WendyMcElroy.com

From the Post Millennial: Over 100,000 Michigan voters choose ‘uncommitted’ over Joe Biden in Democrat primary.

Fani Willis Mess. From Zero Hedge: Biden Operative Inserted Into Fani Team According To Insider; Jim Jordan Reveals New Whistleblower. "He is the brainchild behind this. That is the connection to the White House." [Ed: operative is Jeff D. Santis. Breitbart is all over this situation, as is Jim Jordan...and he is a pit bull.] From the Hill: Trump Georgia prosecutor’s ex-divorce attorney to retake stand. [Ed: has knowledge of a long-standing sexual relationship between Willis-Wade. Judge has determined knowledge is not covered by client-attorney privilege.]

From Police1: ‘A true underdog': Netflix movie tells story of shelter dog turned K-9 hero. Thanks to Cpl. Daniel O’Neil, a rambunctious pup named Ruby overcame.

Lebanon-Israel. From Scripps: Israeli air force strikes deep inside Lebanon, killing 2 people. [Ed: Netanyahu wants a regional war; he needs one to stay in power.]

Gaza-Israel. From Politico: Biden’s Never Been Driven By Human Rights. This Time, It Might Cost Him. Don’t be so surprised about his response to the Middle East war. He’s always been willing to put human rights on the back burner. From Spiked:
We need to talk about Gen Z’s Palestine mania. There was nothing laudable about Aaron Bushnell’s tragic suicide. [Ed: by Brendan O'Neill. The hysteria and blind rage with which they are surrounding what is probably a just cause--defense of Palestinian civilians--is preventing real discussion and desperately needed solutions.]

Gaza Ceasefire. From Zero Hedge: Biden Talks Up Gaza Ceasefire By "End Of The Weekend" Even As Israeli Officials Downplay. Mumbles with ice cream in hand... [Ed: I saw this live. It was damned frightening. This guy is 'in charge'? I know he is not, of course...] From Newser: After Biden Talks Ceasefire, Israel and Hamas Are Puzzled. Both sides sound surprised at the optimism. [Ed: a round-up of news stories.]

Google Gemini. From Modernity News: Musk Warns "Google's Woke Bureaucratic Blob" Won't Allow Its AI To Be Fixed. “Given that the Gemini AI will be at the heart of every Google product and YouTube, this is extremely alarming!” [Ed: this is being called Google's Bud Light moment.] From Spiked: Google Gemini: a glimpse into our Orwellian future. AI is rewriting history to make it fit a preferred narrative. Where have we heard that one before? From the Post Millennial: Here are all the insane lies Google Gemini has told since its launch. An X user asked if Hitler could be determined to be worse than Jesus. Google Gemini could not come to a conclusion.

From Townhall: Jennifer Crumbley Shouldn't Have Been Convicted. [Ed: by the excellent John Lott.]

The Red Sea. From Zero Hedge: Houthis Have Knocked Out Several Undersea Internet Cables: Report. Conflicting reports emerge that underwater communications cables between Saudi Arabia & Djibouti struck out of commission... From Threadreader: 3 submarine cables cut in the Red Sea between Jeddah and Djibouti. [Ed: important acceleration.] From Antiwar: US Officials 'Surprised' By Houthi Military Capabilities. Without any Congressional approval, Biden has ordered strikes on Yemen nearly every day. [Ed: Congress has de facto relinquished its authority to declare war.] From Gilbert Doctorow: News Flash: Houthis attack underwater communications cables in the Red Sea. [Ed: important story.]

From Moonbattery: Moonbats Come After Toilets. [Ed: oh, Lord. Most civil libertarians want gov. out of their bedrooms. First and foremost, I want it out of my bathroom.]

From Politico: ‘I’m Not Trying to Cause a Scene. I Just Want to Get Off This Plane.’ A former senior Boeing employee on why he still won’t fly on a MAX plane.

From the Bored Panda: 30 Examples Of Unconditional Doggo Love That Will Melt Your Heart

Ukraine. From Responsible Statecraft: CIA in Ukraine: Why is this not seen as provocation? An explosive new NYT report shows how Washington needlessly fed into Russia’s worst fears and precipitated the invasion, justified or not. [Ed: I think it is seen as a provocation but Russia is tight-lipped.] From Politico: Russia warns NATO of certain war if West puts troops into Ukraine. Allied leaders rush to distance themselves from French President Emmanuel Macron’s suggestion that allies could put boots on the ground to help Kyiv. [Ed: if that was a straw in the wind Marcon threw, then it has blasted back in his face and up his nose.]

The Border/Migrants. From Law Enforcement Today: Border Patrol drops hundreds of migrants at bus stop in San Diego after $6M in funds from the county runs dry. [Ed: dump the problem on society at large.] From the Babylon Bee: Facing Low Approval, Biden Promises To Start Pretending To Care About The Border.

From Jonathan Turley: “We Don’t Do That Here.”: Former NY Times Editor Blasts the “Gray Lady” for Bias and Activism. [Ed: one in a series of exposees by former employees.]

Big Picture Economics. From Real Investment Advice: This Is Nuts – An Entire Market Chasing One Stock. "...we may be at the 'this is nuts' stage of market exuberance." [Ed: Nvidia, of course. I am preparing for a collapse. Not Big Picture preparing because I'm not a Big Picture gal...but preparing.]

From the Hill: Senate GOP fears Speaker Johnson headed toward shutdown wreck.

From the Epoch Times: ‘The Constant in It All’: Rescued Cat Obsessed With Owner’s Twins Doesn’t Leave Their Side.

Everyday Finances. From CNN Business: Kellogg’s CEO: Let them eat Corn Flakes for dinner. [Ed: advice is not being well received.] From the Hill: Why tech companies are laying off thousands of workers [Ed: of course, there is a ripple effect by which companies that rely on money from tech firms, including lunch counters, will be laying off people or closing.] From CBS News: Half of College Graduates Are Working High School Level Jobs

Navalny. From Dances with Bears: Navalny Organization Splits into Whites and Reds as Lies Multiply. [Ed: a must read.]

From People: Dog Missing in Arizona Desert for 9 Months Is Found Safe Thanks to Community Help

Baltasar Gracian's Aphorism #257: Never let Matters come to an Open Break

for our reputation always comes injured out of the encounter. Every one may be of importance as an enemy if not as a friend. Few can do us good, almost any can do us harm. In Jove's bosom itself even his eagle never nestles securely from the day he has quarrelled with a beetle. Hidden foes use the paw of the declared enemy to stir up the fire, and meanwhile they lie in ambush for such an occasion. Friends provoked become the bitterest of enemies. They cover their own failings with the faults of others. Every one speaks as things seem to him, and things seem as he wishes them to appear. All blame us at the beginning for want of foresight, at the end for lack of patience, at all times for imprudence. If, however, a breach is inevitable, let it be rather excused as a slackening of friendship than by an outburst of wrath: here is a good application of the saying about a good retreat.

My interpretation: take this one to heart. There are rare occasions when a clean break is necessary and productive. As far as I can tell, salutary clean breaks come when you can walk away from the egregious person and not have to deal with him/her again; that is to say, the person is not family, a co-worker, a part of a shared circle of friends or an otherwise ongoing presence in your life. I recently did so with an old friend who seemed unable or unwilling to stop making sexual advances toward me. I have zero tolerance for such behavior and far too old for this ****. When he would not stop after two warnings, I made a sharp departure from his life. But his life is/was quite separate from my own and I don't experience any consequences other than relief.

[ Read the rest ... ]

This is a snippet from the Preface of my upcoming book on SEK3, which is now being turned from a final rough draft into a final polished one. If there is an author's message here, it is this: do not take reckless legal risks with your own life or that of others no matter how much you disrespect any particular law.

Shortly after my husband and I settled into our home in Canada, I received a strange phone call from SEK3 (Samuel E. Konkin III). Thankfully, my answering machine picked it up because I would not have enjoyed confronting Sam on the request he made of me. In fact, I made a point of screening calls carefully for a few days thereafter in order to avoid speaking directly to him.

Some explanatory background is necessary here. In 1990, Sam married a woman named Sheila. This was a short-lived partnership that had the one salutary result of producing a son named Samuel Evans-Konkin IV or Sammie. Unfortunately, Sheila had other children with different fathers. Sam’s phone message informed me that Sheila and the father of one of these other children had a heated dispute. I assumed it was over custody because Sam said they were packing up the child and making a dash for the Canadian border. He wanted us to shelter them all at our farm. In short, he wanted us to commit at least one major felony by assisting in the kidnapping of a child and to do so without our really knowing the circumstances of the situation. Frankly, even a casual acquaintance with Sheila, made me question whether the child was actually better off with her or whether I was hearing the true story. I dodged a few more persistent calls from Sam before the phone fell silent. Perhaps this makes me a bad friend, but I escaped becoming a felon in dubious cause.

Ukraine. From the Consortium News: Craig Murray: Mea Culpa on Ukraine. [Ed: I think many people have landed at this conclusion. Frankly, it was my starting point.] From Zero Hedge: CIA Built "12 Secret Spy Bases" In Ukraine & Waged Shadow War For Last Decade, Bombshell NYT Report Confirms. Decade-long secret war against Russia is no longer a "conspiracy theory"... "Clearly, Kiev and Washington now want world to know of the deep intelligence relationship they tried to conceal for over the past decade."[Ed: a must read.] From Simplicius the Thinker: Avdeevka Denouement: Russian Momentum Turning Point. "For the first time, the U.S. mouthpiece was forced to acknowledge Russia is having success."

From the Laughing Squid: A Hilarious Series of Parody Ads Featuring Dogs As Personal Injury Lawyers. [Ed: Brad, a must read.]

From the Guardian: After this week’s Julian Assange court hearing, this is clear: extradition would amount to a death sentence. At the high court, lawyers posed the pivotal question: how can exposing crime and torture be worse than committing them? [Ed: Biden admin seems determined to extradite. Translation, Obama is determined.] From Pearls and Irritations: The pretense of justice meted out to Assange by the Rules Based Order has come undone.

From Jonathan Turley: Before Joe, James and Hunter, There Was Great-Great-Grandpa Moses. "...the prosecution of the great-great-grandfather of President Joe Biden." [Ed: fascinating.]

From ScheerPost: Chris Hedges: The Death of Liberal Zionism. "Liberal Zionism, the notion that Israel’s existence can be compatible with liberal values, has run its course." [Ed: in fairness, there is considerable resistance within Israel to the actions in Gaza.]

From Reasons to be Cheerful: On ‘Alternative Walking Tours,’ Formerly Homeless People Share Their Perspectives. The tours help the guides embrace the next chapter of their lives, while showing tourists a hidden side of the city they’re visiting.

Palestine-Israel-Lebanon. From France 24: Palestinian PM submits resignation to Abbas as Israel proposes plan to evacuate Rafah. [Ed: in advance of expanding offensive into Rafah, of course.] From Al Jazeera: Palestinian PM submits resignation to Mahmoud Abbas over Gaza ‘genocide’. [Ed: note difference in headlines.] From Politico.EU: Israel strikes eastern Lebanon for first time since Gaza war began. Israel Defense Forces said its warplanes attacked Hezbollah positions in the Beqaa Valley, as military activity expands.

From Space: James Webb telescope finds ancient galaxy larger than our Milky Way, and it's threatening to upend cosmology

From Zero Hedge: "Tragic And Embarrassing": San Fran Hardware Store Implements One-On-One Shopping With Employee Escort Due To "Rampant Shoplifting"

From K9: There’s More to This Dog Than a Viral Video, Here’s His Story

From Tom Dispatch: William Hartung, False Job Claims Fuel Massive Pentagon Budgets. [Ed: Biden admin is explicitly linking war with America's economic well being.] [Ed: a must read.] From Bracing Views: War and Genocide Create Jobs! Killing Russians and Palestinians--A Growth Industry for America. [Ed: death as profit for statists.]

From the New York Post: The theory as to why Paramount ‘laid off’ journalist Catherine Herridge – a known thorn of Biden administration. [Ed: interesting and plausible theory...but still just a theory.]

From Spiked: The shameful silencing of radical Islam’s critics. Censorship by the woke elites is aiding and abetting Islamist violence. [Ed: by the always worthwhile Brendan O'Neill.]

From the Epoch Times: Prosecution of Far-Right but Not Antifa for Same Riots ‘Constitutionally Impermissible’: Judge. The judge found that the government ’selectively prosecuted' two far-right men but not far-left rioters for acts of violence at the same event. [Ed: Yes! About damned time.]

From the Bored Panda: Man Shares A Heartwarming Story About How His Dog Saved His House From Burning Down.

Navalny. From Dances with Bears: The Case of the Navalny Corpse -- Cherchez les Femmes. [Ed: John Helmer is one of 3 commentators on Russia whose views I take very seriously. Cherchez les femmes=look for/to the women.] From the Mirror: Alexei Navalny: Putin enemy ‘died of blood clot not murder', Ukraine’s top spy says. Kyrylo Budanov, the head of Ukraine's formidable GUR military intelligence service, has spoken out about the death of Alexei Navalny, who was declared dead in prison. [Ed: plausible because it is not politically useful. But who knows? Of course, the blood clot could have resulted from a beating or torture.] From the Register: Microsoft trying to stop Copilot generating fake Putin comments on Navalny's death. [Ed: yeah, that'll clear things up.]

From the Associated Press: In Blow to Putin, Sweden Is Headed for NATO Membership. Hungary proved to be a lengthy holdout, but it finally gives a thumbs-up. From Zero Hedge: Sweden's NATO Accession Clears Final Hurdle After Hungary Inks Jet Deal. 'Historic day'... becomes 32nd member of the alliance. [Ed: ah, the jet deal cemented it all.]

From Free Association: TGIF: What Should I Do on Election Day? [Ed: by the excellent Sheldon Richman.]

From the Epoch Times: Google is Evil by Jeff Tucker. "When Google was formed in 1998, it adopted the slogan 'Don’t Be Evil'. Already we should have worried. It’s a bit strange, isn’t it? Let’s say there is a donut shop in town with the slogan 'We Won’t Poison You'.”

Blocking the Sun? From Time: Why Billionaires are Obsessed With Blocking Out the Sun. From Moonbattery: Bill Gates and George Soros Conspire to Blot Out Sun.

From Knewz: Fold-Up Cars Coming This Summer from Israeli Company, But Wider is Better for Some Things. [Ed: Israel seems to be road testing them for the world as well, with about 1,000 being ordered for medical emergency crews over there.]

Covid. From Slay News: Canadian Doctors Admit Covid ‘Booster’ Shot Paralyzed Woman, Offer to Euthanize Her to ‘Make Up for It’

From the Animal Channel: Scared rescue pup snaps at everyone until woman figures out how to ‘calm her’. She didn't know where she was or what was happening.

Farmers' Protests. From Breitbart: Great Reset Fightback: Farmers Spray Police With Liquid Manure Outside EU HQ. From Politico.EU: Macron blames far right for chaotic farmers’ fair in Paris. Police and protesters clashed as French president visited the annual agricultural show in a tense atmosphere. [Ed: the issues they protest over are not always great--e.g. they want more protections and/or subsidies. But it is good to see people opposing the globalist/green agenda on almost any basis.] From Euronews: Farmers from 12 EU countries continue to protest agricultural policies

From Optimist Daily: 9 driving changes you can make to save more and burn less.

[To access past Gracian aphorism's and my subjective interpretation of them, click here.]

Baltasar Gracian's Aphorism #256: Go armed against Discourtesy,

and against perfidy, presumption, and all other kinds of folly. There is much of it in the world, and prudence lies in avoiding a meeting with it. Arm yourself each day before the mirror of attention with the weapons of defence. Thus you will beat down the attacks of folly. Be prepared for the occasion, and do not expose your reputation to vulgar contingencies. Armed with prudence, a man cannot be disarmed by impertinence. The road of human intercourse is difficult, for it is full of ruts which may jolt our credit. Best to take a byway, taking Ulysses as a model of shrewdness. Feigned misunderstanding is of great value in such matters. Aided by politeness it helps us over all, and is often the only way out of difficulties.

My interpretation: I prefer an alternative translation of the title -- "Go always protected against discourtesy" -- because I believe Gracian is advocating a defensive action rather an 'armed' aggressive stance. If you engage with a rude person or respond in kind, then you have lost the exchange by lowering yourself to his level and/or playing his game. The discourteous are almost certainly better at that tactic than you are. And your reputation -- not to mention your digestion -- can't be improved by the confrontation.

Avoid discourtesy, whatever motives underpin it. Discourtesy is everywhere because it expresses so many motives: malice, a 'bad' nature, habit, a personal grudge, an irritated mood... The source doesn't matter except, of course, in order for you to recognize rudeness that masquerades as something else. For example, someone who draws you out pleasantly enough only to ridicule what you reveal. With this form of discourtesy, it may beimportant to judge motive or, at least, to remember the character of the questioner so as to avoid similar exchanges in the future...or to avoid any exchange at all. If you cannot escape, then yet another translation recommends, "Feigned misunderstanding is of great value in such matters. Aided by politeness it helps us over all, and is often the only way out of difficulties."

"We the Living" was released in two parts--a sequence--in fascist Italy in 1942; the second part was named "Goodbye Kira." When the fascists realized the movies' excoriation of communism could apply to their own ideology, the movies were banned and all copies ordered to be destroyed. After the war, surviving copies weren't released because Rand refused to grant the necessary rights. The copies disappeared in the '50s.

Rand's lawyers, Erika Holzer and Henry Mark Holzer, went to Italy and rediscovered a set in 1968. In the States, the two movies were combined, with English subtitles, in a manner that better expressed Rand's novel. The single movie was re-released.

Julian Assange. From Unherd: Why even Julian Assange’s critics should defend him. The WikiLeaks founder must not be extradited. AND Julian Assange is no fool. The critical Left props up the establishment. [Ed: the critical Left is the establishment.]

From the Daily Caller: Senior House Dems Signal They May Not Certify 2024 Election Results If Trump Wins: REPORT. [Ed: and, yet, the Dems excoriated the handful of House Republicans who suggested the same re: Biden.]

From Lovely Animal World: Dolphins Rescue Terrified Little Dog From Drowning In A Florida Canal

Cryptocurrency/Digital Currency. From Bitcoin Magazine: The New Satoshi Emails: 120 Pages Detailing Work On Bitcoin. Spurred by an ongoing lawsuit in the U.K., the new emails are the most significant addition to the canon of what we know about Bitcoin's still anonymous creator... [Ed: I'm definitely checking this out...in my copious spare time, that is.] From Daniel Lacalle: Why Central Bank Digital Currencies Are Unnecessary And Dangerous. The world’s financial challenges are not solved by imposing total control implemented by a monetary monopoly whose independence is seriously questioned...

From the Red State: CBS Just Got Into More Trouble Over Catherine Herridge's Files, Now House Judiciary Wants Answers. "Herridge was covering some significant stories on the Biden family, including the Hur Report and many angles of the Hunter Biden story." [Ed: CBS was reportedly under a lot of pressure from the White House to kill the stories.]

From Axios: Schumer and Johnson brawl over federal spending as deadline nears. [Ed: deadline is Friday to finance the gov. or else it will shut down...YAWN. Wake me when it is Saturday.]

From Politico: Social media cases head to SCOTUS — but conservatives may have already won. Two major cases deal with GOP laws aiming to force Big Tech to carry all users’ viewpoints.

Gaza. From Al Jazeera: With all eyes on Gaza, Israel steps up demolitions of Palestinian homes. ‘We can’t stand this suffering for long,’ Palestinian activists in East Jerusalem warn. [Ed: demolition with bulldozers, not bombs. Clearing the way for Israelis, obviously.] From Haaretz: Netanyahu’s Messianic Coalition Partners Want an All-out Regional War. Gaza Is Just a First Step Ehud Olmert, From Gilbert Doctorow: UN agency for Palestinian refugees at ‘breaking point’: Press TV, Iran. [Ed: a must read.]

From CNN: US Air Force Member Self-Immolates Outside Israeli Embassy in DC In an apparent protest of Israel's actions in Gaza From Caitlin Johnstone: The Most American Thing That Has Ever Happened. A man set himself on fire outside the Israeli embassy in Washington today. He said he did it in protest of the genocide in Gaza. [Ed: wow. I am speechless.]

From Law Enforcement Today: RemArms follows Smith & Wesson lead, flees liberal NY for more gun-friendly confines. [Ed: RemArms=Remington.]

From the Babylon Bee: New York Prosecutes Couple For Fraud For Listing Their House For $499,000 When It Ultimately Sold For $485,000. From the Gateway Pundit: Letitia James Posting Daily Score of Massive Added Interest on Trump Fine: “+$114,553.04 = $464,805,336.70”. [Ed: this is carrying the glee of prosecution/persecution to hideous extreme.]

Everyday Finances. From Unherd: Hamburgers will decide America’s future. The nation is being starved of small luxuries. [Ed: McDonald's has not only become as expensive as regular sit-down restaurants, it's quality seems to have declined. But, at least, you don't have to leave a tip.] From Of Two Minds Blog: How the Economy Changed: There's No Bargains Left Anywhere. From the Frugalite: Is an Air Fryer Worthwhile for the Frugal Kitchen? [Ed: it was the Christmas gift I asked for...and received!]

From the Daily Caller: ‘MAGA!’: Trump And Milei Greet Each Other Like Old Friends Backstage At CPAC. [Ed: a natural alliance if Trump is reelected.]

From Good News Network: Stray Dog Joined Thousand Mile Cycling Race, is Adopted at the Finish Line

Sotomayer. From Newsmax: Supreme Court's Sotomayor Travels With Medic. [Ed: she has Type 1 diabetes.] From the Huffington Post: Some progressives have called in the past for her to retire while Biden is president. [Ed: liberals do *not* want the next SCOTUS judge to be appointed by Trump. But she has not hinted at retirement, as far as I know. Another Ginsburg?]

The Train Wreck that is Biden. From the Red State: Biden Gets Confused About Jill, Admits Border Broken, 'Temporary Workers' Comment Has Everyone Talking. [Ed: I didn't know this train wreck could get any worse.] From Jonathan Turley: McCaskill: Media Must Stop Fact Checking Joe Biden. [Ed: that is, MSNBC contributor and former Democratic Senator Claire McCaskill. And no wonder she doesn't want any fact checking of Biden.]

From Mish Talk: A Blue State Exodus: Who Can Afford To Be A Liberal? Is the blue state exodus from California, New York, and Illinois making red states like Florida, Texas, and South Carolina more liberal? Studies suggest the answer is no. [Ed: recommended. Good analysis.]

From Newser: 'Soaring' over hills or 'playing' with puppies, study finds seniors enjoy virtual reality. [Ed: what a wonderful use of virtual reality.]

From the Epoch Times: Stray Doberman Seen Muzzled With Zip Tie, Loose in Neighborhood—Then Officer Does This. [Ed: don't worry, Brad. Happy ending.]

Crime. From the Guardian: How 'Smart Keys' Have Fueled a New Wave of Car Thefts. From Zero Hedge: "Not By Accident": California Sheriff Blasts "Radical" Progressives For Explosive Crime Crisis. "This is nothing short of a sick and twisted social experiment..." [Ed: yes, it is on purpose.]

Farmers. From the Associated Press: Tractor protests threaten to drive the EU’s green farming policies into a ditch. [Ed: article is very biased in favor of green policies but makes the point that the farmers are being effective.] From the Epic Times: Ukrainian–Polish Tensions Grow Over Unfair Competition on EU’s Agri-Food Market. Farmer protests are a source of tensions between Ukraine and its neighbors on the West who support its fight of Russian invasion but face pressure from farmers. From Politico.EU: Bears, cars and angry farmers fuel green backlash. A 28-country guide to how climate policies are splitting Europe.

From Activist Post: Remembering Samuel E. Konkin III on the 20th Anniversary of His Death.

Upcoming Elections. From the Epoch Times: Koch Network Withdraws Financial Support for Nikki Haley. [Ed: I wonder if she will drop out now.]

Baltasar Gracian's Aphorism #255: Do Good a little at a time, but often.

One should never give beyond the possibility of return. Who gives much does not give but sells. Nor drain gratitude to the dregs, for when the recipient sees all return is impossible he breaks off correspondence. With many persons it is not necessary to do more than overburden them with favours to lose them altogether: they cannot repay you, and so they retire, preferring rather to be enemies than perpetual debtors. The idol never wishes to see before him the sculptor who shaped him, nor does the benefited wish to see his benefactor always before his eyes. There is a great subtlety in giving what costs little yet is much desired, so that it is esteemed the more.

My interpretation: If you give "beyond the possibility of return", then you shoulder the recipient with an obligation that they can never repay. I have learned from bitter experience that this can ruin friendship and breed resentment in return for generosity. I once paid the dental bill for a friend who *needed* some work done and could not afford it; I happened to have enough money at the time. At first, she seemed grateful but she soon started calling me "the rich bitch" even tho I am far, far from rich--as I said, I just had money on hand at the time--and my act was hardly that of a bitch. But she found being angry at me to be an easier emotion than being gratitude. Today, there are some friends toward whom I would still make a similar gesture, if I were in a position to do so, but they are few and far between.

South Carolina Primary. From FOX News: Trump wins South Carolina primary against Haley in her home state, moves closer to clinching GOP nomination. [Ed: An easy, fast win. Haley vows to fight on.] From Politico: Trump scores easy knockout of Nikki Haley in South Carolina

From the Epoch Times: Jury Finds NRA Head Wayne LaPierre Liable, Must Pay $4.3 Million in Damages. The jury found that LaPierre misused charitable funds on luxury purchases.[Ed: sorry that this brings the NRA into some disrepute.]

From Lovely Animal World: Cat Waits 10 Days For Dog To Come Home, But Nobody Was Expecting Her To Be So Emotional

From Red State: Catherine Herridge Posts Important Update on CBS' Seizure of Her Files. [Ed: no one is going to talk off the record to CBS reporters because nothing is off the record now. Note: The update is actually a statement from SAG-AFTRA. Direct link here.] From Zero Hedge: "Unprecedented": Now-Fired CBS Reporter Who Investigated Biden Laptop Story Has Personal Files Seized By Network. “They want to see what damaging documents she has.” [Ed: she was also investigating Hur's report on Biden being "too old" and not quite mentally competent.]

Gaza. From Anadolu Agency: Israeli minister says ‘proud’ of Gaza destruction. 'I am personally proud of the ruins of Gaza,' says Israel’s minister of social equality, [Ed: what a blood chilling statement.] From Politico: Gaza truce talks in Paris reportedly making ‘significant progress’. Efforts to broker a truce appeared to regain momentum after a senior U.S. envoy for the Middle East met with Israeli leaders. [Ed: what was promised?] From the Libertarian Institute: The Israeli State’s Assault on Gaza Must Stop.

From Modernity News: Once Valued At $5.7BN, Vice Media Stops Publishing And Nothing Of Value Was Lost. What will we do without them?

Covid. From the Epoch Times: Health Canada Official Deleted Scientist’s Note Saying mRNA Shots Have ‘High Level of Impurity’: Internal Emails.

From Legal Insurrection: Prepping for When “I Can’t Hear You Now”. I’m back in that mood. Today’s AT&T cellular network meltdown was a reminder. It’s going down when we least expect it. [Ed: recommended.]

Ukraine. From antiwar: Selecting Syrsky: The Untold Half of the Zaluzhny Story. [Ed: a must read.] From Politico.EU: Hungary blocks EU leaders’ statement pledging support for Ukraine. Statement offering support was instead sent by Ursula von der Leyen, Charles Michel and Roberta Metsola. [Ed: restraint is required in these oh-so nuclear times.]

From Sunny Skyz: Dog Escapes, Walks In Lottery Shop, Bites Ticket, Wins Owner Big Prize.

From Breitbart: Joe Biden announces 500 sanctions on Russia for Ukraine war, Alexei Navalny death. From Politico: The West tried to crush Russia’s economy. Why hasn’t it worked? From an unenforced oil price cap to rogue countries teaming up, Moscow is exploiting the West’s weaknesses.

Navalny. From the BBC: Russia Releases Navalny's Body. Lyudmila Navalnaya apparently refused to negotiate with government. [Ed: Lyudmila Navalnaya=the mother.] From Armageddon Prose: After TRT World failed to post my interview on the death of Navalny…. [Ed: a must read. This is Gilbert Doctorow's substack.]

Everyday Finances. From the New York Post: Average home insurance spiked by as much as 60% in these states: report. [Ed: remember, banks require home buyers to have home insurance or they will not lend to them.] From NewsMax: Rising Credit Card Interest Costs Consumers Extra $25B. From the Daily Caller: New Drug Prices Spiked In 2023 As Biden Admin Seeks To Keep Costs Down.

Migrants. From the Daily Caller: ‘We’re Getting Pushed Out’: Chicago Residents Blast City Officials Over Migrant Crisis. [Ed: article claims that some countries in South America are emptying their jails into the U.S. in the same manner that Castro was accused of doing with Mariel.] From Law Enforcement Today: NYC illegal immigrant debit card scheme: Bank with no-bid contract hands out thousands of tax dollars.

From the DoDo: Big Mama Dog Adopts Newborn Kitten And Carries Her Around In Her Mouth

Cryptocurrency. From QTR's Fringe Finance: The Next Financial Crisis Could Trigger A Bitcoin Revolution. The Bitcoin network teaches us that there's safety in numbers. Now, what could bring people together in numbers to mass-adopt it further than they have? From the Daily Hodl: Customer Threatens to Sue Bank of America After Tens of Thousands of Dollars Vanishes Without a Trace: Report. [Ed: banks and fiat are less reliable than cryptocurrency held in a wallet on a hard drive.] AND JPMorgan Chase Customer Furious After $49,500 Drained From Bank Account – Victim Says Trillion-Dollar Lender Was Alerted Immediately, Failed Miserably.

From Zero Hedge: Polish Farmers To Block Critical Border Road As Tusk Government Faces First Serious Challenge.

From Automotive News: Ford halts 2024 F-150 Lightning shipments; delivery of gasoline trucks begins roughly two months after production. The Lightning stop-ship order went into effect Feb. 9, Ford said, and it's unclear when it will be lifted. From Zero Hedge: Rolling Disaster: Ford Halts 2024 F-150 Lightning Shipments. [Ed: this is an EV pickup truck.] From the Epoch Times: Green New Fail: Rivian Cuts Workforce and Announces Lower Production, Stock Crashes 35 Percent. [Ed: Amazon's EV.]

From the Good News Network: Experts Said it Wouldn’t Work, But Rescue Dog and Dying 4-yr-old Boy Proved Them Wrong.