MAGA Conspiracy Theorists Need Serious Therapy Or They Can All Go Fuck Themselves Either Way

This is a clear result of all of their bullshit and low-wattage hatred:

The man accused of attacking House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s husband with a hammer told police he wanted to hold the Democratic leader hostage and “break her kneecaps” to show other members of Congress there were consequences for their actions, authorities said Monday.

In a chilling federal complaint, officials say that David DePape, 42, carrying zip ties and tape in a backpack, broke into the couple’s San Francisco home early Friday morning, went upstairs where 82-year-old Paul Pelosi was sleeping and demanded to talk to “Nancy.”

From Newt Gingrich to the TOFF, his coked-up kid and Putin's pardoned general, they've been masters of apocalyptic, eliminationist rhetoric and downright racist rhetoric.

You can bet that they'll be showing up to defend their hate. But you won't see most of it, as I'm not giving them space for their hate.

Delta is the USSR of Airlines

The Soviet Union had a practice of labeling dissidents as being metally ill and then putting them in asylums.

Delta took a page from their playbook.

A pilot with 35 years of experience reported problems at Delta. She refused to back down, so management had her declared mentally ill.

Delta just paid her $500,000 to settle her claims and the doctor who signed off on management's diagnosis gave up his medical license.

I thnk they got off easy. There should have been another zero or two in that settlement. And the doctor should have been given an involuntary vacation in a crossbar hotel.

Delta is apparently fucking corrupt and sexist to boot. If they were willing to go to such measures to silence a single pilot, one has to wonder if they treat their mechanics the same way.

So, when you get on a Delta jet, think about that.

And maybe it was no coincidence that Delta codeshared with Aeroflot.

H/T

Pumpkining These Down Here (for Today)

This is How Disgusting the Modern GOP is Nowadays

Moderate voters just checking in for the first time since 2020, THIS is the 2022 Republican Party. pic.twitter.com/WQNHK33S0I

— Ron Filipkowski 🇺🇦 (@RonFilipkowski) October 30, 2022

Truth

1. By week’s end, a sizable percentage of the GOP base will believe an absurd conspiracy theory positing that Paul Pelosi was assaulted by his leftist gay lover.

Allow me to explain.

— Matthew Gertz (@MattGertz) October 30, 2022

Because this is what they do. PizzaGate. The Birther Lie. The Election Was Stolen. Jews Control the Media.

All right-wing lies. If you know anyone who subscribes to any of them, urge them to seek professional help.

And you way want to keep your distance.

And then there is this:

The man accused of attacking House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s husband carried zip ties with him when he broke into the couple’s San Francisco home, according to a person briefed on the investigation, in what is the latest parallel to the Capitol riot of Jan. 6, 2021.

The person was not authorized to publicly discuss the Pelosi case and spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity Sunday.

Your Sunday Morning Prop Noise

First test-flight of a restored Tiger Moth:

Caturday

Overwatch cat:

MAGA Violence

Three San Francisco Police officers responding to an emergency call burst into the home of Speaker Nancy Pelosi in the early morning on Friday to find her 82-year-old husband and an intruder grappling over a hammer.

As Chief William Scott described the scene at a news conference later in the day, the intruder ripped the hammer out of the grip of the speaker’s husband, Paul Pelosi, and “violently assaulted him with it” in front of the officers.

The officers tackled the assailant and disarmed him, Mr. Scott said, before requesting backup and giving medical aid. Both men were taken to the hospital, he said.

Chief Scott identified the suspect in the attack as [a presumably MAGA Asswipe], 42, and said that he would be charged with attempted homicide and other crimes.

The TOFF, Bannon, Tukyo Rose and the rest of the Radio Rwanda gang unceasingly demonize Rep. Pelosi. One would think that, after what happened at Comet Pizza, they would realize that spreading their vitrol and hatred serves only to incite the softer-brained MAGA lunatics to do shit like this.

On one level, this is just what they want. They want to increase discord and promote violent acts so that they can claim that only they can restore order.

Which, as you probably know, is a ploy that is right out of Hitler's playbook.

When this Asswipe goes to face a judge, the charges should be stacked so that he isn't released from prison until into the next century.

UPDATE: The attacker apparently is a real MAGA pice of shit.

MAGA Republicans Are Disgusting Sentient Pieces of Slime

Five seconds on Twitter found oodles of MAGAmorons chortling about this:

Paul Pelosi, the husband of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, was attacked and severely beaten by an assailant with a hammer who broke into their San Francisco home early Friday, according to people familiar with the investigation.

Pelosi, 82, suffered blunt force injuries to his head and body, according to two people who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity to discuss the ongoing probe.

The attack was not random; the assailant specifically targeted the home, the people said. The assailant was in custody.

Those who are celebrating the beating of an old man for no reason other than possibly who is his married to, are vile excuses for human beings. They are the same sort of soulless trash who regarded lynchings as entertainment.

If you are one of those people, do me a solid and NEVER VISIT THIS BLOG AGAIN. And if you try to leave a comment about how happy you are that Mr.Pelosi was struck with a hammer, rest assured that it will be deleted.

What Good Are These Bullshit Stunts?

Johannes Vermeer’s “Girl with a Pearl Earring” went back on display at the Netherlands’ Mauritshuis museum Friday, a day after climate activists targeted the 17th-century masterpiece.

“We are incredibly grateful that ‘The Girl’ remained undamaged and is back in her familiar place so quickly,” the museum’s director, Martine Gosselink, said in a statement.

A video posted Thursday on Twitter showed a man pouring a red substance from a can over another protester who appeared to attempt to glue his head to the glass-protected painting. The second man stuck his hand to the panel holding the painting.

What the unholy fuck did Vermeer have to do with climate change?

I don't understand what those chuckleheads think that they are accomplishing. It makes them look like a pack of lunatics. And it brings disrepute to the cause that they espouse.

Because It's Friday

Brit steam:

It'd be nice to see them pull a strong of forty-and-eights.

Need an Abortion? Fill Out This Form, in Triplicate

(Click on it to enlarge)

Appliquéing These Down, Here

https://t.co/EZyyNLlMYb

— Duty To Warn 🔉 (@duty2warn) October 26, 2022

FN High Power Review

Tam has a review of the new FN High Power.

I'll stick with the classic Hi Power, but not out of a sense of nostalgia. I live in a state that bans high-capacity magazines, so a classic Hi Power means having three rounds less than a classic magazine. The new High Power's magazines hold seventeen rounds; so it's a bigger, heavier gun for carrying ten rounds in its magazine.

But, to be frank, I'm just going with a 1911 with Wilson ETM magazines, since the magazine limits negate the "more BBs" advantage of a 9mm.

The Tombstone Agency

The timing of the FAA’s emergency airworthiness directive (AD) addressing possible corrosion in tail assemblies of de Havilland Canada DHC–3 Otters is under scrutiny from industry leaders.

The FAA released the emergency AD last week. Transport Canada issued a similar AD more than four years ago. AD CF-2018-04 was issued by Transport Canada on January 19, 2018, in response to corrosion found on DHC-3 tail assemblies. The AD established a requirement for inspecting the aircraft’s elevators for corrosion, which can lead to structural failure and result in an uncommanded nose-down pitch moment.

Last month, a deHavilland DHC-3 Turbine Otter operated by Northwest Seaplanes went down in Mutiny Bay off Whidbey Island in Washington. According to witnesses, the aircraft was flying at an altitude of approximately 600 feet above the surface when it suddenly plunged into the water, killing all 10 people on board.

The FAA tends to operate on the basis of "no fatalities, no problem", which they have for decades. Nothing's changed.

An Alaskan Nazi

I took this screenshot during the Alaska Federation of Natives debate on Saturday. pic.twitter.com/nCeuiXV828

— Alaska998 (@seinerak) October 25, 2022

They're not even hiding their love of fascism anymore.

The Republicans have become the very people that my father's and grandfather's generations went to war against.

Crayoning These Down, Here

It Would Seem That Being Labeled As an Appeaser is Less Comfortable For Democrats

The chair of the progressive caucus of the US House of Representatives, Pramila Jayapal, has retracted a letter sent by 30 of the members urging Joe Biden to engage in direct talks with Russia to end the war in Ukraine following a heated debate within the Democratic party about future strategy over the conflict.

In a statement issued on Tuesday afternoon, Jayapal made a dramatic U-turn, scrapping the letter that had been sent to the White House the previous day and implying it had all been a mistake. “The letter was drafted several months ago, but unfortunately was released by staff without vetting,” she said.

Allow me to point out the obvious: Those thirty dingbats all signed that letter. I find it extremely hard to believe that such a letter would have been drafted and signed months ago, then just stuffed in a file folder and forgotten and now, all of a sudden, some filing clerk finds it and sends it out?

When the shit hit the fan about the letter, Jayapal did not immediately disavow sending it. No siree, she tried to "clarify" things by expressing support for Ukraine while shanking them in the back. It's only when that didn't settle things that she switched to blaming some GS-2 clerk for mailing it.

That's just the sort of chickenshit move that one would expect from the caucus of appeasement. And it's a total fib, for their website has a press release in support of the Appeasement Letter.

Craven cowards, every last one of them.

No Shit, That

Wars of conquest could become the new normal if unprovoked attacks like Russia’s invasion of Ukraine go unchecked, France’s minister for Europe and foreign affairs warned last week.

The invasion provides models for other aggressors in Europe, the Indo-Pacific, Middle East and Africa, Catherine Colonna said Friday at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

“The stakes are far beyond Ukraine and Europe,” she said. “We cannot afford that” to happen.

That is no shit. One of the hallmarks of the post-1945 world is that borders, however imperfectly drawn, were respected.[1] For example, Alsace–Lorraine changed hands four times in seventy-four years. But it hasn't in the last seventy-seven years. There are lots of places around the world where the borders have been disputed and the neighboring nations have not taken their disagreements to active conflict, instead, choosing to arbitrate and negotiate their differences (or just live with them).[2]

If the rest of the world does not contest Russia's war on conquest, then all bets are off.
___________
[1] Those whining about Israel should recall that, after the 1967 war, the Arab neighbors were offered ;and for peace. All said no. Egypt eventually said yes and, after 1970, Jordan decided that it didn't want the West Bank back.
[2] This is not true of China, of course.

Being a Public Nazi Has Its Consequences

Adidas has ended its partnership with the rapper formerly known as Kanye West over his offensive and antisemitic remarks, the latest company to cut ties with Ye and a decision that the German sportwear company said would hit its bottom line.

“Adidas does not tolerate antisemitism and any other sort of hate speech,” the company said in a statement Tuesday. “Ye’s recent comments and actions have been unacceptable, hateful and dangerous, and they violate the company’s values of diversity and inclusion, mutual respect and fairness.”

Ah, horseshit. If it wasn't for public pressure, Adidas would have cheerfully kept going with Kanye, because money talks. But being in a public association with a notorious antisemite is a look that no German company wants.

"Peace in Our Time", or The Republicans Are Not the Only Appeasers in Congress

A group of 30 House liberals is urging President Biden to dramatically shift his strategy on the Ukraine war and pursue direct negotiations with Russia, the first time prominent members of his own party have pushed him to change his approach to Ukraine.

The kindest thing I can say about them is that they are useful idiots for Putin. Anyone who believes that Putin has lost his ambitions to rebuild the Imperial Russian Empire has mush for brains. These fools only give Putin reason to hope that if he doubles down on his war, and escalates it further, the West will fold like a house of cards. Those halfwits speak of "support[ing] Ukraine to reacy a peaceful settlement", but we all know, Gentle Readers, that what those appeasers truly want is to see a fait accompli presented to Ukraine with the implied threat of an arms embargo.

The nations of Eastern Europe (less one Putinite) well know the nature and quality of Russia under Putin. They know his ambitions. They have been warning the western European nations of the threat posed by Putin for many years. We should have listened to them, then. It's not for nothing that the Finns and the Swedes are joining NATO. They can read the writing on the wall. These thirty cowards cannot, or will not.

The last time that European major powers tried to prevent a continent-wide war by negotiating away the territory of a smaller nation, it not only did not end well, but it covered those who did the negotiating with shame that has lasted to this day.

That was a mistake that is not worth repeating. Putin will use any ceasefire, any negotiated end short of a full withdrawl from Ukrainian territory as a welcome break in the fighting, which he will diligently use to rebuild his army, and then he will strike again. Anyone who believes otherwise, in my humble opinion, is either a Putinist fellow-traveler or is anacephalic.

Is Russia Laying the Ground for a Nuclear Strike?

Russia's defense chief alleged Sunday that Ukraine was preparing a “provocation” involving a radioactive device, a stark claim that was strongly rejected by U.S., British and Ukrainian officials amid soaring tensions as Moscow struggles to stem Ukrainian advances in the south.

Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu made the allegations in phone calls with his counterparts from the United States, Britain, France and Turkey.

Russia’s defense ministry said Shoigu voiced concern about “possible Ukrainian provocations involving a ‘dirty bomb,’” a device that uses explosives to scatter radioactive waste. It doesn’t have the devastating effect of a nuclear explosion, but could expose broad areas to radioactive contamination.

The Ukrainins are trying to liberate every square centimeter of their land from the Russian occupiers. It makes absolutely no sense for them to detonate a dirty bomb on their own territory.

This only makes sense if you view it as the Russians preparing an excuse for a nuclear attack, one that they can sell to their own people. Because one thing is clear from this war: Russia is a practitioner of terrorism on a grand scale.

On the other hand, ISW believes this to be a ham-handed attempt to persuade Western nations to scale back their support for Ukraine.

Truss-Busting

Long and Epic Cat Musical Meme

Just go look.

Is There Any War Crime That the Russians Won't Commit?

The Russians are kidnapping Ukrainian children and adopting them out to Russian families.

The forced transfer of children, when intended to destroy a national group, is an act of genocide under international law. And that is just what the Russians are trying to do. They are trying to erase Ukraine as a nation, as a people.

In that, the Russians' final solution to the existence of Ukraine may be a little more gentler than that chosen by Putin's spiritual German grandfather, but it is no less evil.

Meanwhile, Mike Pence has called out Putin's Poodles in his party:

“Now, I know there is a rising chorus in our party, including some new voices to our movement, who would have us disengaged with the wider world,” Pence said. “But appeasement has never worked, ever, in history. And now more than ever, we need a conservative movement committed to America’s role as leader of the free world and as a vanguard of American values.”

“As Russia continues its unconscionable war of aggression to Ukraine, I believe that conservatives must make it clear that Putin must stop and Putin will pay,” he added. “There can be no room in the conservative movement for apologists to Putin. There is only room in this movement for champions of freedom.”

Good luck with that, Mikey. You're swimming against the tide of Tuckyo Rose, his fellow-travelers on his despicable network, and the radio/Internet pundits that make up the American verison of Radio Rwanda. You're now in the Party of Appeasement. Your party agrees with Putin on almost everything, because fascists stick together. Republicans might as well sing the Russian national anthem at their conventions.

Your Sunday Morning Jet Noise

A DC-9:

55 years old and still flying. When that DC-9 rolled off the line in Long Beach, the only 55 year old airplanes flying were flown by the likes of Cole Palen.

Strategic Petroleum Reserve

A president can release oil from the SPR to try to lower the price of crude oil, but that oil has to be refined. Even if the price of crude plummeted, if there isn't the capability to refine it, the prices of gasoline, diesel fuel, jet fuel and home heating oil will not drop accordingly.

Refineries have been closing, primarily due to the pandemic. And with EVs becoming more numerous, the incentive to build new refineries (or reopen closed ones) isn't exactly strong.

So when a certain orange-hued political loser claims that he can bring back cheap gas, well, just add that to the list of the tens of thousands of lies he has told.

And if your friends tell you that they believe him, you'll know thst they are as gullible as they come.

Times Change

December, 1941: "I'm going to enlist to fight for freedom!"

October, 2022: "I'm going to vote for the fascistic election deniers because lower gas prices are more important than freedom!"

(Stolen from elsewhere)

Caturday

Changing it up for this week

Fucked Around and Found Out

Pro tip: Don't run from the cops whilst carrying flammable liquids.

Police in Arkansas chase a suspect who, it turns out, had a can of gasoline in his backpack. When an officer uses a taser on him, bad things result. pic.twitter.com/rrKNjpZEZo

— Mike (@Doranimated) October 21, 2022

Alcohol and Guns Do Not Mix

A 24-year-old Gonzaga University student died after accidentally shooting himself in the head early Saturday morning at a campus apartment, according to an email from the university.
...
Witnesses told police people were drinking alcohol at the apartment, which is rented by [Colton] Marcantel and another person. Witnesses said Marcantel owns a firearm and had it in his hands when they were drinking. They said it was a semiautomatic pistol.

Marcantel was “manipulating the firearm and ejecting live rounds of ammunition, either by racking the slide or pushing them out of the magazine,” court records said.

Marcantel held the gun near his head at one point and discharged a round, striking him in the head, witnesses said. Marcantel fell and witnesses called 911.

If you're going to imbibe, lock your gun(s) away.

Indict Her or STFU

A leadership PAC aligned with Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) violated campaign finance rules, according to federal regulators.

She is a true MAGAite/QSap. The only thing that will get her attention is a set of handcuffs. All she'll do now is belst about how the deep-state is after her skanky ass.

Because It's Friday

Brits: One locomotive per carriage.

Russian Resupply

The Russians are facing increasing problems in supplying their forces in Ukraine because of a shortage of railroad freight cars.

The Russian rail system is being starved of rolling stock because of a shortage of roller bearings for their axles. Some 10,000 railway cars were pulled offline because of a bearing shortage in August with another 20,000 expected to be sidelined in the next two months. Repair facilities are unable to repair them because of the shortage. This represents about 20-30% of Russian rail cars of all types.

It's more than roller bearings.

Components were brought from abroad, and only the final assembly [of railcars] was carried out at Russian enterprises. Now there is nothing to assemble them from and nothing to replace imports with. They need sealants and lubricants, which are produced neither in Russia nor the CIS.

Every sanction that has been levvied on Russia should also, now, be applied to Iran.

Offhand Bangity

Weak hand, too. 25', .45 ball rounds.

Haven't shot weak-hand in awhile. I need more practice.

Horking These Down, Here

What She Said; RobertaX Ed.

I'm not going to quote the post, all y'all can do her the courtesy of reading it on her blog.

There have been quite a few times that I have diasgreed with her take on things. Having said that, I have never found her to be anything but reasoned and considerate. She'll listen to opposing points of view, but if you act the ass, she's no compunction about swinging the ol' banhammer.

Well, That Was a Fast Fall From Grace; UK Ed. (and other stuff from across the pond)

British Prime Minister Liz Truss resigned Thursday — bowing to the inevitable after a tumultuous, short-lived term in which her policies triggered turmoil in financial markets and a rebellion in her party that obliterated her authority.

Making a hastily scheduled statement outside her 10 Downing Street office, Truss acknowledged that “I cannot deliver the mandate on which I was elected by the Conservative Party.”

Truss becomes the winner of the Least Time Spent as British PM award by a large margin. (The previous record-holder died in office.)

Meanwhile, it has become necessary to warn Hungary which side it is on. Hungary is dependent on EU aid; which should have good cause to slow-walk. For why would you willingly aid a person who was intent on stabbing you in the back every chance they got?

All Quiet on the Western Front

Tam has mentioned that Netflix has a new movie based on All Quiet on the Western Front. She also mentioned the 1979 TV movie of the novel.

I plan on watching the 1979 move, as I was kind of busy back then and never knew that it had been made, much less aired. But that's not what I want to talk about.

It's been said that, with all of the streaming/cable choices, that we're in the Golden Age of Television. I disagree. Sure, there are some really good shows out there. But finding them sometimes feels like looking through a ton of chicken manure to find a one-karat diamond.

The Big Three legacy networks seem to have mostly given up the fight to produce quality movies and miniseries. The 1970s were sucky in a lot of ways, but the networks produced some notable movies and mini-series. Now, they don't even bother, concentrating on dumb-ass "reality" shows and lots of copaganda.

To be fair, they had sort of a captive audience back then. There were three commercial networks, PBS, and, in big cities, a handful of independent VHF/UHF stations that mostly aired old shows in syndication and movies that were either in the public domain or for which they could get the rights cheaply.

Burn, Baby, Burn; EV Ed.

In the aftermath of Hurricane Ian, first responders in Southwest Florida are concerned about a new threat: electric vehicles catching on fire caused by saltwater.

Not only did the massive storm cause destruction of buildings, schools, and homes on the coast; it also resulted in major saltwater flooding.

Damaged EVs that have been submerged in saltwater “could result in potential fire once no longer submerged,” according to an alert posted on Facebook this week by the North Collier Fire Control and Rescue District.

Firefighters in Naples have responded to at least six electric vehicles that caught fire and are asking EV owners in the area “to please get it towed away from your home BUT you must make sure the towing operator knows how to safely and properly tow EV vehicles,” according to the Facebook post.

Maybe take those EVs to a freshwater lake, push them in for awhile to dilute the salt, pull the doors, hood and trunk covers off, then drop them into open-top shipping containers full of rice for a week or so?

Apparently, even if one catches on fire and the firefighters put it out, it can reignite days later.

Snarkin' Down on Herschel

pic.twitter.com/J897eHsXqv

— mike luckovich (@mluckovichajc) October 17, 2022

Cadet Bone Spurs's Witch-hunt Falls Apart

A jury on Tuesday acquitted a think tank analyst accused of lying to the FBI about his role in the creation of a discredited dossier about former President Donald Trump.

The case against Igor Danchenko was the third and possibly final case brought by Special Counsel John Durham as part of his probe into how the FBI conducted its own investigation into allegations of collusion between the 2016 Trump campaign and the Kremlin.

The first two cases ended in an acquittal and a guilty plea with a sentence of probation.

The machinations of John Durham have been shown to be a legal shitshow driven by the inchoate outrage of his master, El Caudillo de Mar-a-Lago. The proof is in the pudding: Durham took two cases to trial and lost both of them.

Delineating These Down, Here

GOP to Seniors: "Fuck You, Die Soon."

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) said that if Republicans win control of the House that the GOP will use raising the debt limit as leverage to force spending cuts - which could include cuts to Medicare and Social Security...

McCarthy is not the first Republican to say he is open to changes in the entitlement programs. Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) has suggested that Social Security and Medicare be eliminated as federal entitlement programs, and that they should instead become programs approved by Congress on an annual basis as discretionary spending.

Republicans have been trying to eliminate Social Security and force lower-income senors to either work until they die or go to the poorhouses for nearly the last ninety years. They hate, hate, the idea of government doing anything to help anyone other than corporations and the rich.

Republicans are just nasty people. If there was an injured dog on the side of the road, Republicans would swerve to run it over. They would gleefully strew marbles in the path of a blind person. If a cat was up in a tree, Republicans would shoot it.

They are the party of greed, of authoritarianism, and a party that completely lacks humanity.

They have not changed since Hoover sent the army to bust up an encampment of poverty-stricken veterans of the Great War.

GOP to Putin: "Hold On, Vladimir, We've Got Your Back."

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy expressed skepticism about sending more aid to Ukraine if Republicans take back the House in the upcoming midterm elections.
...
The comments signal that bipartisan support for funding to Ukraine against Russia's invasion could be waning.

No matter how McCarthy quibbles about what he said, Putin is going to take his comments that all he has to do is hang on anf force his people to endure the war. Regardless of how much the Ukrainians desire to take back their country, the Russians plan to grind them into powder because the Ukrainians will run out of advanced arms.

And they will, if Putin's Poodles in the GOP manage to choke off supplying Ukraine.

Funny thing about the GOP and the Right: They always bleat about being strong and such, but when the rubber hits the road, they run away, screaming like a bunch of little kids.

I would say that we can either give Ukraine the tools they need to win or we can fight the Russians when they attack a NATO nation, such as the Baltics.

But I can't say that. The Republicans will run away from our treaty obligations to NATO. For like their Exalted Leedur-in-Exile, the word of Republicans are as long-lasting as a promise that was written on damp rice paper.

Guns and Food

I have no idea who took the time to do this. The author should get a Pulitzer Prize, or something. (ETA: A guy named Logan Alexander apparently wrote this.)

Strap in and enjoy!

Of Course, The Toff Was Grifting the Secret Service

Donald Trump’s private company arranged for the Secret Service to pay for rooms at his properties in excess of government-approved rates at least 40 times during his presidency, including two charges for more than $1,100 per night, according to documents released Monday by a congressional committee.

The Secret Service was charged room rates of more than $800 per night at least 11 times when agents stayed at Mar-a-Lago in Florida, the Trump hotel in Washington, D.C., and other properties, the Democratic-led House Oversight Committee said. It noted that Trump made over 500 trips to his properties while president.

This isn't exactly a new story, there has been reporting that the Asset was overcharging the Secret Serive for a long time.

Each time, Cadet Bone Spurs sends out his Dim Son to deny (as opposed to Coke Boy). Which persuades nobody.

Match Bangity

I shot a full USPSA match last weekend. I broke my usual habit and shot a 1911A1 clone.

And using Wilson Elite magazines (which I bought on sale).

This is kinda sorta of how the matches are scored: You shoot a stage and get a raw time. If you hit the A-zone, every time, that's the time for your stage. If you hit the C-zone, a second is added for that. If you hit the D-zone, two seconds are added. A miss is five seconds. If you hit a no-shoot target, that's a five second penalty (plus the five-second penalty for missing, unless you made that up with an additional round). If you don't shoot at a target at all, you get hit with a penalty for that, plus two misses. (It's actually much more complicated with that.)

Which means that there is a point where, if you're halfway accurate, speed trumps accuracy.

Speed is where I did shitty. When it came to using iron-sights, I was maybe #2. But I was slow, especially compared to the shooters with competition 9mms with optics, which aren't exactly cheap. Some of those guys sound as though they are going full-auto. I'm not doing that with an essentially GI-grade 1911 (albeit with a SFS kit installed) firing milspec ball ammo.

But overall, I was pleased. My 1911 is a carry gun; nobody I know of carries a racegun. And, as this match proved to me, I can shoot it.

The Russian Way of War

1. Try to break civilian morale by attacking random shit.
2. Press-gang men off the street, give them little to no training, and send them into combat. 

Neither appear to be winning strategies. Both are strategies straight out of the Second World War. Add to that, the Russians are the invaders, the Nazis, in this war and everyone on both sides of the front line knows that to be true. The Ukrainians are fighting to regain the land taken by the Russians. The Russians are fighting for Putin's ambition. The Ukrainians have the support of the western nations. The Russians have the support of the Iran regime,[1] but only because the Russians have a permanent seat on the UN Security Council. Only a handful of other countries seem to be willing to stand behind Russia.

Few people want to die for another's ambition. Few parents want to see their sons killed for the imperial ambitions of their emperor, not in this century.

Between those who are being sent to the front as cannon-fodder and who will return to their families in coffins,[2] and those who have fled to other countries to avoid the war, a million young men, or more, will have been removed from Russian society and the Russian economy. A lot of them are the best and brightest young men that the Russians have. The dead will be gone forever, of course, but the living who have fled may find living in freer countries more to their liking.

Which means that this may not end well for Russia.
____________________________
[1] And there is a non-zero chance that the Iranian regime will fall in the near-future.
[2] And those whose bodies will be abandoned and later buried by the Ukranians.

Your Sunday Morning Turboprop Noise

The Super Guppy:

It's Getting Nuts on Guns

A federal judge in West Virginia has ruled that a federal ban on possessing a gun with its serial number removed is unconstitutional, the first such ruling since the U.S. Supreme Court dramatically expanded gun rights in June.

As I understand it, since there wasn't a requirement for guns to have serial numbers before 1968, the requirement for guns to be serialized is unconstitutional.

The issue, as I see it, is that there are a lot of other gun control requirements that didn't exist in the old days and will, under this logic also fail: Age requirements, residency requirements, background checks. Before 1968, in most states, buying a revolver was no harder than buying a claw hammer. Before 1934, the same was true of suppressors.

So, eventually, this crap is going to go back to the Supremes to see if they can straighten out the mess they've made.

Or make it worse.

Heh. Heh.

At least 11 people have been killed after an attack at a Russian military training ground on Saturday.

During a firearms training session, two men opened fire on a group who had volunteered to fight in Ukraine, state-owned news agency Ria reported.

The attackers were from a former Soviet republic, the Russian defence ministry said, but did not give further details.

They were also shot dead during the incident in the Belgorod region of Russia, which borders Ukraine.

No word as to whether or not they were trainees who were not happy about being sent to fight in Putler's War.

Coming Next Month: The Last Free Election in the United States

That is the thrust of Sean Munger's article, which you absolutely should go read.

It seems as though the Republicans have, long ago, conceded that they cannot win a contest of ideas, of proposals. So, instead of retooling their policies to appeal to people, to try and win the minds of the voters, they have been focusing on a plan to seize power, to turn this country into an autocracy.

Munger has put forward a case that, instead, they are just going to take the country by ignoring elections. The TOFF, in this regard, and for his own personal reasons, jumped the gun on overthrowing democracy. He tried to do it by force. The Republicans are going to try and do it with the help of their imbedded fascists on the Supreme Court. If they are more loyal to their ideology than to their country, then the 2024 election will be a mere formality.

And then, well, say goodbye to a free and secure Western world. All that Putler has to do is hang on in his war for the next 27-28 months and the Republicans will deliver Europe to him, as they will also deliver Taiwan to the Chinese Communists.

Then, because nothing more will be done to address climate change, things will get increasingly bad.

So yes, we are well and truly fucked if Munger is correct.

And then they will come for the Jews, then other minorities. Because that's what fascists do.

Caturday

"Ma, I wanna go with!"

Because It's Friday

British steam wakes up in the morning.

Garratts are ugly locomotives.

Trump Loses Again

No comment, no dissent, just "Trump loses (again)".

More here.

Snotting These Down, Here

pic.twitter.com/WBX8U06g2i

— Пeрзидент Роисси (@KermlinRussia) October 11, 2022