NO, NO. NOT SCIENCE. More cops equals fewer black murder victims.

How dare science mirror reality....

SCIENCE WILL PROBABLY BE FINE once it gets a representative who is more scientific not Dr. Anthony Fauci.

And that time must come sooner, not later, for that narcissistic jackass.

MY NEXT CAR WILL BE USED: Biden’s ‘infrastructure’ bill contains backdoor ‘kill switch’ for cars.

THE QUESTION IS NOT WHY, BUT HOW: Why would Ron De Santis do this?

He's smart and pays attention to the real world.

RANDOM THOUGHT: To call the D.C. kakistocracy (and their mandarins feeding at the public trough) 'lizard people' is to insult real lizards.

IF STUPID WERE A CRIMINAL ACT the entire Biden administration would be in jail. Here's an example.

RANDOM THOUGHT: Biden's popularity on Rasumssen's Presidential Approval Index increased by 3 points over Thanksgiving.

So absence does make the heart grow fonder....

FALLING LEAVES 2021, Week 12:

A Week 1 versus Week 12 comparison of three of my standard pictures. Here's the usual pond view:

Week 1:

Week 12:

Next is the fire pit view:

Week 1:

Week 12:

And this the most interesting one -- a view taken of the pond area taken from near the fire pit. Here's what it looks like during the summer -- no view of the pond at all.

And here is roughly the same view today.

Until the springtime series begins....

MORE PROOF(IF ANY IS NEEDED) that accountability is for peons.

THE HISTORY OF THE AMERICANS SIDEBAR: Notes on Thanksgiving.

Longer, but interesting.

WHAT AN IDIOT! Here's how you 'decolonize' your family Thanksgiving dinner.

And he's in charge of DC public schools?

POWERLINE has a Thanksgiving holiday edition. Here's a sample:

Now go see the rest.

AMERICA'S EVERYDAY REBELLION gathers momentum.

DONALD TRUMP HAS A 13-POINT LEAD OVER JOE BIDEN when polling live Americans.

THE THANKSGIVING the Left desperately wants to cancel.

[T]he rest of us should not pay attention to whatever cancel culture crusade the banal wokesters are onto this week. They’re brainwashed, deranged, and unhappy. We Americans prefer gratitude in the face of adversity.

Sound advice.

GEORGIA GOVERNOR BRIAN KEMP releases more evidence that 2020 ballots were miscounted. "While nothing will change the fact that Joe Biden is president, election integrity matters...."

It's time to go back to paper ballots, hand counting, and auditors peering over every shoulder.

QUESTION: When will America reach peak insanity?

It could be that what we’re calling insanity is actually a campaign of ill intent. But a degree of derangement has to be present. Otherwise, the movement would have been overwhelmingly rejected rather than embraced by a large enough portion of the public to give it traction. Unless we reach peak insanity soon, and begin a return to normalcy, the future will be a far harder ride than the ugly moment we live in.

Malice or mere stupidity? I vote for malice, although stupidity is clearly a factor.

VICTOR DAVIS HANSON: The new blue confederacy.

ONLY IF DEMOCRATS REMAIN IN CHARGE: Is the United States in decline?

Among the more worrisome trends include a massive increase in the size and intrusiveness of the federal government including huge deficit spending and indebtedness; serious weaknesses in America’s military capacity and capability; a weak educational system; a decline in America’s culture (including a deterioration in art, literature, manners, morals and religious observance); the superficiality of the media; the decline of traditional institutions such as the family and marriage; a rise in crime and illegal immigration; and an erosion of the rule of law.

Recent events...confirm these trends. Every one of these weaknesses has gotten worse.... [I]t appears clear that the United States is approaching full decline. It is still possible to reverse the trend, but the situation is grave.

It's long, but read it all.

A BIT OF GOOD NEWS: Loyal goose watches injured mate undergo surgery.

It was successful and they have been reunited.

‘EDUCATION LIFTED ME OUT OF POVERTY’: Winsome Sears wants to reform schools and empower parents.

Listen to the lady; she's right.

HERE THEY GO AGAIN: Eight ways the liberals are trying to ruin Thanksgiving.

Ignore them. Again.

MICHAEL RAMIREZ recognizes 'free stuff' for what it really is.

NOW YOU KNOW why education must be reformed.

Our tax money must follow the student wherever he or she goes; never given willy-nilly to public schools.

NBC'S THANKSGIVING INFLATION PRO-TIP: Skip the turkey and don't feed so many people.

Saves gasoline, too, since so many friends and family won't be coming over to eat the turkey that isn't there....

I don't think too many people are heeding NBC's advice since my son and his family had to delay their departure because the roads outbound from Atlanta are too congested....

WHY I WILL INSIST on a physical metal key on my next car (assuming I ever get a next car).

FROM POWERLINE'S Week in Pictures, a clear favorite:

There are many good ones this week following the Rittenhouse acquittal. Go see them.

PROGRESSIVES (AND IDIOTS, BUT I REPEAT MYSELF) HATE IT WHEN THEY'RE PROVEN WRONG: Jerry Nadler wants to sic the DOJ on Rittenhouse following acquittal.

DANA LOESCH responds to David French's fear of open carry.

Where I live there are a number of people who openly carry. They don't frighten me, they assure me that there is someone to help if I need additional protection.

AMMO GRRRLL HAS THOUGHTS: That Was The Year That Was.

POWERLINE'S Geek in Pictures. Some good ones from all over geekdom.

I especially liked the 'We're number one!' charts although to be honest, too many are a bit depressing.

IT WORKED FOR ME: The effects of Vitamin D and COVID-related outcomes.

That plus zinc.

UNDER THE BIDEN ADMINISTRATION, the gentry class is thriving.

The rest of us, not so much....

INSTAPUNDIT: The war on parents. The Left doesn't like disobedient children parents.

And parents don't like disobedient 'educrats'. I fear it's going to get worse before it improves....

NBC NEWS HAMMERED for declaring parents aren’t qualified to make decisions about school curricula.

Not hard enough. Not nearly hard enough.

DISOBEDIENT VOTERS AREN'T OBEYING OUR DIKTATS: The White House sees you as the problem, and themselves as victims.

RITTENHOUSE WAS RIGHTLY AND CORRECTLY AQUITTED, but free states must defend the right to self-defense.

I REMEMBER HAVING THE MISFORTUNE to see some of the Rittenhouse prosecutor's closing argument: Rittenhouse should have laid down his rifle and confronted his aggressor with fists. He may have been beaten up, but no one would have died, right?

Right?

"I'm gonna beat you senseless but it probably won't kill you" is okay. That prosecutor is an idiot.

HAVEN'T WE TOLD YOU BEFORE THAT MANDATES ARE JUST FOR LITTLE PEOPLE? Snapchat shows UW-Madison chancellor indoors without wearing mask in violation of COVID mandate.

And Fauci. Of course Fauci....

GET 'EM STARTED EARLY: NYC may let 800K non-citizens vote in elections.

You know where this is going, right?

DON'T LET THE DOOR HIT YOU IN THE BUTT AS YOU WALK OUT: Never Trumpers Jonah Goldberg, Stephen Hayes quit Fox News in protest of Tucker Carlson’s January 6 documentary.

THE CEMETARY VOTE IS PRETTY LARGE: Biden "reassured" Democrats that he's running in 2024.

Updated.

HEY, I WANT TO BUY YOUR HOUSE: Homeowners besieged by unsolicited offers.

Pony up a million five, cash, small bills, unmarked, random serial numbers and I might consider it.

FALLING LEAVES 2021, Week 11:

Well, it's almost over this year. Next week I'll quit this series. Here's the usual pond view, and now even the tulip magnolia has given up for the year, and there's been enough wind to take the remaining leaves down.

Here's our house, the picture taken from halfway down the path to the pond. The path was so clogged with leaves that it was difficult to see it, and the few stair steps we have along the path were completely obscured. In the summer the house would be completely obscured by the foliage (which is today inches deep on the ground.

Now down at the pond for a view of the fountain. The ridge line you can see is the road through our subdivision. In summer it isn't visible from the pond.

Now back up along the road looking at our home. The yard, such as it is, is an inch or more deep in fallen leaves. All the green is from the pine trees; all the others are bare.

Finally, a look south down the road from our driveway. It's not that cold (yet) but winter has clearly begun.

Until next week, then.

WHY VACCINE MANDATES? To sell booster shots.

Last month, I couldn’t help but notice that the pharmaceutical companies pushing these vaccines and now booster shots stood to make a lot of money from all of this. This vaccine gold rush created nine new billionaires, all with connections to big pharma companies. With the booster shot craze just around the corner, companies were scrambling to get FDA approval.

We have to ask who else is getting money for all of these pushes for a vaccine that stops nothing, and against a virus that has an ultra-low fatality rate. Moreover, it’s interesting that the CDC is changing up definitions and now Dr? Fauci is openly admitting that the vaccines just aren’t enough.

Some people are hearing medical advice, but all I’m hearing is the sound of cash registers.

They don't give a damn about us -- we're just cogs in their money machine.

FROM THE ATLANTIC: Welcome to the age of lawless masculinity.

Um, remind me again when Bill Clinton, Andrew Cuomo, Chris Cuomo, Jeffrey Epstein, Bill Cosby, Matt Lauer, Harvey Weinstein, et al. all became Republicans....

SEEN IN ANOTHER POST on the Rittenhouse trial verdict.

Colin Kaepernick responded to the Kyle Rittenhouse verdict in a tweet on Friday, stating that "this only further validates the need to abolish our current system."

The former NFL player also said that the not guilty verdict validates "the terroristic acts of a white supremacist."

"We just witnessed a system built on white supremacy validate the terroristic acts of a white supremacist," Kaepernick tweeted.

Kaepernick is an idiot who failed his moron exam.

IF IT'S ON THE SHELF, it's the right toy.

The link is actually just a WalMart ad, but with the COVID pandemic and supply chain bollixed, the lede just felt right....

NOW WE KNOW WHY THERE'VE BEEN NO RIOTS: Antifa forced to postpone riot as brick supply still stuck on cargo ship.

OR EVER: You might not be ‘fully vaccinated’ soon.

Is it 'ever' yet?

NAH. LIQUIDATE IT AND SHARE THE PROFITS: Rittenhouse, Sandmann agree to share joint custody of CNN.

Assuming, of course, that there will be any profits....

GOOD QUESTION: Are CNN, MSNBC, et al. about to make Kyle Rittenhouse rich?

I certainly hope so -- we need more billionaires and fewer CNNs and MSNBCs.

HOWEVER CONCERNED YOU MAY BE about the Left coming after your children, you can’t be paranoid enough.

THE UPSIDE OF CLIMATE CHANGE:

Linked from Mallard Fillmore here.

FREAKING BREAKING: The Democrats (in the House; it still has to go to the Senate) just passed their Build Back Better legislation.

Fine. Now pass legislation requiring Democrats(only) to pay for it.

Added thought: God help us; the Democrats won't....

LET'S GO BRANDON. Gov. Ron DeSantis signs anti-vaccine mandate package in Brandon, Florida.

GOOD RIDDANCE: Death row inmate who shot wife and sexually assaulted stepdaughter while she lay dying executed.

MAYBE THERE WOULDN'T BE SUPPLY CHAIN ISSUES if Mr. Potato Head stayed out of grocery stores....

INTERESTING: How much good do the COVID vaccines do?

From the data tables it's evident that the vaccines are modestly effective in curbing both hospitalizations and deaths, at least in the short term, and particularly for those with underlying comorbidities as evidenced by the data for the elderly (60 & up) population where underlying comorbidities are much more likely.

The long term is still to be determined, however recent news stories about 'breakthrough' infections in the vaccinated population suggest that COVID vaccination effectiveness may not be long term (therefore booster shots). I've even seen recent suggestions that vaccination may actually increase the risk of future infection, although that seems to be just speculation.

I've seen no data that vaccination of the preschool and school age population has any effect whatsoever. The chart data tends to support that conclusion.

The comments (and I haven't read them all) seem to be mostly supportive of my view that vaccination at best is modestly effective in damping the severity of the disease in populations where immunity is compromised. Here are two of many:

(disqusdfp): Left unsaid in all of this is what death and hospitalizations would look like were the CDC and other assorted clowns not actively discouraging and even banning treatments known to be effective. Vaccines simply are not needed if good treatments are available; this is why (IMHO) after close to 2 years, there are still no fully approved treatments - the CDC wishes not to weaken the vaccination narrative. Here in Silicon Valley, even the monoclonal antibody treatment would be denied me by my medical provider, despite that as a geezer I fall into the high risk category allowed access to it. And don't let me get started on Ivermectin; we're still waiting for the "urgent studies" on that, too. My deepest disappointment is that the medical establishment is knuckling under to all this, patient wellbeing be damned. My respect for doctors is at an all-time low.

(Brandoch_Daha): I think there's no real way to tell.
Statistics, especially from the government, are so skewed (not to mention screwed) by political influence that a clear picture is impossible.
My Dad (a corporate controller) used to say that "Figures don't lie, but liars can figure."
Or put another way: "Torture numbers long enough, and they'll confess to anything."

Read it all, including some comments, and make up your own mind.

AT LEAST SHE DOESN'T CACKLE: Apparently the rumor is the Junta wants to replace her [Kamala] with Michelle Obama.

WELL, YOU'VE GOT TO GET RID OF KAMALA BEFORE YOU IMPEACH JOE BIDEN: Imminent vacancy rumors swirling on Capitol Hill.

I HOPE NOT: Will public school enrollment rebound?

MICHAEL RAMIREZ on a just Rittenhouse verdict.

BECAUSE IT'S NOT ABOUT SCIENCE: DC mayor follows the science by lifting mask requirement for indoors but the White House won't follow.

It's about control. It's always about control.

THEN LET'S HAVE MORE SETBACKS, PLEASE: Surgeon General says court blocking OSHA's vaccine mandate 'would be a setback for public health'. Murthy argues:

In any community, sometimes our decisions do affect other people. It’s why, Chris, we have speed limits on highways because we know our decision about how fast we drive affects the safety of others. When it comes to getting vaccinated, we know the people who are unvaccinated are at high risk of getting sick and spreading it to others.

That argument is specious. It sounds good and is easy on the tongue, but is actually a non sequitur. Speed limits are imposed to protect me from you. Vaccine mandates are being proposed for the purpose of protecting me from me.

It's about control.

I'M WORKING ON IT. COVID panic will only end through civil disobedience and mockery.

THE WHITE HOUSE is now blaming unvaccinated children for high inflation.

In his latest exhibition of post-graduate cognitive dissonance, Brian Deese, the White House National Economic Council director, the primary architect of the JoeBama economic program, appears on NBC to proclaim that massive U.S. inflation is somehow connected to the fact that 5 to 11-year-old children are not yet vaccinated. [Video at 01:30] Once the children are vaccinated, some unknown and difficult to explain metamorphosis will take place amid the American workforce allowing the U.S. economy to stop inflation.

You're welcome to attempt to navigate the word salad that constitutes the video. I made it perhaps two minutes before I gave up in disgust.

SARAH HOYT NOTICES: "When you don't punish the guilty, you punish everyone."

KAMALA HARRIS'S BIGGEST HANDICAPS are that she’s not very talented, not very likeable, and not especially bright.

But other than that....

HIT 'EM AGAIN, HARDER: California gasoline price averages soar to all-time record high.

THE TRUTH OUTS: Texas Monthly tells Beto O'Rourke "your statements during your presidential run put you to the left of most Texas voters".

But, but ... it's not about him.

WE DON'T THINK YOU'RE A REPUBLICAN, EITHER. Wyoming GOP votes to stop recognizing Liz Cheney as a Republican.

Heh.

ANNOUNCING THE 'PARASITE CLASS': When the wheels come off.

RANDOM THOUGHT: I've finally forced myself to look into my Medicare options since it's the annual open enrollment and the only chance I have annually to change my selections of healthcare providers. Watching the Medicare Advantage enrollment commericals I'm bombarded with every time I turn on the television one would think that

EVERYTHING -- MEDICAL, DENTAL, OPTICAL, PRESCRIPTION DRUGS, TRANSPORTATION, MEALS -- IS FREEEEE!

That's utter baloney -- scam central is alive and well in Medicare land....

ROAD REPORT: A trucker talks about the industry and life on the road.

EARLY COVID TREATMENT SUMMIT draws 1000 doctors to Florida. The article itself is behind the PJ Media paywall (which, by the way, is worth the price). Here's the gist:

Healthy children should NOT receive the mRNA vaccine, as they are at virtually zero risk from the virus and the long term effects of the virus on children have not been studied;

American health agencies must immediately recognize the superiority of natural immunity among those who have recovered from COVID-19 — No vaccine for those with natural immunity;

Stop blocking doctors from prescribing early treatments and life-saving drugs.

It's the third point that chaps my ass. There are medical treatments (invermectin, mononclonal antibodies, remdesivir, and now pills) for COVID but our 'parasite class' of government/media elites hide and deny them in order to maintain their lockdown/mask/vaccine mandates.

Keep this firmly in mind: it's all about control.

IT'S NOT JUST ABOUT CHRISTMAS PRESENTS: Supply chain crisis hits U.S. agriculture export market.

HE SHOULD HAVE LOOKED MONTHS AGO: Fauci won’t step down until COVID is in ‘rearview mirror’.

Since he's demanding to be fired, accomodate him.

PROGRESSIVE POLICY is to punish the innocent to protect the guilty: Texas high school removes bathroom stall doors due to 'safety' concerns.

RESIST!: It's time to declare victory over COVID.

RELATED: The world is going full commietard and it's time to stand up.

GAVIN NEWSOM quietly extends California's state of emergency. For the third time.

The 'emergency' is the only thing keeping Democrats in power.

HEH: "The world is a safer place with a gun in Kyle Rittenhouse’s hands than in Thomas Binger’s."

RITTENHOUSE PROSECUTOR THOMAS BINGER is obviously not an NRA member.

Instapundit is on it.

THANKS, JOE: 2020's increase in Medicare's premiums will wipe out any gains in Social Security for seniors.

And you can't opt out of Medicare (or Social Security, for that matter).

Or inflation. Don't forget inflation.

We're screwed.

IN CASE YOU MISSED THEM: Three things the Left wants you to ignore.

The Left: Move along now. Just .... move ... along.

BIDEN'S BANKING CHIEF NOMINEE SAULE OMAROVA wants to eliminate your private bank account.

I don't understand why; the Biden administration is already doing a damned good job of eliminating my money with inflation....

INSTAPUNDIT EXPLAINS INSTITUTIONAL BLOAT IN TWO SENTENCES: "There’s always a shortage of people who do useful things. But never a shortage of people who spew useless bullshit."

BIDEN'S 85 VEHICLE MOTORCADE: a textbook example of 'limousine liberal' hypocrisy.

I wonder haw many C-17's it took to move those vehicles....

SHE'S AS EVIL AS SHE LOOKS: Michigan's Gov. Gretchen Whitmer vetoes GOP bill to forgive businesses for first-time COVID-rule violations.

ISN'T THAT THE POINT? New infrastructure bill found to be ripe for fraud.

For those of us old enough to remember when Obama's 'shovel ready' infrastructure plan wasn't, the Biden plan won't be shovel ready until most of it has been spent on 'preparation and planning' (read that as 'graft and corruption' and you'll be dead on).

AUTOMATING PROGRESSIVE LUNACY: Coming soon, PC bots.

On the bright side, bots are much cheaper and the progressive loons may have to get real jobs in the real world.

DOUBLING DOWN ON LOSING: Beto O'Rourke running for Texas governor against GOP incumbent Greg Abbott.

THEY NEED TO BE TERRORIZED: Winsome Sears proves again why she terrifies the Democrat party.

I can't easily summarize the post; so read it all.

WHO KNEW? China's Chairman Xi Jinping's a Democrat.

THE GEEK IN PICTURES: another data roundup, focusing on the usual suspects — energy, economics, and wokism.

The Biden administration's Build Back Better slogan should be 'Build Back Broken'. It is certainly more accurate.

Welcome back, Kotter Carter...

SO TREES are now racist?

Kamala Harris is dumber than a box of rocks to be sure, but the urban heat island is real, and planting trees -- even non-racist 'environmental justice' trees -- in the urban core is at least a modest mitigation strategy.

It's the progressive equivalent of a more rational strategy of dispersing the urban core to the suburbs and beyond, something which the pandemic lockdowns have proven feasible in this age of internet.

Of course that's in complete opposition to the progressives' desire to house America in little boxes of highrise ticky-tacky so we won't do anything wasteful -- like enjoy life.

FALLING LEAVES 2021. Week 10:

We had a little rain and a lot of high wind this week, so the leaf fall was spectacular. I had cleared our road in the days earlier while grading, and when I left early in the morning, it was clear. When I returned after the wind died down, there were sections where the gravel road was no longer visible under the newly blown down leaves.

Now on to the pictures. Here are my two staples -- the pond view and fire pit/barn from our deck.

The pond is clearly visible now, and that's probably the best view we'll ever have through the forest. The fire pit view shows the deciduous trees are nearly nude -- only a few 'bitter clingers' left.

This next photo is a scenic view from our neighbor's house -- in the summer about all you can see is the trees in their back yard.

Here's our house, taken on the trek back from our neighbor's home. If it's green, or mostly green, it's an evergreen. But even those pines have lost a lot this year. And the road was completely clear of leaves a few days ago.

This is my 'jungle' picture taken from the driveway on the south side of the house. It's finally pretty clear of the undergrowth that dominates in the summer. If you think it looks relatively flat, think again -- that's about a 45 degree slope going down into the ravine leading to the creek.

The next two are pond pictures. The first is the fountain, taken from the far side from our house (wish we had as clear a view from our deck) and the second is looking toward our house from the far side. The stairs leading up to the house are kinda-sorta visible just to the right of center.

And finally, the holdouts. This picture was taken nearly straight up from below the tree. It happens to be the same one visible in the fountain picture above.

Until next week, then....

GOOD LUCK WITH THAT: Why I’m co-founding a new university dedicated to freedom of thought and study.

Here's their web site. I'm intrigued, although why they chose San Francisco Central [Austin] is beyond me. At a minimum any land they choose for a campus should be at least 30 miles from city center -- east to avoid the Austin smug (not a typo).

I can understand why: "Hundreds of college professors pleaded to join a new university dedicated to free speech just hours after it was announced, a founding faculty member told Fox News."

I don't know that the University of Austin will be a success, but I wish them well. I do know that if I were younger, I'd have my application in to join their faculty.

BREAKING: The Glascow climate conference (COP26) was actually a 'giant writers’ room meeting for the Babylon Bee'.

BARNEY AND CLYDE understand the pharmaceutical industry.

AMMO GRRRLL takes on 'gangstas' and Twits.

And wins. With style.

LET THEM EAT [EVEN LESS] CAKE: The White House dismisses rising inflation.

As Glenn Reynolds [Instapundit] noted in the second link, the Biden presidency's return to normalcy means 'normal for the Jimmy Carter presidency'.

Jimmy was a one-termer you know, Joe. And he ushered in 12 years of Republican presidents.

Noted. That's what happens when you steal an election, Democrats....

BIDEN ADMINISTRATION ADMITS: "We love high gas prices."

And if they get high enough, then 'Mayor Pete' won't have to worry about rebuilding those racist roads and bridges.

INFLATION SPIKES: highest in 30 years.

Want to guess when it started?

Based on the dates in the chart above, my guess is that it began with the introduction of government intervention in the form of the Coronavirus Preparedness and Response Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2020 (Public Law 116-123), the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (P.L. 116-127), the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act (P.L. 116-136), and the Paycheck Protection Program and Health Care Enhancement Act (P.L. 116-139) in March and April of 2020.

Then along came the Biden administration in January 2021....

And here we are today.

POWERLINE'S Week in Pictures has two favorites this week:

AND

Now go see the rest (with this caveat: it's impossible to unsee the first gun picture).

GREGG JARRETT: Adam Schiff's disgraceful legacy.

Adam Schiff is such a lowlife he could walk under a snake's belly without stooping.

WELL, IF TWO MASKS DIDN'T WORK, think of how well three masks won't work.

RANDOM THOUGHT: There ought to be a "Eff U; go away Little Person and bother someone who actually gives a shit what you think" clause embedded in the Constitution for the States to invoke as needed.

Actually there is; it called 'federalism'. And the States should be much more aggressive invoking it.

SHOE EXPLAINS the price of free stuff.

THAT'S SOMETHING any cat owner knows.

THE RITTENHOUSE TESTIMONY from a gun owner's perspective.

Follow the link and read the whole thing.

INFLATION'S GREAT! IT REDISTRIBUTES MONEY: The New York Times does inflation.

Unmentioned is the fact that it redistributes money from those who have the least to those who have the most.

WHERE WAS HE FOR TWO WEEKS? Gavin Newsom had adverse reactions to COVID booster and flu shots.

But he couldn't just admit that without giving ammunition to the vaccine hesitant.

OCTOBER GUN SALES 30 percent above pre-pandemic levels.

And I'm open to increasing that percentage.

BLACK LIVES MATTER promises bloodshed in New York City if Mayor-elect Eric Adams "reverses the abolition of the NYPD’s controversial anti-crime units".

I'm okay with that as long as it's their blood being shed.

GOOD FOR THEM: Florida is considering a return to federalism. Hopefully more states will follow Florida's lead.

COULD IT BE THAT the coronavirus is is attracted to masks, which is why masking is so ineffective?

As ridiculous as it is, it's still a better explanation than I've heard from our elitist know-it-all boobs, both medical and political.

PRICKLY CITY explains the Bully Boyz.

THIS IS OUR GOVERNMENT TODAY: "We’ve over-invested in red tape, under-invested in infrastructure, and taught at least two generations of young people that jobs like trucking are somehow beneath them."

At all levels....

NOTE: I posted on the same topic here.

FLORIDA GOV. RON DESANTIS threatens to make border crisis personal for President(ish) Joe Biden:

Governor Ron Desantis proposes bussing illegal immigrants, brought to Florida, up to Delaware. "I will send them to Delaware and do that. If he's not going to support the border being secured, then he should be able to have everyone there."

I understand Martha's Vineyard is also nice this time of year....

YOU HAVE TO BE EFFING KIDDING ME: Vermont has reportedly become the first state to require all secondary schools, grades 7-12, to distribute condoms.

I've always been taught not to attribute to malice that which can be adequately explained by stupidity. This isn't stupidity.

IS THAT A SERIOUS QUESTION? Is Joe Biden really this dumb?

Well, yes. But then there's certainly no place for McAuliffe in the real world....

I'LL SEE YOUR SWORD AND RAISE YOU AN AK-15 (!?) RIFLE: Portland driver threatened with sword calmly walks to trunk and gets rifle.

It's clear that (a) the media doesn't know a damn thing about guns (an AK-15, for chrissake?) and
(b) the tide is turning against angry (Leftist?) 'bully boyz'.

SHOULD I BE SURPRISED? It’s official, you’re worse off than you were just ten months ago.

AMERICA NEEDS A RESCUE PLAN -- right away.

The real 'rescue plan' is a mid-term election in 2022, followed by impeachment(s) in 2023.

There are times I almost wish the U.S. had a parlimentary system of government so an election could be held immediately. But we don't, so in the meantime the operative phrase is 'Resist!'.

VETERANS DAY:

Linked from Mallard Fillmore cartoons.

I REFUSE. I do too -- and have, for a long time.

FROM POWERLINE'S 'LOOSE ENDS' SEGMENT: "Someone else who seems to be in the Democratic Party’s Witness Witless Protection Program is Vice President Harris."

She’s off to Paris this week “for a series of fence-mending meetings and high-profile, symbolic events,” as the Washington Post describes it. “Symbolic events” is perfect for our symbolic V.P. Maybe the French will keep her? A nation that swooned over Jerry Lewis movies just might like her giggle-cackle act.

I fixed the lede for PowerLine....

ADDED: And judging from news reports I've seen today, it appears our Vice President in charge of pandering has failed again.

SO DO YOU STILL TRUST YOUR DOCTOR? American Medical Association pushes pro-critical race theory materials in 'Health Equity' guide.

I don't. Not any more.

THEIR COMMITMENT IS ADMIRABLE: Democrats make environmental commitment to use only 100% recycled talking points.

And their success is astounding....

BIDEN TREASURY NOMINEE ON SEN. JOE MANCHIN [D-WV]: He is 'supposed to be on the Democratic side'.

No. He's supposed to be on America's side. And is.

THE LATEST MEDIA-DRIVEN RON DESANTIS ‘SCANDAL': During a press conference speaking against vaccine mandates, he [DeSantis] keeps referring to it as "the jab."

In fairness to DeSantis, he was speaking to the media and 'vaccination' has so many syllables....

BECAUSE 'WHITE LANGUAGE SUPREMACY': Grading system is 'racist' and must be replaced with labor-based grading (whatever that means).

You have to go to University to become this stupid. No, that's wrong. You have to become this stupid to teach at University.

I'M AFRAID HE MAY BE RIGHT: America is hanging on by a thread.

TO BE FAIR, the FDA doesn’t exist for the benefit of patients.

Also to be fair, Democrat-led government doesn't exist for the benefit of citizens.

THE NEW YORK TIMES learns rural America actually exists.

And is not their friend....

JOE BIDEN TWEETS FELLOW PUPPET to sing the praises of fake vaccination as a way of saving an imaginary neighborhood.

RI-I-IGHT: You have to wear a mask so I don't have to.

Our governing 'elites' in action ... what a bunch of virtue-signaling idiotic hypocritical poseurs. (And yes, that's what I really think.)

(SEEN ON TV NEWS) IT'S ALL OUR FAULT: The supply chain is broken because Americans are buying too much stuff from China.

And so the obvious progressive solution is to impoverish Americans.

As you know, I've been dithering between 'insane' and 'stupid' as the proper descriptor for progressive Democrats. I think I've finally got it correct -- it's both. Progressive Democrats are insanely stupid.

RANDOM THOUGHT: The whole point of 'Build Back Better' is to recreate the serf class.

HE KNOWS WHICH ASS TO KISS -- and when. And if you believe this excuse, you're even dumber than I can imagine.....

TRANSPORTATION SECRETARY PETE BUTTIGIEG is focused on racist bridges and dividing highways.

This from a former small-town mayor who couldn't even fill potholes in the streets....

I THOUGHT IT WAS READING, WRITING, AND ARITHMETIC: Loudon County's equity consultant says relationships -- not learning -- should be the focus of schools.

I have to say that's the best argument I've ever heard for disestablishing government schools. If 'relationships' are all-important what's the need for schools?

YES, LET'S GO TO WAR ... against climate change. Read the whole thing -- and wince. If you can't manage to suffer through it all, here's the gist:

[W]ith “analyses” of this quality coming out of America’s universities today, it’s no wonder that Antifa has no problem filling its ranks.

One shudders upon realizing that these maroons infest our colleges and universities.

NO, ‘CLIMATE CHANGE’ DOES NOT AFFECT HUMAN HEALTH. Weather does.

Popular science has morphed into political popular science and almost no one has noticed.

LET THEM EAT CAKE: Our 'betters' (heh) on mask mandates.

More here, here, here, and here.

I'M A BIT LATE with PowerLine's Week in Pictures. There's plenty of good election-related stuff but since I have cats, this has to be my favorite:

Now go see the rest.

RANDOM THOUGHT: They [Leftists] don't care if the poor get poorer as long as the rich get poorer too.

Heard on a television newscast recently.

HOWARD STERN tees off on Aaron Rodgers.

My take: Howard Stern needs a better shade of lipstick to go with (his/her/its) hair style and earrings....

SO WHITE PARENTS AREN'T PARENTS? The Charlottesville city council responds to the Lincoln Project. They're not happy.

The gist of the whole Lincoln Project charade was to imply that white parents protesting critical race theory were fundamentally racist and shouldn't be allowed to 'dictate' school curricula.

THE SERFS ARE REVOLTING: Greetings from feudal California.

The mother of all earthquakes is coming to the west coast soon, but it won't be underground.

THE LEFT IS DESPERATE TO MAINTAIN CONTROL: CNN guest suggests it may not be 'safe' for school children to stop masking for two years.

And deranged....

WELL, THAT'S BECAUSE THERE'S NO ROOM FOR ANYTHING ELSE: A year later Donald Trump still inhabits Democrats' heads.

DATA (NOT THAT DATA) is anti-women/minorities.

The walls in the Democrats' kitchen must be inch-thick Teflon because nothing's sticking.

DASHED HOPES: The Democrats' racial reckonings.

LET'S GO, BRANDON: The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals stays the Biden vaccine mandate -- at Brandon's request.

MANDATES FOR THEE, NOT FOR ME: American Federation of Teachers president Randi Weingarten insists students be fully masked while going maskless herself.

Weingarten is a Democrat activist, lawyer, lesbian with no children and no teaching experience -- and she's head of a teacher's union?

NOT JUST SCHOOLS: National snowplow driver shortage may cause winter school delays.

But wait ... haven't we been told by progressives that pickup trucks -- especially those big enough to push a snowplow -- are 'urban assault vehicles'?

TWITTER IS FOR TWITS LIARS: PJ Media locked out of Twitter for telling the truth.

AMMO GRRRLL: No country for smart white men.

NOT SUSPICIOUS AT ALL: Top New Jersey Democrat says they ‘recently found’ 12,000 ballots.

That's what happens when you prevent your container ships from China from unloading on time....

IT WASN'T THAT HARD TO DO. Especially if you live in a bubble-wrapped basement.

ALEXANDRIA OCASIO-CORTEZ slams James Carville for attributing the Democrats' election losses to wokeness.

Carville was wrong. It wasn't wokeness, it was stupidity.

THEY'LL HAVE TO: Holiday shoppers willing to take on more debt this year.

Thank Joe Brandon ... er, Biden.

I USED TO BELIEVE Progressives were insane. No more. Insanity can be cured. Stupidity can't.

FOX NEWS GOT THAT RIGHT: Useless idiot.

FALLING LEAVES 2021. Week 9.

This week, just a series of pictures, all taken locally:

And finally, two of my usuals:

Until next week, then.

I WHOLEHEARTEDLY ENDORSE THE LINCOLN PROJECT: With every failure they improve the Republican party.

RANDOM THOUGHT: After a quick perusal of the news this morning I have to admit to being stunned at how fast America is collapsing under the Biden Brandon administration ... and how the Democrats are doubling -- nay, tripling -- down on failure.

CIVIL LIBERTIES WATCH: Congress really wants a look into gun buyers’ bank accounts.

It's time for me to go back to the gun stores to stock up ... and pay in cash.

IT'S NOT TAX TIME YET, but are birth control pills tax deductable?

OH, MY: Florida's Gov. Ron DeSantis dubs the Biden administration the 'Brandon administration'.

LET'S GO BRANDON: the latest progressive virtue signal.

Never content to let a jab at Biden remain just that, the Left has imbued this cheeky expression with all manner of sinister mysticism, just as they did for “learn to code” and the “OK” hand gesture before that.

The perception by the Left that there is an Alt-Right boogeyman behind every meme, and a KKK sympathizer hiding under every red “MAGA” hat, is approaching a clinical psychosis that induces bizarre behavior from the Left.

As I just heard Sen. John Kennedy [R-LA] say, "The Democrats never make the same mistake twice, they make it over and over."

RANDOM THOUGHT: If you're really interested in curbing carbon emissions, take the global elite's airplanes away from them.

RANDOM THOUGHT: THE RACE CARD IS OFFICIALLY DEAD!

We (meaning real America) are 3 for 3 in Virginia elections; we came damned close in New Jersey, the Atlanta Braves won the World Series, and the 'tomahawk chop' is back.

What more can we ask for in a single day?

UPDATE: It can get better. Virginia Republicans recapture House of Delegates.

I LAUGH: Sen. Joni Ernst [R-IA] introduces the Fauci Act.

DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION.

SPEAKING OF METHANE, the combustion of which produces a Biden: noxious gas (carbon dioxide), global warming (heat), and the ocean rising (water).

PROGRESSIVES CRY RACISM, rip McAuliffe after disastrous loss in Virginia governor election.

Well, they're right about racism, just wrong about who are the racists. If they want to see racists, they should look in the mirror....

ANOTHER RANDOM THOUGHT: I had the misfortune of tuning in (briefly, very briefly) to the ongoing Federal Reserve briefing a few minutes ago. The BS level is very high, and the gist appeared to be "We don't know what the hell we're doing, but we're doing it very, very well."

DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION.

I'M A 20-YEAR TRUCK DRIVER and I'll tell you why America's shipping crisis won't end anytime soon.

Working as a defense contractor I've had some small logistics experience and I'm afraid he's right.

Read it all.

POST-ELECTION IN VIRGINIA: "I'm sorry, Mr. McAuliffe, but your race card has been declined."

Go read it all.

AN UPDATE on the Southwest Airlines "Let's go Br..." story.

It wouldn't surprise me....

BUT OTHER THAN THAT ... why Virginia hung up on the Democrats.

LOOKING AT THE New Jersey governor race results on Fox News, I note that all but two of the counties for Ciattarelli are showing 100% precincts reporting; of the Murphy counties, only two are showing 100% reporting.

The New Jersey election is well within the margin of fraud, and it appears that the counties showing for Murphy are still waiting for their ballot shipments from China.

HOW YOUR TAX MONEY IS WASTED: Nine examples that show why Democrats’ revised spending bill is still awful.

And this is the 'pared down' (to $1.75 trillion) version?

THE REASON the Democrats lost in Virginia is that the fake ballots they had printed in China were stuck on a container ship anchored off Long Beach.

FOX NEWS on the Virginia governor race.

Read the comments; it's pretty clear that Democrat cheating is expected....

LOW CHARACTERS IN LUDICROUS SITUATIONS: Are we living through the “dark” or “black” comedy that elite opinion, which likes to smirk but hates happy endings, loves to wallow in?

It's a three-ring clown circus in which, unfortunately, we're not in the audience. Otherwise it would be popcorn time.

FOR THOSE DAYS when you're locked in your safe space.

RANDOM THOUGHT on Virginia's gubernatorial election: It's beginning to look like Terry McAuliffe is going to join Georgia's Stacey Abrams as 'Governor in exile'.

THE BIDEN ADMINISTRATION makes an idiotic move on gas prices that is sure to fail.

Well, it is the Biden administration. Common sense is not their strong suit....

VOTER SUPPRESSION? More reports of people turned away from polls over not wearing masks.

They can't (legally) stop you from voting. Do so and make sure the Republicans win beyond the margin of intimidation/theft.

I'LL BET THE VOTER WAS A REPUBLICAN: Fairfax County, Virginia, voter denied entry to polling place for refusing to mask (but no ID, no problem).

COULD IT BE VACCINATION ISN'T THE SOLUTION? Highly vaccinated Vermont has spiking COVID cases.

Could it be that lockdowns, masks, and social distancing mandates are themselves the guilty parties?

BIDEN ADMINISTRATION’S new gender equity plan is an insult to women.

Women don’t need a strategy memo. We need those standing in our way to move.

If there was any 'strategy' in the strategy memo I couldn't discern it.

I CERTAINLY HOPE SO: Virginia delegate races could reflect national anti-Democrat mood.

It's the down-ballot races I'll be watching tonight....

MORE BAD NEWS for Virginia gubernatorial candidate Terry McAuliffe.

IF YOU NEED CONFIRMATION that the Democrats in Virginia are desperate, this is it.

I CAN'T IMAGINE WHY: Portland learns tourists are afraid of their utopia.

TOLDJA SO: Swan song for the Great Awokening?

Twitter liberals and woke mobs don’t set policy and don’t have near the power and sway the media wants you to think they do. They’re just loudmouths basking in the glow of the attention (and money) they seek.

It's time for them to be told 'Sit down and shut up'.

WELL, THEY MADE THEIR BED: Austin, Texas, defunded its police department. Now voters will decide if city needs more officers.

Not sleeping well, eh?

WHAT AN IDIOT! Columnist compares illegal aliens to Jews fleeing Nazis.

To call her comments obscene is too kind....

MORE POWERLINE: Critical Race Theory doesn't exist ... and it's awesome!

It's longish (if you follow all the links/embeds), but read it anyway.

POWERLINE: "The McAuliffe campaign is a study in the political equivalent in mortuary science."

I thought the New York Times article would be behind a paywall. It's not; so read it.

RANDOM THOUGHT: The Virginia gubernatorial race may make a strong case for killing early voting. In my estimation the only way McAuliffe can win is if there were enough Democrats early voting before his CRT and school board comments imploded his campaign.

AND THEN THERE'S THIS: McAuliffe references raising 5 children in Virginia in touting public schools -- 4 went to private schools.

NOTHING LIKE PISSING OFF YOUR OWN VOTERS: Democrat governor candidate unhappy with how many White teachers state has.

Note the implicit racism ('White' is capitalized) in the lede....

LET'S GO BRANDON: Fly the friendly skies of Southwest Airlines.

GOODBYE, NEW YORK CITY. We will hardly miss you.

RUTGERS UNIVERSITY PROFESSOR calls white people “villains” and says “We got to take these motherfuckers out.”

This is 'higher education' today.

UPDATE: For those of you too young to remember, here's what happens when 'we got to take these motherfuckers out'.

LEAVING THE PLANTATION? Black voters in two of America’s most liberal cities sour on calls to ‘defund the police’.

TRUMP MOCKS FAR-LEFT DEMOCRATS for getting rolled on Biden agenda.

It's beginning to look like even the Democrats are tiring of the communists socialists in their party....

NOW WE KNOW WHY:

From the Washington Times cartoon page.

WASHINGTON FREE BEACON: Liberals increasingly concerned that women, minorities can’t be trusted.

It's tagged as parody. I'm not convinced.