It would take a heart of stone not to laugh

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TikTok Filled With Videos of People Threatening to Loot Grocery Stores

David Strom:

It would be easier to empathize with these people if they were not a bunch of entitled jerks who view looting as a natural part of life. 

Instead, what we are learning is that among the 40 million people who get SNAP benefits through EBT cards, a whole lot of them are worthless, entitled people who need to get off their asses and go to work. 

TikTok is filled with videos of SNAP "beneficiaries," most of whom are obese, explaining how they intend to loot grocery stores to stock up on junk food for the month of November because the government isn't going to fill their EBT cards in the month of November. 

Strom offers many more examples at the link, but these are sufficient to make his point. Which is:

SNAP is sold to Americans as providing essential nutrition to struggling families, ensuring that nobody, especially children, is forced to go hungry when they hit a rough patch. A program that fills that genuinely necessary social purpose is one that most of us could easily support. One mark of civilization is ensuring that nobody starves in the streets, unless it's in San Francisco or Portland. 

But let's face it: SNAP, for the most part, doesn't serve that purpose at all. Sure, it provides aid to people in need, but when 40 million people are grabbing government benefits, many of whom are able-bodied and capable of working, the program's purpose has been hijacked. 

The argument that millions of people are going hungry in America, and the only thing that stands between mass starvation and a socialist utopia is the willingness of people to shovel money at the poors is, frankly, a lie. Instead, what we have managed to create is an underclass that has contempt for the people who work hard to support them.  

Decent people who can do so should help those genuinely in need, but "need" and "want" are two different things. Food, clothing, housing, goods, and services are the products of labor, and just expecting others to do labor so that you don't have to is immoral. 

Not only immoral, but dignity-destroying. And as you can see from these videos, dignity is not something the entitled exude. 

Social insurance systems, like most societal functions, only work well when there is a basic level of social trust. The Nordic countries were seen as a model, but they were always the exception to the rule because these societies, until recently, were essentially homogeneous, and the expectation was that over one's lifetime, everybody contributed more than they took out. Social trust was through the roof. 

But in societies where social insurance programs are seen as a good scam by many, they no longer serve a purpose people are willing to pay for. Nobody likes being taken advantage of, nor should they. 

…. Liberals tell us that this is the price we pay to ensure that people who truly are deserving of our aid and compassion get the help they need, or that putting in place checks and balances to ensure that people on welfare aren't unnecessarily shamed. Both of those are lies. If welfare were restricted to people in real need, few people would object or look down on the recipients. 

But what about politicians wearing sombreros?

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Under Trump 2.0, colleges celebrate Halloween instead of warning against ‘offensive’ costumes

…. A keyword search for admonitions from campus leaders on offensive Halloween costumes this month came up empty, a stark contrast to trends from the past decade.

For many years, campus leaders made it their mission in October to warn students what not to wear, with “unacceptable costumes” including “wearing Native American headdresses, dressing up as a ‘Mexican’ by wearing a sombrero, dressing as a ‘geisha,’ any form of blackface.”

Students were chided against committing a “cultural appropriation” offense if the outfit did not originate from one’s own culture. 

Posters declaring “it’s a culture, not a costume” used to pepper quads nationwide, with special workshops hosted on campuses to hammer home the point.

For instance, Princeton University held its “Conversation Circles: Cultural Appropriation and Halloween” event in 2017, in which students learned about “the impact of cultural appropriation, Halloween, and why culture is not a costume.”

The University of South Indiana hosted a “Culture not Costumes” Halloween workshop that argued “clothing, symbols, music, art, religion, language, and social behavior” are all elements of cultural appropriation, warning students not to dress as “Pocahotties” and “sexy Indian Princesses” if they do not come from such cultures.

…. For 2025, The College Fix found one single university that chided students.

Michigan State University’s Inclusive Excellence and Impact division in September reposted a 2021 story that stated: “For many visible and invisible identities, Halloween summons more than ghouls and goblins. While most think of Halloween as a time to dress in costume and celebrate all things spooky, it can also become grounds for racist, sexist, ableist, culturally insensitive and biased behaviors.”

But far more prevalent this month are costume and decorating events, parties and contests, according to search results.

Asked to weigh in on the observation, higher education pundit Steve McGuire with the American Council of Trustees and Alumni told The College Fix: “Whether we are witnessing a real vibe shift is something only time will tell, but it is possible that the effort to micromanage things like student Halloween costumes is losing some of its cultural inertia. We can hope that people have grown weary of trying to live under the tyranny of Puritanical scrutiny.”

McGuire said he believes that other possible explanations could be “the removal of DEI staff and programs in many institutions, since these would have often been responsible for sending out messages policing such trivialities. At the same time, people might be simply keeping their hands down under the current administration.”

McGuire said under a different administration, things could circle back.

“While we might be enjoying a reprieve, it could be brief if colleges and universities refuse to acknowledge the need for significant reforms and undertake the hard work of turning themselves into true forums for diversity of thought and the free exchange of ideas,” he said.

Then, of course, we have a new group of the offended:

I don't know the methodology or criteria employed, but interesting: 3 of the top 10 elementary schools in CT can be found in Riverside

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The Mickster has forward a link to a study purporting to rank CT’s elementary schools and revealing that Riverside’s come out on top. If true, it’s powerful proof of the wisdom of Riverside School’s giving all four of us Fountain Boyz unearned diplomas and barring the door after us. It took decades for scores to recover, but apparently, that day has come.

“The report includes about 47,000 public elementary schools ranked at the state and district levels.”

New to me: Homunculus (it turns out, that's because I was born before Dungeons and Dragons became a thing)

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“:Little man”

Good article, even if it’s just an update on the continuing decline of the party of perfidious pillagers, but what caught my eye was the description of the man behind the hoax as a homunculus; a word I’d never heard of. Upon looking it up, I discovered that its modern use stems from the Dungeons and Dragons game, popular with my son John’s generation (also, it’s spelled “homunculus”, not “humonculus”, and, having learned that, I’d have suggested using it as an adjective: homuncular”, as in homuncular Aaron Rupar, rather than a noun. Mere quibbles; it’s still a fun word.

Chuck Schumer Is Still Pushing the 'Ballroom Is Trump's Main Priority' Hoax, Now With Visual Aids

“The "Top Priority" hoax is the new "Very Fine People" hoax. Aaron Rupar humonculus Acyn [sic] did well for himself, racking up nine million views of a deceptively edited video of White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt responding to a question from a reporter about whether President Donald Trump had any more renovations planned. She responded:

"Not to my knowledge, no. But he’s a builder at heart, clearly. And so his heart and his mind is always churning about how to improve things here on the White House grounds. But at this moment in time, of course, the ballroom is really the president’s main priority."

“Acyn clipped the video to show only the last sentence: "But at this moment in time, of course, the ballroom is really the president's top priority." Democrats pounced, but the deception was so egregious that even CNN fact-checker Daniel Dale, fully rested from his four-year nap during the Biden administration, called it out.

“Sen. Mark Kelley, Sen. Amy Klobuchar, and Sen. Chuck Schumer all reported the butchered clip, with Schumer posting, "It’s hard to wrap your mind around it because of how callous it is. But that’s what White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt actually said. Out loud. To press. Proudly."

“With even CNN debunking the non-story, Schumer, emerging from the 13th vote to keep the government shut down, showed off his new poster that he had a staffer run down to whatever used to be called Kinko's and have made. Now he is using visual aids to spread the hoax, four days later.”

A second (!) CNN reporter also refused to tolerate the lie. When Democrats’ main mouthpiece has rebelled, they’re in trouble.

CNN’s Kaitlan Collins Surprisingly Calls Out Dem Jasmine Crockett for Spreading ‘Ballroom Priority’ Lie

AI Overview

A homunculus is a Latin term for "little man," and its meaning varies depending on the context. Historically, it referred to an alchemical or theoretical miniature human, such as a tiny preformed person in a sperm cell. In neuroscience, it is a distorted map of the human body that shows the relative size of the cortical areas responsible for processing sensory or motor functions.  

Historical and alchemical homunculus

Meanwhile, up in Vacationland, civility reigns

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leslie trentalange has a message for her constituents: you’re sick!

Kennebunk Select Board member [that would have been “Board of Selectmen before wokeness descended — ed] Leslie Trentalange suggested during a school board meeting last week that concerned parents who don’t want transgender-identifying males in girls’ sports or restrooms have “pedophilic tendencies.”

[RELATED: Kennebunk Teacher Who Hoped Charlie Kirk Would “Rest in Hell” Resigns…]

“Their obsession with what private parts are sitting in between the legs of our students is nothing less than creepy, and should absolutely be raising eyebrows in and around our school district,” said Trentalange during the October 20 RSU 21 school board meeting.

“Their obsession with genitalia points not to caring for the students in this district, but perhaps to an underlying guilt for their own pedophilic tendencies. There is a registry for that,” she added.

School Board Chair Matthew Stratford briefly interrupted Trentalange’s tirade, calling her comments inappropriate, but she spoke over his interruption to finish her statement.

Then she stated of Stratford’s criticism that “I don’t think that was inappropriate, and I stand by my comments.”

Trentalange is an aspiring actress from away, of course.

Jews and cops for Mamdani

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Mamdani with auxillary policewoman Miss abby stein

Zohran Mamdani made conspiracy-tinged statement tying NYPD to IDF, resurfaced video shows

“We have to make clear that when the boot of the NYPD is on your neck, it’s been laced by the IDF,” the Queens assemblyman said, referring to the Israel Defense Forces.

Mamdani made the comparison during the 2023 Democratic Socialists of America’s national convention, where he was the keynote speaker.

During a separate panel discussion titled “Socialist Internationalism: The Solution to the Crisis of Capitalism,” Mamdani said it was important to connect “hyperlocal” and “international issues” with residents.

“We are in a country where those connections abound. Especially in New York City, you have so many opportunities to make clear the ways in which that struggle over there is tied to capitalist interests over here,” he said..

“For anyone to care about these issues, we have to make them connected,” he continued. “We have to make clear that when the boot of the NYPD is on your neck, it’s been laced by the IDF.”

Sales reported

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Valleywood

68 Valleywood Road, Cos Cob. Listed at $1.525 million, sold for $1.610.

17 Rustic View Road took a more circuitous route to closing: it started at $4.1 million in November 2023, dropped as low as $3.575 by August ‘24, when the owners chose to give up the effort and rented it out instead. Brought it back out this past September at $3.690 million, and sold it yesterday for $3.8. All’s well that ends well.

Rustic

They lie because that's all they can do, and because they know they'll get away with it

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Tim Walz Pushes Video Hoax Lie That Trump Is Prioritizing the White House Ballroom Over Everything

Another day, another hoax being pushed by the Democrats. A deceptively edited video is being shared by Democrat accounts on social media. The video has been edited to remove context so it appears that White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt is saying President Donald Trump is prioritizing the building of a ballroom at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue in DC over EVERYTHING. 

Minnesota Governor Tim Walz was pushing the hoax on Monday. (WATCH)

“Nazis are fine people”.

Literasey r us

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I’m so old, I remember when reporters, even those at the NY Post, understood basic English idioms or, if they didn’t, had editors who did, and would spot and correct them. That day is past.

This article that caught my eye this morning:

Category 5 storm about to clobber Jamaica

Here’s the lead in — so far, so good:

“A Category 5 behemoth, Melissa is poised to crash head-on into Jamaica by Tuesday morning — the first storm of its size to make landfall on the island since hurricanes began being recorded in 1850, Fox Weather told The Post.

But then, uh-oh:

And it pales in comparison to the strongest storm to hit Jamaica — Hurricane Gilbert, a Category 3 that made landfall in 1988 — which damaged or destroyed at least a fifth of the island’s buildings at a cost of $2.5 billion and killed 45 people.”

No, honey, you’ve got that exactly backwards, thereby turning a declarative sentence into gibberish. I realize it doesn’t speak well of me that I should find myself annoyed by such a petty thing so early in the morning, but to quote the vegetable, “C’mon, man”.