Illinois State Mammal: White Tailed Deer

Nature, State Animals 8 Minutes

Since I have already posted about white tailed deer I decided to look into “unusual” white tailed deer.  I found this article “8 Weirdest Whitetails You’ve Ever Seen” on Outdoor Life, and I just had to share!

From Outdoor Life:

Have you ever seen a buck with a full set of velvet-rimmed antlers—in December? How about a black whitetail, or a buck with protruding canine teeth? Here are eight freak-of-nature deer that are so odd, piebalds might seem commonplace by comparison.

This is true, I swear, though you might have a better shot of hitting a $400 million Powerball than ever seeing this animal alive in the wild. Just imagine for a moment how much you might freak out if you ever spotted a deer with a fifth leg jutting out of its backbone near the back of its neck! Well, it happens.

According to the Quality Deer Management Association (QDMA), it is called the “parasitic twin” phenomenon. Twin fawns begin to grow inside a doe, but the embryos do not completely separate, and one of them stops developing normally. The somewhat macabre extra leg is the remnant of the twin fawn that didn’t fully mature. Most of the misplaced fifth legs that have been documented are short and small, with tiny hooves attached. That fifth leg is most often located on the deer’s shoulder or back.

Parasitic twins have been documented in many animal species, and are surely the rarest of the rare whitetail oddity.

One day down in the Texas Hill Country, a buck stepped out of the brush in front of my buddy Eddie Stevenson. He did a double take—not because of its rack, but rather its color. The deer was mahogany-colored all over, with an even darker head and face. Eddie shot the buck, and the one-in-a-million mount now hangs on his wall.

You have probably heard of albino deer and their kin the piebald (a brown deer splotched with white, much like a pinto pony). Biologists seem to agree that less than 2% of all whitetails born will exhibit those white traits. However, black deer are less common, the rarest of the rare. The first-ever was documented by a biologist in 1929, and although tens of millions of whitetails have been harvested since then, only a handful of black deer have been reported.

The dark-colored hide of black deer is caused by a genetic mutation that causes their bodies to produce too much of the pigment melanin. Melanistic deer are not always solid black—there are gray to mahogany to walnut color phases, with some white on the belly and tail.

Unlike piebalds, which often have deformities such as curved spines and partially stunted legs, none of the research conducted to date suggests that melanistic bucks have inferior body or antler traits. They appear perfectly normal, save for their color.

Interestingly, the Edwards Plateau region of Texas is ground zero for melanistic deer. More black deer have been seen and harvested in the Hill Country than any other place in North America, though researchers can’t say exactly why that is. The odd black deer has popped up in Pennsylvania, Oklahoma, and a few other places in the last 20 years. The most recent sighting, a jet-black doe, was spotted and photographed earlier this summer in Northern Michigan.

Commonly called a “stag,” this oddball deer retains antler velvet throughout the year due to low testosterone levels.

Biologists refer to this condition as cryptorchidism, and it’s rare. It can result from an injury or birth defect that prevents a buck’s testicles from descending properly. Cryptorchidism can occur in both whitetails and mule deer. Regardless of species, stag bucks are different. They don’t engage in the seasonal rituals of normal bucks, such as rubbing, scraping, or sparring. Lacking the chemical stimulation to express dominance, their necks do not swell, and they are essentially stuck in neutral in the reproductive sense. Some older stags amass large, funky blobs on their heads and become known as “cactus bucks.”

A New York State buck with upper canine teeth. Photo Courtesy of QDMA

One time down in South Texas, my buddy Sarge, a wildlife biologist at the ranch I was hunting, stuck a deer skull in my face and said, “Notice anything?”

I studied it and cocked my head…

“The fangs man!” Sarge said.

The tiny, peg-like upper canines were easy to miss. In more than 30 years of hunting and skinning deer across North America, this was the first fanged buck I’d seen.

Some 7 million years ago, dating back to the Miocene Epoch, ancestors of our whitetails had long, curved, sharp canines. While lower canines are present in all whitetails today, upper ones are uncommon. Paleontologists say the small deer-like animals used the fangs, or tusks, for survival. Over time, whitetails evolved antlers for defense, and the upper canine teeth regressed.

Brian Murphy, a biologist and CEO of the Quality Deer Management Association (QDMA), says, “Upper canines are a rare, but documented phenomenon and researchers believe it is an evolutionary throwback to the ancestral form of the whitetail which occasionally surfaces today. While the exact prevalence of upper canines in whitetails is not known, it is believed to be well below one percent.”

Fangs are not only rare but almost always overlooked.

Should a buck have fangs today, they would be only ½ to ¾ of an inch long, and most of them would not even break the deer’s gumline. Most fangs are spotted by taxidermists that cape bucks.

One more thing, and it’s fascinating.

Look up at a shoulder-mounted whitetail on your wall and focus on the small, black patches on either side of the lower jaw. These patches are positioned precisely where the fangs of an ancestral deer would have stuck out from the upper jaw. Valerius Geist, renowned mammologist and author of Deer of the World: Their Evolution, Behavior, and Ecology, theorizes that the black patches may have been there to accentuate the white of the long canines in prehistoric deer. The fangs evolved away, but the patches remain.

A few years ago, Virginia hunter Ben Yates went out and shot a nice 8-pointer. Ben and his buddy didn’t mess with gutting the deer and simply loaded it in his truck for the drive to a nearby check station. A biologist doing research at the checkpoint took some notes, lifted the 8-pointer’s hind legs, and said, “Uh, come take a look.”

Ben peeked under the deer, and it took him a minute to register. He’d shot a doe with a nice rack!

According to the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries, there are two types of antlered whitetail does. The first is a female with velvet-covered antlers. This animal usually has a normal female reproductive tract and is capable of bearing fawns.

The second type is a female deer with polished antlers, like the one Ben shot. This animal is actually a male “pseudo-hermaphrodite.” It has the external genitalia of a female but has male sex organs internally.

In either case, an antlered doe is extremely rare. Only one or two if any are killed by hunters in Virginia or any other state each season.

About 15 years ago, an Alabama hunter shot the first documented “Bullwinkle Deer.”

When pictures of the buck with the large, swollen, moose-like nose hit the Web, it caused quite the stir. In the next few years, a handful of other big-nosed does and bucks from Michigan to Florida to Texas (and a couple more from Alabama) showed up, and scientists took to studying them.

The affliction was and remains so mysterious and rare that experts don’t have a technical name for it yet. But the commonly used moniker, “Bullwinkle Disease,” fits. After more than a decade of studying tissue and blood samples from the few big-nosed deer that have been tested, scientists believe the swollen muzzles result from chronic inflammation of the nose, mouth, and upper lip. All the cases studied by researchers have shown similar colonies of bacteria in the inflamed tissues.

But there are still many unknowns. “It’s not like anything we’ve seen in deer before,” says Kevin Keel, associate professor at the University of California Davis school of veterinary medicine and the nation’s leading expert on Bullwinkle deer. “This is an interesting disease because we’re not sure if it’s new. It might be something that’s always occurred in deer, but at such a low prevalence we just didn’t know about it.”

The Southeastern Cooperative Wildlife Disease Study (SCWDS) at the University of Georgia, which has also researched this malady, notes that Bullwinkle Disease has been known to exist only since 2005. No cases appear in 50 years of SCWDS files prior. Scientists are unsure if this is because the disease has only been around for 14 years, or, a sign of the times, because hunters can now share photos of big-nosed deer kills on social media.

Teaching moment: In the very unlikely event that you or a friend shoot a Bullwinkle, do not eat the meat. Scientists say the infection could mean that bacteria are present in the blood and muscle or a secondary infection could have developed, making the meat unfit for consumption.

Every season hunters across the country shoot a few unicorns—bucks with third beams or tines jutting out of their foreheads or upper nose. The third antler is often only a few inches long, but larger and even multi-tined extra beams have been documented.

“This is caused by trauma to the frontal bone of the skull, such as a tine puncture from another buck,” says Mickey Hellickson, a noted whitetail biologist from Texas. “The entire region of a buck’s skull is capable of growing antler, and if an area of the frontal bone is injured, the trauma may cause a third antler to grow from the injury.”

Stranger yet, Hellickson says that researchers have experimentally caused antlers to grow from the frontal bone of a deer’s skull by grafting antler tissue to it. “Amazingly, the researchers were also able to induce antler growth in odd places, such as legs, hips, and even the ears of deer,” he says.

Will you ever see or shoot a unicorn? Probably not. Hellickson says that in his many research projects and surveys on some of the largest ranches in Texas, his teams have captured more than 5,000 wild antlered bucks, but not a single unicorn.

For decades hunters and biologists believed that during the rut the thick-bodied dominant bucks bred most if not all the does.

It’s time to blow that old myth out of the water.

Recent research of captive deer in Oklahoma documented that all age classes of bucks breed does, regardless of the herd’s age structure. In fact, yearling and 2-½-year-old bucks sired a third of the fawns in the study, even though a third of the bucks in the enclosure were 3½ years of age or older.

The Oklahoma study also revealed more new information. In their project, multiple paternity in fawns occurred about 25 percent of the time. One in four sets of twins or triplets had two different fathers.

That percentage could be higher. A Texas A&M-Kingsville study recently found that 16 of 23 sets of twins, or an astounding 70 percent, had two different sires, typically one mature buck and another buck 2½ years or younger. Researchers suggest the younger bucks are opportunistic little devils, sneaking in to breed a doe just before or after a mature buck does.

It gets even better. Scientists at Auburn University recently reported 3 different buck sires for one set of triplets.

SOURCE: OUTDOOR LIFE

Michael Hanback

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Published by pat frederick

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146 thoughts on “Illinois State Mammal: White Tailed Deer”

    1. Morning, Pat! 70 and humid here, too, altho not as bad as it’s been the last couple of days….so far, anyway.

      Liked by 1 person

      1. Morning Filly!
        weird goings on here this morning…lol
        a mama deer and a fawn were out in the front yard eating when i was going to take the front hummer feeders out, so i waited and watched for a bit. suddenly mama’s head snapped up and she bolted down the driveway–baby fast on her heels and they dove into the woods.
        I watched and watched wondering what spooked them. after 5 minutes…nothing.
        so i took the feeders out. standing on the deck i could hear a ticking sort of sound coming from the woods opposite where the deer were.
        not a woodpecker–this was softer–but rhythmic. like something trying to peck open a nut–but there are no nuts yet.
        weird

        Liked by 1 person

        1. Do you have Katydids there? This is a very old article and talks about it being in August but it could apply. But I don’t understand why a doe would run from it…..

          EXCERPT: “Years ago, before Duquesne Light cut back the trees across the street, we heard a ticking sound at night in the summer. The bug that made that sound is pictured above, a greater angle-wing katydid. It actually made two mystery sounds: the ticking and a periodic “dzit.”

          https://www.birdsoutsidemywindow.org/2011/08/10/whats-that-sound/

          Like

    1. scott467

      scott467(@scott467)

      Online

      Wolf

      Reply to  Barb Meier

      July 15, 2024 04:38

      “If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.” (2 Chronicles 7:14, KJV)

      Like

  7. Barb Meier

    Barb Meier(@barbmeier)

    Offline

    Coyote

    July 15, 2024 01:16

    I KNOW A HERO WHEN I SEE ONE

    The Washington Post names me along with @elonmusk as one of several businessmen who are using their “megaphones” to spread “narratives” about the assassination attempt on President Trump.

    I’m not sure what “narratives” they’re referring to, but I… pic.twitter.com/GYVunWZPrG

    — David Sacks (@DavidSacks) July 15, 2024

    David Sacks

    comment image

    @DavidSacks

    I KNOW A HERO WHEN I SEE ONE

    The Washington Post names me along with @elonmusk

    as one of several businessmen who are using their “megaphones” to spread “narratives” about the assassination attempt on President Trump.

    I’m not sure what “narratives” they’re referring to, but I know what I saw, and I know what the crowd in Butler witnessed live.

    At it turns out, my father-in-law lives in Pennsylvania and he was at the rally on Saturday. When the shots rang out and Trump went down, he said pandemonium broke out around him. Everyone feared the worst. 

    But then Trump rose. Covered in his own blood, resisting the secret service’s efforts to whisk him away to safety, Trump raised his fist defiantly, and the crowd could see him say: “Fight. Fight. Fight.”

    Immediately the fear of the crowd dissipated, the chaotic uncertainty lifted, and it was replaced with steely resolve. The crowd responded back as one: “USA, USA, USA!” 

    This is not a “narrative.” It is the truth. Trump stood defiant in the face of an assassin’s bullet. There is no way to fake courage like that.

    It was more important for Trump to let the crowd know that he was unbowed and unbroken than to be taken to safety.

    Donald Trump has already been in the fight of his life for months, as vindictive Democrats seek to imprison him, but on this day he came within inches of losing it. He has risked everything for this country. 

    It is now up to us, the American people, to show him that he does not stand alone. Let us reject the lies, the hoaxes, the hate and the division that the media has spread about this brave man, and support his resounding victory in November.

    Liked by 1 person

  8. TheseTruths

    TheseTruths(@thesetruths)

    Offline

    Wolf

    July 15, 2024 01:18

    Secret Service blames local police, says it was tasked with securing properties surrounding Trump’s Pa. rally
    [emphasis mine]

    The Secret Service blamed local police for failing to secure the rooftop from which gunman Thomas Matthew Crooks attempted to assassinate former President Donald Trump, insisting it was outside of the perimeter the federal agency was tasked with protecting. 

    Baloney! Even if they tasked local police with that job, the SS should have made sure all was done correctly.

    Instead, securing and patrolling the factory grounds of AGR International Inc. — located about 130 yards from the stage where Trump was speaking Saturday — was the responsibility of local Pennsylvania police, Secret Service representative Anthony Gugliemi said, according the New York Times.

    The Secret Service was only tasked with covering the grounds where Trump’s rally took place…

    Tasked by whom?

    …with local police being recruited to assist with those efforts and secure the area outside of the rally.

    But neighbors living near Butler Farm Show Grounds told The Post they were never visited by any law enforcement agencies — local or federal — in the days before or during the rally….

    The lapses also apparently continued into the rally.

    Attendees reported seeing 20-year-old Thomas Crooks acting suspiciously near rally metal detectors, according to CNN, with local law enforcement being notified and broadcasting warnings over their radios to the Secret Service to be on the lookout for him.

    He was also reportedly seen with a rifle outside of a security checkpoint to gain entrance into the rally, and later spotted jumping “roof to roof” before settling on the AGR factory.

    Police apparently failed to locate him while those alerts were out, before finally responding to reports of an armed man on top of the AGR roof.

    Around 6:10 p.m., a local police officer climbed a ladder onto the roof and came face to face with Crooks, who who was pointing his rifle at him, law enforcement sources told the Associated Press.

    The officer backed down the ladder, and in those moments Crooks took aim and fired about eight bullets on the rally. He struck Trump in the ear, and fatally struck bystander Corey Comperatore in the audience, and gravely wounded two others in the crowd.

    Within moments, Secret Service snipers stationed on a barn rooftop behind the stage fatally shot Crooks. Snipers appeared to have their sights trained in the direction of Crooks before they opened fire on him, though it is unclear whether they had seen him.

    The Secret Service confirmed it leaned on local law enforcement to help run security at the event, telling the Washington Post it is common practice to depend on local agencies for support.

    In addition to leaving the grounds outside the rally perimeter under the purview of local police, at least six officers from Butler County tactical units filled out the Secret Service’s counter assault team — the heavily armed agents who covered Trump’s evacuation — which only included two members of the Secret Service itself.

    The Secret Service’s two sniper teams were backed up by two local sniper teams.

    Pennsylvania police confirmed they assisted the Secret Service and regularly do when high profile government officials come to town, but that the federal agency ultimately runs the show. 

    “Secret Service always has the lead on securing something like this,”  Lieutenant Colonel George Bivens of the Pennsylvania State Police told reporters.

    “We work with them to provide whatever is requested by the Secret Service, but they’re the lead in that security,” he said.

    Calls for an investigation into the Secret Service and what allowed Crooks to come within an inch of assassinating Trump have begun, with House Oversight Committee Chairman Hames Comer (R-Ky) announcing plans Service Director Kimberly Cheatle for a July 22 hearing.

    Liked by 2 people

    1. That local coward cop needs to be fired immediately and charged with dereliction of duty!!! Pull your weapon, asswipe, and shoot the SOB!!!!

      Liked by 1 person

  15. “History In a Headturn”

    JIMYCHANGA, JUL 15, 2024

    “Last microsecond of headturn gave humanity a second chance to take out the deep state…It’s just starting..”

    Liked by 1 person

  18. National Pulse: “Comcast’s Sky News Reacts to Trump Shooting: ‘Nothing Justifies an Assassination Bid – But…”

    ENTIRE ARTICLE: “Comcast NBCUniversal’s Sky News reacted to the assassination attempt against former President Donald J. Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania, by questioning whether the America First leader has changed “the rules of engagement” in politics.

    One of Britain’s leading news broadcasters, Sky published the article ‘Nothing justifies an assassination bid – but did Trump play a part in changing the rules of engagement?’ within hours of the shooting, which injured President Trump and left at least one of his supporters dead.

    U.S. correspondent James Matthews said Trump had “joked about the brutal assault on the husband of former Democrat House Speaker Nancy Pelosi” and “downplay[ed] a kidnap plot against Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer“—which turned out to have been orchestrated in large part by Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) plants and informants.

    Matthews claimed Joe Biden and the Democrats responded to the assassination attempt with “benevolence”—making no mention of the fact that the 81-year-old incumbent had been fearmongering about Trump’s supposed plans to become a “dictator” shortly before the attack.

    Sky News also expressed shock that the shooting was able to take place, suggesting the “agents charged with Donald Trump’s protection, Secret Service or otherwise, face a grilling on a failure in the fundamentals of the job.”

    Liked by 1 person

  19. what the f*ck kind of STUPID PROTOCOL is this? wait tillt he President is fired upon BEFORE engaging???

    Susan Crabtree

    @susancrabtree

    Here’s my reporting on why the Secret Service did not shoot until AFTER the shooter engaged and some context about the House Republicans’ investigation already underway (months before Trump’s assassination attempt) into whether the agency’s DEI policies are affecting its readiness. The blowback against the Secret Service started within the hour of the assassination attempt and continued even after Trump and other credited the agency with saving Trump’s life by quickly killing a shooter crawling across a nearby rooftop.   But a source within the Secret Service community tells RealClearPolitics that the agency rules of engagement in this situation are to wait until the president is fired upon to return fire.   “You want to take a shot then find out the guy was holding a telescope?” the source suggested. “The Secret Service is by nature reactive…and you better be right when you do react or you’re f—–d.”   The Secret Service protocol requires that a counter sniper aware of a potential shooter to radio directly to intelligence division team to respond and investigate. In this case, the investigation may have been cut short by the shooter firing his weapon, so the counter sniper then fired as quickly as possible in return.   The source praised the counter sniper who acquired the target and responded within three seconds, calling their performance “incredible.”   “The counter snipers are highly trained and extremely accurate,” he said.   Others with law enforcement and military backgrounds want to know whether the Secret Service utilized drones, i.e. small unmanned aircraft systems, to provide detailed situational awareness. If the agency did not use drones, why not, these experts ask. The use of drones has been a controversial issue within the agency since at least 2016. Implementing drones would have provided detailed line-of-site analysis and aerial surveillance that would have easily identified the rooftop as a potential threat area.   “The USSS has access to all the best imagery and elevation data,” the military expert told RCP. “I’m not saying they didn’t [use drones], but it’s an open question.”   The once vaunted Secret Service lost some of its former respect after a string of fence-jumping incidents and other security lapses came to light during the Obama administration. At the beginning of the Trump administration, a senior special agent in the Secret Service came under fire for suggesting in a Facebook post that she wouldn’t “take a bullet” for Trump. Kerry O’Grady, the former agent in question, was placed on administrative leave but was allowed to retire with full benefits, which outraged many in the Secret Service community.   The agency, more recently, has come under scrutiny for its diversity, equity and inclusion policies, after a female agency attached to Vice President Kamala Harris’s protective detail and identified as Michelle Herczeg, had an apparent mental breakdown and physically attacked her senior officers at Joint Base Andrews before a trip. An agency spokesman called the issue a “medical incident,” but other members of the Secret Service launched a petition over the agency’s diversity, equity and inclusion hiring and vetting policies during the Biden administration, asfirst reported by RCP.   In addition, after the attempted assassination of Trump Saturday night, conservatives blasted Rep. Bennie Thompson, the ranking Democrat on the House Homeland Security Committee, for earlier this year introducing a bill co-sponsored by several other Democrats that would have denied Service Service protection to Trump if he were convicted of a felony. The measure never gained traction in the GOP-controlled House.   After the attempted assassination, which killed one innocent spectator and injured at least two others, Thompson tweeted that he is “glad that the former president is safe” and is “gratefully for law enforcement’s fast response.”

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Susan Crabtree

      @susancrabtree

      The “glaring Secret Service mistake” was a problem assessing the line of sight + there should be an internal Secret Service paper trail on how many counter-snipers, other officers and agents were allotted to this event in Pennsylvnia, one source in the Secret Service community tells me. Before the event, a Secret Service advance team walks the potectee’s (in this case, Trump’s) route (ingress/egrees) and the site then stands on the stage and looks out 360 degrees to determine vulnerabilities, keeping in mind effective lethal handgun and rifle ranges and making sure those areas are posted and covered. In this case, they missed the rooftop 130 to 150 yards away. Even for a mediocre shooter, that’s not a difficult shot. Many competitive shooters compete out to 1,000 yards. “How many counter sniper teams were there? On the presidential protective detail [agents] use as many as we needed if we could justify it. Former presidents and other details are lucky if they get one, and luckier if they get more than one.” When Secret Service agents do advance work for a rally or other event they submit a manpower request through the lead advance agent. The lead advance agent submits the number of post standers, magnetometers, counter snipers, etc, that would be needed for a particular visit. A Secret Service official back in D.C. in manpower/protective operations then comes back and says, “You’re only getting this.” “We would always be sure our requests were in writing so we would have a paper trail just in case of the present scenario we have in Butler,” the source tells me.

      Liked by 1 person

  20. Just The News: “Bomb-making materials were found inside the vehicle of the 20-year-old suspected of shooting former President Trump at his campaign rally in Butler, Pa., on Saturday, according to law enforcement sources. Bomb-making materials were discovered at his home as well.

    The suspect was identified early Sunday morning. “The FBI has identified Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20, of Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, as the subject involved in the assassination attempt of former President Donald Trump on July 13, in Butler, Pennsylvania,” the agency said in a statement on Sunday. “This remains an active and ongoing investigation.”

    Matthew Crooks declined to provide details about his son until he talked to law enforcement, according to CNN. His son reportedly used his gun to carry out the attack.”

    Liked by 1 person

      1. All I had to go by was what people were saying at the time – it always takes time for these things to shake out.

        Like

  23. Just The News: “Former President Donald Trump said Sunday that he has rewritten his speech for the Republican National Convention to focus on unity, rather than the policies of President Joe Biden, following the assassination attempt on him.

    Trump was grazed by a bullet on the upper part of his ear on Saturday, during a campaign rally in Butler, Pa., as a shooter killed attendee Corey Comperatore and injured attendees David Dutch and James Copenhaver in an assassination attempt on the former president.

    He is set to give his speech at the GOP convention on Thursday, the last day of the four-day convention, where he is expected to be formally announced as the Republican Party’s presidential nominee.

    “The speech I was going to give on Thursday was going to be a humdinger,” Trump told the Washington Examiner on Sunday. “Had this not happened, this would’ve been one of the most incredible speeches” focused primarily on Biden’s policies, he said. “Honestly, it’s going to be a whole different speech now.”

    Trump said that the speech will explain how he believes the assassination attempt has completely changed the election campaign. “It is a chance to bring the country together,” he said. “I was given that chance.”

    The former president said that he raised his hand as Secret Service was escorting him off the stage at the rally to let everyone know he was alright, and that America goes on, we go forward, that we are strong.”

    Liked by 1 person

  24. “Biden Advisors Threaten To “Beat The Shit Out Of” Staffers Who Don’t Keep Quiet”

    It’s weird seeing the media pile on with the ‘scoops’ about what exactly is going on behind the scenes with Biden’s panicking entourage, but this one takes it to another level.

    CNN reports that a prominent Democrat has claimed Biden’s advisors have threatened White House staffers, saying they will “beat the shit out” of anyone who says anything about Biden’s health that runs contrary to their narrative.

    CNN anchor Jake Tapper spoke with reporter MJ Lee in a bizarre segment in which she revealed the claims.

    Lee noted “You know, we talked to a lot of folks who said, ‘Of course we know that he has aged. Of course, we had seen some signs, especially over the last year, of his decline in terms of his physical stamina, his mental clarity.’ But that version of the president that we saw on the debate stage, they said was basically unrecognizable.”

    She continued, “what my colleagues and I have really reported on is there is a lot of anger and the blame that is being placed on the inner circle of advisers and family members around the president and what these people say is this really painstakingly choreographed and stage managed daily operations at the White House around the president that is set up, specifically designed to prevent the public from often seeing the president in these extended unscripted settings.”

    “And one thing that many of the folks that we spoke with that they are so furious about is this idea that when people have gone to these inner circle of advisers around the president to express some of these concerns, that they were not taken seriously or really brushed aside,” Lee added.

    Then came the kicker.

    “This is what one top Democrat told me, they said, “Everyone who expresses any level of suspicion or contrary views, they call everyone, and they beat the shit out of them and say stay on message,” Lee asserted. — Modernity News

    Our Take: I feel like part of what I try to do here is bring a little levity to the news cycle, which can often be depressing and, at times, even scary. Sometimes I feel like the Biden regime—or maybe Ghosts in the Machine?—are trying to one-up me. Here I am trying my best to be funny while writing about something that is already laugh-out-loud hilarious. How could I possibly make it any funnier?

    “This is what one top Democrat told me, they said, “Everyone who expresses any level of suspicion or contrary views, they call everyone, and they beat the shit out of them and say stay on message,” Lee asserted.

    Are they being literal? Are they being facetious? Is Biden the one doing the beatings? Or does he outsource that to the third world? Is it just the white males being beaten? Or the women and the blacks, as well? So many questions.

    I mean, one could argue if Biden is only beating the white males, that could be both racist and misogynistic, if you consider that the “beatings” may be intended to be motivational. So if Biden isn’t also beating the black and female aids, perhaps it is because he doesn’t believe in them as much? But then again, the optics of a white geriatric—who in 2010 eulogized the Grand Cyclops of the Ku Klux Klan at his funeral (Senator Richard Byrd—the longest-serving Senator in US history)—beating his black and female staffers is not great. (Though it is on brand.)

    All jokes aside, the sociopaths in the media are turning on one another, as they turn on Biden, and it is delicious. Excuse me while I go pop some more popcorn.” — GhostofBasedPatrickHenry

    Liked by 1 person

  25. Democratic Donors Freeze $90 Million In “Coordinated Rebellion” Against Biden

    The New York Times is reporting that the largest Democratic super PAC is freezing $90 million in pledged donations for as long as Joe Biden remains the nominee.

    “Some major Democratic donors have told the largest pro-Biden super PAC, Future Forward, that roughly $90 million in pledged donations is now on hold if President Biden remains atop the ticket, according to two people who have been briefed on the conversations,” The Times report states.

    The moves comes after another car crash appearance where Biden called Kamala Harris ‘Vice President Trump’ and introduced Zelensky as “President Putin.”

    The leftist media talking heads are also now bickering among each other about how brain damaged Biden is.

    There are some absolutely wild stories being bandied around. — Modernity News

    Liked by 1 person

  26. Orbán Continues Ukraine ‘Peace Mission’ With Trump Meeting: “He Is The Man Of Peace”

    Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said in a Reuters interview this week that Hungary believes a second Trump presidency will boost the chances for achieving peace in Ukraine.

    Currently, the country’s prime minister Viktor Orban is on a global peace mission, also in the capacity of Hungary currently holding the presidency of the EU council. Within the past two weeks he met with Presidents Putin and Xi Jinping, and before that with Zelensky in Kiev.

    On Thursday he was in Mar-a-Lago in Florida, where he met with Donald Trump, in the next iteration of the ‘peace mission’. Hungary’s NATO allies have not been happy, especially over the meeting with Putin, and have declared that Orban is not representing the EU on this mission. The Hungarian leader was already in the US this week attending the annual NATO summit in Washington hosted by Biden.

    Orban announced on X of the meeting with Trump: “It was an honor to visit President [Donald Trump] at Mar-a-Lago today. We discussed ways to make peace. The good news of the day: he’s going to solve it!”

    He referenced the Florida visit as “Peace mission 5.0” – but this too resulted in consternation from EU leadership. For example, Germany’s foreign ministry responded by saying, “We have to see how the Hungarian council presidency continues. We are now on day 12 and it has already caused a lot of damage.” — ZeroHedge

    Liked by 1 person

  29. Phew! Like swimming in the proverbial pea soup! I decided to pick up all the bark in the yard – w/in 5 minutes, I was sweating and could hardly breathe! Not even 9 am yet and the a/c has already kicked on…..

    Liked by 1 person

      1. Oh, I won’t be going outside again! Still no need to add jelly to the feeder – looks like Orioles around the country are taking a break! LOL

        Liked by 1 person

  31. “How CNN Reported 7 Famous Assassinations Throughout History”

    MEDIA · Jul 14, 2024 · BabylonBee.com

    Article Image

    “Over the centuries, the brilliant journalistic minds at CNN have covered several assassination attempts in their own unique way. Here are seven examples of their best work, serving as a shining beacon of truth in dark times:

    1. Julius Caesar
    1. John F. Kennedy
    1. Mufasa
    1. Archduke Franz Ferdinand
    1. William Wallace
    1. Emperor Palpatine
    1. Jeffrey Epstein

    Thanks for all your hard work through the years, CNN!”

    Liked by 1 person

  33. “FBI Wonders If Perhaps They’ve Been Investigating The Wrong People This Whole Time”

    CRIME · Jul 14, 2024 · BabylonBee.com

    Article Image

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — After yet another deadly attack perpetrated by a deranged leftist, this time coming an inch away from killing President Trump, the FBI was left briefly wondering if maybe they had been investigating the wrong people.

    After years of hunting for right-wing extremists at school board meetings and Catholic churches, FBI Director Christopher Wray briefly pondered how the agency had failed to stop so many violent criminals across the United States.

    “Despite our vigilant search for right-wing domestic terrorists, we somehow allowed violent street riots to kill 13 innocent people, a mass shooting targeting Republican lawmakers playing baseball, a planned assassination of a conservative Supreme Court Justice, the violent takeover of dozens of college campuses, the murder of schoolchildren targeted for being Christian, attacks on churches and synagogues, and arson bombings of crisis pregnancy centers,” said Wray. “It’s a mystery is what it is.”

    At publishing time, the FBI had completed its moment of self-reflection and decided to fix things by hunting for right-wing domestic terrorists even harder.

    Liked by 1 person

  38. interesting theory

    SeekerOfTruth

    July 15, 2024 9:49 am

    Rule #1 – Follow the money. Possible theory below.

    BlackRock reveals link to failed Trump assassin The shooter appeared in a commercial for the investment behemoth   
    Thomas Matthew Crooks, the suspect in Saturday’s attempted assassination of former US President Donald Trump, featured in a 2022 ad for BlackRock, the investment giant has revealed. 

    There you have it! Let’s do the math. Black Rock bought the best assets in Ukraine for 10 cents on a dollar. Practically a theft. It enrolled the neo-Nazi regime. Unleashed NATO and ISIS. All to protect its investments. There comes Trump saying he will stop the war in 24 hours, forcing Ukraine to settle the conflict. Black Rock will lose billions if that were to happen. They dust off their shooter who appeared on their commercial and was not paid on the books – but off the books. Wait… there is more.

    Black Rock calls its CIA assets to direct the Secret Service to ‘loosen up’ the security around Trump. This is why there were security mishaps, designed to allow the shooter to fire his shots. So, to stop the shooter from talking and revealing his Black Rock connection, he was shot dead. All scripted by Black Rock, but there was poor execution.

    Black Rock is the one behind Ukraine war, there are others too. Last, do not count on an investigation or punishing the masterminds. They are the government within the government! Major conspiration similar to the one that killed JFK. his brother, MLK, Malcom X and John Lennon. 

    Trillions of dollars are at risk. Blackrock has long wanted to steal the Rich mineral and Agriculture assets of Ukraine. and there you have the motive and setup. Large corporations control the government and other military and intelligence entities needed to make easy money for themselves (CEO and executives).

    PS. The secret service is now a diversity DEI hiring group. Enough said about their performance. Bunch of bumbling keystone cops.

    Liked by 2 people

  39. YAY

    BREAKING: Biden DOJ’s classified docs case against Trump DISMISSED after judge deems Jack Smith appointment unconstitutional

    “Former President Trump’s Motion to Dismiss Indictment Based on the Unlawful Appointment and Funding of Special Counsel Jack Smith is Granted in accordance with this order.”

    https://thepostmillennial.com/breaking-biden-dojs-classified-docs-case-against-trump-dismissed-after-judge-deems-jack-smith-appointment-unconstitutional

    Liked by 1 person

  40. “Conspiracy theories that the assassination attempt on Trump was staged flooded the internet almost immediately after the shooting suspect opened fire. “Donald Trump continues to play in our faces!! This was SO staged!!! If someone REALLY wanted to take him out, they wouldn’t use a BB Gun!!” one person posted on X a little more than an hour after the shooting. Some social media users even falsely claimed that Trump faked the blood coming from his ear with a “blood pill.” 

    And then, of course, the MSM has to jump in and report on the social media postings, and then social media posting reply to the MSM stories, and the shit continues to roll downhill for ever.”

    Liked by 1 person

      1. I take everything ANY news site says with a grain of salt – all of them are going to slant it towards their POV to a certain extent.

        Liked by 1 person

  41. “A Day for Dedication: Happy Birthday Peter Navarro.

    Bonnie, JUL 15, 2024

    ENTIRE ARTICLE: “Before I continue with my dedication note, I would like to send my heartfelt condolences to the family whose loved one was taken from them during President Trump’s recent rally. I wish them sometime soon to find peace and strength. I am so sorry for those injured as well and that a hero, Donald J. Trump, had to go through this, when he only wants to save America and do good.

    Today, July 15th, is Peter’s Birthday. On this special day, I want to dedicate it not only to my dearest fiancée, Peter, but as he would do and want – to dedicate this day to all of you, to celebrate a birthday, but mostly to celebrate all of you – to thank you for your support for him during these months while he has been in prison. And importantly, a huge dedication and celebration for all those who managed his messaging and carried on his mission during his time behind bars. I celebrate all of you today. You know who you are.

    I refuse, honestly, to be sad on this day; that injustice has taken me away from Peter and I cannot celebrate his special birthday with him and for him. As he rightfully says, if we do put our heads down, if I shed more tears on this day, then they win. So, let’s all find the joy in this day to make us even more positive and give us strength on this journey towards more justice in our most beautiful country we are so proud of. Please on Peter and my behalf, go dance with your loved ones, go sing, go laugh, go find joy for me and him today. Promise this.

    I have suffered the heartache of my fiancée being away for so long. Peter, throughout our three year relationship, has always taken care of me in many ways, and he didn’t stop while in prison. He not only called me three times a day and sends me love notes all the time, but he wanted to take care of all of you and carry the burden of being in prison to make all of our lives better, more free, and more joyful.

    He worked for our country every day he was in prison and will continue to, because that is Peter. He is relentless in his love for me, for you, and for our country. Today we celebrate all of you and this warrior still behind barbed wire fencing. I thank you all because you have helped me with your support for him so much and thus, my heartache has been for the 4 months just a little less painful.

    Thank you, my dear Peter, for your relentless fight and the inspiration you bring inside prison and out.

    Happy Birthday, Dr. Navarro. Love you I do.” — Bonnie

    Liked by 1 person

          1. That experience caused me to make SURE everything was planned out, in writing, w/the appropriate certifications, ahead of my death, with my will and advanced living directive. Thankfully, my 2 Aunts rushed to be there the next day to help. Meeting with the Pastor, selecting bible verses, hymns, arranging for the ladies to serve a small meal in the church basement, picking out a casket, clothes, etc., etc. had all been done when I thought of something at the viewing the night before = trumpets! Mom DEARLY loved it when they had the trumpets, so I asked the Pastor about it there and he managed to get someone lined up. I hadn’t cried at all but when those trumpets played, I totally lost it.

            Liked by 1 person

  45. THIS VIDEO IS WELL WORTH THE TIME TO WATCH – ESP. THE PART WITH MARINE SNIPER VETERAN, LYNN WESTOVER.

    Helped me to understand the stress and pressure of security team sniper duty.

    Interview with Robert Barnes and Viva Frei – https://rumble.com/v56wunx-trump-assssination-attempt-rnc-in-milwaukee-baldwin-charges-dismissed-and-m.html

    MORE about Westover – Twitter https://x.com/westover_lynn/

    His website – SLC Squared – https://www.slcsquared.com/ –

    https://udlapjenkins.mx/profesor/lynn-l-westover-jr/

    Liked by 2 people

      1. Howdy, Miss Pat. I’m home for a few days. Then I’m going to spend the weekend and next week working on Sally Q’s bathroom floor. The grout is plain ole porous concrete and looks bad. I’ve tried cleaning and sealing but it didn’t last. This time I’m adding color and sealer. Process will take 10 days.

        Liked by 1 person

        1. you are so talented!
          i did the tile/grout work on our bathrooms and laundry room (all floors)
          then i did it in the entrances and kitchen (floor and back splash.)
          we had an accident when they were installing a new door and they cracked a tile and ruined the grout. luckily we had extra tiles, but the grout i used 18 years ago was no longer available. we used a slightly different color and redid the entire entry way.

          Liked by 1 person

  46. From the DailyMail article Kea posted @ M’s: “Donald Trump has revealed he will announce his pick to be Vice President today.

    He made the announcement to Fox News’ Brett Baier in a phone call on Monday morning.”

    Liked by 1 person

  47. Patience
    July 15, 2024 11:47 am

    Donald J. Trump
    @realDonaldTrump
    ·
    6m

    In light of what is going on in the world today,

    I believe it is imperative that Robert F. Kennedy Jr. receive Secret Service protection
    — immediately.

    Given the history of the Kennedy Family,
    this is the obvious right thing to do!

    Liked by 1 person

  48. two percent neanderthal

    two percent neanderthal

    July 15, 2024 11:56 am

    It is interesting that the Judge’s decision makes note that Jack Smith’s scam has withdrawn 24 million $$ from the U. S. Treasury without appropriate authority. Would a “claw back” be in order?

    Liked by 1 person

    1. BREAKING: Given the recent decision by Judge Cannon regarding prosecutor Jack Smith’s “classified documents” case, the following can now be stated.

      1. A filed whistleblower complaint has Smith and other members close to him inside the DOJ under serious investigation by the DOJ OIG (yes, there are some good guys—but we’ll see).
      2. Deposed witnesses (part of this WB complaint) have been offered massive bribes to back off their statements (by apparently Americans—to be named later). The bribes are north of $25M (you read that right).
      3. I am told Judge Cannon had either requested or received a copy of this whistleblower complaint (I have zero idea if she actually received it or read it), but this is some of the information I’ve been made aware of.
      4. This has been an ongoing investigation for well over a year now led by very credible investigators and the public whistleblower complaint was posted back in DEC (go find it).
      5. This has been pressed very hard thanks to (w/out his patience and support), the investigation and the legal and very public filing would not have occurred.
      6. Be prepared for more on this very serious case which stands in history to be one of the most egregious abuses of authority within the department of justice (if the truth plays out here, the 2nd and 3rd order effects could very well prove to be stunning to America’s national security).
      7. The media hasn’t covered one iota of this (no surprise here).

      For America to move forward, the rot must be removed and the corruption must be publicly called out and eliminated.

      More to follow.

      Liked by 1 person

  50. Oh, my! H/T Kea

    Liked by 1 person

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