54 thoughts on “Black Friday”

    1. Morning, Pat! I never did the Black Friday shopping but my daughter loved it. She and her friends would go at oh-dark-thirty to wait in line. Insanity, IMO! Partly cloudy skies and down to 10 here this morning.

      Liked by 2 people

    2. Good Morning, Blog Friends. I don’t plan to shop, either. Today is Speckles’ birthday. He was born here in 2011 so is snoozing in my lap as I type into this phone. It’s cold here, too, but not freezing. Drizzly, off and on.

      Liked by 2 people

  3. JustTheFactsPlease

    JustTheFactsPlease

    November 29, 2024 12:34 am

    Here’s something for President Trump’s Transportation and FAA managers to work on: Security, so that people can’t stow away on planes.

    November 4, 2023: “A Russian man tailgated an unsuspecting passenger through security at a Denmark airport before he boarded a US-bound flight without a passport or ticket the next day, prosecutors said.” ( https://nypost.com/2024/01/27/news/russian-man-sergey-ochigava-found-guilty-of-being-a-stowaway-to-lax/ )

    November 26, 2024: “A stowaway evaded multiple airport security checkpoints and flew aboard a Delta Airlines flight from New York to Paris Tuesday evening, authorities said – a shocking breach that raised serious alarm over airport security.” ( https://www.cnn.com/2024/11/27/travel/stowaway-delta-newyork-paris-intl-hnk/index.html )

    This is a security issue.

    Liked by 2 people

  4. EXCERPT: “A Wisconsin group is asking its state government to undergo spending and staffing reviews similar to those the incoming Trump administration intends to conduct with a newly created agency that will be led by successful entrepreneurs Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy.

    The Trump agency is named the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE. Musk, a billionaire, owns Tesla, Twitter and SpaceX. Ramaswamy is also an entrepreneur and reportedly worth hundreds of millions. 

    The request from the Wisconsin’s Institute for Reforming Government is not entirely new.  It was conceived last year but revived as Republican Donald Trump campaigned, then won the presidency on such promises as cutting jobs, replacing career civil servants with federal appointees and relocating government offices.

    The institute’s plan focuses on reducing the number of full-time state employees by finding redundancies and contracting for professional services.

    The group has also proposed scaling back state agencies in the Wisconsin capital of Madison and moving state workers into the communities their department serves, creating less office space while making remote work more accountable.

    “With renewed attention on right-sizing government and reducing unnecessary bureaucracy at the federal level, it’s time for state lawmakers to seriously rethink how state agencies operate as well,” said Chris Reader, the institute’s executive vice president….”

    https://justthenews.com/nation/states/center-square/wisconsin-group-calls-doge-style-review-government-services-spending

    Liked by 2 people

  5. Just The News: “Billionaire Elon Musk, who will play a role in the new Trump Administration as a co-head of the newly planned, informal Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) commission, has often floated proposals on his social media platform, X. 

    On Wednesday, the entrepreneur asked his millions of followers if Congress should grant a recent $20 billion dollar funding request from the Internal Revenue Service by Biden Deputy Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo, who said the extra funds were vital for running the tax collection agency.

    “The IRS just said it wants $20B more money,” Musk wrote on X, formerly Twitter. “Do you think its budget should be: Increased, Same, Decreased, Deleted,” he asked, in an attached poll. More than 60% of the users who voted in his poll called for the IRS’s budget to be “deleted.” 

    This is just the latest instance of Musk asking for public feedback on his policy proposals on X, which he acquired in 2022. 

    Adeyemo’s plea for extra funding comes after Republican lawmakers were able to include a $20 billion cut to the agency’s budget in a federal funding stopgap bill in September, which is keeping the government funded until Dec. 20. 

    Musk also called for slashing government regulations by eliminating the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, which is responsible for protecting consumers in the financial sector. “Delete CFPB. There are too many duplicative regulatory agencies,” Musk posted to X. 

    The agency was created by the 2010 Dodd-Frank law passed in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis to regulate the sector.” 

    Liked by 2 people

    1. Good ideas, but even the IRS has a long and sordid history. Its latest incarnation is based on the Federal Reserve Act of 1914, which was conceived and engineered by an international conspiracy of financiers and bankers in Jekyll Island, GA around 1910. Its purpose was to create a debt-backed currency, in order to drag the US into WWI.

      Liked by 2 people

      1. I’m not ashamed to admit that anything like this having to do with finances is completely beyond my comprehension. Always has been, no matter how many people have tried to educate me! LOL

        Liked by 1 person

        1. It’s designed that way, Methinks. The IRS, and the financial scam that runs the US government is so full of Loopdeloops that it confounds most sane people, so they hire accountants and others to figure it out.

          Liked by 2 people

  6. Just The News: “Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said Thursday that she did not address President-elect Donald Trump’s plan to impose a 25% tariff over immigration concerns and did not agree to shut down the border, as Trump claimed. 

    At a press conference, Sheinbaum said the pair discussed illegal immigration and drug trafficking, over which Trump had threatened to impose tariffs, but did not come to any agreement to close the border or stop illegal migration, per Reuters. 

    “It was a good conversation and we are going to keep having conversations,” Sheinbaum said. 

    On Wednesday, Trump claimed in a post to Truth Social that the Mexican president had agreed to “stop migration through Mexico, and into the United States, effectively closing our southern Border.” 

    However, Sheinbaum says she presented a strategy that “attended to” migrants before they arrived at the border. “Mexico’s stance is not to close borders, but to build bridges between governments and their peoples,” she said in a post to X.”

    Liked by 2 people

      1. We’ve had a system like that for many years. There are already temporary visas for that purpose. I can even recall it – or a form of it – from my childhood here in NE.

        Liked by 2 people

  7. EXCERPT: “The Amish vote received significant attention throughout the 2024 election cycle as Republican activists worked to mobilize the traditionally low-turnout group.

    As the frenzy settles, curiosity about its impact continues. The hyper-focus was fueled by extensive communities in battleground states, most of all Pennsylvania. It was also an opportunity to bring the historically politically adverse and traditionalist culture under the Grand Old Party’s umbrella.

    Some Amish refrain from voting due to beliefs emphasizing separation from “worldly” influences, though a desire for religious freedom and protection from government overreach has drawn more to the polls in recent years.

    Republican U.S. Rep. Troy Balderson, whose district encompasses the largest Amish settlement in Ohio’s Holmes County, told The Center Square that the community doesn’t see things all that differently. “The Amish community wants the same things most Americans want: lower prices, fewer heavy-handed government mandates, and policies guided by common sense – not woke ideologies,” he said. “It’s that simple.”

    As previously reported by The Center Square, it’s difficult to estimate how many members of the Amish community vote. Nearly 400,000 exist nationwide across 654 individual settlements.

    The largest populations are recorded in Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana and Wisconsin, according to the Young Center for Amish Studies.

    In swing states like Pennsylvania, home to the largest Amish population in the country, its 92,000 members could make all the difference in expanding the narrow margins separating President-elect Donald Trump and his Democratic challengers during the last three election cycles….”

    https://justthenews.com/nation/states/center-square/curiosity-amish-voting-impact-continues

    Liked by 1 person

  8. Just The News: “The online streaming platform Rumble sued the state of California this week over two new laws backed by Gov. Gavin Newsom that would require platforms to restrict user speech if it is deemed false in the lead-up to an election.

    The lawsuit, filed Wednesday by the Alliance for Defending Freedom on behalf of Rumble, argues that the new laws infringe on the constitutional right to freely post political content, according to the Daily Wire, which reviewed the suit. 

    The two bills were designed to combat “deepfakes,” Gov. Newsom said. However, Rumble argues that the measures require the government to judge the content of political speech. 

    The first law, passed as the Defending Democracy from Deepfake Deception Act of 2024, requires “a large online platform, as defined, to block the posting of materially deceptive content related to elections in California, during specified periods before and after an election.” 

    The legislation also requires “a large online platform to label certain additional content inauthentic, fake, or false during specified periods before and after an election in California.” The legislation requires labels on any “audio or visual media that is digitally created or modified.” 

    The other law cracks down on “deceptive audio or visual media” of a political candidate within a certain period before an election. It would also require a disclosure if the content was produced as a satire or parody. 

    The bills followed Newsom’s criticism of a parody video of Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris during the 2024 election cycle, which he labeled manipulated. “Manipulating a voice in an ‘ad’ like this one should be illegal,” Newsom said at the time. 

    But ADF argues that these new laws are “censorship, plain and simple,” ADF Senior Counsel Phil Sechler told the Daily Wire. “We can’t trust the government to decide what is true in our online political debates.”

    Liked by 1 person

  9. EXCERPT: “As we’ve reported, the “Trump Dance” has taken the country—and even the world—by storm, as athletes are doing it for celebrations, supporters are spontaneously breaking into it at restaurants, and folks are posting videos of themselves boogying to social media by the thousands.

    The song that inspired Trump’s dance moves is, of course, the Village People’s 1978 hit, “Y.M.C.A.” Although the song has remained popular throughout the years, often played at weddings and parties where revelers form the letters with their arms in unison to the lyrics, it is now enjoying a resurgence—and sent the catchy tune straight to the top of the charts.

    YMCA has topped the charts 40 [sic] years after its release thanks to an online dance sensation started by Donald Trump…

    YMCA shot up the Billboard dance/electronic sales chart as polling day approached on Nov 5, and finally hit number one following Mr Trump’s victory the week of Nov 17.

    Victor Willis, the lead singer of the Village People who once asked the president-elect to stop playing their music, said he used to think Mr Trump would tire of the song. “But that never happened,” he added.

    Mr Trump’s rigid dance moves, which generally involves waving his arms above his head and pumping his fist, has prompted imitators from across social media and sport.

     It’s everywhere:..”

    “….The band at one point tried to stop Trump from using the song, but in the end, they decided not to kill the joy. I bet their wallets are glad they did:

    He [lead singer Victor Willis] said he eventually decided not to cancel the Trump campaign’s license which allowed it to play YMCA “because by that time I started noticing some very good things started happening”. When YMCA hit number one this month, he high-fived his wife….”

    https://redstate.com/bobhoge/2024/11/28/winning-trump-sends-70s-dance-hit-straight-to-the-top-of-the-charts-n2182588

    Liked by 1 person

  10. https://www.breitbart.com/2024-election/2024/11/27/report-democrat-megadonor-reid-hoffman-weighs-fleeing-u-s-after-trumps-landslide/

    Our Take: So many of the nation’s worst people claimed they were going to leave the country if Donald Trump was elected. So far, Ellen is the only one that reportedly made good on her threat. Readers will recall the similarities in the design of Ellen’s daytime show set and the temple on Epstein’s island. I’m sure it’s all a coincidence.

    Now Reid Hoffman, another reported visitor to Epstein Island, is considering fleeing the country as well, according to Breitbart and The New York Times. He fears retribution. He fears receiving his just deserts.

    Hoffman bankrolled the worst impulses of the left. And it’s likely much worse than the known lawfare and weaponized government operations.

    Will other known Epstein associates flee? We’ll have to wait and see, but I wonder, in the realigned, multipolar world, how is extradition going to work? Is there actually anywhere to run and hide? — Ashe in America

    Liked by 1 person

  14. “The End of Wokeness In The US Military: What Democrats destroy, Trump will fix.”

    Libs of TikTok, Nov 29, 2024

    “The United States Military is said to be the greatest fighting force in the world. But that has come into question in recent years with the implementation of DEI and gender ideology.

    Under Democrat leadership, wokeness has infected the very institution tasked with the sacred duty to defend the lives of Americans. So how bad has it gotten? Well, for starters, Lt. General Kevin Schneider of the U.S. Air Force says that he fully supports DEI in the military and wants DEI to be “part of our DNA.”

    But he isn’t the only top military leader spouting DEI nonsense. Another U.S. Military Lt. General says she will replace qualifications for queerness in her hiring processes.

    So, has this ideology, which has infected the military’s top brass, trickled down through the ranks? Unfortunately, yes. Joshua Kelly, a squadron administrative supervisor, does drag shows while serving “to build up morale” and receives compensation for performing.

    Other military personnel, such as this individual below, are using our tax dollars to fund medical procedures and drug treatments for their full gender transition.

    Not only is radical gender ideology being permitted and funded throughout the military, but it’s also being openly celebrated by active members.

    Even though gender activists have attempted to take over the military, their time is coming to an end.

    With Donald Trump’s coming inauguration as the 47th President, comes a cabinet full of pro-American individuals who are dedicated to getting the country back on track. One of these individuals is Pete Hegseth, a former military member himself who has been nominated by Trump to be the new Secretary of Defense.

    Pete Hegseth | Wife, Tattoos, Military Career, & Biography | Britannica

    Pete Hegseth is an outspoken critic of gender ideology and has vowed to combat DEI and woke ideologies inside the military including the firing of woke military officers and the dismantling of DEI initiatives. This news seemed to resonate with Americans. Soon after Trump’s nomination of Pete Hegseth, it was reported that military signups surged.

    Despite not even being in office yet, Donald Trump has already been producing results. His promise to Make America Great Again extends to his promise of returning the U.S. Military to its former glory.

    Until that happens, I will continue to expose these woke actors inside the military. DEI is a dangerous ideology that compromises any institution it touches. If we want America to be truly safe from threats foreign and domestic, we cannot let our military fall to this radical ideology.

    With your support, we can keep shedding light on the Left’s attempt to weaken our country. Together we can make a difference.” —Chaya

    Liked by 1 person

  15. Clarion
    Clarion
    November 29, 2024 1:19 pm

    Next Wednesday, the Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in U.S. v. Skrmetti.

    Next Wednesday, the Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in U.S. v. Skrmetti. This is the culmination of our fight against the barbarism of child sex-changes, and it could be a Dobbs-style earthquake in terms of protecting children. Here’s what you need to know.

    — Matt Walsh (@MattWalshBlog) November 27, 2024

    Like

  16. “Not All Psyops are Bad”

    Clandestine, Nov 29, 2024

    “I see many people conflating the term “psyop” with “disinformation.” Disinformation can be a psyop, but not all psyops are disinformation. Psyops are not exclusively bad. They can be used to inspire or motivate using truth.

    Like a football coach hyping his team before a game, that is a psyop. The coach is using his players’ emotions to motivate and inspire them to perform a desired action, in this case, play good football. This would be considered a “white” psyop, as it’s not necessarily a bad thing or deceitful, but it is a psyop because it’s weaponizing emotion for a desired outcome.

    A “black” psyop would be any use of deceit, manipulation, disinformation, etc., to create a desired outcome. An example of this would be the Russia hoax. This is a psyop, because the media, led by their CIA handlers, intentionally deceived the American People, with the desire to make them hate Trump. They weaponized the public’s emotions using lies.

    I’ve seen it happen over the years where people have a strong negative connotation attached to psyops, when in reality, psyops can be a good thing, and the US MIL do have PSYOP units who use truth to help influence and inspire the public for desired outcomes and combat black psyops

    In conclusion, not all psyops are bad, and just because something is a psyop, does not make it disinformation. There are good forces fighting back against the ongoing black psyops with psyops of their own.

    Psyops take many forms, and the battlefield is everywhere.”

    Liked by 1 person

  19. EXCERPT: “With Donald Trump coming out victorious in the 2024 election, special counsel Jack Smith and the DOJ have already dismissed all federal charges and appeals targeting the incoming president. Of course, as RedState reported, Smith did it in the most petty way possible, not seeking to dismiss with prejudice and theoretically leaving the door open for a future Democratic administration to re-indict. 

    Still, the odds of that seem extremely low. With Trump set to serve another four years, I can’t see a possible Democrat president in 2029 taking the political risk for what is already an irrelevant issue with voters. 

    That said, Smith is preparing one more surprise with the help of AG Merrick Garland. According to sources, a “report” detailing the supposed evidence against Trump will be released, and you can bet it’s going to be Christmas morning for MSNBC. 

    The report is expected to detail Smith’s findings on key cases involving Trump, including allegations of election subversion and mishandling of classified documents. Attorney General Merrick Garland is expected to publicly release the special counsel report.

    “Historically, these special counsel reports are quite detailed,” CNN legal analyst Elie Honig said Tuesday morning in an interview with Jim Acosta. ” I think this will be Jack Smith’s last and best chance to tell his story in both cases. He’s already done that to some extent through his indictments and court filings, but this will be it — this will be the historical record.”

    While the Jim Acostas and Rachel Maddows of the world are going to get really excited about this, I’m less concerned about the whole ordeal. Far from being the “historical record,” it will be the word of a man who served as a partisan apparatchik for an administration seeking to put its political opponent in jail to influence an election. Whatever he releases will just come across as the last shallow gasp of a failed special counsel. 

    To put it simply, no one cares about this anymore. If any of this mattered, Kamala Harris would have won the election. No doubt, Smith’s report will include lots of salacious nonsense meant to spoil Trump’s second inauguration, but it’s ultimately powerless. In that sense, I’m almost happy it’s being released. It’ll be entertaining to see Joy Reid and company whip themselves into a lather over something that will have zero impact on the incoming administration….”

    https://redstate.com/bonchie/2024/11/29/new-jack-smith-and-merrick-garland-prepare-one-last-surprise-for-donald-trump-n2182604

    Liked by 1 person

  20. EXCERPT: “….At least, Fadavi felt that way on October 31, when he issued that statement. Since then, America had a pretty big presidential election. (You might’ve heard about it.) But if you haven’t, here’s the highlight: The crazy, scary Orange Man is back in the saddle.

    And suddenly, Iran’s singing a dramatically different tune.

    It was released on Thanksgiving Day, so most people probably didn’t see it, but The New York Times released a fascinating story yesterday: “With Trump Returning and Hezbollah Weakened, Iran Strikes a Conciliatory Tone.” 

    The sub-header: “As Iran faces domestic and foreign challenges, its bellicose rhetoric on the United States and Israel has given way to signs that it wants less confrontation.”

    The contrast is striking: Just weeks earlier, Iran was vowing to utterly eviscerate its enemies. No compromises, no exceptions! And remarkably, the world was largely falling into line: Biden even pressured America’s allies to “respond in proportion” to Iranian missile attacks on civilian targets.

    But after Election Day? Even The New York Times noted the Iranian sea change:

    In mid-November, Iran dispatched a top official to Beirut to urge Hezbollah to accept a cease-fire with Israel. Around the same time, Iran’s U.N. ambassador met with Elon Musk, as overture to President-elect Donald J. Trump’s inner circle. And on Friday, it will hold talks in Geneva with European countries on a range of issues, including its nuclear program.

    Get ready for the money quote:

    Five Iranian officials, one of them a Revolutionary Guards member, and two former officials said the decision to recalibrate was prompted by Mr. Trump winning the Nov. 5 election, with concerns about an unpredictable leader who, in his first term, pursued a policy of “maximum pressure” on Iran. [emphasis added]

    During the Nixon years, we called it the madman theory: When foreign adversaries cannot predict the actions of a “mad” U.S. president, they’re suddenly risk-averse. It’s a very old idea: Niccolo Machiavelli wrote in 1517 that sometimes, it’s “a very wise thing to simulate madness.”

    But there’s nothing “mad” about it. All nations make risk-reward calculations. It’s unusual for a country to deliberately court their own destruction; getting deposed, murdered, and your corpse sexually violated isn’t a lot of fun — and the memory of the ex-Libyan strongman is still fresh in the minds of Muslim leaders.

    Most foreign leaders have a pretty good quality of life. And so, they want to keep living. It’s awesome to be in charge! Perhaps Mel Brooks said it best:

    One of Donald Trump’s greatest strengths is his knowledge and appreciation of leverage. He knows how to use it against others, and he knows what it feels like when it’s wielded against him. For over 50 years, he’s used negotiating leverage to gain concessions and improve his hand in real estate, business, government contracts, politics, and financial loans. It’s fundamental to how Trump sees the world: Life is a deal.….”

    https://pjmedia.com/scott-pinsker/2024/11/29/maga-scares-a-the-crapola-outa-the-mullahs-iran-caves-calls-off-israeli-attacks-promises-to-be-good-n4934717

    Liked by 1 person

  21. “The main ingredient in Bovaer® 10, which is now being used as a feed additive for cows, in order to “reduce methane emissions”, “may damage male fertility and reproductive organs”…”

    Liked by 1 person

  24. SALLY Q UPDATE!!!

    We had a good day – !   I was worried and anxious about many things when I woke this morning, but the fog is clearing.   Then, before lunch, I spent time in the chapel – just reminding myself Who GOD IS – the Great I AM – just being quiet and still.   As I walk around the hospital, I have been praising and thanking GOD, singing hymns, speaking Bible Verses…it really helps!   I’ve met so many sweet Christian people, every age and ethnicity – !

    Yesterday and today, I talked with several hospice groups and a palliative care nurse practitioner.   Also talked with her insurance agent in the county seat where the Village is – he assured me that hospice care will be covered.   

    She’s off morphine and taking Tylenol with codeine – so much more alert.   Her digestive system has kicked back into gear after being NPO.   She’s feeling better – I can tell because she was grumpy again.  If she’s doing as well as today, she may be going home tomorrow!   

    Interesting incident – when she was in the hospital last time, she didn’t like the blue foam bed cushions they supplied for her legs and the Physical Therapists said they liked the yellow ones better, but we never got them.   So today, I went downstairs to the orthopedic floor to ask if we could buy a pair of the yellow ones.   They said we would have to get an order from a doctor, and they looked on her chart – and lo and behold there WAS AN ORDER by a doctor we never saw or heard his name.   They said we would have to get a sticker from the nurse for the cushions, and we did.   They are very comfortable and she’s using them now!   Maybe a divine intervention?

    We are going to take it day by day – I’ll prepare my house for the time if she is bedridden.   I’m going to order the alternative cancer therapies – which are also vaccine detox and virus treatment.   

    So – things are ironing out and HE – OUR WONDERFUL LORD GOD – is making our way plain, smooth, straight – Psalm 5:8 – https://biblehub.com/psalms/5-8.htm

    Liked by 2 people

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