicans are due to hold the first-in-the-nation 2024 presidential caucuses.

Earlier on Monday, Obama-appointed federal District Court Judge Tanya Chutkan slapped a gag order on Trump.

The order bars the 45th president from attacking or criticizing witnesses, prosecutors, and court staff involved in his Washington, D.C. criminal case.

Wrong answer, Mr President, sir.

I mean, on the one hand it’s a good thing he’s “willing to go to jail,” I suppose, since that’s exactly where he’s headed in any event. But speaking strictly for myself and no one else, I’d like to see a bit more of the “hell no, I won’t go” spirit of outraged defiance from him, a little more “come and get me if you think you can, motherfuckers.” Submissive resignation—a shrug of the shoulders and a “well, whatchagonnado” as if equality under the law still meant a goddamned thing in Amerika v2.0—just ain’t gonna cut the mustard anymore.

2

The Rockwell that never was

Via Ken Lane, AI is some doing some pretty amazing things.

Viral Norman Rockwell AI art reveals debauchery in America like you’ve never seen before
There’s an incredible new viral sensation sweeping the internet, and it’s both powerful and thought-provoking, offering a compelling snapshot of Biden’s America in disarray. So, what’s this intriguing online phenomenon?

Norman Rockwell paints modern America.

It’s a disturbing yet profoundly provocative modern AI tribute to Norman Rockwell, reimagining today’s disgraceful USA in Rockwell’s iconic style. Whoever conceived this idea is truly ingenious. These images are striking because they place the everyday propaganda we’re exposed to within the context of normal life, revealing the extent of how far we’ve fallen.

Let’s take a closer look at some of these powerful images.

Follows, some quite remarkable stuff, my personal favorite of which is the one depicting the deplorable state of shitlib-run cities:

RockwellsModernAmerica

Yep, AI Rockwell nailed that one clean and tight, I must say. Well, except for one niggling detail: during all the time I’ve spent in various big cities from sea to caustic sea, I can’t remember ever once seeing a nicely-dressed, smiling family of Whypeepuh strolling casually along the grimy, shit-strewn sidewalks, all carefree and unmolested by the stewbums, layabouts, criminals, and dope fiends surrounding them. Running for their very lives, more like.

Update! Aesop meme-a-lizes the above image plus two of the others, and it’s meme-a-licious.

1

I ask again: Is there really NOTHING they won’t try to Woke-ruin?

And again the answer comes back loud and clear: No. No, there is not.

‘Robyn Hood’ Director Melts Down Over Series’ Negative Reception, Claims Show Is Being Review Bombed By “Racists”

Because of COURSE he did.

Apparently unable to accept that his ‘modern reimagining’ of the arrow-slinging outlaw may only appeal to a very, very small niche of audiences, Robyn Hood Julien Christian Lutz has lashed out at critics of his new series, accusing them of being not just “angry nerds”, but also outright racists.

Created by Lutz, otherwise known by his alias Director X, and featuring a story by Orphan Black story coordinator Chris Roberts, the eight-episode “near-fi-action drama” is described by its host network, Canada’s Global Television Network, as a “contemporary re-imagining of Robin Hood” wherein “Robyn is a fearless young woman who is not just another superhero, with abilities normal people don’t have.”

“She is a Gen Zer driven by the injustices of today who embraces the heroic, hopeful and playful elements of the world’s most recognizable folk hero,” details the series’ official synopsis. “She learns to fight for what’s right, to care for and lead her followers. And like all Robin Hoods since the first ballad, Robyn holds those in power to account by using their greed against them to help her community.”

Robyn Hood follows Robyn Loxley, a young woman whose masked hip-hop band, The Hood, is known for their inventive videos and anti-authoritarian message,” it adds. “She lives in Sherwood Towers, a cluster of rental high-rises in a working-class corner of New Nottingham, a near-fi city where the cost of living has skyrocketed, leaving an ever-widening gap between the rich and everyone else.”

“When Robyn finds herself fighting for her home and her family against local property developer John Prince and The Sheriff of New Nottingham, Robyn and her band The Hood decide to fight back, righting the wrongs of the corrupt elite to give back to the people who are living under their regime,” the network concludes.

I have no words. Read on for a statistical breakdown of the dismal ratings for this latest colossal Wokester flop given by its miniscule audience.

Incandescent update! Straightaway another question pops up: Can these radiant artists of assbaggery like Directah X ’N’ Sheeit really not come up with a single original idea for a story, all on their own? Not even ONE?!?

Yeah, never mind. To ask the question is to answer it.

2
1

Disillusioned, disabused, disenfranchised

Scales are beginning to fall from people’s eyes all over the place.

Maybe This Latest Blatant Ballot Box Stuffing Scandal Will Be the Last Straw
Whether it’s because they have no fear of consequence or because they really are that stupid, Democrat operatives regularly stuff ballot boxes in full view of cameras. The pattern is nauseatingly familiar at this point: First, Big Left’s candidate comes from behind to win an election with a handful of mail-in or absentee votes. Then, video, sworn testimony, and/or official complaints of ballot harvesting and ballot box stuffing emerge. The matter is referred to law enforcement, which opens an investigation.

And then…nothing.

In the film “2000 Mules,” rampant ballot harvesting — which is illegal in Georgia, one of the states featured in the film — was documented. The matter was referred to Ga. Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, whose office launched an investigation. “If Georgia’s investigation into organized ballot harvesting leads to actual arrests and punishment, it will be a great day for America,” I wrote at the time. “We are all weary of lengthy investigations that go nowhere and accomplish nothing, but perhaps this time will be different.”

LOL, it was no different. Raffensberger declined to proceed without one of the film’s producers, election integrity non-profit True the Vote, giving up the name of a confidential source, which they refused to do. One source — out of the mountains of data and evidence the group provided — was the excuse for halting the investigation. The last I heard, Raffensberger’s office was suing True the Vote. Meanwhile, more elections have occurred in the district without any arrests or serious addressing of the problem.

Now a new video is making waves in Connecticut, and once again, I’m hoping that this is finally the last straw that forces an actual enforcement action.

As the saying goes, hope is not a strategy, Athena dear, sorry. At this point, anybody who isn’t deeply, deeply cynical about “elections” in Amerika v2.0 simply isn’t paying attention. And no, cynicism isn’t a synonym for strategy either, but it’s a logical first step towards the anger that might conceivably lead to Real Americans getting off their duffs and devising one. So in the end you might be cynical, sure, but the question now is: are you cynical ENOUGH?

5
1

Rule of law by decree

Fascists gonna fascist.

New Mexico governor issues order suspending the right to carry firearms in public across Albuquerque
SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham on Friday issued an emergency order suspending the right to carry firearms in public across Albuquerque and the surrounding county for at least 30 days in response to a spate of gun violence.

The Democratic governor said she expects legal challenges but was compelled to act because of recent shootings, including the death of an 11-year-old boy outside a minor league baseball stadium this week.

Lujan Grisham said state police would be responsible for enforcing what amount to civil violations. Albuquerque police Chief Harold Medina said he won’t enforce it, and Bernalillo County Sheriff John Allen said he’s uneasy about it because it raises too many questions about constitutional rights.

The firearms suspension, classified as an emergency public health order, applies to open and concealed carry in most public places, from city sidewalks to urban recreational parks. The restriction is tied to a threshold for violent crime rates currently only met by the metropolitan Albuquerque. Police and licensed security guards are exempt from the temporary ban.

Bold mine, both times. The second instance underscores the essential point made three years ago by Buck Throckmorton which served as the inspiration and springboard for my Friday Eyrie post: that Real Americans will be paying for the disastrously supine response to FauxVid tyranny indefinitely, in ways both many and varied. As for the first instance, CBD has that one covered.

Well, that’s nice, but it doesn’t mean a damned thing. The state has its own thugs who will gleefully do the bidding of LandesFuhrer Lujan Grisham.

Only if the Albuquerque police and the county sheriff’s deputies stop the state police from enforcing this vile and obvious insult to our natural, God-given rights will their statements mean anything. Otherwise they are part of the problem.

Yes, if they act there will be a legal confrontation…something that is sorely missing in America today. Donald Trump should have told Fulton County Georgia DA Fani Willis to pound sand, and that if she wants him she can come and arrest him. Governor Abbot should have told U.S. District Court Judge David A. Ezra that he can enforce his edict himself, but that Texas will continue to defend its border.

Playing by the rules has gotten us to where we are today, with a compliant “opposition” party willing to get along so they can continue to pad their bank accounts while America slide farther into the abyss of totalitarianism. The left is superb at manipulating the law to their own ends, and it is far past the time when rational Americans begin to push back against the insanity of a two-tiered justice system.

Civil Disobedience? Absolutely.

Damned skippy. Civil disobedience, at the very least.

It has been argued in several places, notably around these parts by CF Lifer Barry, that DeSantis should have had the Mar A Lago-raiding FBI/Stasi goon squads stopped in their jackbooted-thug tracks before they ever arrived at the Trump casa, a sentiment with which I concur. Although, given Trump’s tiresome personal attacks against DeSantis and his entire family, I can kinda-sorta see why he might be content to sit back and let The Donald stew in his own juices also. But that only dodges the central issue here, which isn’t just the main thing, it’s the ONLY thing now.

There seems to be general acknowledgment that trouble is coming, a sentiment with which I do NOT concur, quite; trouble is in fact here, all around us, and has been since the spring of 2020. We’re up to our clavicles in it, the only question being which way we’re going to jump this time out. I won’t say it’s our last chance to get it right; I don’t feel as if there’s any real need to, frankly. Just say no, or just say bye-bye to individual liberty.

Update! Brandon Smith knows what time it is.

In terms of direct conspiracy and tyranny, the solution is usually war and the elimination of the cabal behind the agenda. That requires talking about the problem and inspiring people to organize for the fight.

But what happens when you finally have the numbers to do something? I would partially agree that the conservatives, libertarians, independents and moderates that make up what I call the “Liberty Movement” tend to talk a lot more about the problems, to the point that solutions become lost in the fervor of discussion.

After nearly 20 years writing for the movement I have noticed a consistent pattern – When I publish an article identifying a concerted attack on the US economy, for example, the audience numbers run high. When I write an article about methods for preventing collapse, such as independent barter markets and localized production, the traffic is cut in half. The truth is, real solutions are not sexy, they are scary.

People can become addicted to watching the system break down and I realize it’s hard to look away from a train wreck. But when it comes time to doing something about the mess and make some hard decisions a lot of people run away. This has to change.

It is with this issue in mind that I am launching a series of articles focusing ONLY on solutions. These are not silver bullet solutions; they will not save people from struggle or hardship. They will not end the globalist empire with a single calculated social shift or technological innovation. Such solutions do not exist and anyone who claims otherwise is either ignorant or a fraud trying to lure you into complacency. The real solutions require hard work, sacrifice, courage, tenacity and above all, risk.

If a solution to tyranny and collapse doesn’t scare you at least a little, then it’s probably not a legitimate solution.

And, if there is one solution that has been demonized more than any other in our modern era, it’s the citizen militia. It’s hard to think of a greater taboo, a more sneered at and disdained concept than the militia, and that’s on both sides of the political aisle. Many leftists hate the militia because they fear it; many Republicans hate the militia because they think it makes them look “extreme.” Sorry sunshine patriots, but if there was ever a time for extreme measures, it is now.

Annnnnd Woot! There it is. He goes on in like vein from there, and although it might not be pretty or comfortable, it’s also bang on the money. I urge everyone to read it to the very last.

Updated update! More from Brandon, in reply to a commenter bringing up Sun Tzu’s dictum: “The supreme art of war is to subdue the enemy without fighting.”

You are misinterpreting Sun Tzu – He meant that great strength would be required to DETER the enemy from ever attacking in the first place. Strength is not shown through public engagement; public engagement is how you eventually build strength. The Covid mandates were defeated for one reason and one reason only – Millions of Americans with arms refused to comply, and the elites realized to continue would mean war. But, they never should have felt safe enough to try. With organized militias, there would have been NO covid mandates to defeat. This is what Sun Tzu meant. There is no digital silver bullet solution; this conflict will require rebellion and great sacrifice. There is no other way.

Alas for us all, there is not. If there’s anyone, anywhere, who has been more consistently correct than Brandon Smith about the current sorry state of affairs and how it might most effectively be addressed, I’m sure I don’t know who it would be.

Update to the updated update! Divemedic has questions. Good ones.

Police are used to victimizing unarmed people. That’s why they call SWAT when there is the least chance of facing armed opponents. I want to remind you of this incident, point out that the cops in New Mexico will chase anyone who runs from them instead of allowing themselves to be searched for firearms, and then ask again:

What could a four man fire support element do if they were in an overwatch position 100 yards or so away and this was a planned ambush? How hard would it be to lure police into a kill box and then overwhelm them with large amounts of fire before disengaging and disappearing before the cops can organize an effective counter ambush?

Despite the foolish fantasy cherished by all too many amongst what Brandon calls the “Liberty Movement” that cops and soldiers can reasonably be expected to “switch sides” en masse in a situation like this—which cuts across the grain of the “must get home safe to my family” mantra adopted by 5-0 in recent years as if it were an inviolable Prime Directive—we’re probably going to find out the answers to DM’s questions before too very much longer.

4
1

What a maroon

The latest Bi-weekly Big Blast of Biden Boobery© is a real humdinger of a doozy of a dilly.

President Biden was accused of being disrespectful after he quickly exited the East Room of the White House before the conclusion of a Medal of Honor ceremony honoring a Vietnam War veteran on Tuesday.

Biden, 80, abruptly left the ceremony after fastening the nation’s highest military decoration around the neck of retired Army Capt. Larry Taylor, 81, before the closing benediction was read by Chaplain Brig. Gen. William Green Jr.

Military veterans slammed Biden afterward, arguing that the commander in chief showed a startling lack of respect.

Oh, did they ever. It’s a joy to behold, a bona fide laff riot.

“Pardon my French…But what a f—ing idiot. The continuous lack of respect Biden has for anyone is appalling. Hawaii, Service members, active shooter victims, the list goes on,” former Navy SEAL and podcast host Shawn Ryan tweeted after Biden’s hasty exit.

“At least he didn’t check his watch this time,” Rep. Wesley Hunt (R-Texas), an Army veteran, snarked on X, formerly known as Twitter.

He was referencing when Biden appeared to glance at his timepiece during a solemn ceremony for the 13 US troops killed in an August 2021 terror attack near the Kabul airport in Afghanistan.

Some questioned whether Biden’s sudden departure was pre-planned or another case of the doddering leader being unsure of where to go after giving public remarks.

“Do you think this was done on purpose or just is it more senile moments? I think the guy is so self-absorbed he makes blunders like this. God this man is a massive embarrassment to our nation,” Gun Owners of America State Director for Indiana Tim Harmsen mused in a tweet.

The White House did not immediately respond to The Post’s request for comment.

Yeah, I just bet not. Gonna have to break out the plus-sized broom to get this one adequately swept under the rug and forgotten. Note ye well, too, that Biden is 80 years old, and senile, decrepit, and generally unfit for the office he stole. CAPT Taylor, on the other hand, is…81, and from all appearances is a damned sight more hale, hearty, and competent than the nominal CinC. At least Taylor seemed to be aware of where he was and what he was supposed to doing there, unlike certain other grifting, grafting morons in the immediate vicinity we might name.

But who knows; let’s cut the Putative PoTUS© a little slack here. He probably faced a daunting (for him) climb of two or three low steps to get to wherever his handlers had told him he was to go next, and knew he’d need a minute or three to work up a good head of steam so’s he could have a ghost of a chance at successfully negotiating ‘em.

Oh, and about my post title…

Update! Is there more, and worse? Hey, remember who it is we’re talking about here, people.

I’m sure you all cringed when you heard White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre announce on Tuesday that in light of recent events, Joe Biden would begin masking again.

“President Biden tested negative last night for COVID-19 and tested negative again today. He’s not experiencing any symptoms,” she said during Tuesday’s press briefing. “As far as the steps that he is taking: Since the President was with the First Lady yesterday, he will be masking while indoors and around people in alignment with CDC guidance. And as — as has been the practice in the past, the President will remove his mask when sufficiently distanced from others indoors and while outside as well.”

Oh, but wait, this is COVID we’re talking about, and as the pandemic showed, many in government who were perfectly fine imposing restrictions on the masses weren’t exactly keen on following themselves.

Later that very day, Biden briefly participated in a Medal of Honor ceremony for a Vietnam veteran. He did enter the ceremony wearing a mask but pulled it off immediately before getting close to the elderly honoree. Biden then proceeded to mingle with a crowd of people with his naked face.

Biden’s hypocrisy on this is by no means surprising. On his first day in office, Biden and his entire family violated Biden’s mask mandate for federal buildings mere hours after he signed it.

At the time, his then-press secretary Jen Psaki insisted that his executive order was about sending a message to the public. “I think he was celebrating an evening of a historic day for our country. And certainly, he signed the mask mandate because it’s a way to send a message to the American public about the importance of wearing masks, how it can save tens of thousands of lives,” Psaki said.

I suspect nothing has changed.

Of course it hasn’t. Why would it, pray tell? It’s all working out exactly as TPTB intended it to all along. As Reynolds always says: I’ll believe it’s a crisis when the people who are telling me it’s a crisis start acting like it’s a crisis.

1

Fucked around, found the fuck OUT

The probable origin story of the well-known phrase.

What would happen if a local small time criminal, drug addict or gang member robbed a business owned by the Mafia or protected by them and even shot and killed or injured people bringing police and mob attention to themselves in the process?
These situations usually fall into one of two categories. The perpetrator doesn’t know the place they are robbing is mobbed up, or they do know and are just exceptionally dumb. Either way, the outcome likely won’t be good.

The various crews in the New York Mafia usually operated out of “social clubs.” The two best-known are the Ravenite and the Bergen Hunt and Fish Club. They were the HQ of Gambino capo and later boss John Gotti.

In 1992, Thomas and Rosemarie Uva were broke.

Thomas was an ex-convict, having done time for armed robbery. He and his wife worked for a collection agency but were not making ends meet. They decided a good way to remedy that situation would be to rob mafia social clubs.

Thomas had been a Mafia enthusiast growing up and knew that the people in the social clubs were usually unarmed, often carried large amounts of cash, and were unlikely to call the police. With this knowledge, Thomas devised a simple plan. Rosemarie would wait in the car while Thomas stormed into the club and robbed everybody at gunpoint. He then ran out, jumped into the car, and the couple drove off into the sunset.

The couple was confirmed to have robbed four social clubs, possibly as many as 10, targeting mainly those owned by Gambino and Bonnano crews. In one, Thomas forced the patrons to strip to their underwear when he robbed them.

That was likely the last straw. Both the Bonnano and Gambino families put out an open contract on the Uvas. They were to be killed on sight.

On Christmas Eve, 1992, Thomas and Rosemarie decided to get in some late Christmas shopping. At the intersection of 103rd Avenue and 93rd Street in Ozone Park, two men opened fire on their car. Rosemarie and Thomas were struck by three bullets each and died instantly.

In 2014, their adventures were made into a movie called Rob the Mob starring Michael Pitt, Andy Garcia, Nina Arianda, and Ray Romano.

Morons. That’s the kind of posthumous celebrity we could all do without.

3

Power failure

Coming all too soon to an aging, overburdened, decrepit electric grid near you.

A Silent Threat to the Energy Transition: America’s Broken Infrastructure Policy
So much of the conversation focuses on the tired and misleading narrative about Oil & Gas villains vs. Renewable heroes. The true enemy of our sustainable energy future is the nation’s broken infrastructure policy. We could greenlight every renewable project in development today and innovate every piece of technology needed to meet our climate goals, and it wouldn’t matter because we lack the ability to utilize and store the energy we create.

Infrastructure isn’t top of mind for most people, but it has gotten more attention in recent years, particularly after Congress passed the massive $1 trillion infrastructure bill in 2021. The legislation included funding for everything from airport repairs to clean drinking water. It also contained the largest investment in clean energy transmission and the electric grid in U.S. history – $65 billion – to be used for new transmission lines for renewable energy, advanced transmission and distribution technologies, and research hubs for next-generation technologies, including carbon capture and clean hydrogen.

But what good are new transmission lines and next-gen technologies if they never make it past the black hole of red tape, interminable delays, supply-chain problems, and exploding costs that derail so many energy projects?

Much of the U.S. grid was built in the 1960s and 1970s, and over 70% of it is currently more than a quarter-century old. But age isn’t the grid’s only problem. The U.S. power infrastructure was built to bring energy from where fossil fuels are burned to where the energy will be used. The nation’s electricity industry, meanwhile, grew via a patchwork of local utility companies whose targets were to meet local demand and maintain grid reliability.

Emissions-free energy sources like sun and wind are, by nature, intermittent. They’re abundant only in places where the sun is shining or the wind is blowing, and therefore need to be stored and transmitted to other locations where there is demand for power. 

Along with the need for new ways to transmit and store sustainable energy, the existing grid will need a major upgrade as demand for electricity rises to meet the needs of electric vehicles, heat pumps, and other replacements for conventional energy sources. A modernized and expanded grid “will be the backbone of the energy transition – and a requirement of any realistic decarbonization pathway,” according to a 2022 report by McKinsey & Company.

There is no silver bullet to fix this complex set of issues. But it’s clear we need a strategic approach to infrastructure investment, and fast. Part of that investment needs to come from Washington in the form of comprehensive policy and regulatory reform, which is the single biggest blocker to private investment and healthy competition in the energy sector. 

Simply put, building energy projects is complicated. Who pays for what is even more complicated, as processes, permitting, payment, and incentivization are all misaligned. Current policy doesn’t support the buildout we need; in fact, it slows it down and exacerbates the problem. Without policy and regulatory reform, we’ll continue to pay more and more to maintain our quality of life. Even worse, we’ll never reach the finish line in the race to a sustainable energy future.

I’ll say it yet again: funny, innit, how almost all of our contemporary woes have their origins in the same place: a greedy, grasping, over-powerful central goobermint?

(Via Bayou Peter)

1

There they go again

Another day, another “FBI is baffled as to what the motive might have been…” jihadist with big, big plans.

Philadelphia teen charged with planning national terrorist attack
Heavily armed law enforcement officers swarmed the Philadelphia home of a teenager who was plotting to launch a national terrorist attack, authorities said.

The suspect, an unnamed 17-year-old, was in contact with a global terrorist group affiliated with al Qaeda and had access to a “significant” number of guns and was building bombs, FBI Special Agent in Charge Jacqueline Maguire said during a Monday press conference.

The teen, who was arrested Friday, “conducted general research” into potential targets that weren’t confined to one location, and they were not just in Philadelphia, she said.

Bold mine, and the only reason I find this story at all interesting. I mean, leaving aside the distinctive aroma of “false-flag SQUIRREL!!™ psy-op to distract from (insert latest BuyEm crime family scandal HERE)” wafting from this, OF COURSE the targets were “not just in Philadelphia.” Really, at this point who the hell would bother with bombing poor old Philly? That would be like bombing Baltimore or Detroit or Mogadishu or something. How could one even tell any of those places had been bombed, and if somebody did bomb one, what would look any different afterwards there?

(Via BCE)

3

Are you down with the sickness?

Asking for a friend.

Could this sick polity be better personified than by the tragi-comic figure at the head of it: “Joe Biden” along with the Biden family? The scope of this clan’s derangements is almost Shakespearean, lacking only that decorum of personal presentation on view in all the Bard’s plays. King Lear, tormented as he was, would never face-plant after a speech. His daughters had a lot to worry about, but as far as we know, they were not subjected to showering with the big guy. And, there were no known recordings of the Earl of Gloucester smoking crack with naked, under-age girls.

Yet, in the real-life of our nation, “JB’s” troubles mount as each day peels off the calendar. Only the most pathologically credulous might fail to notice the slime trail of bribery lately uncovered by congressional sleuths. “JB” obviously put himself in the service of interests outside the United States, and how is that working out now, notably in Ukraine, where he has levered us into the most perilously half-assed war imaginable — the losing of which will dash what’s left of America’s standing in the world?

One thing that has become clear in this cabbage soup of perfidy, is just how blobbed-up Volodymyr Zelensky was when President Donald Trump made that fateful phone call to him in August of 2019 inquiring about “JB’s” curious doings in Kiev over the years. Did Z follow-up that call immediately with one to Alexander Vindman in the National Security Counsel…who then called Eric Ciaramella of the NSC and CIA? Because, voilà, there was something supernatural about how fast we were off to Impeachment Number One!

And now the not-insane cohort of Americans is prompted to ask whether this war in Ukraine was provoked in any part to cover-up all the nefarious blobbery that preceded it — and not just Hunter and “Joe Biden’s” capers, but the machinations, too, of State Department blobette Victoria Nuland and her retinue in the Kiev embassy, Marie Yovanovitch, George Kent, and many others of the Blob persuasion. A review of all this suggests that “Joe Biden” is what has driven the Democratic Party insane. And now, of course, they can’t seem to get rid of him, like a demon riding them through an endless nightmare.

Sorry, Jim, you’re putting the effect before the cause here. In actuality, it’s very much vice the versa: first, the D卐M☭CRAT Party Criminal Organization went insane, thus burdening us with…Pedo Jaux BuyHim, the witless Usurper In Thief.

Instead, they have bent every last effort to get rid of “JB’s” supposed rival, Donald Trump, who has been inducted into a Lawfare-engineered chamber of horrors designed to slice-and-dice him into a million pieces and strew the shreds into the Potomac for the blue crabs to feed on. One can’t imagine a lamer case than the charges Special Counsel Jack Smith has cooked up against Mr. Trump for verbally expressing doubt about the probity of election 2020. Will Mr. Smith be able to prove any of this, assuming that it is now against the law in America to believe something and say so?

Logically, Mr. Trump’s defense might present reasons why he believed the election was rife with fraud, by introducing evidence of said fraud, of which there is actually an impressive amount now, despite whatever mendacious bullshit you see in The New York Times and on MSNBC. Do you suppose Judge Tanya Chutkan would do anything but allow that evidence to be introduced? And if she disallows it, is that not instantly grounds for a mistrial, since it would prove beyond a reasonable doubt there were good reasons, after all, for Mr. Trump to express what he believed?

On the contrary, I very much suppose that the judge will move Heaven and Earth to disallow that evidence, by hook or by crook. Although I do find your starry-eyed naïveté quite endearing.

Things are getting durned interesting. Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FLA) offered a charming plan this week to counter this deceitful DOJ crusade. Here’s how it would work. First, the House Judiciary Committee calls Special Counsel Jack Smith to give transcribed testimony in the next fifteen days regarding the weaponization of the First Amendment. If he refuses, subpoena him. If he ignores the subpoena, the Committee holds him in criminal contempt of Congress, and issues a formal referral to Attorney General Merrick Garland. If Mr. Garland ignores the referral, impeach the SOB forthwith. At the same time, invite Mr. Trump to give testimony to the Committee as a whistleblower, conferring congressional immunity to him among the usual whistleblower protections as stated in law (under 18 U.S. Code 6002 and 6005).

I’ve nothing at all against Gaetz, really, but let’s not anyone be holding our breath in hopes that a single item on that devoutly-to-be-wished list might ever actually come to pass. Yes, current reality bites right enough. But then, that’s reality for ya. Deal with that, or get run over by it.

3
1

Latest Posts

Latest Comments

CF Archives

Categories

Comments policy

NOTE: In order to comment, you must be registered and approved as a CF user. Since so many user-registrations are attempted by spam-bots for their own nefarious purposes, YOUR REGISTRATION MAY BE ERRONEOUSLY DENIED.

If you are in fact a legit hooman bean desirous of registering yourself a CF user name so as to be able to comment only to find yourself caught up as collateral damage in one of my irregularly (un)scheduled sweeps for hinky registration attempts, please shoot me a kite at the email addy over in the right sidebar and let me know so’s I can get ya fixed up manually.

ALSO NOTE: You MUST use a valid, legit email address in order to successfully register, the new anti-spam software I installed last night requires it. My thanks to Barry for all his help sorting this mess out last night.

Comments appear entirely at the whim of the guy who pays the bills for this site and may be deleted, ridiculed, maliciously edited for purposes of mockery, or otherwise pissed over as he in his capricious fancy sees fit. The CF comments section is pretty free-form and rough and tumble; tolerance level for rowdiness and misbehavior is fairly high here, but is NOT without limit.

Management is under no obligation whatever to allow the comments section to be taken over and ruined by trolls, Leftists, and/or other oxygen thieves, and will take any measures deemed necessary to prevent such. Conduct yourself with the merest modicum of decorum, courtesy, and respect and you'll be fine. Pick pointless squabbles with other commenters, fling provocative personal insults, issue threats, or annoy the host (me) and...you won't.

Should you find yourself sanctioned after running afoul of the CF comments policy as stated and feel you have been wronged, please download and complete the Butthurt Report form below in quadruplicate; retain one copy for your personal records and send the others to the email address posted in the right sidebar.

Please refrain from whining, sniveling, and/or bursting into tears and waving your chubby fists around in frustrated rage, lest you suffer an aneurysm or stroke unnecessarily. Your completed form will be reviewed and your complaint addressed whenever management feels like getting around to it. Thank you.

Ye Aulde CF Blogrolle–now with RSS feeds! (where available)

"Mike Hendrix is, without a doubt, the greatest one-legged blogger in the world." ‐Henry Chinaski

Subscribe to CF!

Support options

Shameless begging

If you enjoy the site, please consider donating:

Become a CF member!

Correspondence

Email addy: mike-at-this-url dot etc
All e-mails assumed to be legitimate fodder for publication, scorn, ridicule, or other public mockery unless specified as private by the sender

Allied territory

Alternatives to shitlib social media: A few people worth following on Gab:

Fuck you

Kill one for mommy today! Click to embiggen

Notable Quotes

"America is at that awkward stage. It's too late to work within the system, but too early to shoot the bastards."
Claire Wolfe, 101 Things to Do 'Til the Revolution

Claire's Cabal—The Freedom Forums

FREEDOM!!!

"There are men in all ages who mean to govern well, but they mean to govern. They promise to be good masters, but they mean to be masters."
Daniel Webster

“When I was young I was depressed all the time. But suicide no longer seemed a possibility in my life. At my age there was very little left to kill.”
Charles Bukowski

“A slave is one who waits for someone to come and free him.”
Ezra Pound

“The illusion of freedom will continue as long as it’s profitable to continue the illusion. At the point where the illusion becomes too expensive to maintain, they will just take down the scenery, they will pull back the curtains, they will move the tables and chairs out of the way and you will see the brick wall at the back of the theater.”
Frank Zappa

“The right of a nation to kill a tyrant in case of necessity can no more be doubted than to hang a robber, or kill a flea.”
John Adams

"A society of sheep must in time beget a government of wolves."
Bertrand de Jouvenel

"It is terrible to contemplate how few politicians are hanged."
GK Chesterton

"I predict that the Bush administration will be seen by freedom-wishing Americans a generation or two hence as the hinge on the cell door locking up our freedom. When my children are my age, they will not be free in any recognizably traditional American meaning of the word. I’d tell them to emigrate, but there’s nowhere left to go. I am left with nauseating near-conviction that I am a member of the last generation in the history of the world that is minimally truly free."
Donald Surber

"The only way to live free is to live unobserved."
Etienne de la Boiete

"History does not long entrust the care of freedom to the weak or the timid."
Dwight D. Eisenhower

"To put it simply, the Left is the stupid and the insane, led by the evil. You can’t persuade the stupid or the insane and you had damn well better fight the evil."
Skeptic

"There is no better way to stamp your power on people than through the dead hand of bureaucracy. You cannot reason with paperwork."
David Black, from Turn Left For Gibraltar

"If the laws of God and men, are therefore of no effect, when the magistracy is left at liberty to break them; and if the lusts of those who are too strong for the tribunals of justice, cannot be otherwise restrained than by sedition, tumults and war, those seditions, tumults and wars, are justified by the laws of God and man."
John Adams

"The limits of tyranny are prescribed by the endurance of those whom they oppress."
Frederick Douglass

"Give me the media and I will make of any nation a herd of swine."
Joseph Goebbels

“I hope we once again have reminded people that man is not free unless government is limited. There’s a clear cause and effect here that is as neat and predictable as a law of physics: As government expands, liberty contracts.”
Ronald Reagan

"Ain't no misunderstanding this war. They want to rule us and aim to do it. We aim not to allow it. All there is to it."
NC Reed, from Parno's Peril

"I just want a government that fits in the box it originally came in."
Bill Whittle

Best of the best

Finest hosting service

Image swiped from The Last Refuge

2016 Fabulous 50 Blog Awards

RSS feed

RSS - entries - Entries
RSS - entries - Comments

Boycott the New York Times -- Read the Real News at Larwyn's Linx

Copyright © 2024