Saturday Open Thread - 1/31/26: Odds and Ends
Happy Saturday, good people!
To starts things off, if you think you are not being helped by government, this might give you an idea why:
They don't kill you... They invoice you until you die!!! An interesting take on the plan for depopulation pic.twitter.com/PFykWwOKAk
— Andrew Bridgen (@ABridgen) January 25, 2026
After that fun, I want to tell ya all I have seen the red fox again, had a deer guys visit from both the Fab Four and The Magnificent Seven, and a special treat: a sighting of 2 bald eagles.
For those of you that see bald eagles all the time, I can recall 7 sightings in my entire life. I am 73. It is a yuuge deal for me, my friends. They were resting so peacefully in my tree by the barn.
Eagles...peaceful...I am reminded of something...
Just wanted you all to know that crazy case I previously mentioned with a step-daughter of a judge that sued my client in step-father's court for eviction was dismissed.
(Be honest...the song is 50 years old...when did it last cross your mind? Holy shit!)
Lots of stuff in the news and the world. War here, starvation there, theft by banksters everywhere, and winter snow. As the day progresses, drop us some news. Anything that catches your attention, because, after all, this is an open thread and it is for any and all topics and info any of you wish to share with the rest of your friends here.
Your turn!
Comments
Good morning, folks!
Let 'er rip!
"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981
Good morning...
Got a light dusting so far this morning. A cold 21F and not getting above freezing today. Glad I turned on the well house (electric) heater yesterday evening (just in case). Crawling above freezing tomorrow afternoon. Then to almost 60F by Wed. Don't like the weather? Wait 15 minutes.
We intend to lay low, and cook a pot of soup to warm the house and us. No solar heating today, it is too cloudy. Currently listening to Robert Barnes with Stanislav
(38 min) In the Eyes of Truth guest Robert Barnes, Constitutional Lawyer. Where oh where has Trump gone? Lots of funny lines.
All the best to all of you. Thanks for the OT!
“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”
Good afternoon, LO!
Our weather dips, rises, keeps us busy winterizing, then not, and hoping we are wearing the right clothes. The predicted freeze tonight and tomorrow night will require some precautions.
I enjoyed the video. What causes me to scratch my head is the brilliant Barnes being so caught by surprise that the Trump he thought he knew and respected is a cartoon character.
The soup sounds perfect! We are having pizza and pretending it is a sunny summer day.
I did glimpse at news headlines, and we haven't bombed Iran. Yet. It is just after noon, so lots of time to do as Bibi demands.
The latest Epstein files release does show Trump is compromised by MOSSAD. I know, I know, you are both shocked and dismayed. And Bill Gates got antibiotics from Epstein to sneakily give to his wife after getting an STD from a Russian hooker and passing it to said wife. I mean, that Epstein was a super duper go-to guy for all aspects of sex and rock and roll! Cocaine, antibiotics, etc...
Well, enjoy your day and stay warm, and also stay cool 15 minutes later, my friend!
"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981
This is news for me...
..but not surprising. Think the Iran war is a distraction from the Epstein revelations? I do.
Whatta a world!
Take care my friends!
“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”
Some good news from this corner
.
The state of Maine chased out ICE.
They took about 200 residents away.
They decided they would return to their
operations central in MSP. Good riddance.
Not welcome here. Some serious push-back
in LA yesterday as well, as in riots.
Holding my breath to see if the trumpet gets
his new war on this weekend. Peace 'presnit' he is
not. Have a feeling this will be a huge mistake. An
oil blockade will shake the global economy and
his buddy Bibi will get whacked.
Fill your gas tanks just in case.
Thanks for the OT!
Zionism is a social disease
Good afternoon, Cap'n!
As of this noon hour, no bombs have dropped. I agree wholeheartedly that a war with Iran is gonna turn the world upside down. Filling up the tanks in our vehicles is really a good idea, friend.
I am glad the people in your area are satisfied with ICE leaving town.
I break ICE into two categories: Original and New. The Originals doing border patrol along the Rio Grand were consummate professionals. I only know one long time agent, and one DPS officer that would do tours of duty on the border, and both men are truly upstanding and competent. As for the new gang, including the ones with their Nazi tats, there doesn't seem to be a goal of finding illegals with criminal histories or outstanding arrest warrants. Where would we go to ex-pat with a violent criminal record or pending criminal prosecution? Where would we be given housing, jobs, and medical care? Italy? Russia? Brazil? Uh, nope.
Well, enjooy your weekend and let's all hope for the best, prepare for the worst, friend!
"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981
How's JtC? We here in ECFL are bracing for a
hard freeze by Sunday through Monday. It's tied in with the climate change crisis, the melting of the Arctic....sigh.
Hubster, I and Beagle dawgs are set. We have not had temps this low in many years. Doing homemade soups, too. Hubster cooks and I'm cleanup. Works for me. 
Rec'd!!
Inner and Outer Space: the Final Frontiers.
Good afternoon, Obf!
Iirc, you once lived in colder climes, and I hope you didn't dispose of all of your warm, winter attire when you relocated to warm and sunny Fla.!
As for JtC, he has 23 more radiation zaps to go. Afterwards, there are 2 follow up options from which to choose: The "wait and see" approach, or the surgery approach. In today's chaotic economy, a possible wide scale closure of hospitals, clinics, and a limited Medicare, "wait and see" becomes a gamble. If the tumor does come back in 3 or 4 years, can one be certain there will be obtainable medical services and facilities?
Well, thanks for your concern, friend. It is very thoughtful of you.
Stay warm!
"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981
@on the cusp Oh, I have plenty of
Oh, I have plenty of warm clothes, my friend. I also have a 30 y.o. Tampa Bay Bucs jacket that does just fine in humid, cold temps. Give your Other Half my best!
Inner and Outer Space: the Final Frontiers.
Perfect!
Passing along the best wishes.
"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981
A happy story
https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/2026/01/31/newborn-calf-kids-cu...
"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981
Good morning otc, et. al. As instructed, here's something that
crossed my mind.
The following article, in passing, provides a few examples of government assertions and actions that make it clear that the USA now has an official secret police organization.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/jan/30/antifa-unmasking-ice
The White House sued over California's no mask law, Kristi Noem threatened to arrest people who identified ICE agents, DHS promised to prosecute those who dox ICE agents, Feds busted some women in LA for allegedly showing some ICE agent's address online, etc. Beyond that,
Meanwhile, Bongino publicly threatened that calling DHS and or ICE "Gestapo" would have consequences. That's odd since many of the foot soldiers seem to have NAZI/neo-NAZI/fascist/white supremacist affiliations. There is even film of one being criticized for failing to cover up his NAZI neck tattoo. Methinks said Caporegime doth protest too much and, as newbies in the secret police pantheon they should be proud to share that sobriquet, but perhaps that is some sort of out of character modesty. Given that possibility, I have compiled a list of other
notoriousfamous secret police whose names can be used instead.NotoriousFamous Secret Police Forces:Gestapo (Nazi Germany): The Geheime Staatspolizei
KGB (Soviet Union):
Stasi (East Germany):
Cheka (Soviet Russia):
OVRA (Fascist Italy): The Organizzazione di Vigilanza e Repressione dell’Antifascismo
Securitate (Romania):
SAVAK (Iran): under Shah Reza Pahlavi
Tonton Macoute (Haiti): Papa and baby doc
DINA (Chile): The Dirección de Inteligencia Nacional (DINA), Pinochet
Please be aware that applying these noms petite to our sedret police may have consequences.
Personally, I favor Tonton Macoute because of the parallel between the taint of the association with voodoo and the taint of the association with xtian fundies, but that's just me.
be well and have a good one
That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --
Good afternoon, el!
Hard to argue with the secret police premises, friend. On the other hand, Antifa, for example, is pretty damn secretive. I am surprised at how all the watchers and protesters are able to have autos, fuel, smart phones, secure websites and networks, and the ability to protest during what we would all term as work hours and work days. Neither side strikes me as the result of a natural evolution.
It makes me want to follow the money, not the agent or the protester.
At the rate we are going, we won't find out who benefits from a civil war and mass death and destruction until it is over and the winner takes all.
Well, my friend, I will stand by and take my time in answering that old question in an old protest song: "Which side are you on, boy?"
Have a great weekend!
"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981
I'm staying with
Satans Minions, the speak all those languages.
Neither Russia nor China is our enemy.
Neither Iran nor Venezuela are threatening America.
Cuba is a dead horse, stop beating it.
I call it "The superfluity of homo sapiens"
It is damn close to impossible to argue against the idea that an 8 billion population is unsustainable and that is what is driving the insanity around the globe this decade. If you really believe that overpopulation is going to doom civilization, you will soon realize that you cannot hope to reduce the population by billions of souls under existing political arrangements -- unless you consider chaos as an option.
Or maybe Trumpism is bent on conquering the whole world with a series of pointless wars that bump off a few billion suckers. Fun times.
I cried when I wrote this song. Sue me if I play too long.
Hey, FWF!
I read a comment/meme yesterday, then got too busy to book mark it, but it featured a brief bio of a globalist who wrote a book that was published in 1981, and a page was directly quoted. The man advocated killing off 8 billion folks to save the world. (For the deserving few.) His suggestion was to create a fake virus, and a fake and deadly vaccine. Bill Gates has been videoed at the World Economic Forum using the same 8 billion figure, and praising the use of cheap vaccines as a way to depopulate without firing a bullet. Consequently, Gates' vaccine program in various African countries did cause widespread infertility.
One wonders how many oligarchs think about poor countries silently that Trump says out loud: shit holes.
While I may disagree with the oligarchs on the definition of shit holes, I define all oligarchs as ass holes.
Enjoy your weekend, friend!
"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981
Gates should have spent
a few billion looking for a vaccine for Syphilis. May have saved him hundreds of billion in divorce court.
These cretins are not near as smart as they think.
Dumbasses.
Neither Russia nor China is our enemy.
Neither Iran nor Venezuela are threatening America.
Cuba is a dead horse, stop beating it.
Gates is not only a prick,
he is a sick prick. Provably.
Sorry e1, couldn't resist!
Meanwhile, have a great weekend!
"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981
I keep getting
the feeling that Covid was supposed to be the easy way, nuclear is the hard way.
But there is still time to attempt another bio method.
"Getting rid of a few billion is hard." E. Musc.
Neither Russia nor China is our enemy.
Neither Iran nor Venezuela are threatening America.
Cuba is a dead horse, stop beating it.
Here is an interesting take
on the current situation. I don’t know that I fully agree with it, but it does appear to provide some food for thought.
https://x.com/healthranger/status/2017468809674723694
The post goes on to claim that the DOJ has now been fully weaponized by The Zionist Entity to do their bidding with respect to the Cheeto. Who knows how much “truth” there is here? It could explain some of the irrationality currently on display. We’ll undoubtedly see what is what, when the inevitable attack occurs. The Zionist Entity will probably not be satisfied with a limited strike…
Twice bitten, permanently shy.
Who knows?
This pointing of the finger at Israel catches my interest because I do not buy the notion that Trump's excellent adventures in South America and Minnesota are things this 79-year-old jackass dreams up in his own little ego-maniacal brain. The permanent government is too cumbersome for even a bright guy like Obama to run these complex yet ridiculous "operations" on his own.
This hard to dismiss take leaves open the question of who the hell is pulling this clown's strings? The "deep state" or the "permanent government" are accurate terms, but do not tell us much about how to resist.
Zionism is a plausible explanation, and I agree that Israel and its boosters in the USA are involved in the wackiness. But that does not explain the xenophobic WAR against immigrants currently being waged. Or the preposterous war against Russia in Ukraine. Or the decapitation of the Venezuelan government.
So the search for what drives Trump stumbles along.
Meanwhile I repeat my tactical opinion: we should respond to actions rather than personality.
I cried when I wrote this song. Sue me if I play too long.
As regards Iran.
In my last comment I observed a pattern:
Well, Moon of Alabama has found a piece in Axios by a Zionist asset which does exactly that:
Zionist Distorts Arab Analysis As Arguing For Iran Attack
But what's interesting about this piece is MoA's analysis of the situation:
The Saudis appear to have bought into the fantasy as well, despite reports that say otherwise.
On a related topic, Caitlin Johnstone was apparently asked "Why Don't You Criticize Iran??" There are actually some rather simple answers to this question. "Because I don't pay taxes to keep the IRGC in power" comes immediately to mind. "I don’t criticize Iran because I do not want to feed into an imperial war propaganda campaign for a horrific agenda that I do not support" is Johnstone's lengthier version. And there's the obvious "why should I do it for free when I could be paid to do it?"
"Trump is doing everything he can to make America the highest-cost economy in the world, and he’s succeeded." -- Michael Hudson
I also ran across
this statement, with which I can agree wholeheartedly:
And here we are.
Twice bitten, permanently shy.
Big fan of Arendt
Very few have her insight. 是非之心 智之端 The heart of right and wrong, the beginning of wisdom
己所不欲，勿施于人。
just got her tome
.
The Origins of Totalitarianism
for those days the doors are frozen shut.
Zionism is a social disease
Good afternoon, UFS!
I read that post this morning while sipping coffee. While we may never know the real reach of Israel into our government, at least one fact gives this theory some plausibility, and that is the slew of ultra-Zionists that are in line to take his place.
The more things change, the more they stay the same.
Enjoy your weekend, friend!
"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981
In lighter times
.
this was a bit more imaginable
Zionism is a social disease
Went to breakfast
at a McMenamins' restaurant this morning. Their Grand Lodge location in Forest Grove, Oregon.
It's a former Masonic retirement home for aged Masons back in the days before Social Security and the welfare state.
The McMenamin brothers have taken old schools (Kennedy school, The Old St. Francis School), old poor houses (Edgefield), Elks Temples, and old historic hotels ( the Oregon, Gearhart, and the Crystal Hotel) and old saloons and hotels (The White Eagle Saloon and Hotel) and refurbished them completely but keep the historic charm alive and intact.
The Grand Lodge even still has the 4 ft. wide two story emergency slide to the ground in case of fire even though fire sprinklers were installed many decades ago.
It's magical walking the halls and grounds.
Definitely want to return there in spring or summer when everything is green and blooming.
www.mcmenamins.com/stay
On the way back we saw a bald eagle landing on a nest atop a telephone pole.
Oh the irony.
Thanks for the OT.
Neither Russia nor China is our enemy.
Neither Iran nor Venezuela are threatening America.
Cuba is a dead horse, stop beating it.
Lovely, e1!
I have road trips in my head that include Oregon.
Gotta add this location onto my plan!
"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981
The (almost) comical congress
.
.
has once again blundered their way into a dilemma.
Starting early Saturday, the departments of War, Education, Health and Human Services, Homeland Security, Housing and Urban Development, Labor, State, Transportation and Treasury have been left without federal funding, with the Executive Office of the President and the Supreme Court also affected. All other federal agencies have been allocated funds.
Perhaps this is a good thing? Hard to say.
Zionism is a social disease
Cap'n,
my fall back position is "we shall see'.
Those ICE guys and gals won't be as motivated to thrill kill without per diem and various bonuses.
I am just being realistic...
"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981
A Russian perspective on giving up being European, going Eastern
"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981
Yeah, what the hell
.
why fight the juggernaut
easier to partner with China
same-same with inflows and outflows
Zionism is a social disease
When I visited Russia,
it was well known and emphasized by the tour guides (and every person in Russia I was able to talk with) and the media that the mind set/history/culture of Russia sat the time was of two minds and directions. Moscow was extremely nationalist in societal direction, open to Eastern connection and identity, whereas St. Petersberg was European. The Moscow area was of a mindset "European" only under certain circumstance.
Seems St Petersberg and surrounds have given it up to reality.
"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981