WendyMcElroy.com

From C2C Journal: Research to Ruin: The Worsening Spectre of Academic Fraud. [Ed: current academia is like the current media: no credibility, injurious to society, a cruel joke on those who believe in it.] From Zero Hedge: Distrust In Leaders (And Journalists) Ticks Up Again. ...an increasing proportion of respondents across the 28 polled countries worry that government and business leaders as well as journalists and reporters are purposely misleading people... [Ed: I wish we lived in a high trust society--the society in which I grew up--because it has tremendous advantages.]

From I love my Dog: Drone Footage Captures Emotional Reunion of Blind Pup and Her Owner

From Wired: The School Shootings Were Fake. The Terror Was Real. The inside story of the teenager whose “swatting” calls sent armed police racing into hundreds of schools nationwide—and the private detective who tracked him down.

First 100 Days. From Politico.EU: WHO freezes hiring, restricts travel after US withdrawal. Trump’s planned exit “has made our financial situation more acute” the WHO chief told staff [Ed: I wonder how many global gov. institutions Trump can shrink or eliminate. Pipe dream, perhaps, but a gal has to dream.] From the Daily Mail: Midnight Purge. Trump Fires 17 Inspectors General. [Ed: he is doing it right this time--firing those who would sabotage him.] From Reason: Trump Tries To Fire Inspectors General, Likely Violating Federal Law. A law passed in 2022 requires the president to give Congress a "substantive rationale" for removing inspectors general. Trump has not done that.

From Moon of Alabama: How The Chinese Beat Trump And OpenAI. [Ed: I agree that AI is overhyped.]

From Politico.EU: EU’s new economic vision is speaking to Green Deal critics. A draft document shows Brussels putting deregulation before decarbonization. AND France urges Brussels to indefinitely delay EU green rules for business. Economy minister calls for focus on laws that complicate life for companies and slow their growth. [Ed: is it possible that the green hysteria is loosening its grip on the EU?]

From Frugalite: Frugal Food Prep Keeps You On-Budget

From Daily Paws: Watch: This Husky Has Absolutely No Interest in Leaving the Dog Park and It's So Funny. From YouTube: [link=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ew2b9stGiQw]this is an alternate source of video[/link].

From El Pais English: A border in flames: Petro and Maduro accuse each other over conflict that has displaced thousands. [Ed: Columbia and Venezuela.]

Everyday Finances. From the Organic Prepper: 18 Practical Ways to Use the Ashes from Your Fireplace. [Ed: Brad.] AND The Truth About Living Through a Dollar Devaluation.

Immigration. From Just the News: Rubio’s first foreign trip aimed at confronting Panama Canal security, immigration head on. Rubio’s Latin American trip highlights the region’s importance to U.S. national security and immigration crisis. From FOX 59: Justice Department directs prosecutors to investigate local efforts to obstruct immigration enforcement. From Mish Talk: A Court Appointee of Reagan Correctly Blocks Trump’s Birthright Citizenship Order. [Ed: yes. Trump is flat wrong on birthright.]

From Animal Channel: Man rescues tiny black cat from field not knowing he’d quickly return the favor

From Zero Hedge: Watch: Trump Destroys LA Mayor To Her Face During Wild Press Conference Spat

Pete Hegseth. From Responsible Statecraft: Hegseth confirmed: This is where we find out his true mettle. The big test is whether he can face down the service chiefs, or will he merely be 'absorbed'. From PBS: Pete Hegseth delivers remarks after being sworn in as defense secretary.

From Victor Davis Hanson: The Addicted, Petty, And Hysterical Left. "After a decade of this unhinged furor, it proved worthless in winning public support... and for two simple reasons..."

From the DoDo: Lady Wasn't Allowed To Have Dogs So Her Neighbors Built Her A Little Window

From the Telegraph: Denmark in ‘crisis mode’ after ‘horrendous’ phone call from Trump demanding to buy Greenland. US president spoke to Danish premier for 45 minutes last week and made clear he wanted to place Greenland under American control. [Ed: hmm. Something about this account seems 'wrong' to me.] From Global News: ‘Mr. Trump, f— off’: Danish politician lashes out over Greenland proposal. [Ed: wait until year 3 of Trump's term...then Greenland will be actively on the table.]

From Newser: A Specific Worry Grows Over Trump's Crypto Coin. Critics say foreign buyers looking to 'curry favor' with the president can easily do so. [Ed: in short, it can be a conduit for bribes and payoffs. News round-up.]

From the Post Millennial: Pardoned Silk Road founder Ross Ulbricht thanks Trump for releasing him from life sentence. “Now I’m a free man. So, let it be known that Donald Trump keeps his word.”

Ukraine. From Gilbert Doctorow: News X: Trump Asks for Meeting with Putin to Discuss Truce AND Putin and Xi Strengthen Ties Amid Trump’s Tough Stance on Russia and China. From Zero Hedge: Trump Cuts Ukraine Aid As State Dept "Totally Went Nuclear" On Foreign Assistance. The guidance, issued by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, was sent to all diplomatic and consular posts... {Ed: I wish I could see Zelenski's face.] From Real Clear Politics: Rubio Outlines 'Sweeping Change' In Cable To U.S. Diplomats Worldwide. Every dollar we spend, every program we fund, and every policy we pursue must be justified with the answer to three simple questions...

All Things Calif. Fire. From KTLA: Tens of Thousands Ordered to Evacuate as Massive Fire Explodes in Northern Los Angeles County. [Ed: this one, they are calling arson.] From the Epoch Times: Trump Signals He May Withhold Federal Aid To California Over Water Policies. ‘I don’t think we should give California anything until they let water flow down,’ he said.

From NBC: Mexico refuses to accept a U.S. deportation flight.

From the Bored Panda: Overcoming Disability: This Dog’s Prancing Walk Steals Hearts On The Internet.

From Politico: ‘Hit Him Back Twice as Hard’: Canada’s No. 1 Populist Has a Risky Trump Strategy. Eight years ago, Justin Trudeau was the face of Canadian resistance to Trump. Not anymore. [Ed: Ford's threat is impractical to the extreme. Alberta's premier is far more reasonable. No wonder she's been invited to Mar-a-Lago and Ford hasn't.]]

From Jonathan Turley: Hemphill and the Curious Pardon Precedent of the Supreme Court [Ed: can someone refuse a pardon? Interesting.] From Revolver News:
Shocking new twist in Biden family crime drama reveals likely reason Joe pardoned everybody…

From the Epoch Times: White House Office Of Gun Violence Prevention Webpage Goes Dark On Trump's 2nd Day. Second Amendment advocates are celebrating, and gun control activists are decrying the apparent closing of the White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention...

From Politico: Hegseth heads to Pentagon with plans to upend it. His approval could smooth the process for other controversial Trump picks. [Ed: Vance needed to cast a tie-breaking vote.]

I am delighted to announce that my book on my old friend Samuel E. Konkin III (SEK3) is now available. The book was released on December 20th and is offered in both digital and paperback formats. The paperback can be purchased on Amazon, while the digital copy is available on the website https://www.agoristnexus.com/shop/, which also acceptd cryptocurrency through NowPayments. This link will also lead to the amazon URL for the paperback. Please take a moment and check out the remarkable human being who was SEK3. I thank you.

P.S. I would be most grateful for any publicity readers can provide to this book and SEK3.

From ZME Science: AI Designs Computer Chips We Can’t Understand — But They Work Really Well. [Ed: hat tip to Bitjuggler.]

From IHeartDogs: Dog Lover Travels Cross-Country To Save His Dog From Kill Shelter.

From Dances with Bears: Dmitri Rogozin on Fighting and Finishing the War Differently– Acceleration, Decapitation, Mobilization. [Ed: John Helmer is excellent on analysis of Russian military.]

From the Business Insider: Leaked memo: Stripe lays off 300 employees, mostly in product, engineering, and operations. AND Stripe accidentally sent an image of a duck when notifying some employees they were getting laid off. [Ed: a little rubber duckie.]

Immigration. From Zero Hedge: Trump Begins Deep State Purge At DOJ. Panic ensues... [Ed: Trump has 'moved' without notice just about the entire senior staff of the immigration dept of the DOJ.] AND "Deportation Flights Begin": White House Announces First Jumbo Jet Of Illegals Departs America. "Just as he promised, President Trump is sending a strong message to the world..."

From CNN: Trump Releasing More King, Kennedy Assassination Files. [Ed: MLK, JFK. RFK.]

Birthright Citizenship. From the Associated Press: 22 states sue to stop Trump’s order blocking birthright citizenship. From Unherd: The case for ending birthright citizenship. The history of the law is misunderstood. [Ed: interesting to read the other side.]

From the Epoch Times: This Transition Is Already A Huge Historical Marker. [Ed: by Jeff Tucker.]

From Real Clear Policy: Democrats Can't Bully Their Way To A Free Pass. [Ed: interesting analysis of pardons and their legal implications re: confessing guilt.]

From Zero Hedge: "Be A Good Democrat"... Or Else - NYC Mayor Says Biden Admin Tried To Silence Him Over Influx Of Illegals. "...the party left me, and it left working-class people..." [Ed: includes video of his interview with Tucker Carlson. Adams is obviously angling for a pardon from Trump for his federal case.]

From Pupvine: Rescuer From California Tries To Rescue This Mystery Animal Peeking Out From A Sewer Drain.

Global Trump. From Mish Talk: Trump Renews Threat of 25 Percent Tariffs on Canada and Mexico. [Ed: must read for the sense of practical implications.] From Spiked:
Has Trump killed Davos Man? The WEF’s globalist gabfest has never looked more irrelevant.

Israel-Gaza. From Spiked: How Hamas became invisible. The greatest trick these vicious Islamists ever pulled was convincing the world they didn't exist. [Ed: they have apparently been biding their time in tunnels, caves, etc.]

From Puppy Toob: Woman Finds Long Lost Dog After Seeing Photo On a Beer Can

From the Associated Press: John Ratcliffe confirmed as CIA director in 74-25. [Ed: cabinet member #2.]

Crypto. From Zero Hedge: BlackRock CEO Wants SEC To "Rapidly Approve" Tokenization Of Bonds & Stocks. Is this a net positive for the crypto sector? [Ed: no.] From Anadolu Agency: US’ Trump signs executive order on crypto markets, digital asset stockpile.

Birthright Citizenship. From Mish Talk: Trump’s Executive Order Ending Birth Citizenship Is Headed to the Gutter. [Ed: I agree. For one thing, it is unconstitutional. If Trump's intent was to elevate attention to the issue, however...well done.] From Zero Hedge: ACLU Sues Trump Over Order Ending Birthright Citizenship. "Trump’s executive order directly opposes our Constitution, values, and history, and it would create a permanent, multigenerational subclass..." [Ed: to date, 22 Democrat-led states and two cities have also challenged the EO.] From ACLU News: Trump’s Executive Order on Birthright Citizenship, Explained. Yesterday, Trump signed an executive order intended to end birthright citizenship. We break down why that’s clearly unconstitutional.

From Best Friends: Dog and her puppies safe after Hurricane.

Mainstream Media. From Jonathan Turley: The Sting: Joe Biden Delivers the Final Blow to Mainstream Media. "In 2020, CBS News’s Lesley Stahl literally laughed mockingly at then-President Donald Trump when he raised the Hunter Biden laptop and what it revealed about the Bidens. (Yet Stahl still recently expressed confusion and alarm that people were abandoning legacy media for new media.)" From Zero Hedge: ABC, NBC, CBS Back In Hot-Seat After New FCC Chair Reinstates Complaints.

Trump Transition. From Politico: Trump administration sidelines staffers from disbanded DEIA offices. The Trump administration is placing all government staffers in diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility roles on paid administrative leave. [Ed: wise, given how much sabotage occurred last time around.]

From Reason: State-Run TikTok Coming Soon? Not if Rand Paul and Ro Khanna can help it. From AIER: TikTok Can Be Bad For Us, But Banning It Would Be Worse. If we use censorship to chase after the enemies of freedom, we do their work for them. [Ed: I may be the only teen/adult in N. America who has never used Tiktok...but banning it is not the solution...if, indeed,there is a problem.]

From Politico: Democrat Eric Adams sits for jovial, free-wheeling interview with Tucker Carlson. The New York City mayor recently dined with Donald Trump, who has the power to pardon him in his federal case. [Ed: how long before Adams declares himself to be a Republican or an Independent?]

From Townhall: Guns Don't Kill People. Canada Kills People. [Ed: I used to like being Canadian. When Trudeau goes, perhaps I will again.] From CNN: Canada Can No Longer Claim the Magnetic North Pole. World Magnetic Model gets its first update since 2020. [Ed: great. Canada kills people and now it has lost the North Pole.]

From Dogbeast: Woman Opens Her Home To 97 Stray Dogs As Hurricane Dorian Rips Through The Bahamas

Ukraine. From Politico: Desperate for peace, Ukraine embraces Trump. The Trump presidency “might not be good — but it will be much better than under Biden,” a former Ukrainian cabinet minister says. [Ed: I didn't know Ukraine had so little respect for Biden. Makes sense.] From Moon of Alabama: Trump and Ukraine Should Concede. "The Ukrainian commander in chief General Syrksi seems to have given up. Recent remarks of his suggest that he no longer sees a way to win the war. He is now simply waiting for the politicians to concede." From Remix News: Zelensky Claims 200,000 European Soldiers Needed To Secure Peace Deal. “A minimum, otherwise it’s nothing...”

From Zero Hedge: Lab-Grown-Meat Backlash Builds As More States Say 'No' To Bill Gates' Fake-Food. "Make America Healthy Again" means rejecting science-experiment foods... [Ed: I hope this trend accelerates.]

Immigration. From Just the News: On day 2 of Trump administration, Homeland Security reinstates Remain in Mexico policy. “The Biden-Harris Administration abused the humanitarian parole program to indiscriminately allow 1.5 million migrants to enter our country,” DHS said. [Ed: how the narrative has turned.] AND On day 2 of Trump administration, Homeland Security reinstates Remain in Mexico policy. “The Biden-Harris Administration abused the humanitarian parole program to indiscriminately allow 1.5 million migrants to enter our country,” DHS said. From the Washington Post: Justice Department says it will prosecute local officials over immigration enforcement. [Ed: reader friendly.] From Zero Hedge: Pentagon Reportedly Deploying 1,500 Active Duty Troops To US-Mexico Border. Urgent need to restore national security after disastrous Biden-Harris regime.

From Lew Rockwell: What We've Learned from a Year of Vaccine Shedding Data. Numerous data sources now corroborate that the COVID vaccines shed in a consistent and replicable manner. [Ed: a good intro to this topic.]

From Pawbuzz: Puppy Finds Cat In His Bed So He Retaliates. His Reaction Is Hilarious! [Ed: go down to the end to see the second YouTube.]

From Reason: Javier Milei Deregulates Food Imports and Exports. The move "seeks cheaper food for Argentines and more Argentine food for the world." [Ed: my initial skepticism about this guy is gone. My friend Chris Baker was correct all the time.]

From Unherd: Kim Leadbeater is shielding the assisted dying bill from scrutiny. [Ed: I want gov. to have NO part in so-called assisted dying. Allow people to commit suicide with private assistance, if necessary.]

Israel-Gaza. From Politico.EU: Gaza cease-fire: The view from Israel. Israelis are supportive of the deal, but they can’t help but ask why it was necessary for additional hostages, soldiers and civilians to die before leaders finally took action? [Ed: because Netanyahu and the others that constitute the Israeli war machine wanted war.] From antiwar: How US Media Hide Truths About the Gaza War AND The Gaza Genocide: The Fall of Israel’s Immunity. [Ed: the world is turning against Israel.] From Anadolu Agency: Illegal Israeli settlers torch Palestinian homes, vehicles in West Bank attacks. [Ed: not technically a violation of ceasefire because non-gov?]

California wildfires. From Zero Hedge: Massive New Fire Explodes North Of LA, Spreading Rapidly Along I-5. A massive new fire is spreading rapidly north of Los Angeles, threatening Interstate 5, one of California’s main transportation arteries.

From KFF Health: Dogs Paired With Providers at Hospitals Help Ease Staff and Patient Stress

Updated 23 Jan 2025: 72 items.
Original post, 7 Nov 2024: 11 items.

Brad here. I confess feeling some disappointment with the Democrats here. Rather than blame UFOs or the Mossad or time-traveling hackers, the Democrats have started blaming each other for the failure of the Kamala campaign. Are they beginning to see the fiasco for what it was? Or is this just how the flurry of finger-pointing looks ("blame-him/her, not me")? Either way, it's the candidate or the campaign being blamed, not mysterious outside forces...so it's not grist for my mill.

Brad here. Shortly after the 2016 presidential election, I began a list of all of the excuses Hillary and her boosters offered for her ignominious defeat. That list seems to have topped out at 199 excuses. But now the blame-anything-else circus has come back to town, now in defense of Kamala Harris and her massively inept campaign. So, time for a new list!

As before, these are only those excuses which don't blame the candidate herself or the conduct of her campaign. So, for example, "Tim Walz" doesn't appear on this list, though I have already seen him being blamed for the debacle.

[ Read the rest ... ]