Due to Real World™ issues beyond my control, we interupt your regularly scheduled blog reading. Please visit the sites listed in the sidebar.
31 August 2025
30 August 2025
Saturday Roundup of Link Roundups - 30 August
The Right Way is first with Top of the News
"Actual carnage!" MSM cover up truth about murderous Notting Hill Carnival to protect Sadiq Khan - Theo Spark
Animal Magnetism - Animal’s Hump Day News
No, I don’t think they are.
Yeah, they just hate it when murderers get locked up.
Wombat-socho - In The Mailbox: 8.27.25
Upstream Reviews: The Last Marine
L’Ombre de L’Olivier: Mass Deportation And/Or Civil War
EBL - Free Scotland From Tyranny
Instapundit: Little Scottish girl defends herself and her sister and British resistance
EBL: Scotland the Brave? This little girl, yes...
Legal Insurrection: Brave Dundee Girl
The Glibertarians - Thursday Morning Links
I still can’t believe we’ve gotten to this point. If he wins, I hope New Yorkers get exactly what they asked for. And I hope the feds don’t bail them out of the mess.
Wombat-socho again - In The Mailbox: 08.28.25
CDR Salamander: The Defenestration of JCIDS
Don Surber: How Obama doomed the Democrats
Lawrence Person's BattleSwarm Blog - LinkSwarm for August 29, 2025
Speaking of self-dealing garbage corrupt Biden Administration toadies were cutting themselves in for, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick voided ‘illegal’ $7.4B payment to Biden ally-staffed nonprofit for semiconductor research.
Small Dead Animals - Wednesday On Turtle Island
Woke America: Kamala’s private jets. The crime doesn’t exist narrative. Moderate imam in Texas. Moderate Muslims in Florida.
Conman Carney’s Canada: Our jihad universities. Education in Doug Ford’s Ontario.
Lawrence Person's BattleSwarm Blog - Texas 2026 Race Updates For August 27, 2025
Republican “Mayra Flores ditches Cuellar to run against Gonzalez after Texas redistricting boosts odds.” That’s Vicente Gonzalez, not Tony, so she’s not running in the same race as Brandon Herrera.
Again from Wombat-socho - In The Mailbox: 08.29.25 (Afternoon Edition)
Vox Popoli: Nigel Farage is a Fraud, Fake Trump Exit Incoming, The Virginian Began to Hate, Diversity Enriches Switzerland, and Wind-Up Toy Attack
Gates of Vienna - News Feed 8/28/2025
RFK Jr. to Med Schools: Add Nutrition Classes ‘Immediately’
Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. says he’s giving U.S. medical schools less than two weeks to “immediately” add comprehensive nutrition classes
A View from the Beach - Flotsam and Jetsam
Ace, Trump to Fed Reserve Governor and Part-Time Mortgage Fraudster Lisa Cook: You're Fired, "So much Finding Out right now," and The Morning Rant: Mortgage Fraud Is The New "Resistance!"
2. A Florida Sheriff on the intended response to planned calculated violent protests in his state.
May the Western World remember this kind of reasonableness
Flopping Aces - Hate has no Home in Virginia – Unless You’re a Democrat
Even though the Dems are trying to throw her under the bus as some lone wolf, social media feeds say otherwise. Martineau is a longtime Dem operative, who had the sides of the aisle been reversed, would have been anointed by the Dinosaur Media as the new face of the GOP.
Once more from Wombat-socho - In The Mailbox: 08.29.25 (Evening Edition)
Adam Piggott: Put me in the anti-AI camp
American Conservative: Huey Long in the Age of Donald Trump—and Zohran Mamdani, also, Singapore’s Real Lesson for Britain and Europe
J.J. Sefton at Ace of Spades HQ - The Morning Report — 8/27/25
Democrats are intent on keeping Kilmar Abrego Garcia in the news cycle. He is the new "Elián González."
The Left Still Won’t Let Go Of Their Worst Poster Boy
Maggie's Farm - Wednesday Link Assortment
Desperate Euro-Elites Suggest Boots-on-Ground Even "Before Ceasefire"
Why Civilisations Go Stupid
Doug Ross - Larwyn’s Linx: The CIA -vs- DNI Tulsi Gabbard
• German unemployment rises above 3 million - Richard Connor
• Chicago Is on the Verge of Fiscal Collapse - Austin Berg
Anonymous Conservative - News Briefs – 08/29/2025
“I’m Tired of Being Trans”: Minneapolis Tranny Terrorist Confesses “I Wish I Never Brain-Washed Myself.”
Kinda sounds like he might have been demonically possessed:
I leave you with Your Wednesday gifs from Wirecutter, Quick Hits Of Wisdom, Knowledge And Snark #2901 from 90 Miles from Tyranny, and Midweek Memes from Granite Grok.
Porsche and Opel Cancel EV Plans
Because the market predictions, which were not based on the market, but on government pronouncements, were wrong. Another German automaker just walked away from big EV plans
OK, to be fair, early on some of the enthusiasm was based on hype. That seems to have been toned down, once reality hit.
Volkswagen’s luxury sports car brand, Porsche, announced this week that it no longer plans to build EV batteries in-house.
Cellforce, Porsche’s high-performance EV battery company, will shrink and only focus on research and development, rather than production.
It turns out that Americans who want a Porsche, don't want an electric Porsche.
A separate report from German magazine WirtschaftsWoche claimed on Wednesday that Porsche is on the hunt for a new CEO to replace Oliver Blume.
Opel is also dropping its "all electric" plans."
Porsche isn’t the only German automaker adjusting EV plans. Opel is one of the many brands under the Stellantis Group, alongside Jeep, Ram, Peugeot, Citroën, Fiat, and several others.
Although it was one of the many automakers to commit to offering an all-electric lineup, it’s now backing off its promise.
I learned to drive a manual transmission in an old Opel, so this made me smile.
The hat tip goes to MGUY Australia and his video Porsche SLASHES battery factory as Opel ABANDONS EV-only future
Nobody wants an electric sports car. That's the bottom line.
Far From Home
For whatever reason, I've been listening to a lot of Five Finger Death Punch lately, but since that is a bit much for this early in the day, here is an acoustic version I really like. I think I've mentioned that I really like acoustic versions of Heavy Metal songs. This is one of the reasons... it can be too early in the day for screaming guitars.
This song is "Far From Home" by Five Finger Death Punch from their 2009 album War Is the Answer.
29 August 2025
Friday Links - 29 August
William Teach at Pirate's Cove starts us off with Democrats Believe Car Jacking And Illegal Alien Criminals Do Not Matter To Americans
Well, I mean, if they’re unhinged and suffering from Trump Derangement Syndrome they might believe that neither happens, but, for the rest?
Meep at STUMP - Summer Re-Runs: Water Can Be Dangerous ... Be Careful Out There
It’s still summer (for a bit), so here are the re-runs:
The Other McCain - Crime Is Down, the Border Is Secure, and Taylor Swift Is Finally Getting Married
Taylor’s been passed around more than a joint at a Grateful Dead concert. She’s been used as a pump-and-dump by Joe Jonas, John Mayer, Jake Gyllenhall and a long list of other guys that we know about.
The Gun Writer - Former ATF senior official now working for Everytown
Marianna Mitchem, ATF’s former Associate Assistant Director of Field Operations (Industry Operations), is now working for former New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg’s anti-gun group, Everytown for Gun Safety.
Again from The Other McCain - ‘It Rubs the Lotion On Its Skin’: Creepy Killer Trannies and Their Media Enablers
Here we have a story about demonic freak — a monster right out of a horror movie — who deliberately targeted school children, and the main concern of the media seems to be that honestly reporting the story might somehow incite “transphobia.”
The Truth About Guns - New York’s War on 3D-Printed Guns: Demonizing the “New Second Amendment”
If you set out looking for an enemy, you’ll find one. Hell, you’ll create one if you have to. That is precisely what New York gun controllers are devoting their energy to these days, as they target what they say radicals refer to as the “New Second Amendment,” groups of like-minded individuals who share information on 3D printing and how to use it to develop and improve privately made firearms technology.
Light Over Heat with Professor David Yamane - Meet the New NRA, Same as the Old NRA: Won't get fooled again
For me, a reformed NRA would seek to provide a tent big enough to welcome gun owners regardless of their political or philosophical dispositions. But these actions make clear that the so-called “NRA 2.0” will continue to be a right-wing culture warrior organization.
Clayton Cramer - Yes, We Cannot Risk Return Fire
Be armed wherever you go. Mass murderers are afraid of victims returning fire.
DAs Hate Self-Defense
From Cincinnati's The Enquirer. 'He chose to live': Jury finds youth football coach shot parent in self-defense at game
Lamont Ragan, 30, was found not guilty at the end of a trial in Hamilton County Common Pleas Court on Aug. 25. He faced numerous charges, including attempted murder.
Mr. Ragan was a coach for a youth football team of 11 and 12-year-old players. Ka’ron Booker was shot after the game, and exhibition match, on 24 October 2024.
That the DA took the case to trial is not surprising, but there was one reaction that caught my attention. Well, the fact that this was so close to home, though I haven't been into the city of Cincinnati in many years. (I just never drive that far south.) From WKRC we get Local youth football coach found not guilty in shooting at game.
Shortly after the shooting, Pastor Peterson Mingo, whose step-grandson was hurt, said "Who would bring a gun to a youth event of peewee football?"
This is the kind of thing that startles people who do not conceal and carry. Do you only wear seat belts on the days you expect to be in an accident? When will you meet a violent threat of robbery or carjacking or what have you? Do you buy fire extinguishers only on the day before you expect a fire, or when you first move into a new home?
But then these people who seem to think that they can predict the future are sure that you will never have to protect yourself. Or they can tell you how many rounds you will need to defend yourself, should that situation arise.
Campus Lockdown Over Black Umbrella
When you raise a generation or two to be scared of guns, and keep them in defenseless victim zones, also known as gun free zones, is bound to have bad effects.
Yes, there are calls for "umbrella control," in the form of banning black umbrellas from the campus in question, the University of South Carolina.
And just to add some icing to the insanity cake, the university is offering mental health support to anyone who was scared of the freaking umbrella.
This is the Liberty Doll video School Lockdown Over Umbrella. It is just short of 8 minutes long.
We aren't going to survive as a civilization.
Meshtastic - Or How to Communicate if the Cell Network Goes Down
This technology has appealed to the prepper in me. How to maintain communications with non-HAM friends and family in the event that communications go down.
The Meshtastic network is fairly straight forward, but it has been tough to explain to people because something happens when you talk about tech. Most people shut their brains off.
But if all they have to do is install an app on their phone, you might be able to get them to at least be a little prepared. You need to be able to charge your phone and a separate radio, but most preppers have ways to do that.
This is the Comms Channel video What Is Meshtastic? Off Grid Communication Explained in 3 minutes (Beginner Friendly)
28 August 2025
Another Failure of the Victim-Selection Process
If you break into homes, you will eventually find an armed resident of a home. Man shot, killed in Lorain home after alleged attempted break-in
How would you deal with someone trying to break into your home at 5 o'clock in the morning?
Lorain Police found [48-year-old Clayton] Parker allegedly was trying to break into the home when an “occupant” in the home shot him, according to the release.
Mr. Parker died at the scene.
Lorain, Ohio is about 25 miles west of Cleveland.
Self-defense is a human right.
"Free Health Care" - You Get What You Pay For
This is a tragedy if ever I read about one. Family pushes for inquest into Ontario teen’s death following eight-hour wait to see doctor in ER
Finlay van der Werken was 16 years old. His family brought him to the emergency room at about 9 PM, and he was triaged at 10 PM. He didn't see a doctor until after 6 AM.
“He was triaged as a Level Two on the Canadian triage acuity scale,” said the family’s lawyer, Meghan Walker. “The guidelines say that a patient who is a Level Two, which is the second highest, should be seen by a physician within 15 minutes.”
Instead of 15 minutes, he waited 8 hours. Finlay van der Werken died 27 hours after he’d first arrived at the Oakville Trafalgar Memorial Hospital emergency room.
The medical group that runs the hospital has deepest condolences for the family, but have not explained what went wrong. How did 15 minutes get to be 8 hours? Was there no doctor on call?
The parents are trying to make sure that this kind of thing doesn't happen to another family.
Good luck to them, but "You can't fight City Hall" is an old saying. At least in Chicago. And no one at the hospital seems to be in line to be held accountable. Health care in Canada is a government bureaucracy, how can you hold that accountable? So your health care is free. Is it any good?
Hat tip to Small Dead Animals and The Doctor Will Neglect You Now
Best health care system in the world, huh?
Small Dead Animals is one of my sources for stuff going on in Canada.
She Spoke Harshly to Them
You should be able to call police for issues like this, but in 2025 the police can't even drive by to see if anything is going on. Woman shot after reportedly confronting loud group outside her house - KSTP 5 Eyewitness News
There was a group of people in front of her house, making a lot of noise.
When she went to talk with them, however, the police said a man in the group pulled out a handgun and fired multiple shots at the woman, shooting her.
Her injuries are non-life-threatening, but it could have been otherwise. Before you go out to "confront" people consider what might happen to you or your family.
As for calling police, this took place in Minneapolis, the home of Defund the Police. You are on your own. After you get shot, cops will show up, not before.
I miss living in a civilized society.
Liberal Savior or Racist Idiot - It Is Hard to See a Difference
Because I am not squeamish about engaging in conversations that reek of stupid, I made a series of comments on a FB friend’s timeline who was comparing the U.S. now with the fall of Rome. One of the people interacting made a comment and what followed is just Liberal Fool’s Gold.
Lastname = "Gonzalez" means, without a doubt in the Liberal savior's mind, that Miguel MUST have brown skin. It is perhaps the most obviously racist of the comments. (Can you find the Iberian Peninsula on a map?)
The most obvious racism somehow still manages to not be the stupidest thing in the comment. Click thru for the whole thing.
27 August 2025
Wednesday Link Roundup
William Teach at Pirate's Cove starts things off with Sorta Blogless Sunday Pinup
- Jihad Watch: The UK Goes Full Orwell
- Legal Insurrection: The Brave Booksellers and the Changed Perception of Islam
Wombat-socho (who doesn't like Mondays) - In The Mailbox: 08.25.25
The Bugscuffle Gazette: Publishing stuff, also, Big Brother riding shotgun
Stoic Observations: The Old School
EBL - Invasive Mediterranean octopus eating trapped lobsters in UK 🦞🐙
Octopus invasion
The solution seems obvious: trap and eat the octopus!
The Glibertarians - Tuesday Morning Links
What the shit? How does a project get to this point?
Ironic, isn’t it? Ultimately it’s probably, in their minds, still the fault of the unwoke for not bending the knee.
A View from the Beach - Flotsam and Jetsam - Trump Dumps Fed Reserve Gov, Bans Flag Burning
Dave Strom wonders Do Democrats Love Crime, or Just Hate Trump? From Fox, DC arrests surpass 1,000 as Trump-backed crackdown enters 12th homicide-free day.
1. Steve Hurley gives the practical on Alberta separation and then likely the rest of Canada fragmenting in the wake of a successful Alberta independance referendum.
Don Surber - HIGHLIGHTS OF THE WEEK
ITEM 5: Zero Hedge reported, “Washington D.C. Has The Highest Unemployment Rate In The Nation.”
The smaller the government gets, the greater we become.
Pixy Misa at Ambient Irony - Daily News Stuff 24 August 2025: Who Edition
Coinbase's CEO explains why he fired engineers who didn't try AI immediately. (Tech Crunch)
Because he's an asshole.
And then Coinbase was nuked from orbit, and oh how we laughed.
Small Dead Animals - Saturday On Turtle Island
Woke America: Victor Davis Hanson – California’s sanctuary policies. Ghetto cruises. Why won’t liberals save Big Bird. Disney and gay characters.
Lord Carney’s Canada: Elbows Up Carney backtracks. Half a million new Liberal voters.
Gates of Vienna - News Feed 8/23/2025
The U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights ruled Friday that George Mason University violated Title VI of the Civil Rights Act by using race in hiring and promotion decisions under its DEI policies.
Political Hat - News of the Week (August 24th, 2025)
Medical Marijuana Users May Retain Second Amendment Rights
From yesterday’s Eleventh Circuit decision in Fla. Comm’r of Ag. v. Attorney General, written by Judge Elizabeth Branch and joined by Judges Robert Luck and Gerald Bard Tjoflat
Maggie's Farm - Saturday morning links
Florida's new python hunting queen makes history and catches 60 snakes
What happened to Shop Class?
J.J. Sefton at Ace of Spades HQ - The Morning Report — 8/25/25
And wished only to express his disappointment that there had not been more victims.
A Saudi Immigrant in Germany Praises Magdeburg Jihad Terrorist Attack
Doug Ross - Larwyn’s Linx: Documents Expose Multi-Front Effort to Protect Clintons While Framing Trump
• NEA Erases Jews From Holocaust in New Handbook - Ben Smith
• Wikipedia: From Neutral Encyclopedia to Progressive Propaganda Mill - Vaughn Cordle
Anonymous Conservative - News Briefs – 08/23/2025
Donald Trump to Achieve the Largest Cut in Federal Workforce in 80 Years.
A federal judge out of San Francisco on Friday blocked President Trump from pulling federal funds from ‘sanctuary cities.’
I leave you with Sunday Funnies For 08-24-25 from Stately McDaniel Manor, Sunday Funnies from Flopping Aces, Tuesday Memes … from MaddMedic, and Tuesday's memes from Wirecutter.
Home Invaders Pretend to be Police
It doesn't work for them. Two men claiming to be police shot, killed by homeowner, HPD says | FOX 26 Houston
The homeowner told police that two men were at their door saying they were police serving a warrant. Police said the men were wearing masks, bulletproof vests and had badges around their necks.
The homeowner was suspicious, and when the fake police fired into the home, the homeowner returned fire.
Houston PD has released very little information, so maybe more will be coming soon.
Electric Busses More Expensive, Less Reliable
Lion Electric is in the news again. From Breitbart: School Districts Ditch Hard-to-Repair Electric Buses for Diesel Buses
“We are going to keep our electric fleet on the roads for as long as possible,” Mike Leskowich, who serves as the superintendent of the Homer Community School District in Michigan, told the outlet. Leskowich’s school district “received $2.8 million in federal funding to procure seven Lion buses in 2022.”
“Eventually, however, we will return to diesel, as the cost of the vehicle is far less than electric,” Leskowich added.
The district purchased the busses with $2.4 million of federal taxpayer money.
Homer Community School District was not the only district to get federal taxpayer money of course.
The Biden administration awarded $159 million “to manufacture 435 school buses between 2022 and 2024.”
They company is bankrupt, and not honoring any warranty outside of Quebec. See this post from the first week in August: The Lie that Electric Vehicles Are More Reliable.
The hat tip goes to The Other McCain and The ‘Green Energy’ Boondoggle Fails Every Time It Encounters Reality
“Fossil fuels — BAD! Green energy — GOOD!” This is the sum total of left-wing ideas on the subject, no matter how much “science” they claim to justify their prejudice, and no facts will persuade them.
If you do the math (I know, but it will only hurt for a minute) diesel busses are about half the cost of electric busses, and they actually run for more than a month or three between breakdowns. See that link about reliability.
Some Kind Of Wonderful
I was listening to Saturday Morning Flashback on WXRT, Chicago's Finest Rock, back at the start of July, when an artist I hadn't thought about in some time came on. Buddy Guy is a true Blues Legend. He is 88 years old as I type this, and still performing. I was lucky enough to see him a couple of times, once in a very small venue in Chicago. One of the best guitarists I have ever seen in concert.
This is "Some Kind Of Wonderful" by Buddy Guy featuring vocals by Paul Rodgers, from the 1993 album Feels Like Rain. The song was also included on a Best Of compilation. Since I know people don't know artists' names, Paul Rodgers was the singer for Bad Company back in 1974.
The Other McCain and Family Funerals
Robert Stacy McCain has gotten some sad news. Carry Me Home to See My Kin
An unexpected road trip suddenly looms, as I just got word that my Aunt Joanne (actually a second cousin, but we kids called her “aunt” by courtesy) has died at her home in Montgomery, Alabama. Joanne’s mother was my maternal grandmother’s younger sister, and Joanne was especially close to my mother’s younger sister.
If you can click thru and hit the big yellow button to help defray costs.
Honoring family isn't something that happens much anymore. Even knowing your extended family beyond cousins is rare today.
26 August 2025
A Miguel Gonzalez Musical Interlude
Miguel Gonzalez has a musical interlude every Sunday. Sunday Repose
Tangerine Dream is a band I had lost track of long ago, but they continued to record music at least until 2019. In that year they released an album, Recurring Dreams, though they apparently had a "farewell tour" in 2014.
Click thru for "Phaedra (2014)" by Tangerine Dream from the 2019 album.
Tuesday Links - 26 August
William Teach at Pirate's Cove is up first with Bummer: Appeals Court Allows Trump Admin To Deport TPS Holders
It’s pretty wild that it takes a court to allow the duly elected POTUS to implement the lawful exercise of their power as authorized by the duly elected Congress
The Other McCain - Why Has She Never Met a Good Man?
Somehow, this woman has excluded herself from the social millieu where she might have encountered a better class of men.
Clayton Cramer - Another Victory
There is no historical tradition of disarming people for addiction or possession of controlled substances in the period before 1868. Even laws regulating possession of arms while intoxicated do nor appear before 1861.
Miguel Gonzalez - Tannerite was probably involved.
Two injured after 'accident at a gender reveal,' Nashville, TN police say
Pink or blue dust and shrapnel because this is Redneck Land.
Watts Up With That - Net Zero Rebellion Growing in Australia
This political shift is encouraging, though it is sad the federal leader of the Liberals is still clinging to the failed politics of yesterday.
Pixy Misa at Ambient Irony - Daily News Stuff 23 August 2025: Dragon And The George Edition
In further addition, the government is looking at allocating $2 billion of the $8 billion unspent in the Biden Administration's CHIPs to break China's stranglehold on rare earth elements. (Tom's Hardware)
Rare earth elements are not particularly rare. China has significant reserves, yes, but so do the United States, Brazil, India, Vietnam, Australia, and possibly Greenland.
Wombat-socho - FMJRA 2.0: Preparing For The Draft
We’re still looking for managers for the Expos and White Sox, so if you’re interested, let me or Pete know; there are also four expansion possibilities if you don’t like Montreal or the Pale Hose.
The Other McCain again - What ‘White Privilege’ Looks Like
Devon Hogan Flanagan and her friend from college days, Veronica Hannan, got so drunk and rowdy that management asked them to leave. Everybody knows that Flanagan works for the state Attorney General’s office — because she kept shouting “I’m an AG” while they were putting her in cuffs — but her friend Hannan is also rather upscale, with a corporate job in New York.
Eric Salzman at Racket News - Sow The Wind, Reap the Whirlwind
Miguel Gonzalez - Don't forget we are still seen as evil.
They defended their lives, their property and their neighborhood, yet they are “notoriously evil.”
Again from Wombat-socho - Rule 5 Sunday: The Last Champion of Cracker Barrel
When you’ve changed the menu from fresh traditional food to precooked preheated predigested slop…when you’ve changed the funky old architecture to some Brutalist nightmare…when the stock price is crashing like RCA in 1929…there’s only one woman in these United States who can save you. Light the Sydney Signal!
Doug Ross - Top 20 Posts - Aug. 25, 2025
Find someone who loves you as much as Democrats love criminals
Concealed Carry in Philadelphia
As people realize that the police in Blue Cities can do nothing, they are relying more on themselves. Man claims self-defense in shooting at SEPTA train station in North Philadelphia, police say
How would you respond to a stranger attacking you on a train for no reason?
"The entire incident involving this shooting was captured on video cameras, SEPTA video cameras that were on the train itself," said Pace. "And what it shows is the decedent pacing up and down the railcard when it appears without any provocation whatsoever, began to strike the man who ultimately fired the weapon several times in the face, actually knocked him to the ground and continued to strike him."
The guy who got shot did not survive.
The reporter seems confused that the police didn't arrest the shooter. They also seem concerned that there was no motive, as if "random violence" is not something they see in Kiladelphia.
Self-defense is a human right.
Another Cargo Line Stops Shipping EVs
Lithium-ion batteries are a risk of catastrophic loss. Alaska Carrier is Latest to Suspend Transport of EVs Due to Fire Risk
“Although we have previously shipped EVs and PHEVs, the increased complexity and fire risk associated with shipping large lithium-ion batteries on vessels at sea has caused us to reevaluate how to best keep our employees and equipment safe. While issues with lithium-ion batteries are infrequent, the inability to extinguish or contain this type of fire, especially while at sea, can lead to catastrophic results,” the company said in a customer statement released on August 12.
This comes after Mateson stopped shipping EVs and PHEVs to or from Hawaii. See the post Company Serving Hawaii Will No Longer Ship Electric Vehicles
This is MGUY Australia's video 🔥 FIRE RISK: ANOTHER shipping carrier BANS hybrids and EVs 🔥
AI Projects Failing at a High Rate
Snake Oil? Some of it certainly is. MIT report: 95% of generative AI pilots at companies are failing | Fortune
Companies are betting on AI—yet nearly all enterprise pilots are stuck at the starting line.
I've lost track of the number of times I've heard management say that the next technology is going to revolutionize information tech. And the truth is I think we built better systems when the interface was a green, non-graphical screen, and a typewriter keyboard. We had to think about what we were building.
Despite the rush to integrate powerful new models, about 5% of AI pilot programs achieve rapid revenue acceleration; the vast majority stall, delivering little to no measurable impact on P&L.
The phrase, "Good money after bad" keeps coming to mind.
Hat tip to Pixy Misa at Ambient Irony:
You gotta pump those numbers up.
If You Have Not Bothered to Patch Software Since 2018...
You deserve whatever problems come your way. FBI warns of Russian hackers exploiting 7-year-old Cisco flaw
While some of this problem dates to 2021, the underlying issue was fixed in 2018.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has warned that hackers linked to Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) are targeting critical infrastructure organizations in attacks exploiting a 7-year-old vulnerability in Cisco devices.
The FBI's public service announcement states that the state-backed hacking group, linked to the FSB's Center 16 unit and tracked as Berserk Bear (also known as Blue Kraken, Crouching Yeti, Dragonfly, and Koala Team), has been targeting Cisco networking devices using CVE-2018-0171 exploits to breach organizations worldwide.
Critical infrastructure that can't be bothered about network security? Someone needs to be fired. Probably someone in the C-suite with the title of CFO.
25 August 2025
For I Am Death
The Pretty Reckless is a band that I really like. I like their take on Metal, I like Taylor Momsen's voice, and I also like the acoustic versions they produce from time to time.
They have a new single out, and they are touring in support of AC/DC this year.
It is always nice to know about new music that I like.
With dark riffs, raw intensity and Taylor Momsen's unmistakable voice, the band delivers a track that falls somewhere between heavy rock and morbid fascination. Appropriately, Taylor appears in the video directed by Lewis Cater as the personification of death – a terrifying, supernatural figure surrounded by dark forces. [Ref. Dark Divas]
This song is "For I Am Death" by The Pretty Reckless. It was released as a single Friday, 22 August.
Chicago's Crime Rate is in the News
So I thought I would see what the weekend was like. HeyJackass! has an update on the crime. Mostly Raggedy Weekend
For the entire time we’ve been tracking this nonsense, at least once a year (usually around Memorial Day) some politician, “activist” or other brain damaged member of the kakistocracy says it’s time to bring in the National Guard. Surprisingly, pro-criminal pols, justice-involved violence influencers and associated grifters are now against such a move.
The weekend totals were 3 killed and 27 shot and wounded.
That is less than last year, and significantly less than the city saw in the aftermath of The Summer of Love. It is nearly identical to 2023, and down from the average from 2015 through current day.
HeyJackass! tracks weekends in a couple of ways, but usually by the weeks since the start of the year. That only changes if the weekend is also a 3-day weekend, which can change a bit from year to year, depending on what day of the week January 1st falls. The weekend, for the purposes of these stats is from 12 noon on Friday until 6AM Monday morning. That will change if Monday is part of a 3-day weekend.
A Bear Is In Your House. What Do You Do?
What you are going to do will depend on what tools you have at your disposal.
To start, there are two stories of a bear breaking into houses. One homeowner was armed with an AR-15; one was not armed. Two stories that include video.
This is what it looks like when a bear breaks into your home, and you don't have a gun.
This is Colion Noir's video Armed Homeowner With AR-15 Defends Against Bear Breaking In At Night.
But here's the part anti-gunners don't want to admit. This isn't some freak occurrence. Bears break into people's homes all the time. In New Mexico, a man killed a bear that broke in and started tearing through his house.
There are a couple of additional examples of this happening given in the video. The video is 7 minutes.
The image at the top is from Wikimedia. Click this link for additional information.
New York v Second Amendment Rights
New York will seemingly do anything and everything to deny 2A rights. From Bearing Arms: Federal Judge Affirms Second Amendment Rights Cross State Lines
We don't lose our First Amendment, Fourth Amendment, Fifth Amendment, or any other enumerated rights when we visit another state, so why should our Second Amendment rights stop at the border of the state where we live?
A federal judge in New York has reached the obvious conclusion in a case dealing with the inability of non-residents to lawfully bear arms in the state: such a policy baldly violates the right to keep and bear arms.
The ruling doesn't make NY State recognize other states licenses, but they have to provide a way for out-of-state people to get a concealed carry license. If you travel to NY regularly, it might be worth it, though I'm sure it is expensive. Can't have the poor people with the right to bear arms. (Hat tip to MaddMedic)
No Murders in DC in a Week
Most would call this good news, unless you are inflicted with Trump Derangement Syndrome. Federal agents make 77 more arrests in DC as Bondi reports progress | Fox News
"[T]here have been no recorded homicides in the city for the past week," said public information officer Michael Russo via email. "Our last recorded homicide was August 13th."
There is more info on the operations generally if you want to click thru.
Hat tip to Clayton Cramer: Orange Man Bad Interfering With Their Culture, in which he notes that there were roughly 3 homicides a week before this. I'm sure it is just a coincidence.
It really is true. If Trump came up with a cure for cancer, progressives would be whining about oncologists' unemployment rates. These people have no shame or conscience.
He has more to say about how Progressives view the inner city.
Microsoft Windows Just Works, Or So They Tell Me
Until it doesn't. And then all hell breaks loose. Two stories today, with a bonus complaint.
First is the corruption of data on SSDs. Microsoft asks customers for feedback on reported SSD failures
Microsoft is seeking further information from customers who reported failure and data corruption issues affecting their solid-state drives (SSDs) and hard disk drives (HDDs) after installing the August 2025 security update.
Microsoft told BleepingComputer on Wednesday that it is aware of reports that installing the KB5063878 security update is causing SSD and HDD data corruption and failure issues.
Patch Tuesday. Well, hey, I guess you won't have any security problems if your data has been destroyed/corrupted.
You are practicing backup procedures? Right. You should be, but I know you aren't.
That is a critical issue. Not being able to stream might be less critical, unless you need that for your job. Microsoft: August Windows updates cause severe streaming issues
Microsoft has confirmed that the August 2025 security updates are causing severe lag and stuttering issues with NDI streaming software on some Windows 10 and Windows 11 systems.
This comes after widespread reports from users experiencing a wide range of performance problems when using various streaming apps, including OBS (Open Broadcast Software),
The bonus complaint is that Microsoft has decided that there are a whole class of problems that they are not going to tell you about. (Trust them. They're MS.) Copilot Broke Your Audit Log, but Microsoft Won’t Tell You
Microsoft's AI monstrosity will bypass your security precautions if you ask nicely. But that isn't the only problem.
Audit logs are used when you need to know when data has been accessed and/or changed. It is usually a legal requirement or used in highly sensitive areas. MS broke those logs, and doesn't think anyone needs to know.
If Microsoft isn’t issuing a CVE for this vulnerability, how are they going to inform customers about it? The answer is that they’re not going to. On a call on August 14th, Microsoft told me that they had no plans to disclose this.[6]
I strongly feel that is wrong. It might be okay to move on silently if this was some esoteric exploit, but the reality is that it is so easy that it basically happens by accident. If you work at an organization that used Copilot prior to August 18th, there is a very real chance that your audit log is incomplete.
What explains all of this? It seems that testing isn't a requirement, or at least not a priority. Understanding the implications of changes being made, is also not a priority. Concern for users is also apparently lacking. Hey, we broke your legally required audit logs, but we aren't saying anything.
24 August 2025
Disney Is Broken
Disney had a lock on intellectual property that appealed to women and girls, namely the Disney princesses. They wanted to branch out, and so they bought Marvel and Lucasfilm. And immediately turned them into (bad) girl brands. Now they have a plan to fix that.
From Variety we get the following. Disney’s Boy Trouble: Studio Seeks Original IP to Win Back Gen-Z Men Amid Marvel, Lucasfilm Struggles
Leadership at Walt Disney Studios has been pressing Hollywood creatives in recent months, multiple sources tell Variety, for movies that will bring young men back to the brand in a meaningful way. “Young men” is defined here by sources as ages 13-28, aka Gen Z.
They are not alone in that, every studio is trying to appeal to that demographic, but they just aren't interested in movies.
Why is that? Here are a few reasons:
- Movies are too expensive
- Movies for about the past 10 years have been saying men are toxic
- Movies for that same era are all about the Girlboss.
The article mentions Star Wars, and Pirates of the Caribbean as stagnant franchises. I will say they are dead. Then there is this...
To say nothing of the lackluster attempt to reboot and hand off “Indiana Jones” in 2023, which earned $383 million worldwide on a $300 million budget before marketing costs.
Indiana Jones and the Insufferable Feminist is a perfect example of what they have done to the other franchises. In fact, the treatment given to Dr. Jones, mirrors almost exactly the treatment given to Luke Skywalker. He is old and bitter, and defeated by life, are replaced by a Mary Sue, Girlboss who is better at everything than the old male hero ever was. The only thing those Girlbosses can't do is sell movie tickets.
If you read the article, you will see that what they are doing, has little hope of working, because they are not going to clean house (how do you spell "Kathleen?") of the people who broke this stuff.
There are other reasons that Gen Z isn't going to the movies. Some are economic. Some are cultural. Does anyone remember date night, or dinner and a movie? That doesn't really work if all the movies are three and a half hours long, and cost a week's salary for the movie and a drink. Then throughout the MeToo era, guys can't ask a woman out or he would be a "creep." Add in the Lockdowns, which killed the whole idea of going out, and Gen Z has very little dating experience.
The hat tip goes to Yellow Flash and his video FAFO! Insiders say Disney is DESPERATE to win back MEN after KILLING Star Wars and Marvel!
This is crazy to me. Like you had the IP. You ruined them. You spent billions on them. This is wild.
And by the way, Star Wars. I mean, just search the force is female and it explains itself.
Apparently everyone at Disney wants to forget The Acolyte, and the lesbian, space witches, contrasted with the shipping of the bad guy and the female lead.
His video is 17 minutes long, or so.
That Park Place has a take on this whole thing. Disney Scrambles to Win Back Men and Boys After Driving Them Away from Marvel and Star Wars
That Park Place made the point that Variety is a shill organization - not the words they use - that just pushes the party line. If they are reporting on this issue, then the marching orders are coming from the highest level in Disney. And then there is the self-inflicted wound.
Original IP or Corporate Panic?
This new Disney directive to develop original stories for young men and boys should, in theory, be welcome news. After all, Hollywood desperately needs fresh ideas. But the timing reveals just how reactionary this strategy is. For years, the company dismissed fan concerns as toxic or backward. Now, as profits falter, the same audience they mocked has suddenly become essential again.
They laughed at comic book nerds. They forgot that the nerds are the ones that paid for everything. They were the people buying the merch, seeing the movies multiple times, and they turned up their noses at that money. Now suddenly they want to get that money back.
Getting that trust back will be hard, because everyone, starting with the nerds, and moving down to the normal movie-going public, doesn't believe that these movies are good, or ever will be good again.
If you're interested in movies, That Park Place has some good coverage of what is going on in that industry. Their coverage of amusement parks, Disney, Universal, etc., is unmatched.
All the usual YouTube creators are chiming in. Nerdrtotic and Critical Drinker have videos, as does Midnight's Edge.
The Guy Who Defended Himself Will Lose His Job
Probably lose his job, anyway. Does driving for Uber or Lyft count as a job, or just "gig income?" While they don't say which ride-share service it is, either of them will kick him off the app. Self-defense? We can't have that! From WYFF 4... South Carolina: Ride-share driver cleared in fatal motel shooting investigation
At 3:32 a.m. on July 27, deputies with the York County Sheriff's Office responded to a shooting at the Motel 6 on Carowinds Boulevard in Fort Mill, South Carolina.
A guy called for a ride-share. When the driver showed up, he was forced to defend himself.
According to investigators, Williams had requested a ride through a ride-booking service to Motel 6. When the ride service arrived at the Motel 6, while still inside the vehicle, Williams used a stun gun on the ride service driver and then attempted to strangle him.
The ride-share driver was able to draw and fire a weapon. Mr. Williams did not survive.
Fort Mill, South Carolina is about a 20 mile drive southwest of Charlotte, North Carolina.
Self-defense is a human right. (Hat tip to Concealed Nation.)
Neighborhood v Antifa
Andy Ngo at Ngo Comment: Why Liberals Excuse Antifa’s Violence — and How Blacks Are Pushing Back
Warning: The video at the link is NSFW, with a liberal scattering of the N-word being dropped, and a few F- bombs.
In our discussion, I explained how liberals have either excused, supported or ignored Antifa’s violent extremism. The group is falsely presented as “anti-fascists” opposed to racism and hate, when in reality, they are a militant movement that uses political violence, including maimings and killings against their opponents.
The residents of Crown Heights, Brooklyn were having none of it, and forced the outside extremists out of their neighborhood.
The Race to the Bottom in Science
Science is broken. I've been writing about this since at least 2016 with a post on the 357 Magnum Archives. For a lot of my youth I wanted to be a researcher. And then I spent a summer attached to a research group at one of the national labs. I also got far enough along in my studies to actually decode an article or two in a scientific journal. Underneath all of the scientific gibberish and academic prolixity, it was more gibberish. I decided that isn't what I wanted to do.
Sabine Hossenfelder has a video on the existence of scientific research as a planned economy. It is working about as well as any other planned economy, which is to say, it isn't working.
While I do like the video, I have to admit that it is not her most entertaining video, because it is just her sitting at her desk. The issue is important, however.
This is Sabine Hessenfelder's video why science is broken.
In the literature it’s been called “the natural selection of bad science.” Basically the problem is that bad science is easier than real science. So if no one checks the use of the research, the bad science will take over. And that’s what we’re seeing.
The video is 18 minutes long. If you care about science, it might appeal to you. If you care about how your tax dollars are being spent, it might appeal to you.
Illinois Takes Over Two Years to Report Financials
Nothing says "open and transparent" like not providing the data. Meep at STUMP: Dunking on Illinois: Making a Record in a Bad Way -- Over Two Years to Report Financials
What the actual hell, Illinois.
Are we shocked that a state with a history of corruption has a problem auditing its books?
21 Aug 2025, Truth in Accounting: Illinois Sets a New National Record: 774 Days Late with Financial Reporting
As Meep points out, your budget it a plan. The financial reports state what actually happened. If you don't have reports before the next budget is due you are flying blind. Well, you are usually in a situation more like driving while looking in the rearview mirror, but without financial reports it's like you broke off the mirror and threw it out the window.
Illinois has not met the mandated 180 days limit since 2009.
I'm so glad I no longer live in that state.
23 August 2025
Saturday Roundup of Link Roundups - 23 August
Animal Magnetism starts things rolling with Animal’s Hump Day News
Yes, let’s get rid of mail-in ballots.
National treasure Dr. Victor Davis Hanson is always worth reading.
The Right Way - Top of the News
Bank Executives Blow the Whistle on How Obama, Biden Admins Pressured Them to Debank Conservatives - Bongino Report
Wombat-socho - In The Mailbox: 08.20.25
Don Surber: The real white privilege
First Street Journal: World War III Watch – The moustache wants more war
EBL - Cracker Barrel: Go Woke, Go Broke
If you are going to try to "rebrand" do not screw or anger your customer base in the process. Because you will find you don't get new customers and lose the base.
Pixy Misa at Ambient Irony - Daily News Stuff 21 August 2025: Labubwho Edition
The CEO of AWS says that replacing entry-level tech stuff with AI is the "Dumbest thing I've ever heard". (The Resigster)
It's up there, I'll grant that.
Flopping Aces - The Week in Radical Leftism – More from The Washington Post!
She spit on Ed Martin when he was U.S. attorney. It could cost her freedom.
The irony of a Left Wing Extremist being prosecuted for harassing a lawyer who defended the 1/6 Reichstag Fire victims is just beautiful.
Wombat-socho again - In The Mailbox: 08.21.25
Chicago Boyz: The Revolution Will Not Be Televised
Da Tech Guy: Rules for the 1974 Dynasty Draft Baseball League
Don Surber: Newsom gets weird
Lawrence Person's BattleSwarm Blog - LinkSwarm For August 22, 2025
New York appeals court tosses aside Trump’s $464 million fine for his kangaroo trial.
“A nationwide stampede away from the Democratic Party.”
Small Dead Animals - Thursday On Turtle Island
Woke America: Paint it black. Kamala’s money laundering operation. Peace in Ukraine. And VDH.
Stories you won’t find at Carney’s CBC: Now they’re really mad. Net Zero heart surgery.
A View from the Beach - Flotsam and Jetsam - Texas House Approves Gerrymander
LMAO! While at Union Station in DC, Stephen Miller just DESTROYED the leftist “protestors” who are yelling at National Guard troops “We are going to ignore these STUPID WHITE HIPPIES that all need to go home and take a nap
3. Here is a spectacular example of CBC’s communist narrative shaping and attack. In order to support the government position of citizens having no right to protect themselves from violent criminals.
Gates of Vienna - News Feed 8/21/2025
Trump Admin on Pace to Deport 400K People in 1 Year
The Trump administration is deporting 1,500 people per day and is on track to deport more than 400,000 people in his first year in office, The New York Times reported.
Again from Wombat-socho - In The Mailbox: 08.22.25
Victory Girls: VA Democrat Activist Holds Up Racist Sign At Winsome Sears Speech
Watts Up With That: The Truth Behind Britain’s Wildfires
The Glibertarians - Thursday Morning Substitute Links
I’m going to piss a lot of people off, but I can’t help it… Begun, the Drone Wars have.
I hope RFK, jr. responds with: “You first”
J.J. Sefton at Ace of Spades HQ - The Morning Report — 8/20/25
Politicized investing has hurt America’s domestic energy production, economy, and national security.
The ESG Bubble Is Bursting
Doug Ross - Larwyn’s Linx: Yes, Adam Schiff Can Be Prosecuted For Deliberately Leaking Classified Documents
• Newsom gets weird Don Surber
• Leftists Admit They Can’t Win Without Rewriting The Constitution Nathan Stone
Anonymous Conservative - News Briefs – 08/21/2025
Senior American intelligence officials concealed classified intelligence that COVID-19 came from a lab from the president and the public, granting Anthony Fauci’s inner circle extraordinary influence while silencing their own spy scientists
I leave you with Wednesday's memes from Wirecutter, Quick Hits Of Wisdom, Knowledge And Snark #2880 from 90 Miles from Tyranny, Thursday Memes … from MaddMedic, and Signs of the times from Bluebird of Bitterness.
Self-Defense Is Legal in Arkansas
I suspected that it might be. No charges in Phillips County shooting as prosecutor rules self-defense in fatal act
In the early morning hours of July 5th, there was a fatal shooting.
Arkansas State Police's (ASP) Criminal Investigation Division (CID) launched an investigation in the shooting, leading Prosecutor Murray to conclude that 41-year-old Decorick Farr acted in self-defense in the fatal shooting of 38-year-old William "Red" Henderson.
Poplar Grove, Arkansas is about 100 mile drive east of Little Rock, or about an 80 mile drive southwest of Memphis, Tennessee.
The articles published about the prosecutor's decision don't include much information on the incident itself.
Considering that they had to get the state police involved, I think they did a fairly good job of getting to a decision by the middle of August.
Self-defense is a human right.
They Always Scream for More Gun Laws
But then don't enforce the ones we have. CPS student gets 5 years for bringing a machine gun to school (but he won’t serve any actual prison time)
Possession of an unregistered (illegal) machine gun is violation of the National Firearms Act. I'm no lawyer, but I'm pretty sure the penalty is a decade or more in jail. But that would be federal crime, not an Illinois crime. And Cook County would have to ceded jurisdiction, which would spoil their win/loss record or something.
Marquis Terry, 20, pleaded guilty to possession of a machine gun in exchange for the sentence from Judge Kenneth Wadas. However, after receiving a variety of sentencing credits, Terry is not expected to spend any time in prison.
Besides, Illinois is convinced that putting criminals in jail is unfair.
Haut mir kein' Stein
We have a song today that came my way via the Tidal streaming service. It does a better job of serving up songs I like than Spotify ever did. Granted, my taste in music is a bit off center.
I particularly like the chorus.
Carve me no stone, build me no cross,
And light no candles for me
Burn me to ashes,
Drink a beer for me and then
Please don't read a mass for me,
Don't lay a wreath where I died
Instead, build a tavern there
And dance on my grave
You can find the entire lyrics translation at this link.
This is "Haut mir kein' Stein" by Versengold. It is from the 2017 album Funkenflug.
There is also an Offizielles Video. I usually find the offical videos distracting, but I don't hate this one.
Google translates the song title as "Don't throw a stone at me," but I think "Carve me no stone," referring to a headstone, is better. Haut mir kein' Stein. (Google translate does a good job with German, for the most part, but it doesn't get poetry, or song lyrics, right.
And yes, if you scroll down at the link to the lyrics translation, you will find that I did provide that translation. German isn't my best language, but I think it is OK, and captures the feeling of the song. (If you page to the bottom of that page, there is one comment that calls into question my reading of "Und die Frauenwelt geliebt." I could see it go either way, but then as I said about German it isn't my best language.
The Other McCain on John Bolton
The Other McCain brings FBI Raids John Bolton: Why?
Social media was abuzz with what John Bolton said after the FBI raided Trump's estate. That was essentially trust the process.
All this is speculation on my part, but if my hunch is right, we can expect a grand jury indictment of Bolton in just a few weeks — perhaps as early as next month — and the charging document will contain allegations (and references to evidence) that look very, very bad for John Bolton, so bad that even the most anti-Trump analyst on CNN won’t defend him.
I just remember the outrage when Trump was investigated. And as we've seen in New York, some of it was ridiculous. But the outrage will be same. I hope this doesn't turn out to be as contrived.
And for everyone about to proclaim the truth in the comments, you don't know anything except what you've read in the media. Even The Other McCain is talking about "guesses" and "hunches."
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