NOT JUST COVID HYPOCRITES. California: land of the COVID hypocrites.

MARK STEYN: A hinge moment in history. It's long, but read it all.

And be afraid. Be very afraid.

THE HUMAN PIGS ON ORWELL'S FARM: Orwell and the woke.

RATHER OBVIOUS, DON'T YOU THINK? “In most blue areas, masking has long become a virtue signal instead of a safety measure.”

SEEN ON THE RASMUSSEN REPORTS FACEBOOK PAGE: A majority of voters blame President Joe Biden’s administration for the chaos surrounding the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, and more than two-thirds would support using military force to rescue Americans left behind. From the comments:

Easy-to-solve problem. Give the Taliban 24 hours to release ALL US hostages or we ARCLIGHT a large section of Kabul around the Presidential Palace and any other government buildings. No boots on the ground, just pure kinetic energy. Failure after that would result in further strikes. Our biggest failure in Afghanistan was in trying to "win hearts and minds", instead of instilling pure, unadulterated fear. If your enemy doesn't fear you, he will continue to fight. Once he knows you'll kill him, his family, and his nearest 20 neighbors, he'll be a bit more willing to do what you want.

Osama bin Laden's followers in the Taliban have remounted the strong horse while Joe Biden's followers have dismounted and are afoot. Dangerous times, these.

But no mean tweets....

WHEN POLITICIANS CALL FOR 'FAIRNESS,' they're usually lying. Unless by 'fairness' they mean “a word I use to pander to the rubes, while hobnobbing with the rich.”

SETTING THE RECORD STRAIGHT: A horse is not a jackass.

THE PHOTO that sums up the 'far-right' rally that terrified DC and liberal America.

More.

NEW DEMOCRAT GOV. KATHY HOCHUL: God wants you to get vaccinated.

COVID-19 is a religion and vaccines and masks are its holy sacraments. Go forth and spread the good news of Pfizer, Moderna, and Johnson & Johnson. All praise to the glorious coronavirus hysteria, forever and ever, amen.

But pro-life? Not so much....

AMMO GRRRLL: When animals attack.

IF YOU DON'T BELIEVE IN CRITICAL RACE THEORY, you can't work.

WELL, IF IT DOES, AT LEAST WE WON'T DIE OF LUNG CANCER. Does smoking prevent Covid-19?

BIDEN AGENDA EXPLODES: Key Democratic senator rejects 'entitlement mentality,’ refuses to back $3.5T spending splurge.

Mount the strong horse, Joe [Manchin]. Join the Republican party.

I'LL NEVER GET TIRED of all their failures.

Pissed off, yes; but tired, no.

THE 700 BILLION GIMMICK at the center of Biden's tax plan.

Central to President Joe Biden's plan to hike federal spending by $3.5 trillion is a promise that middle-class Americans won't face a tax increase.

That's a claim that is looking less and less true with each passing day. The bill Congress is drafting to pay for all that new spending includes tax hikes on tobacco products, electronic cigarettes, and cryptocurrencies—taxes that will apply to the rich and poor alike. And while the bill does not raise income taxes on anyone earning less than $200,000 annually in the immediate future, Americans earning as little as $30,000 could face a tax hike by 2027 under Biden's plan....

And you thought your taxes wouldn't go up? Silly you.

I DON'T THINK the digital apocalypse needs arms and hands. It's been very successful as is.

OF COURSE: Is the COP26 climate conference due to be held in Glasgow in November in jeopardy?

Corporate America may have thrown in the towel, but I don't think the people who buy the things corporate America sells have.

This should get interesting as (if?) corporate America wakes up from being 'woke'....

EITHER WOULD BE ACCEPTABLE. Both would be better.

SPACEX’S GROWING STARBASE casts a shadow over Boca Chica: "As Elon Musk expands his space flight command center, locals are fed up with the damage on the landscape."

What a load of ecofreak wack-a-doodle crap. I remember back in the dark ages (mid-60's) at Cape Canaveral (now the Kennedy Space Center, where I was an entry-level student technician) when the same ecofreaks decalred that Merritt Island would become a vast wasteland, devoid of fish, fowl, reptiles, and other furry forest critters. Look at it now.

Linked from Instapundit. Be sure to read the comments.

DILBERT: Wally joins the Biden administration.

DEMOCRATS WON'T BE HAPPY UNTIL THE GOALPOSTS HAVE BEEN REMOVED FROM THE PLAYING FIELD: Biden accused of ‘moving goalposts’ on percentage of Americans who need to get vaccinated to return normal.

The Democrats have been 'moving goalposts' ever since I became politically aware all the way back in the mid-70's. They're very close to succeeding in getting the removed from the playing field entirely.

AIN'T GONNA HAPPEN: Biden comes up with new number of how many people need to get vaccinated before returning to 'normal'.

You can count my wife and I among those who aren't going to get the booster shot. And we're not alone.

FALLING LEAVES 2021, WEEK 3:

As (mostly) usual, I start with the view from the deck.

There's not a whole lot of change from last week; mostly still green, but thin compared to last year. Along the right side of the picture there's a tree that's mostly bare.

A view to the west, away from the pond, shows the trees thinning again but mostly green with patches of brown. There doesn't look like there's going to be any color this year, even around town where I've seen color in the past.

Here's the house and barn, looking mostly north. It didn't make it into the picture, but the leaves on the tree in the center are either brown -- or gone. The tree next to the carport on the right is still green, but has already dropped most of its leaves. The big pine in the center is dropping pine cones and needles like crazy.

Here's the fire pit. Still lots of green, but the trees in the center of the picture are turning brown rapidly. The brushy undergrowth downslope is still hanging in there for now, but beginning to fade.

Nowhere is it more evident than down along the pond. The growth at the edge of the pond (to the right of the fountain) is fading rapidly, and even on the other side of the path around the pond the leaves are turning brown.

Until next week....

TRUMP V. BIDEN: Michael Ramirez explains.

NOW YOU KNOW: Lead actors in a series of hypocrisy.

NO, ENCOURAGE THEM: Let them destroy each other.

CAN WE SHOOT BACK? Liberal group includes call to ‘Shoot Republicans’ in letter to FCC.

MORE -- will.

STAYING IN THE PUBLIC SCHOOLS is practically child abuse.

OF COURSE: Leftist University of Texas students continue to demand police off campus.

It's so much easier to riot when the police aren't present....

NOT 'MAY' -- Will.

TRUE PRIVILEGE: CVS launches a program that forces hourly employees to discuss their “privilege.”

I saw this coming years ago and moved my business to a smaller local independent pharmacy.

On the brighter side (I guess), they've also automated their checkout lines so they now have fewer hourly employees to indoctrinate....

NOT LOOKING TOO GOOD: Facebook using news feed to showcase positive stories about itself.

The comments are ... shall we say ... not positive.

BUT THEY SHOULD: Heads won't roll.

Now more than ever.

REQUIEM FOR 9/11 REMEMBRANCES:

It's 10 days later and I've finally calmed down.

That day started with me taking -- and preparing to post -- this picture

which has been my more-or-less standard remembrance for the last nearly 20 years. Then, as usual, I started looking around the internet for other interesting remembrances I might link to -- and I was appalled by the number of 'arrogant elitist jerks whose only skill is preening and preaching at their alleged lessers'^* who have taken their cue from the tyrannical Biden administration to try and drive 9/11 down the memory hole.

For the record, a requiem is a funeral mass, which after reviewing the mainstream and governing class (of course I repeat myself) 9/11 coverage seems an appropriate post title.

Here are a few examples:

PRESIDENT BIDEN says he will visit Ground Zero, the Pentagon and Shanksville on the 20th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. And give a prerecorded message....

Here is a better idea: stay away.

Biden has no business setting foot in those sacred places on that hallowed day. I take no joy in saying this. As a general rule, I believe that when a president attends a ceremony on behalf of the American people, he is not representing himself but the office of the presidency. We respect that office, even if we do not respect the man who occupies it.

But this is different.

REMEMBERING 9/11/01: Twenty years later, solemn ceremonies are separated by politics.

BIDEN AT DOVER: at his considerable worst.

TRUMP, BIDEN, AND 9/11: The good, bad, and ugly.

AMERICA-HATING DEMOCRATS hit all the wrong notes on 9/11 anniversary.

HIGHER EDUCATION BUBBLE UPDATE: American Studies department’s only 9/11 event focuses on ‘anti-Blackness.’

VIRGINIA DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION shows (then deletes) video promoting 'culturally responsive and inclusive lessons' to do with 9/11.

The video in question was titled "Culturally Responsive and Inclusive 9/11 Commemoration."

Notes from those who have seen the video highlight that there is an attempt to get rid of the idea of Muslim responsibility for the 9/11 attacks. "We’re not going to reproduce a false assumption of Muslim responsibility for 9/11."

I'm ashamed to admit I once lived in Virginia.

There were a few positive posts. Here are two:

AFTER 9/11: Will remembrance lead us back to unity?

MALLARD FILLMORE remembers the best.

We cannot let this Biden kakistocracy of corrupt, morally bankrupt petty martinets continue drive this country below third-world status. We just cannot.

----------

^*Thanks, Kurt Schlicter, for those descriptive words.

UPDATE: Another small bright spot.

A 9-11 ceremony in real America.

That's my daughter speaking at the ceremony. My pride is overflowing.

NO, THE 'ECONOMIC CATASTROPHE' WAS TRIGGERED NOV. 3, 2020: Yellen warns failure to raise debt ceiling could trigger 'economic catastrophe.'

I'VE BEEN EXPECTING A STOCK MARKET DECLINE EVER SINCE JAN. 20TH: Dow Jones tanks nearly 600 points as doubts swirl over China's property market.

Is this the precursor? Or just a blip?

CONTRIBUTE TO AMERICA'S DECLINE: Give us your tired, your poor, your Democrat voters.

Linked from the Fox News cartoon page.

SEE NO EVIL, HEAR NO EVIL, SPEAK NO EVIL has been updated.

OR LATER. Manchin wants to pause voting on $3.5T spending bill until 2022.

How about until 2025?

I DON'T THINK this is a cartoon.

POWERLINE'S WEEK IN PICTURES had a clear favorite this time:

Even though mocking Ocasio-Cortez and 'Even We Have Standards' were pretty good.

FALLING LEAVES 2021, WEEK 2:

It cloudy and rainy today, so the pictures are not as crisp as last week. Let's start with the storm clouds, the picture taken from a neighbor's driveway.

Trees are green and the brush beneath is thick. There is actually another house down the hill but it won't be visible till the leaves are almost all gone, and not easily even then.

Here's the neighborhood's main drag, looking to the north. While still mostly green, there are leaves littering the road (it'll get worse - much worse) and one can see the paucity of leaves on the trees in front of the carport. Some of that is leaf fall, but mostly I think a result of last year's late freeze.

Looking west directly out of our driveway, it's still mostly green, but the missing leaves are obvious. Leaves are falling steadily in our 'back 40', again mostly as a result of last year's freeze damage.

Here' my standard view of the pond, taken from our back deck. Compared to last week the pond is greener as the sediment from the earlier heavy rains has begun to settle out. It's hard to tell, but it does appear that the pond is a bit more visible from the deck.

Our daughter-in-law was here last week, so the path down to the pond is now the path to Bear Lake. That brown in the middle of the picture is our neighbor's house, about 200 yards away. Since the undergrowth was mostly cleared out last year and not yet regrown, their house is about as visible as it ever will be. Note that all the trees still have their leaves -- I suspect that the density of the forest through there may have had a mitigating effect on last year's freeze.

And finally the pond, er, Bear Lake. It's still pretty lush and green, but you can see little tinges of brown here and there throughout the tree line.

Until next week....

IT'S ALREADY ILLEGAL if you're a Democrat.

CALL IT THE 'JOHN KERRY CLIMATE EQUITY' CARD. Get ready for a carbon monitoring credit card.

And mandate it for all progressives....

MICHAEL RAMIREZ: Welcome to Newsom Airlines. It's going to be a spectacular ride....

BECAUSE THE PEASANTS ARE REVOLTING? Insight into the anti-Biden chants erupting at stadiums nationwide.

IF YOU'RE A PROLE, you must mask.

OTHER THAN THAT Gen. Milley should be fired, cashiered, court-martialed, drummed out of the Army, criminally prosecuted if possible.

I guess tar & feathers are out of question....

OF COURSE NOT: Do mask mandates work?

"PLAYING GOD MORE VIGOROUSLY": Read it all. And follow the links, of which there are many.

KEEP THE FLAG; remove the teacher.

THE PEASANTRY IS GETTING UPPITY AGAIN: The Capitol fence is going back up for the pro-Trump rally on September 18th.

I almost wish I was still living in outside D.C. in Virginia. Almost....

SURGEON GENERAL: Feds to 'monitor' whether exemptions [from Biden's vaccine mandate] are being used properly.

This is what we've got to do to get to the next phase of this pandemic response so that we can get through this and get back to normal once and for all.

Because we said so...

WE WERE 'ENCOURAGED' TO QUIT SMOKING so we can catch COVID.

SO YOU THINK YOU'RE RUNNING OUT OF PATIENCE? Fuck you!

THEY PLAY HARDBALL: There's a reason Democrats are always winning even when they lose (a battle).

And they don't give a damn about anyone who isn't firmly on their side. Proles -- even their own -- are just cannon fodder.

“UNSERIOUS” IS THE WEIRDEST WAY TO SPELL “RAVING LUNATICS”: Some now pushing $26 per hour minimum wage.

INDIVIDUAL RIGHTS? WHAT INDIVIDUAL RIGHTS? Dictator, er President, Joe Biden threatens the unvaccinated with an unconstitutional vaccine mandate.

Pay no attention to the idiot(s) behind the curtain. Do not comply.

INSTEAD LET’S CALL HIS ONLY ENFORCEABLE SOLUTION the “Jim Crow Memorial Vaccine Passport.”

Biden’s only options in enforcing a vaccine mandate are unAmerican. Threatening people with the loss of their livelihood unless they obey is not the tactic of the president of a great republic.

Unfortunately the U.S. is no longer a great Republic -- unless we make it so.

'CRY MACHO': Clint Eastwood returns.

Maybe in a few weeks it'll show up in my neck of the woods.

I'M INTRIGUED: Startup will provide conservative alternatives to woke corporations.

CALIFORNIA, you blew it again.

If you want to see what Cuba -- or Argentina, or North Korea, or Iran, or Afghanistan -- is like, just move to California....

AND DISTRACT THE PROLES: Masks are here to stay as long as liberals need to shame their political enemies.

THIS WEEK IN POLITICS: It's all bullshit and we're fucked.

[STRONG LANGUAGE WARNING]: As if you couldn't guess from the hed ... but read it anyway; it's worth every cuss word.

THEY'RE NOT ALONE: US troops’ rage at their leaders will grow unless there’s deep reform.
Key graf:

Afghanistan collapsed overnight, because its people lacked faith in its institutions and in those who led them. And no nation is immune to that collapse, if run badly enough for long enough.

Take note, Mr. Biden.

MAYBE IT'S TIME FOR ME TO TAKE A ROAD TRIP: Why Trump signs are mushrooming across the US a year after 2020 election.

To recover my equilibrium.

AMMO GRRRLL on words, words, words.

Plus this: "We need some Marines to give the Republican squishes real pouncing lessons."

TURN OFF ALEXA: It's not just for attorneys any more.

Don't trust Big Tech....

IT'S ABOUT TIME: James O'Keefe says Antifa teachers are on the run.

Only because their students are now wearing wires.

YEAH, RIGHT. The media is really too darn nice to Republicans.

They live in the fantasy world of my nightmares....

FLORIDA GOV. RON DeSANTIS corrects reporter, provides facts.

Not that any on the progressive Left will pay attention....

FOLLOW DEMOCRAT PRECEDENT: Impeach Joe Biden on Jan. 3, 2023.

THAT PHOTO: The real "Handmaid's Tale".

ORWELL TAKES IT UP A NOTCH: Vaccines used to provide immunity to a specific disease. But with COVID-19, they merely provide protection.

Actually I would argue that 'protection' has always been the more accurate term. But why did the CDC make the change now?

BECAUSE THE ELECTION IS RIGGED? Newsom team: there is no scenario where we lose the recall election.

But if they do, it won't be for lack of trying.

EXPECT NOTHING LESS than destruction of California heritage.

A careening California is heading for a colossal train wreck. Voters will have to pick between the incompetent engineer snoring at the wheel or the private passenger who rushes into cab to get the engine back on track.

Unless the passengers can take over the train. Even then it may be too late.

We'll know soon.

POOR BABY: Project Veritas exposes another Antifa coward.

Before getting caught he was a valiant progressive warrior. Having been outed, he's whining, claiming to be a victim, and fearing for his personal safety.

It's tough when you're being served the same meal you'd happily serve your opponents.

DO IT NOW: Fire the military and intelligence bigwigs who bungled Afghanistan.

I know it's not really funny, but still the internecine warfare is amusing as the military, intelligence, and diplomatic communities fight over who fucked up more.

JAIL? Where is cop-hating Portland city commissioner Jo Ann Hardesty?

We can hope.

YOU CAN’T PROTECT STUPID PEOPLE FROM THEMSELVES, but you don’t have to feed them either.

SO MANY SUCKERS, so little time.

IF YOU'RE PRODUCTIVE, you must be a white supremacist.

WHERE'S THE OUTRAGE? Tar and feathers aren't enough.

NO SHIT, SHERLOCK: There's a problem in the upper reaches of our military. Afghanistan, anyone?

IT'S ALL ABOUT CONTROL. By any means necessary.

Biden team to use civil rights law as a pretest to impose masks at school.

California Democrats 'gut-and-amend' another bill to force vaccine mandate on businesses.

We're going to control you whether you like it or not. Consent of the governed be damned.

THE NEW DISCRIMINATION: Against conservatives.

DONT GIVE EM A CHANCE. FIRE THEM PREEMPTIVELY. Colorado teachers sign pledge to teach critical race theory even if banned in the classroom.

Linked from Instapundit.

CALIFORNIA GOV. GAVIN NEWSOM: Texas middle-class families “pay more taxes than middle-class families in California.”

Oops.

A BILLION DOLLAR MEMORY HOLE: The Biden administration is scrubbing federal websites of lists of weapons it gave the Taliban.

But not to worry; it's been saved.

The incompetence of the Biden administration is truly astounding.

BECAUSE TRUMP: Why Republican trust in the media has plummeted.

Of course....

POWERLINE'S Geek in Pictures. All the data you need to refute almost every Biden administration claim. Here's my favorite:

And remember this is almost 2 weeks old.

Go see the rest.

FALLING LEAVES 2021, Week 1:

Leaves have begun to show on the road, so obviously it's time to start the annual 'Falling Leaves' series for the next 10 weeks or so. Here's my standard opening picture -- the view of our pond from the back deck:

At the very bottom below the start of the stair is the pond, which is barely visible through the trees.

This is the view -- also from the deck -- looking northwest to our fire pit. The barn is new this year, and with luck we'll see some landscaping take place over the weeks to come. Our next door neighbor's house will eventually be visible as winter approaches.

This view is taken from beyond the fire pit, looking downhill toward the pond. It'll become more visible as the weeks go on.

The next 4 pictures were taken down at the pond. This is from the far side, looking back toward our house, which is invisible for now above and to the right of the dock and paddle boat just barely visible on the other side. In 6-8 weeks it may become visible.

This is the dock and paddle boat, taken from about mid-span of the dam. The stairs lead to the path up the hill to our house which is completely hidden by the green wall which is the forest on the back side of the dam.

Here's the house, which for now is simply a dark spot just above the stairway. It'll become visible as the weeks progress.

And finally the fountain, with the picture taken from the walking path that goes completely around the pond. It's a beautiful almost-fall day in north Georgia.

We've had a lot of rain this year so the underbrush is thick and green. The trees are a mix of pine, oak, and a few other hardwoods so as winter arrives, the canopy will remain relatively green as the hardwoods drop their leaves and the brush dies out (until next year).

UPDATE: Last year's series started here.

WHAT? NO JACKASSES? Amid disasters at home and abroad Biden White House staffers busy choosing magic spirit animals.

THERE'S CRAZY, then there's academic crazy.

AND SO GOODBYE NFL: NFL will allow social justice phrases on helmets this season.

And good riddance....

PHYSICIAN HEAL THYSELF: 'Antiracist' mental health association fights the empathy-strangling 'ghost' of whiteness.

If they're trying to destroy their 'profession' they're doing one helluva good job.

WELCOME TO MY WORLD: My parents were brutal dictators who controlled TV time like the video censors in China.

THE BIDEN FRAUDULENCY: It's all downhill from here....

I'VE NOTICED: How the National Review sold its soul.

My subscription expires in December. It won't be renewed.

MORE PROOF FROM DEMOCRATS that the rules are for thee, not for me.

JAMES MADISON UNIVERSITY teaches students that whites, men, and Christians are all oppressors.

Why any parent would willing let their child go off to college is beyond me.

Linked from Instapundit.

THE SUPREME COURT reminds the Biden administration that the Constitution still reigns supreme.

PRESIDENT FRAUDULENCY maintains his perfect record of being wrong on every foreign policy decision.

SHORT TAKES on liberal idiocy.

YOU FAILED, BIDEN VOTERS. Own it!

Read both linked posts in their entirety.