I’m Still Memeing

Posted on by Sarah A. Hoyt

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This blog is reader funded. I don’t have a grant or a patron. You’re my patrons and only you can compensate for the toil of keeping the blog going day after day, year after year. For the full explanation of why a funding drive, and what I intend to use it for, if you’re interested, go here.

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228 thoughts on “I’m Still Memeing”

  1. Nice that someone noticed.

    https://arstechnica.com/science/2024/07/peer-review-is-essential-for-science-unfortunately-its-broken/

    The practice of peer review was developed in a different era, when the arguments and analysis that led to a paper’s conclusion could be succinctly summarized within the paper itself. Want to know how the author arrived at that conclusion? The derivation would be right there. It was relatively easy to judge the “wrongness” of an article because you could follow the document from beginning to end, from start to finish, and have all the information you needed to evaluate it right there at your fingerprints.

    That’s now largely impossible with the modern scientific enterprise so reliant on computers.

    “We just told the cloud analytics AI what we were looking for and this is what it came up with.”

    “Can we audit your algorithm?”

    “Of course not!!! That’s proprietary information!”

    Liked by 1 person

      1. All I know is what my employer’s lawyers tell me to say.

        Do YOU have the cash to go thru the court system? I don’t.

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    2. Sounds like what warmists tell us when we ask to see their data, or their simulation algorithms.

      If you’re not allowed to see it for yourself, it is not science.

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      1. Exactly. Which is why the East Anglia incident in 1997 was such a big deal: We could see the result, the data, and the code used to manipulate it….. and knew they were lying.

        They don’t do that anymore, and that is why. “Peer review” is a carefully curetted process of only telling the people who will agree with you. That way any criticism can be met with charges of receiving stolen goods, because you COULDN’T have gotten it otherwise.

        Liked by 1 person

        1. Then again, there’s still interesting raw data out there. Years ago I came across GISP2, an analysis of temperature data as captured in the layers of ice in central Greenland, going back 50k years. It’s quite fascinating, especially if you graph it to see it visually.

          For example:

          1. Warmists speak of “pre-industrial” temperatures by comparison to today, but when they get specific they pick 1850. Why? Well, it turns out 1850 is within a few 1/10th of a degree the coldest point in the past 8000 years (only the 1600s were very slightly colder).
          2. The “if it gets warmer than x” doomsday figure that gets tossed around is around the temperature experienced by Leif Eriksson in 1000 AD, or perhaps that experienced by C. Julius Caesar around 50 BC — both of them significantly warmer than today.
          3. Temperatures keep moving up and down throughout history, without any plausible “anthropogenic” explanation.

          I think this data is still on line; it was published by NOAA.

          SUGGESTED DATA CITATION: Alley, R.B.. 2004.
          GISP2 Ice Core Temperature and Accumulation Data.
          IGBP PAGES/World Data Center for Paleoclimatology
          Data Contribution Series #2004-013.
          NOAA/NGDC Paleoclimatology Program, Boulder CO, USA.

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      2. They have yet to produce a computer model that can accurately predict the past — say, the weather from 1990 to now. According to their models, Florida is underwater and it’s 95° in Siberia.

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        1. I’d like to see a climate model that can start from the conditions in 50 BC and reproduce, even very roughly, the ups and downs in the GISP2 data from there.

          For that matter, does any climate model show us ice ages?

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  2. Yeah, the F-86 is 75 years old. B-52 is 70 years old. Know what else is 50 years old? The F-14 and F-15. The A-10 is almost 50 years old. Today, most of our military aircraft are older than their pilots. A lot of them are older than their pilots’ parents.

    I think it’s inspiring that our 50 year old planes are still better than everybody else’s ‘modern’ designs.

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    2. The A-model Hornets are mostly gone, but they were evolved from the competitor in the same USAF competition where the F-16 was selected, so both those designs are 50 years old.

      The Super Hornets were introduced only 25 years ago and they replaced the Tomcats in the USN, using a clever trick to get Congress to pass funding them as a modification when they were really entirely new jets. The first flight of the F-22 was 26 years ago, which means Raptor pilots and Super Hornet pilots in the training pipeline now will be younger than their jets too, if there are not any already.

      The only thing from a US company younger than that is the F-35 of various flavors, the first flight of the first flavor of which was 17 years ago, so it’s safe for a few more years.

      Note the USAF is buying 144 new F-15EX models, so the Eagle drivers will be a lot older than their jets for a while.

      Liked by 1 person

      1. And while the USAF is not buying new ones, Lockheed has a backlog of over 130 new Block 70 / 72 F16s to be delivered to foreign customers. The USAF is upgrading about 300 of theirs to the latest avionics (radar, EW, cockpit display, etc). Lockheed is also doing a good business doing service life extensions on older F16s from other nations. The Reader notes that it is interesting that the F16s being provided to Ukraine are not equipped with the latest avionics.

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        1. Outfit in Arizona is buying bunches of A-model F-16s from Israel and contracting as aggressors for ACM training against current US squadrons, basically the US DoD outsourcing the “enemy air” side of training instead of maintaining aggressor squadrons themselves. The Israelis had upgraded the heck out of the avionics, including a digital cockpit and a phased array radar that’s better than some of the older USAF jets have, but the base jet is still the old A-model…which is lighter and generally zippier in air combat maneuvers than current bomb-truck-configured F-16s.

          The retired mil fighter pilots hired to fly them are very happy fliers.

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        2. They probably don’t want to risk the Russians recovering something from a wreck, or by capturing one. We’re also not sending them the most up to date M1s.

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          1. That would be the Reader’s guess as well. Especially since the latest radar can be dropped into an older Block aircraft with about 8 hours worth of work. It doesn’t have the fancy new display but it will work with the old cockpit display.

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      2. Funny story about the F/A-18E, the Hornet has relaxed stability so if it stalls it is possible to get into a ‘falling leaf’ stall that’s not recoverable.

        To help with this the Hornet has a Stall Recovery button in the cockpit. You push it and it kicks the control surfaces into a configuration that’s supposed to get the plane out of a falling leaf.

        When they went to the Super Hornet, they pretty much stuck a new plane on the existing cockpit. And they did not update that part of the control law (it never worked very well anyway so it wasn’t worth the time and expense to try to make a new stall recovery mode).

        The catch is the legacy Hornet stall recovery config puts the Super Hornet into an unrecoverable spin. However they can’t remove it or disable it without getting a new air worthiness certification, so instead ground crews just safety wire the button.

        The pilot can push the button, but it takes enough force it’s not going to happen by accident.

        So yes, this button crashes the airplane is actually a real thing.

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        1. The Strike Eagle is an amazing plane compared to its competitors. It’s a bit of a shame that it’s being eclipsed by newer models, and will likely soon be regarded as “old” and “worthless”.

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    3. I was in college when the F15 and F16 were introduced. Had a 9″ B&W TV for the apartment, but can still remember the publicity video the Air Force used. F16 on the runway, just ahead of the F15. Both do takeoff runs, then F16 rotates and goes almost(? maybe fully) vertical, followed in a bit by the F15. No idea if it was actually the two planes in line, or if some clever camera setup made it look like that, but it was impressive.

      Flyover Falls has a training base for the F15C*, so we get a lot of people rotating in from other ANG/AF wings. Touch and go landing practice gets a bit loud, but nobody objects.

      ((*)) It was supposed to switch to the F22, but is now slated for the F35 Real Soon Now. The ’22s would have been seriously cool.

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      1. I grew up in Minot, where they’re still flying B-52s, and had the 5th Fighter/Intercepter squadron until the mid/late 80s which were flying F15s when they left. The F-15 Streak Eagle that set a bunch of time-to-climb records was at Grand Forks, just down the highway. The ANG base in Fargo, where I currently live, used to have F-16s until they ended up with MQ-9 Reapers. I really miss seeing and hearing the fighters and bombers overhead.

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        1. I can’t remember if both the 15 and 16s can do it, but at least one had sufficient thrust to do a full vertical climb. The ANG base has two permanent F-15Cs on hand (I think some of the student wings will bring an extra bird, but am not sure). Lots of low level flight in the city. At home, we’re on the pathway to the pilots’ playground, and get medium-high altitude jet noise at various hours. $SPOUSE has seen the air-air refueling practice. I’m usually looking down when outside (something about not wanting to crash the tractor), so haven’t seen it, but I’ve heard the combination.

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          1. After the late-70’s engine upgrades, the F-14 generated more thrust than the airframe’s weight.

            I was at Norfolk for school. Leaving the chow hall one day, I saw an F-14 fly overhead, then suddenly pull up and stand on its tail. There was a huge KABOOM, a cloud of greasy black smoke, and it was just gone. But I could still hear the engines. Follow the smoke trail to where the plane was climbing what appeared to be straight up like a bat out of hell, flames longer than the fuselage shooting out of both engines. Apparently the pilot had flipped the plane up and kicked in the afterburners.

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          2. I know that the F-15 can. Of course, the F-15 is also the plane that generates enough thrust that it can safely land after having an entire wing sheared off.

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      1. “B-52s will be part of the ceremonial fly-by when the retire the USS-Enterprise NCC-1701G”

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      3. I wonder just how long the airframes are really going to be good for. My only data point is from the C-130s that were used for fire tanker duty. The older revisions had some major (ie, fall apart in air) issues before they were removed from service.

        OTOH, that’s comparing a turboprop to turbojets, so somewhat different. When I was young, a Lockheed Electra failed catastrophically a few miles from us. Faint memory says they had to fix some airframe issues to deal with the turboprops. On the gripping hand, when Lockheed used the Electra platform for the P-3 Orion, they got it right. (And now P-3s can be seen over wildfires, replacing the C-130s. They still have the MAD stinger, so wild mountain submarines, beware! :) )

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  3. Life is good. Hit 25 years married in April, 7 years cancer-free in June, 66 years old this month, still employed, and my employer is paying for continuing education!!!

    I don’t believe in “luck”, “coincidence”, “serendipity”, or “fate”. I do believe in Providence. So be sure to give thanksgiving and praise to the Source of our blessings.

    Even, and maybe especially, when we get something that seems unpleasant. Everything we experience builds us up in the way He wants us to grow.

    There is a point to all of this. Now get out there and share your blessings with the people who need them… That’s why you were given them…

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  5. The portrait of Samson and the lion might perhaps be more apt if it was correlated with trying to give cats pills (or retrieve floss/tinsel).

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    1. You’ve never tried to get a forbidden treat out of a border collie’s mouth, have you? :) It’s even worse for Labs.

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    1. … I mean, I suppose one could use a bathtub for that. They’re not tin anymore, so that means of poisoning yourself is less likely.

      But why would you want to when you can build a still?

      Seriously, the only reason anyone was using their bathtubs is because all other means of production were a confession you were doing something illegal. In 1925.

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  8. “Work and starve” reminds me of this Trotsky quote:

    “In a country where the sole employer is the State, opposition means death by slow starvation: The old principle: who does not work shall not eat, has been replaced by a new one: who does not obey shall not eat.” — Leon Trotsky, 1937 (quoted by Henry Hazlitt in “The wisdom of Henry Hazlitt”)

    Liked by 1 person

  10. Regarding “off to battle”:

    Did you know that four in one chainmail really hurts when you rip it off your chest, speaking as a man with chest hair? I cannot fathom doing that to a cat.

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    1. Arming doublet. Also Gambeson. Which makes seeing it on a cat even less likely. One layer is a challenge. 2 or 3? I’ll watch from the next county.

      Liked by 1 person

    2. You guys can poo-pooh the idea of armoring cats all you want. I’m just happy that the chainmail kitten meme I found made the Saturday meme post. 😁 (But don’t attempt to deny its cuteness or you’ll have to fight me.)

      Liked by 1 person

  12. Project 2025? Hmmm…

    -State mandated religions are prohibited by the Constitution, but if it’s Trump it can’t be any worse than the politicorelgioscienceism that the left has going on…

    -As long as it’s consenting adults nobody really cares. Making it mandatory is kinda what we’re objecting to. Rather outing themselves there when they put that in.

    -I’m good with this. Practically speaking they’re on their way to self banning through shrinking market share, though, so why go through the effort?

    -Nah. Good doggies can stay. I’ve heard of these things called “bad doggies,” but that’s probably a government conspiracy.

    -Okay. Just mandate proper safety training (and parental oversight of course) and we’re all good there.

    -I think most of Canada by land area and population is behind this one.

    -I have doubts about this “Nice Aunt Helen,” but the boy sounds like he’s at least gainfully employed, so he’s at least got that going for him. Probably working too much to attend any protests.

    -I mean, McDonalds can make their own case there, but I think everyone is looking for cheaper alternatives what with Bidenomics and all.

    -Some parts of it more or less yes.

    -We don’t have “artisanal craft fairs,” we have farmer’s markets, the state fair, and a bunch of other stuff well worth trying. Also, given that you can identify as whatever you want these days, it wouldn’t stop avid golfers of all colors, nationalities, and sexes from golfing. Seriously.

    -I mean, have you looked at what is mandatory for children in public schools these days? C’mon, they can do better than that. Make it Atlas Shrugged. Or no, better yet, make it Economics in One Lesson. Or anything by Thomas Sowell. Or any Heinlein, if they want sci-fi entertainment. I’m not judging anyone’s fiction addiction though, whatever trips your trigger is fine.

    -Well, if they were illegal immigrants, sure. We have laws for that. Heck, we have common sense for that.

    -Eh, Laura might be a picky eater there and honestly DeathSantis ain’t all that bad, even if he does sound like a picked on teenager when he speaks.

    -We don’t want Mexico. Greenland though? Eh, hardly worth it unless it comes with greater Canada.

    -I’m good with this. Couldn’t be worse than what we’ve had before.

    -Thusly ensuring that pubtran immediately becomes unavailable, meaning that private companies have to step in. Could be a worse outcome, there.

    -What is their fetish with that book? It’s not even all that good. I mean, read Tom Kratman for pity’s sake. Handmaid’s Tail is tame and boring.

    -Can’t think of any dances I want to ban, to be honest. I’m not a Baptist.

    -Okay. Seriously, go for it if you’ve got his consent.

    -Alright. Same as above.

    -Probably not. They’d all make a good argument as to why that shouldn’t happen, too.

    -Disney’s well on their way to irrelevancy anyway. Why poke them when they’re already making mistakes left and right?

    -Nah. Traffic circles are just bad. You can make a left turn if you want, but if you don’t use your turn signal somebody is going to be cussing you eventually.

    -I’m down with this. Have police standing by at the doors to make the arrests.

    -There are better candy bars out there my dude. Widen your snacking horizons!

    -Eh. Make that “on rebelling cities” that don’t follow the Constitution. They’re trying to make their own states and own governments over and above the Constitution, and we don’t do that here.

    -There’s oil in Berkley? And we’re not already drilling there? Have you seen the price of gas lately?

    -Okay. Can’t say they won’t be warned.

    I’ve heard Trump 2025 is going to be better than Biden 2020-2024. I’d rather have Milei the chainsaw prezzie chopping up departments and making Congress meet remotely while living in their own states.

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      1. I think the ritual has a few bugs in it. I mean, they’ve tried it on Biden too far as I can tell and, well, the results speak for themselves.

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    1. During his career, the Reader worked on every version of the radar system ever installed on an F16. Yeah, he feels old when he sees that picture. He also sees his career.

      Liked by 1 person

      1. Ever get knocked across the bay? I knew a radar tech who said CRT voltages had nothing on radars (on helicopters). He also painted rocks.

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  15. Had a close call just now… The “nonBidenary” meme and fascist Ernie pair almost killed me. Started laughing and a piece of fried egg went straight down my windpipe. (Damn, that hurt.) I don’t feel like I’m ready to shuffle off this mortal coil, but I guess I could accept death by liberty-memes if I had to.

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    2. Just watched the video. At least ten shots, the first one caused him to flinch and reach up and grab his right ear, there were at least two more before he ducked. Then there was a rapid-fire set as the Secret Service dove on him, at least 10 shots total. Sounded maybe like a small-caliber (.22 LR?) because it was more of a “crack” than a “bang.” After a minute they pulled him up off the stage, walled him off, and hustled him off the stage with blood on his right ear and smeared down his face.

      This was about three inches away from starting a second Civil War. If Trump had gotten JFK’d in front of a crowd of several thousand cheering Pennsylvanians, can you imagine what they would’ve done to the shooter if they’d gotten a hold of him? I doubt there would be enough left for the authorities to identify.

      Liked by 1 person

      1. I honestly think that’s why he stood back up. Somewhat surprised Secret Service / his own people let him, though.

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        1. They didn’t want him to. They were literally waving their hands in front of his head to block potential line of sight back to a shooter as DJT stood up and started fist-pumping to the crowd. Then they eventually got him down the stairs and offstage, it took a bit though. The area was crowded between the Secret Service agents, guys in SWAT gear that magically materialized, etc.

          Liked by 1 person

          1. Fully expect the usual leftists to go on social media to mourn the fact that the assassination attempt was not successful. There is good reason they are called the SICK left.

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            2. Some of them did. My list of, “forgive them, they don’t know what they’re doing (even when they think they do),” keeps getting longer and longer.

              Looking at the “wits,” making remarks about poor aim, I’m reminded Jesus told us to pray for our enemies for our sake. To keep from chipping off pieces of our own souls in exchange for cheap points.

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      3. Most rifle rounds are supersonic, thus the passing bullet makes the distinctive “crack” sonic boom sound as it passes by the listener. Even if the rifle has a suppressor to muffle the muzzle blast, the bullet still barks.

        There are some exceptions, of course.

        Mr. Trump is one lucky SOB to have survived that shooting. An inch or two further over and he would be talking to his parents. Directly.

        Calm. Wait 48 hours. Media will be flooded with breathless BS at least for that long.

        Survey your circle of acquaintances. Urge “wait”. If someone is getting excited, talk them down.

        A whole bunch of trolls are going to be mashing buttons. Don’t give the pricks the satisfaction.

        And prayers for the deceased and wounded bystanders.

        Liked by 1 person

        1. Some speculation that President Trump was hit by shrapnel because one or more hits to the teleprompter or other equipment. But people were hit behind President Trump. Doesn’t matter, President Trump was shot at. President Trump is still extremely lucky.

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          2. The picture showing the vapor trail at least one of the bullets left was spooky. Apparently, such vapor trails are common, and used by spotters for snipers. And that vapor trail seems to be at the President’s ear level.

            (Searched through Insty for that pic. Can’t find it, though it’s likely in the liveblog feed.)

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            1. It’s apparently a pic of the actual bullet, given shutter speeds. And the sound is compressed by the mics set up for the event, so probably not what the actual attendees heard.

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          3. I’m going with guardian angel. [Not going to give detailed opinion of the SS protection detail’s work. Calm, Pete. Calm.]

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        1. Pulls his forelock with an embarrassed expression on his face.
          “Beggin’ yer Ladyship’s pardon, I am. Me only excuse be the decades o’ foreign service contaminating what passes fer me brains.”

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          1. The people covering President Trump news are calling Secret Service. Forgotten Trump has his own private security in addition to the secret service. Probably a combination of both. While secret service has been panned by the Obama’s, Clinton’s, and Biden’s, not helped by the fact that the SS do not care for them and loath Hillary in particularly. By all accounts President Trump is a favorite of the secret service. Always believed that President Trump had his own security to protect his protective detail from their higher ups as much as protection for himself.

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            1. What I’ve heard is that Trump’s personal detail is very devoted to him. However, I’m also thinking that the outer ring is brought in separately, and there have been photos put up of someone possibly NOT Secret Service on the roof of a nearby building, and then later a team of mixed LE on that roof looking for something.

              Anyone NOT SS on a roof is a rookie mistake, which is why I want that person id’d quickly.

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            2. I’m old enough to remember the little “Oh look at how Trump is disrespecting his security guys” kerfuffle over Trump sending one of them out on a McDonalds run. Someone at the time pointed out that the security guys probably insisted that one of them go, out of proper paranoia.

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            3. There were reports his campaign has been begging for more Secret Service coverage and been routinely turned down.

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              1. I’ve seen that, and also that his personal detail asked and got turned down.

                Again, by all reports, the detail for him and his family like him. Given what we’ve seen, that would be enough for this crew to round file the request.

                Hanging your own guys out to dry because they don’t hate Trump enough…..

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                1. The shooter’s been identified now, I don’t remember the name but he’s a 20 year old from Bethel Park, PA. Registered as a Republican BUT he is on record as having donated to at least one very left-wing progressive PAC. I’m sure his social media has been completely scrubbed already except for what “they” want us to know about him. Or plant.

                  Dang I’m turning into a conspiracy theorist in my old age.

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                  1. Quotation from Nitay Arbel on his “Spin, Strangeness, and Charm” blog, with whom I believe Our Hostess has friendly connections:

                    “The Arbel daughter adds he [Crooks] has Antifa links on his Instagram and what looks suspiciously like pro-HamaSS graphics.”

                    Proceed to his website at spinstrangenesscharm dot wordpress dot com for the full post. (Not even going to try to post a link here.) This is one report, so we must consider it unconfirmed, but it certainly seems something to pursue. That is, if the Instagram page hasn’t since been scrubbed.

                    Liked by 1 person

                    1. I read on a blog that the autists from 4chan were getting and archiving his antisocial media stuff as “somebody” was busily scrubbing them off the net. Didn’t see where the archive is–not familiar enough with 4chan to try to look.

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                  2. Registration as Republican isn’t quite the own progs want it to be. That could mean a Dem who registered as such to influence Republican primaries to get candidates the Dems can beat on the ballot.

                    Liked by 1 person

                    1. There was an Operation Chaos push to get Nikki Haley ahead of Trump for the PA primary, so lefty Republican makes sense.

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      2. I’d say that (so far) Trump wasn’t seriously hurt.

        Of course, other people might have been hit by the shots.

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        1. The latest second- or sixteenth-hand report I’m reading is that the shooter and one person in the crowd are deceased, one person in the crowd in serious condition. But I think we all know how inaccurate reports tend to be for the first few hours after a big event like this.

          Liked by 1 person

          1. Forty eight hours, wait and see. Then give it a couple of weeks.

            When has the media been swiftly accurate? Not that I can recall in my lifetime. Then cell phones and Twitter came along. They really ought to be more careful when actual human beings are around and witnessing what went on, but they’re not.

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          2. Police on the scene are reporting there were actually two assailants, both snipers, who took shots and were killed by the Secret Service.

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            1. Wait and see. Shooting events with multiple shooters reported that end up not having multiple shooters abound.

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        3. That sort of experience is traumatic for 20 year old soldiers. For a man in his late 70s, the stress could have been lethal.

          If he is on blood thinners, for example, stopping that bleeder is challenging. Sure, pros, but stressful.

          Prayers for Mr Trump. He had a busy day.

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      1. It was inevitable. There are already trolls over at TH saying it came from WH because hey, “official act”.

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          1. That Troll is an idiot.

            It’s obvious that Trump was wounded around his ear.

            Only in a stupid movie would a shot that close be a “faked assassination attempt”.

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            2. More than one troll, and yes, anyone who takes it seriously is an idiot. Well, that or profoundly ignorant & delusional.

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          2. No way that was any kind of false flag. While I’ve seen some precision long range shooters do some amazing things; none of them would try to generate a near hit on the head flicking the ear under those conditions. Those are fairy tales. Plus, none of those shooters would be doing an assassination on Trump or any other conservative for that matter. They’re the ones that are most likely the last people to take up arms against anyone.

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      2. My first comment (after a few profane noises) was something about “Great, some leftie decided to rid us of this troublesome priest and decided he didn’t CARE if he pulls a Gavrilo Princip on the way.”

        I do not like interesting times.

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        1. I was thinking more that the idiot(s) thought that THIS time it was okay to off the Jose Calvo Soleto analogue because the country involved didn’t have an ideologically impure Foreign Legion kicking around the sandbox and ready to make trouble…

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      1. They will end up blaming Trump and lack of gun control.

        As one commenter just noted, the Democrats orchestrated by the Biden White House have tried to bankrupt, jail and now murder Trump.

        The press has cheered their doing so every step of the way.

        Liked by 1 person

        1. In other news, water is wet. Of course they are going to cry “ghun con-troll!” It’s what they do. It’s not even an intelligent phrase, it’s a reflex.

          Damn fool shooter is lucky there were cops present. The crowd might have literally have torn him apart. *shakes head*

          Sensible policing and proper law control is needed to put these coddled fools where they belong: away from law abiding citizens. We have the laws. Just need to enforce them where it matters: in large cities where not so coincidently the evil party has been in control for decades.

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          1. No, I don’t think they’re going to cry “gun control”.

            They only want gun control when it’s someone that they didn’t want to die.

            Like a terrorist or a violent career criminal.

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            1. Eh, I’m of the opinion that it’s an opportunist thing. “If only he supported gun control…” and so on. They’re quick to disavow and memory hole inconvenient facts.

              I could be wrong though. Give it a couple days or so, you may well be proven right.

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            3. They already have. “Now that you see how dangerous guns are, won’t you join us in getting sensible gun control?” Female congresscritter as I recall.

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            4. Oh, they will cry for gun control. Any bit of “gun violence” they can exploit will make them cry for gun control. The ghouls feed on corpses, no matter if it’s the corpse of someone you hate.

              Already starting on Twitter. “Oh hey gun nuts, why don’t you let us disarm after someone took a shot at Trump?!” is the general theme of several I’ve seen. Or claiming it was an AR-15 so it must be definitely banned.

              I’ve been very impolite to them.

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              2. “All of you Democrats are free to disarm yourselves. That will keep any Republican from ever being assassinated again.”

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      3. Not Fox. They are calling it an apparent shooting. Speculating the fact not “loud” because suppressor used.

        Suspect shot and killed. Although some talk of multiple shooters so? Attendee, presumably killed behind President Trump.

        Like

    4. Insty (by way of Ed Driscol) from the 7:25PM story: BIDEN ON MONDAY: “It’s time to put Trump in the bullseye.”

      Gee, don’t I remember somebody getting their knickers in a twist over Sarah Palin’s “target” memo.

      I wonder if Ed is going to lighten the NeverTrumper attitude.

      Like

      2. I am trying to practice my calm attitude. We were making pizza (weekly tradition) with the only drama being the yeast didn’t want to work right (the ‘fridge starts to freeze things when the house gets hot. Fresh yeast on Monday’s list; it’s time, anyway). Got to a break point, took a look at Insty and yikes!

        Like

        1. What kind of yeast? I keep mine in the freezer. (SAF Instant, 1 lb bricks. Stays good for at least a couple of years in the freezer, even after opening the vacuum pack and putting in a resealable container.)

          Like

          1. We use Red Star in a bulk package. I think this one was bought and frozen for a while, and is now kept in a ziplock baggie in the fridge. It worked fine last week, but with the hot spell (several days 100+, worst 108F) and 84 degree overnights in the house, the fridge overcompensates and freezes stuff.

            The problem might be temporary, but it’s a lot of work (and with expensive gluten-free ingredients) to do.

            Restaurant supply to the rescue. Lack of overt–stinkeye pointed at stealth taxes/fees to TPTB in Salem, OR–sales taxes makes it possible.

            Like

    5. For f- sake. I go out for a bike ride, everything is fine. I come back and they just shot The Donald in the ear. But he got up and walked off under his own power, so it’s a good day.

      What the hell kind of sh1t show are we living through here? Are you kidding me, Lefties?

      Liked by 1 person

      1. Right?

        Left the house just before 1 PM to take Pepper to groomers. Went to Costco, Jerry’s (local hardware), came home, unpacked. Got back in the car to go get Pepper, came home. Turned on the TV. Then …

        “What the H***?”

        Fox is talking to people there but other than rerunning taken video, talking to people, not a lot of speculation happening.

        Liked by 1 person

        1. Son had to call my wife to let me know. I didn’t have the phone in hearing distance – was finishing up drywall taping.

          Just finished the news feeds for what little is known (most of it probably speculation), then came here. Um, I’m glad that Sarah posted this morning – #4 is a bit creepy now.

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        1. Must. Not. Laugh. Out. Loud. ($SPOUSE and Kat-the-dog are sleeping and the bedroom door is open while I cool off the house.) :) :) :)

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      3. Probably a lefty.

        But a quick reminder that despite how much the left hated Reagan, Hinkley wasn’t motivated by politics.

        Liked by 2 people

        1. [puts on nerd glasses]

          Acktually… while Hinkley was a schizophrenic and was motivated by internal demons, the reason he was walking around loose despite a long criminal history and obvious mental derangement was political. The bleeding heart Left closed all the mental institutions and kicked all the crazy people out on the street to die of exposure. Remember that? Good times…

          Like

        2. I saw a post claiming that the attack was ‘staged’:

          We all know something is ‘off’ about this assassination attempt.

          Who is this ‘we’, exactly? You got a mouse in your pocket?

          I theorize that the same far-right extremists, posing as MAGA, who predicted the assassination attempt, also carried it out, so that they would have a pretext for extremist rhetoric against the Democrats and also exert a threat-based control over Trump.

          ‘Far-right extremists’ that have so far managed to remain invisible. Sort of like those scaaary ‘White Supremacists!’ — always lurking everywhere, but nowhere to be found when you go looking for them. Completely unlike the far-left extremists rioting in our streets, amusing themselves with vandalism, looting, arson, assault and murder.

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      1. Oh, yes. More than even we can understand, so far.

        Even back in the Middle Ages, and likely millennia earlier, it was well understood, “Do NOT make a martyr of your opponent.” Once made, martyrs motivate forever; no further mortal limits intervene. But what even this near-miss has done (for the lefties and the Never Trumpers) is plenty bad enough.

        It’s pretty hard to lead from the front, as a 21st-century Commander in Chief, or even a high-ranking military officer. But this guy just did that, grace under literal live fire… several days after wiping the floor with his “rival” candidate in that talk-fest thing. We just got treated to an object lesson on what being Presidential under fire is truly about. And that “Look, I’m a Big Boy Now!” guy hasn’t a whiff of a prayer of ever even beginning to play, way up there. Not on his very best Good Day ever.

        As of July 13th, this is an actual, shooting Cold Civil War — and may Heaven and all the Ordered Holy Powers of every true faith ever help us keep it cold, on till its end — and though I’d liken it more to the War of 1776 than the War of 1861, things are really and truly different now.

        We have, even more clearly, a leader we can follow — simply because he wants to lead us right where we already want and hope to go. As he helps, at one and the same time, also hold us all back from where so very many of us, so very devoutly, do not want to go.

        Suddenly “I will fight for you” and “They’re not after me, they’re after you” ring even more convincing and substantial than ever before…

        Like

        1. Of course, this goes both ways. I am going to very sincerely pray for Kamala’s continued safety.

          Like

          1. The best protection for Kamala is that the House Speaker is a Republican (for now).

            They know Biden won’t last, and she’s better than an (R).

            This house of cards is collapsing, and they’ve started flailing. Which means they aren’t THINKING.

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            1. Yup. Reminds me of when Virginia discovered that the Governor (Northam – the “is he in the KKK outfit, or the guy wearing blackface?” university photo) and the two people next in line for succession all had very problematic things in their background that could have justifiably been serious scandals leading to removal from office… but the guy after them in line for the governorship was a Republican.

              It all got swept under the rug.

              Like

        1. IMHO, given current conditions, paranoia is a survival trait. [Considers concealed carry options for the September trip to Blue-side Oregon. The ST-TOS phaser would be handy…]

          Like

      1. Hugs. Nobody expects this kind of stuff to happen, even when we fear that it will.

        It’s the shooter’s fault that you didn’t have the lazy Saturday you were trying to have.

        Like

      1. Interesting point. The JPG of President Trump raising his fist, and comments in reply to the picture, are being marked as possible spam. WTH? Been selecting “It is not!”

        Liked by 1 person

          1. And false flag. Seems they don’t know anybody who would be defiant after an attempt on their life. #rollseyes

            Like

      3. I think the very first may have been “f### you”.

        A buddy who lip reads says he saw it clearly.

        And Mr Trump is a notorious NYC potty mouth.

        Pity it isn’t well caught on tape. Would have been epic campaign fodder.

        But I do not quite believe “Nuts!” either. Heh.

        hmm

        Leftriods use a black left fist. Meme:

        upraised right orange fist.

        Like

      4. Even Jim Treacher, who strongly dislikes Trump, said that he was impressed by it. It’s likely to become the “symbol” of this election cycle.

        Compare and contrast Biden’s obvious mental issues during the debate and his “Big Boy Press Conference”, versus Trump’s raised fist following the assassination attempt. Look for the Biden administration to try and figure out a (safe) way for Biden to do something similar in the near future in a vain attempt to counterbalance.

        Liked by 1 person

    1. It’s way too early to believe anything you hear. Although I wouldn’t be surprised.

      Just heard on the news (Fox, of course) that the shooter was not carrying any ID, so Antefa or some other pseudo-militant group is a definite possibility.

      Like

      1. The reporting along with the official ID I have seen so far this morning has no social media found, though no reply from Zuckerbook on whether they already deleted any either at .gov request or on their own, a PA voter registration as Republican without a date that it occured, and a match with a donation to a lefty org a few years ago.

        Like

    2. Odds are “lunatic”.

      Throughput history, the only assassins more successful than “treacherous bodyguard” have been “lunatic”.

      Liked by 1 person

    3. I saw someone post something that claimed he was an Antifa sniper. But it also claimed that he had been taken alive. That contradicts the reports that he’s dead. So… holding off on this claim.

      Like

  23. Please God, we don’t get a tit-for-tat.

    Butler is close to where Pennsic will take place in a few weeks.

    Like

      1. Well, a good job, whoever did it. (So that’s Salena under the pile? Yeah, I see her in that other picture attached to her eyewitness account.)

        Using one of those big public address speakers for cover is a pretty solid idea.

        Liked by 1 person

        1. It is a little weird how various life experiences end up making one look at stuff and ask oneself “cover, or just concealment?”

          Like

  25. Trump campaign has been asking for expanded protection. Regime apparatchiks turned them down.

    Another interesting thing, none of the pictures have been from the major US media since they aren’t covering Trump. They missed the scoop of the decade. Snigger.

    i suspect Biden’s handlers lost it when they saw THAT picture.. Biden hasn’t seen it yet since he’s been asleep since 4:00, which is why he hasn’t made a statement. They’ll have to wake him up and fix his meds first.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Apparently CNN posted that picture of Trump saying he “fell” with his face blurred so the blood wasn’t visible.

      Like

  27. Now brace for a flood of crocodile tears and insincere blather from the Democrats.

    Of course the real reason they’re crying is because their soy-boy failed.

    Like

  28. “Will someone rid me of this meddlesome priest!”

    Biden as much as declared open season on Trump. Others have been saying Biden should take him out.

    One problem is that they honestly believe we live in a democracy, where the will of 51% means the other 49 have no rights and no recourse. They firmly believe they have the majority on their side, therefore they can do and say absolutely anything. The democracy they continue to blather about is the rule of might makes right, mob rule, and the tyranny of the majority.

    It has no similarities with our republic. In the certainty of democratic mass hysteria they can call for the death or jailing of their enemies without repercussions or remorse, declare the 49% to be animals or deplorables, beneath contempt, declare them to be terrorists or enemies of the state, and it’s all OK because they have the magical, democratic, 51%.

    Like

    1. Rep Steve Cohen D-TN has already said that if Donald Trump were in prison he wouldn’t be shot at on stage.

      He’s also one of the Democrats who sponsored a bill to remove Trump’s Secret Service protection in that event.

      He is a vile sack of 🐖💩

      Like

      2. Sir I protest. You have maligned Pig intestines and anal orifices. They at least have some purpose unlike Mr. Cohen.

        Like

    1. He could release a statement that includes a comment about suddenly feeling a desire to follow in the footsteps of Van Gogh, and become a painter, mention that he’d ultimately decided against it, and suggest that the reason why is because he would never be as good as Hunter (while not explicitly mentioning Hunter).

      Liked by 1 person

  31. The Kermit on the phone reminded me of a joke I thought I had read on cybersalt.org. I looked for it, but couldn’t find it. I did find this one which applies to the busy mother painting:

    Mrs. Donovan was walking down O’Connell Street in Dublin when she met up with Father Flaherty.

    The Father said, “Top o’ the mornin’ to ye!  Aren’t ye Mrs. Donovan and didn’t I marry ye and yer husband 2 years ago?”

    She replied, “Aye, that ye did, Father.”

    The Father asked, “And be there any wee ones yet?”

    She replied, “No, not yet, Father.”

    The Father said, “Well now, I’m going to Rome next week and I’ll light a candle for ye and yer husband.”

    She replied, “Oh, thank ye, Father.”

    They parted ways.  Some years later they met again.  The Father asked, “Well now, Mrs. Donovan, how are ye these days?”

    She replied, “Oh, very well, Father!”

    The Father asked, “And tell me, have ye any wee ones yet?”

    She replied, “Oh yes, Father!  Three sets of twins and 4 singles, 10 in all!”

    The Father said, “That’s wonderful!” How is yer loving husband doing?”

    She replied, “E’s gone to Rome to blow out yer candle.”

    Like

  32. And the “year divisible by 20” pattern continues to hold, with only George W. Bush escaping the pattern since 1860.

    If you’re not sure what I mean: every president who was elected in a year divisible by 20 has been assassinated, died in office, or at least been the victim of an assassination attempt. Lincoln, elected in 1860, assassinated. Garfield, elected in 1880, assassinated. McKinley, elected in 1900, assassinated. Harding, elected in 1920, died of natural causes. Roosevelt, elected in 1940, died of natural causes. Kennedy, elected in 1960, assassinated. Reagan, elected in 1980, survived an assassination attempt. GWB, elected in 2000, first pattern-breaker I know of: the guy who threw a shoe at him could easily have thrown something lethal, but I can’t actually count that as an assassination attempt. And now Trump. Guess that confirms what we all know about the real result of the 2020 election, doesn’t it?

    Liked by 2 people

      1. Thanks for the name; I didn’t know someone had come up with a story about a supposed curse. With that name to search on, I found the Wikipedia article on the subject, which mentions that someone threw an actual grenade at GWB in 2005, which failed to go off. That counts as a real assassination attempt, so Bush isn’t a pattern-breaker after all: he survived an assassination attempt.

        Like

      1. It was his own dumb fault for not wearing an overcoat….

        Although possibly the incredibly bad DC water quality in the early 1800’s had something to do with it. It was pretty common for people going to inaugurations to die off, back then. So pneumonia plus bad water would be a terrible combination.

        Like

        1. I’ve read it was also very drunk out that day, and Harrison felt obliged to hit the oarties.

          Like

  33. So I’ve been following the Polymarket betting forum for a few weeks, ever since I saw them listed in the “pundits” category of 270towin dot com, and Trump’s chance of victory jumped from 60% to 70% today, and the electoral map based on them has a comfortable 312 EVs for Trump with only Minnesota (!) and Nebraska 2 tied up for grabs.

    Make of that what you will.

    https://polymarket.com/event/presidential-election-winner-2024?tid=1720947387095

    Like

    1. For historical comparison, I just saw a story reporting (I know, how does that happen these days? Quick, Doktor Jill, call Zuckerbook and suppress that “reporter”!) that the bump Ronald Reagan received from the Hinckley assassination attempt was +8 points immediately.

      Liked by 1 person

  35. In good news, Catherine the Princess of Wales showed up at Wimbledon to shake hands with various lady players.

    She’s still looking terribly thin, to the point that she wore a dress designed to give a look of fullness to a woman. But her skin had good color, so I think she’s still doing okay. Chemo, man.

    Like

    1. Good. I hope she has a full recovery. I don’t pay much attention to the British royal family, but I do generally like William and Kate. And the constant “Is she about to end up like Diana?” comments I heard when Kate dropped from sight for a while really got on my nerves.

      Like

      1. Out of all the damned English, I find them the least objectionable. I also thought highly of Harry when he was in the military, but that got flushed really damned quick. The poor lad should have stayed in the Army.

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  37. Silent Melania just put out a statement, and it’s practically a goshdarned love sonnet to Donald and to American life.

    If you ever wondered what Melania is thinking and feeling, there you go.

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  38. The name of the gentleman in the bleachers who was murdered at the rally has been released. Corey Comperatore.

    Some people were saying he was African-American, but apparently he just looked kinda dark in certain lighting (and very pink in others).

    One of his daughters posted that Comperatore threw her and her mom down and shielded them with his body, which was how he caught a stray bullet and died.

    He was a former firefighter and fire chief in Butler County.

    He lived and died a real man, a real American, and a hero.

    Like

    1. The public service history is almost certainly why his reflexes were so fast in shielding his family. He was literally trained to act quickly under severe emergency situations.

      Like

  40. “How is adulting going today?”

    d) “You come any closer and I’m going to claw your face off.”

    Like

  41. Is it terrible of me to want the Promos?

    I’m angry enough about the Trump shooting that I don’t need more talk about it. 👿

    Like

  42. With regards to “I don’t know what neurodivergent person needs to hear this but throw away that cardboard box you don’t need it”: Yes, thank you! This is so helpful!

    Just one question, though: Which box? (Probably not one of the boxes with stuff in it. I certainly need those!)

    Liked by 1 person

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