Donward

But I thought Venezuela was blaming Colombia for the attack.

A tree from Alaska’s warm prehistoric past is growing in our warming present https://www.adn.com/opinions/2018/08/05/a-fossil-tree-from-alaskas-warm-past-is-growing-in-our-warming-present/ Retired botanist Ed Berg took me to a beach off Kachemak Way, east of town, to see petrified stumps of big metasequoia trees that died out millions of years ago. Then we looked at a living seedling of that same species, once again potentially viable in the newly warmed climate. Homer farmers are trying to grow the metasequoia, also called dawn redwood, which nearly went extinct. They hope its towering trunks could once again populate a forest where the dominant spruce trees now are dying. They are trying out other warm weather trees, too. ... For 35 million years, the species dominated northern forests, but was wiped out by cooling weather and glaciation, according to Yale's Peabody Museum. It was known only as a fossil until 1943. That year, a forestry researcher in central China stumbled upon a single grove of trees he could not identify. Eventually, those trees were recognized as living Metasequoia glyptostroboides, or dawn redwood.

In other news that is not surprising to anyone... https://nypost.com/2018/08/04/how-twitter-is-fueling-the-democratic-agenda/ Federal records reveal 80 percent of Twitter’s corporate PAC contributions in the 2018 election cycle have gone to Democratic candidates, none of whom are moderates. Liberal Democrats also got top dollar in the 2016 race. ... Twitter CEO and co-founder Jack Dorsey also donates only to Democrats. And in 2017, he and executive chairman Omid Kordestani together donated $530,000 to the ACLU to fight Trump’s executive order imposing a temporary travel ban on immigrants from high-risk Muslim countries, which Dorsey called “upsetting” but which the Supreme Court recently ruled constitutional. All told, Twitter gave $1.6 million to the anti-Trump ban effort. ... Then there’s former Twitter CEO, current board director and major stakeholder Evan Williams. He’s shelled out more than $600,000 for the Democratic Party and Democrats running for federal office, FEC records show. Meantime, he has stiffed Republicans and the GOP. What’s more, Evans in the past two presidential races pumped an additional $750,000 into Priorities USA Action — the largest Democratic Party super PAC — which contributes to leftist groups to help them turn out the vote for Democrats. Priorities USA is heavily funded by billionaire Trump-hater George Soros. ... And in unrelated news... Twitter stock plunges 21% after earnings show effects of fake-account purge https://www.marketwatch.com/story/twitter-shares-slide-16-after-fake-account-purge-new-rules-in-europe-2018-07-27 Their stock is down from $46.65 as of July 6 to $31.96 as of Aug 3. Let 'em eat cake.

The Left STILL hasn't learned the lesson of 2016. https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2018/08/the-progressives-plan-to-win-in-2018/566825/ The first Netroots Nation conference in a Trump-era election year opened with not one, not two, but five keynote speakers of color, all of whom underlined the potential of a “multiracial coalition” of voters made up of African Americans, Latinos, Asian Americans, and progressive whites. Their prescription for taking back the House in the November mid-terms was not winning back Trump voters, but expanding the electorate. “Our swing voter is not red to blue,” Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the 28-year-old Bronx Democrat who upset Democratic Caucus Chair Joe Crowley in a June primary, told an audience of progressive activists on Saturday. “It's non-voter to voter.” It is a telling lede paragraph where the Netroots activists don't even give a damn that blue collar, working class, and lower class white voters - who used to be solid Democrat votes even as late as 2008 and 2012 - are no longer welcome among Capital "A" African Americans, Capital "L" Latinos, Capital "A" Asian Americans. Lower-case whites need not enter. Also... if you have five keynote speakers, doesn't that by definition mean they are no longer keynote speakers? *Shrug* Democrats have been grappling with key questions about coalition building since the 2016 election: Should they prioritize winning back the voters they lost to Trump? Should they attempt to woo the white voters gradually fleeing the party? Progressives this weekend said, emphatically, no. I guess the Progressives aren't interested in winning back mid-west swing states then. On Saturday, the final night of this year’s Netroots conference, a small group of young protesters from the “Black-Ass Caucus” took to the stage. “We will no longer be tokenized by so-called white allies,” one man shouted to the audience. Another protester, a young woman, criticized progressives who speak about economics and class, without mentioning race. “Everything—including class issues—are built on race issues!” she yelled into the microphone. So not only is the Left marginalizing itself from mainstream America, at the same time it is tearing itself apart on the fringes. It is telling that the Big Plan is to get minorities who voted for Obama but stayed home for Hillary back in the voting booth. While at the same time the Netroots conference is being protested by minorities - like the Black-Ass Caucus - who (I'd wager) voted for Obama but did not vote for Hillary. These Democrats are banking on turning out these disaffected fringe types to come back home when instead they are out protesting and shouting at a far-Left Progressive event that they have no interest in voting for mainstream Democratic candidate.

Some of the weapons confiscated by the Portland Police during the Antifa/Alt-Right quilting bee yesterday.

The Venezuelan Secret Service (or whatever they're called) deployed the (whatever the brand name) foldout Kevlar shields.

But muh Blue Wave!!! Polling shows Republican challenger pulling even with anti-Trump Democrat in Solid Blue Oregon Gubernatorial Race http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2018/07/25/republican-challenger-pulls-even-with-anti-trump-democrat-in-solid-blue-oregons-governors-race-poll.html I cited the July 25 FoxNews article just for ease, there are other publications that have run similar stories. Per RealClearPolitics and their polling. A Gravis poll has Republican challenger Knute Buehler in a tie with incumbent Democrat governor Kate Brown in Oregon. IN OREGON!!! Another polling group (A Republican one it seems) has the challenger up by a point. http://cloutpolitical.com/poll-or-governor-race-in-statistical-tie-with-gop-challenger-buehler-holding-slight-edge/ IN OREGON!!! The particulars of the Gravis poll are interesting in that 47 percent of likely Oregon voters are LESS likely to support a congressional candidate if it meant that Nancy Pelosi would be Speaker of the House and only 19 percent more likely. In contrast, 44 percent of likely Oregon voters are LESS likely to support a candidate if it meant helping Trump and 43 percent were more likely to support a candidate if it meant helping the President. IN FUCKING OREGON!!! The poll consisted of 770 likely voters, 47 percent of whom voted for Hillary Clinton and only 41 percent who voted for Trump. ... The takeaway? I can't take seriously the notion of a BLUE WAVE sweeping the country if Oregon is polling in favor of a Republican winning the state's gubernatorial race.

Processed 85 pounds of chicken (15 birds) into separately packaged bird pieces which are now vacuum sealed and in our freezers. Traded our salmon for a fellow farmers market vendor's poultry. There is something intrinsically wholesome in dealing directly with where your food is grown and your friends who do the growing. And I'm glad we were able to take Otter along to the farm again so she can look and interact with the critters. Sadly no photos since my phone got killed by Bristol Bay and I haven't gotten around to replacing it yet.

That would literally be like being in a sauna/steam in terms of the heat and humidity.

Why does he have a paint roller on his gun?

Central New York man pisses off neighbors by flying Nazi flag on his property. Claims it is to get attention to the fact that he is being hacked. https://www.syracuse.com/news/index.ssf/2018/08/community_protests_nazi_flag_along_rt_11_between_tully_and_preble_owner_wont_rem.html "The flag has a bold swastika placed just slightly off-centered on the red, black, and white fabric with an iron cross in the top left corner,'' reads the petition. "It's one of seven variations of the Reichskriegsflagge -- the official name of the war flag used by German armed forces from 1867-1945 -- which was a symbol of Nazi Germany. ... I... Just... no Syracuse newspaper. No.

The National Rifle Association is going broke and running out of money https://nypost.com/2018/08/03/nra-says-its-broke-and-on-the-verge-of-collapse/ The reason seems pretty murky but somehow deals with being unable to obtain liability insurance coverage due to a lawsuit by New York and Governor Andrew Cuomo. Of course if the NRA really needed to save money they could cut the multi-million dollar salaries of Wayne LaPierre and the rest of the remoras siphoning off dues to pay for their luxurious lifestyles. ... Without liability insurance, the “NRA cannot maintain its physical premises, convene off-site meetings and events, operate educational programs … or hold rallies, conventions and assemblies,” the filing said. NRA-TV may also be on the chopping block, the Oliver North-led association complained. ... Or you could cut NRA-TV *eye roll*

He is truly an American treasure...

And in the meantime, the FBI continues to slow-walk its investigation into the Las Vegas shooting. https://apnews.com/e9231f3524b24e389bb371f058f924f6/FBI-official:-Vegas-shooting-report-to-be-after-anniversary?utm_source=Twitter&utm_medium=APWestRegion&utm_campaign=SocialFlow The top FBI official in Nevada said his agency’s report about the shooting last year that killed 58 people and injured hundreds on the Las Vegas Strip is in the finishing stages but won’t be released until after the Oct. 1 anniversary.

I didn't personally spot this (a friend did) but too good not to post.

Our idiot, sue-happy state attorney general in Washington state is now suing the federal government - again - this time to prevent blueprints for 3D printed guns to be shared via the Internet. http://mynorthwest.com/1064795/state-ag-ferguson-to-file-lawsuit-over-3d-printed-guns/ Because Sideshow Bob apparently didn't learn about the First Amendment, Second Amendment, or the concept of prior restraint when he went to law school.

And meanwhile in Virginia, GOP congressional candidate accused of being into Bigfoot Eroticism by his Democrat opponent. https://www.cnn.com/2018/07/30/politics/bigfoot-erotica-virginia/index.html Riggleman, however, told CNN that the accusation about a sexual interest in Bigfoot was absurd and acknowledged writing two books on Bigfoot, including an unpublished text called "The Mating Habits of Bigfoot and Why Women Want Him," both of which he said were "parody" and stemmed from running jokes he had with friends from the military. Riggleman also said did not believe in Bigfoot, but added that he did not want to "alienate" the Bigfoot vote and said the entire thing was a joke that his opponent had seized upon unfairly.

When even Politico admits that Trump will be competitive in states that have never been in play for two decades or more in 2020, things are going bad for the Democrats. https://www.politico.com/story/2018/07/30/electoral-college-2020-trump-747648 The story tries to then go on and pretend that Democrats have a shot in Texas or Georgia which is terribly optimistic. The story also overlooks the key fact that anywhere from 10 to 30 percent of Republicans in 2016 bought into the #NeverTrump narrative that Trump was somehow a Trojan Horse for the Clintons and wasn't sufficiently conservative enough to appease the mores of the like of George Will, Charles Krauthammer, Bill Kristol, and the other irrelevant #NeverTrump poindexters who tried to throw 2016 to the Democrats. I would be shocked if most of the #NeverTrump vote that got gulled into not voting will continue to do so in 2020 given Trump's Supreme Court picks and conservative agenda. That is a substantial voting block that Trump will pick up for free. The story also glosses over the division in the Democrat Party with hardline Leftists knocking off "moderate" Democrats and the party strife between the Sanders and Clinton wing. There is a lot of finger-pointing going on with the base which feels their leaders are more interested in lining their pockets with corporate handouts (they are) than advancing a Socialist agenda like single-payer health care and other schemes. The trouble is that this attitude is great in ginning up support in Leftist intellectual ghettos like Seattle and San Francisco and Portland but it does nothing to attract swing voters in swing states, the sort of voters that Trump picked up in 2016. And with the Electoral College being a thing, it doesn't matter if California or Washington state votes 99 percent against him, Trump just needs to win 50.1 percent of the vote in the swing states. It's amazing that the Democrats aren't recognizing this fact. Or if they do, they're not advertising it.

BAAAEEEYYYEEERRR!!! Shelby COOO-bra!!! https://www.adn.com/alaska-news/2018/07/29/a-bear-attacked-this-mans-million-dollar-vintage-car-in-girdwood-hes-being-pretty-cool-about-it/

I guess the worst thing is why does the lion have spots? Unless it's underage?

In addition to the F/V Kristi sinking, there were three fatalities (so far) in the 2018 Bristol Bay sockeye salmon season. A Togiak set-netter fell overboard and drowned. He wasn't wearing a PFD. His partner - who also wasn't wearing a PFD - fell overboard trying to toss a life-ring to the man but managed to swim ashore with the use of the life-ring. http://www.kdlg.org/post/body-togiak-fisherman-who-fell-overboard-found A man fell overboard in Ugashik from a driftboat while not wearing a PFD. His body was not recovered. http://www.kdlg.org/post/coast-guard-suspends-search-missing-ugashik-fisherman And a seiner/tender in Nushagak capsized. Two crew were rescued but the body of a third - who apparently was not wearing a PFD - has not been recovered. http://www.kdlg.org/post/nushagak-district-closed-fishing-because-capsized-tender-leaking-fuel

This happened a couple weeks ago up in Bristol Bay. A driftboat lost engine power and drifted between two processing ships. https://www.adn.com/alaska-news/2018/07/18/crew-of-bristol-bay-fishing-boat-crushed-between-ships-barely-escapes/ The footage really shows the current the large tides of Bristol Bay can generate and what can go wrong if your boat gets pinned.

White Coal (Found via an offhand remark on the Disqus chat) The song is about catching a nuclear bomb during World War 3.

Not that pollsters have been right in the era of Trump, but I haven't seen any polling that shows Americans particularly care about the "Russian Collusion" story other than the usual Leftist thought ghettos in Seattle, San Francisco, New York, and DC.