Everybody is getting into the authoritarian business of giving themselves the power to decide something they don't like is terrorism so that they can suppress it

DeSantis signs Florida 'domestic terror' bill...

... Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed into law a measure that gave him and other state officials the power to designate groups as "terrorist organizations" ‌and expel students who support them, with rights groups saying the law will chill free ‌speech.

The law empowers the state's chief of domestic security, governor and cabinet to designate any organization they determine engages in extremist ​acts as a "terrorist organization."

After such a designation, the group can be forcibly dissolved and face a freeze on state funding, according to the legislation. It also says that students shall be expelled from their institution if they "promoted a domestic terrorist organization or a foreign terrorist organization." ...

It went back 240 years

 

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette ownership announces it’s shutting down paper in May

 

Update:

 

PITTSBURGH POST-GAZETTE stays alive after sale to nonprofit...  

Yeah, I remember when Churchill betrayed England and pretended he could still win after Dunkirk

We shall never surrender.

 

Europe Betraying Ukraine By Pretending It Can Still Win

Daniel DePetris, Telegraph

Only fools throw red meat to dogs, yank it away, and act surprized when they turn mad

 

UPDATE: Trump faces revolt over Epstein...

Now Says Obama, Hillary, Biden, Comey 'created files'...

Begs supporters to end obsession...

Rips attacks by 'so-called' friends...

Bongino on Brink...

 

 

Yeah, what a hero Trump is, they should give him the Nobel Peace Prize

 From the suck-ups at Real Clear Politics this morning:

Dramatic Day of Diplomacy Culminates in Iran-Israel Ceasefire

Atwood, et al., CNN

 

Trump's Courageous Leadership 

Miranda Devine, New York Post

 

 Trump's Strategy Opens a Path to Toning Down the Conflict

Akbar Ahmed, HuffPost

 

If Ceasefire Happens It Would Be Massive Win for Trump

Chris Cuomo, NewsNation

 

President Trump Looks Judicious and Pragmatic

Gerard Baker, Wall Street Journal

The Chicago Tribune editorial board laments the closing of all Jo-Ann Fabrics stores, never mentions that becoming a literal sewer of woke was the last straw for many of its long time customers

 Sewer has two meanings dontchaknow, seamstress only one.

From the conclusion:

... And lucky Chicago suburbanites have small businesses such as LindaZ’s Sewing Center in Arlington Heights, where knowledgeable staff connect savvy sewers, knitters and quilters with fabric and machinery, and Thimbles in Lockport, which still serves a loyal community of sewers and quilters too. ... 

 

Trump is still pressing for tax increases on the rich to pay for all his gimmicks

 Trump urged US House Speaker Johnson to raise top tax rate, sources say

U.S. President Donald Trump privately urged House Speaker Mike Johnson during a phone call on Wednesday to raise the tax rate on the wealthiest Americans and close the carried interest loophole for Wall Street investors, two people familiar with the conversation said on Thursday. ... Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told reporters last week that Trump had ruled out the idea. ...

Because they are gay

 Why men are shaving off their eyelashes...

tl;dr

 

 

Trump's tariffs mean that the skies will be empty, along with the shelves

 Boeing hopes to find new buyers for up to 50 planes returned by China

... Two Boeing jets have returned to the US from China, with another on the way, after the imposition of steep 125% tariffs on American imports. China imposed the levies in retaliation to the White House’s 145% rate that threatens to significantly slow down the world economy. ...

Blank Sailings Rattle Trans-Pacific Trade as China Imports Nosedive

... Container shipping companies have blanked at least 80 sailings this month, compared to 51 in March 2020, when volumes crashed amid early Covid-19 lockdowns, Sea-Intelligence said. ...

Pete Hegseth wasn't honest with Trump about his past

 Trump transition team ‘quietly’ looking at alternatives to Pete Hegseth after he ‘wasn’t honest’ about past

Donald Trump’s transition team is said to be “upset” with Pete Hegseth because he “hasn’t been honest” about the sexual misconduct allegation from his past – prompting insiders to consider other options to lead the Pentagon.

Hegseth was tapped last week to become Trump’s defense secretary but now those in the president-elect’s inner circle are “quietly preparing a list of alternative” candidates, Vanity Fair reported.

“It’s becoming a real possibility,” a source told the outlet’s special correspondent Gabriel Sherman.

The source said that the Trump team was taken by surprise after a serious sexual assault allegation against Hegseth came to light, which led Trump’s incoming chief of staff Susie Wiles to question the former Fox News host on a call last week. Hegseth was never charged with a crime and denies the allegations.

“People are upset about the distraction. The general feeling is Pete hasn’t been honest,” a second source told Vanity Fair.

A “prominent Republican” close to the Trump transition team told the outlet that some are also unhappy with the president-elect’s choice due to Hegseth’s lack of qualifications to lead the nation’s defense. . . ..     

What else would he fail to be honest about?

 

Supreme Court rules Obama can't be prosecuted for executing American citizens by drone while he was president, Democrats shaken, dismayed, hopeless

 

 Supreme Court rules ex-presidents have broad immunity, dimming chance of a pre-election Trump trial

 US Supreme Court rules Trump has immunity for official, not private acts

 

Missing us by 180k miles yesterday, asteroid 2024 MK was only discovered on June 16 and was one of the 60% larger than 140 meters still unknown

 

Gee that's . . . not a happy thought.

The asteroid, named 2024 MK, is estimated to measure about 480 feet (146 meters) across, which is greater than the height of a 40-story building or the Great Pyramid of Giza.

More. 

A sucker that size could destroy London, England:

"If [an asteroid as big as Dimorphos] were to fall on the city of London, windows would break over the whole south east of England and the damage in [the Greater London] area would be very extreme," Collins said. "There would be no survivors in the center of London because of the impact itself and also because of the severity of the air blast." ...

While asteroids of this size crossing the path of our planet are rare, astronomers estimate that 60% of near Earth asteroids larger than 140 meters are still unknown. 

NASA said it came in at 152.4 meters.

European Space Agency said it came as close as 180k miles.

Talk about giving two weeks notice.

DNC chair Jaime Harrison and Biden campaign manager Julie Chavez Rodriguez gaslight DNC committee members in Saturday conference call, disable chat function and disallow questions

Here:

Multiple committee members on the call, most granted anonymity to talk about the private discussion, described feeling like they were being gaslighted — that they were being asked to ignore the dire nature of the party’s predicament. The call, they said, may have worsened a widespread sense of panic among elected officials, donors and other stakeholders.

Instead, the people said, Harrison offered what they described as a rosy assessment of Biden's path forward. The chat function was disabled and there were no questions allowed.

“I was hoping for more of a substantive conversation instead of, ‘Hey, let’s go out there and just be cheerleaders,’ without actually addressing a very serious issue that unfolded on American television for millions of people to see," said Joe Salazar, an elected DNC member from Colorado, who was on the call. “There were a number of things that could have been said in addressing the situation. But we didn’t get that. We were being gaslit.” ... “This should not be a close race,” Salazar said, pointing to Trump's criminal record and long history of falsehoods. “They’re the ones who should be looking for a new nominee, not us. And unfortunately for us, because of our president’s performance on Thursday night, that is now an open discussion.”

Democrats have been trying to protect Joe Biden for years, and look how quickly they betray him: They're users

 

The Dems Must Dump Biden. Here's How

Harold Meyerson, The American Prospect

 

It's Up To Jill To Get Joe To Step Aside

Jill Filipovic, The Daily Beast

  

To Serve His Country, President Biden Should Leave the Race

New York Times

  

Time To Go, Joe

Mark Leibovich, The Atlantic

 

Biden Is a Good Man & President. He Must Bow Out

Thomas Friedman, NY Times

 

 

Media Establishment Lays on the Horn: Joe Must Go...

 

Hollywood abandons...

 

Exclusive: Influential donors want to pressure Biden to drop out

 

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) had signaled to political allies that he was open to options other than President Biden if his debate performance was disastrous

 

It's Time for Biden To Pass the Torch

Atlanta Journal-Constitution

 

 

Maybe that's the problem right there

 No human biologist now argues that violence is in our genes.

More.

Chicago Tribune Editorial Board wrings its hands over 450k Illinoisans with concealed carry permits now firing back, calls the right to self-defense "taking the law into your own hands"

 Worryingly, we’re seeing more signs of that phenomenon in Chicago, with three separate episodes over the last weekend in which would-be victims proved to be both armed and willing to fire at their assailants. Four people who police said were attacking these concealed carry holders were shot and wounded, all of them critically, according to a report by Block Club Chicago.

More.

Yeah, citizens doing the job the cops and the courts won't do is horrible.

Hey, concealed carry holders, go back to the range and improve your aim, will ya?

Pure fascism: Utility sector is profiteering off the federally subsidized green energy push

 Utility stocks are on fire — here are Wall Street analysts' top picks :

The S&P 500 Utilities ETF (XLU) is up more than 12% year to date in a reversal from last year when investors soured on the sector due to expensive projects and high interest rates. ...

Constellation Energy (CEG) is the largest owner of nuclear plants in the US. The Baltimore-based company has been a beneficiary of the government's push to transition to green energies and growing power demand from data centers. Constellation shares are up more than 85% year to date as the company forecasts base earnings to grow by at least 10% annually through the decade. ... The analyst highlights that Constellation produces power at roughly $25 per megawatt hour, while the government's Inflation Reduction Act allows for a selling price floor of $45 per megawatt hour, providing a minimum of $20 margin per megawatt hour. ... Constellation has been operating as a standalone energy provider since 2022 after a spin-off from utility giant Exelon (EXC). The company has been buying back shares and recently upped its dividend ahead of its earnings due on Thursday. ...

NextEra Energy (NEE): The $147-billion-market-cap company is one of the largest electric power generators in the country. While NextEra owns a regulated utility in Florida, investors are more interested in its non-regulated part of the business, NextEra Energy Resources, which involves developing renewable energy in the US. ... "The re-domestication of industry in the US supported by public policy will drive the need for more electricity," CEO John Ketchum told analysts in April. The stock is up about 20% year to date. ...

Among the regulated utilities, Southern Company (SO) is one of the best performers inside the Utility sector year to date, with shares up more than 10%.

It's great to be a Democrat.

Reuters: Trump was undeterred in front of Libertarians

 Undeterred, Trump poked fun at the crowd, saying if they did not back him, they would continue to garner just a tiny portion of voter support in national elections.

More.

Times have really changed in New York City

 Traumatized tourist stabbed in Times Square will never return to city... 

When I first visited New York City many years ago, we parked the car and as we got out a cab pulled up along side but behind us a little on an angle. 

A man jumped out of the back seat, pulled out his pecker, and peed like a race horse on the street right in front of us like it was nothing. Then he jumped back in the cab and it took off again.

Never even got wet.

 

 

Dubai seeds clouds on the weekend, gets floods by Tuesday, but no, it was climate change

Dubai Grinds to Standstill as Cloud Seeding Worsens Flooding

 

The Gulf state’s National Center of Meteorology dispatched seeding planes from Al Ain airport on Monday and Tuesday to take advantage of convective cloud formations, according to Ahmed Habib, a specialist meteorologist. The NCM on Wednesday said the seeding had taken place on Sunday and Monday, and not on Tuesday. ... The latest storms followed heavy rains earlier this year, according to Habib at NCM. The seeding planes have flown seven missions, he added. “For any cloud that’s suitable over the UAE you make the operation,” he said.