James Woods Refuses To Delete Tweet

September 25th, 2018

Here’s a follow-up to Sunday’s story about Twitter locking actor James Woods’ account:

Actor James Woods has been locked out of his Twitter account over a two-month-old tweet that was found to be in violation of the tech company’s rules.

The tweet, posted July 20, included a hoax meme that said it came from Democrats and encouraged men not to vote in the midterm elections.

Woods said he received an email from Twitter on Thursday saying the tweet “has the potential to be misleading in a way that could impact an election.”

The email said Woods can use his account again if he deletes the tweet, but would be suspended from the social media platform permanently if there are repeated abuses.

Woods told The Associated Press Sunday he interpreted the message to mean he’ll be allowed back on Twitter only if he decides to do what Twitter says.

“Free speech is free speech — it’s not Jack Dorsey’s version of free speech,” Woods said, referring to Twitter Chief Executive Jack Dorsey.

“The irony is, Twitter accused me of affecting the political process, when in fact, their banning of me is the truly egregious interference,” Woods said. “Because now, having your voice smothered is much more disturbing than having your vocal chords slit. If you want to kill my free speech, man up and slit my throat with a knife, don’t smother me with a pillow.”

Good for him. Twitter’s ramped up banning conservative to atone for their own “sin” of not preventing Donald Trump from beating Hillary Clinton in 2016.

If Twitter insists on banning a famous actor with 1.7 million followers over an obvious parody meme, they’ll ban anyone for any reason.

Pat Condell on “Brexit Morons”

September 24th, 2018

Pat Condell is in fine form over the continued contempt the remain camp displays towards Brexit supporters:

“We understand now very clearly how despised we are by the political class and by the wider progressive intelligentsia who have shown that they really do regard us as a lower order whose opinions shouldn’t count.”

“The privileged minority who behave like a majority, and who feel entitled to steer the whole of society from inside their little progressive bubble as if by divine right. These are the people who have divided us. All the anger and all the bitterness is coming
from them, and it’s being stoked daily in the media by them the people who won’t accept the result and who are now pushing for a second referendum.”

Twitter Suspends Actor James Woods

September 23rd, 2018

Being a famous actor with over 1.7 million followers isn’t enough to keep Twitter from suspending your account if you post a satirical meme making fun of Democrats:

Outspoken conservative actor James Woods was suspended from posting to Twitter over a two-month-old satirical meme which very clearly parodies a Democratic advertisement campaign. While the actor’s tweets are still visible, he is unable to post new content.

The offending tweet from July 20, features three millennial-aged men with “nu-male smiles” and text that reads “We’re making a Woman’s Vote Worth more by staying home.” Above it, Woods writes “Pretty scary that there is a distinct possibility this could be real. Not likely, but in this day and age of absolute liberal insanity, it is at least possible.”

According to screenshots provided by an associate of Woods’, Twitter directed the actor to delete the post on the grounds that it contained “text and imagery that has the potential to be misleading in a way that could impact an election.”

In other words, James Woods, who has approximately 1.72 million followers, was suspended because liberals who don’t identify as women might actually take the meme seriously and not vote.

In a statement released through associate Sara Miller, Woods said “You are a coward, @Jack,” referring to Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey. “There is no free speech for Conservatives on @Twitter.”

The meme in question:

Not only is Twitter’s staff desperate to protect Democrats during the midterms, they must actually believe in their heart of hearts that male feminists are complete idiots.

Some tweets:

Who’s next to be suspended for tTweeting While Conservative?

CNN Asks Five Republican Women If They Believe Kavanaugh; All Five Say Yes

September 22nd, 2018

Here’s another case where CNN asked a focus group a question and didn’t expect the response they got…

LinkSwarm for September 21, 2018

September 21st, 2018

And you may ask yourself how did I get here why I didn’t do any blog posts about the “bombshell” Brett Kavanaugh allegations earlier this week? Simple: They were as obviously stupid as they were predictable. Thanks to my sloth foresight, I managed to avoid writing about the mess before the Democrats’ unpopular ploy collapsed into the stinking pile of garbage it always was!

  • More on the Democrats’ Kavanaugh stupidity:

    The tactics they’re now employing against Kavanaugh, while extreme, are nothing new for them. They’ve always shot from the hip and aimed for the heart, hoping to sway public opinion by means of passion rather than reason. The more convinced they are of the righteousness of their cause—call it their “higher loyalty” to the arc of history—the more antic they get, like chimps in the zoo at feeding time, moving from whingeing servility to outright viciousness the hungrier they get. Left unchecked, even the cuddliest Cheetah eventually will rip off your face.

    (Hat tip: Stephen Green at Instapundit.)

  • There should be a big difference between vague accusations of sexual assault 35 years ago and documented instances of assault from last year, as in the case of Keith Ellison. But the media seem strangely incurious about the congressman and DNC vice-chair…
  • Do all-girl preppie high schools typically approve of blackout drinking and teenage sex? I can’t even imagine anyone even trying to document such antics in my own high school yearbook.
  • “Trump Hit Iran With Oil Sanctions. So Far, They’re Working.” Or so says those notorious pro-Trump shills at the New York Times
  • “Foreign money bankrolls climate change lawsuits against US oil companies.” (Hat tip: Steve Malloy on Twitter.)
  • Japan issues warning to China by conducting military exercises in the South China Sea.
  • Donald Trump’s race against death.” (Hat tip: Director Blue.)
  • This seems worrisome:

    The real news is that Linux, the project, adopted the “Contributor’s Covenant” code of conduct and thereby acknowledged SJW ideological supremacy. The CC is an SJW vehicle promulgated by Coraline Ada and a related group of activist malcontents. While the CC appears on the surface to be a call of civility, it’s actually the tip of a very long and exsanguatory anti-meritocracy spear, one that ultimately seeks to elevate high-verbal-IQ non-technical politics-playing San-Francisco-residing cliques of social justice advocates into positions of recognition and authority in the free software world and beyond. If you write code and you’re good at it, these people are a direct threat to your status, your hobby, and your livelihood, because if these people get their way, your technical excellence becomes secondary to their wokeness.​

  • #MeTooFar:

  • Republican congressmen demonstrates provable sexual misconduct. GOP: “Resign, sleazeball.” Democratic state senator demonstrates sleazy, felonious personal conduct. Democrats: “We shall defend him to our last breath! Or, you know, until he’s actually convicted.” Result: Republicans now hold all those seats.
  • Beto O’Rourke says we need an illegal alien amnesty so Mexicans can work cotton gins. (Hat tip: Director Blue.)
  • Want a healthier heart? Eat a steak.
  • Bert and Ernie are not gay. So says their actual creator.
  • Solar Observatory closed by the FBI. Old and Busted explanation: Aliens! The New Hotness: Child porn server.
  • Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn should be awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Wait, Solzhenitsyn wasn’t already awarded the Medal of Freedom? (Hat tip: The Other McCain.)
  • “A US tech company was found guilty of abusing the H-1B visa.” That’s People Tech Group, for those of you playing along on the home game…
  • Apple-1 computer for sale. 1 MHz processor, 4K of memory. Current bid: $175,000.
  • Suge Knight pleads guilty to manslaughter, to spend 28 years in the big house. (Hat tip: Dwight.)
  • Oh Florida Man, don’t ever change:

    The operator of a Florida-based animal sanctuary says she was the target of an Oklahoma zookeeper who was indicted last week on federal murder-for-hire charges.

    Carole Baskin of Big Cat Rescue said she’s clashed in the past with Joseph Maldonado-Passage, who goes by the nickname “Joe Exotic.”

    “He’s been threatening me for many, many years,” Baskin told The Oklahoman after Maldonado-Passage’s arrest last week.

    Prosecutors allege that Maldonado-Passage tried to hire two separate people to kill an unnamed woman, who wasn’t harmed. One of the unidentified people he sought to hire connected him with an undercover FBI agent, who met with Maldonado-Passage in December 2017. The indictment was unsealed Friday and Maldonado-Passage remains jailed in Florida. He didn’t reply to an email seeking comment and court records don’t list an attorney for him.

    Is there a mugshot? Why yes. Yes there is.

  • Facebook Adjusts Algorithm To Show You Even More Terrible Content.” I’m glad they mentioned that super-annoying Ray-Ban tag spam. Also this:

    Content will also appear in a completely jumbled, totally incoherent order, even more so than before. “Something that was posted a few minutes ago you’ll probably never see, even if you try. But stuff that got posted three weeks ago, we’ll plaster your screen with it to no end.”

  • We Have A New Winner In “Most Ludicrous Sample Bias In A Texas Senate Race Poll!”

    September 20th, 2018

    After months of “Beto O’Rourke is within striking distance of Ted Cruz!” polls with biased samples, the media polling complex have finally been able to manufacture a “Beto O’Rourke is leading Ted Cruz!” headline.

    And they only had to take oversampling Democrats to ludicrous extremes to do so.

    Their poll sample had 47% Democrats vs. 43% Republicans among likely voters. (You can find it in question six, after you’ve cranked magnification up to 400% or so.) That’s a pretty accurate breakdown…for 1990. However, here in the real world of 2018, that oversamples Democrats by 16 to 20 points. That’s also why the same poll only has Texas Governor Greg Abbott up by only 9 points over the invisible Lupe Valdez campaign when he walloped Wendy Davis by 20 points in 2014.

    “Ipsos online poll released Wednesday in conjunction with Reuters and the University of Virginia.” Note the “online poll” part. As inaccurate as telephone landline polling is, online polling is worse.

    This isn’t a poll that should be taken with several grains of salt, it’s a poll that shouldn’t taken seriously at all.

    Democrats: Beto’s Tied! New Quinnipiac Poll: Not So Much

    September 19th, 2018

    Remember when earlier polls show Robert “Beto” O’Rourke within the margin of error against Ted Cruz?

    Well, a new Quinnipiac poll of likely (rather than merely registered voters) says “Not so much.” The poll shows Cruz with a 9 point lead over his Democratic rival.

    As always, let’s look at the crosstabs. The sample was 35% Republicans, 26% Democrats and 33% Independents. That compares to 38% Republicans, 29% Democrats at 33% Independents in 2016 exit polling. Given that we see roughly the same 3% reduction for both parties, this probably the closest sample replicating actual election conditions, the caveat, of course, being that off-year election numbers tend to be more Republican still.

    Any concerns? Yes, the number of voters queried (807) is still small.

    A nine point loss strikes me as closer to a ceiling of O’Rourke’s chances than a floor. A 12-15 point loss seems far more likely. (On the bright side, that will still be significant improvement on Wendy Davis’ 20 point wipeout in 2014.) Baring some sort of black swan event, like another economic meltdown or Ted Cruz ripping off his face to reveal he’s actually a Zerg Hydralisk, I don’t expect the fundamentals of the race to change appreciably.

    Edited to add: I just noticed that today is Talk Like a Pirate Day, so let’s add another meme:

    Republican Pete Flores Pulls Out Victory In Texas SD19

    September 18th, 2018

    A funny thing happened to that “blue wave” in Texas on the way to November: Republican Pete Flores pulled out a win in the Texas Senate District 19 runoff election over Democrat Pete Gallego, who Twitter reports has conceded the race.

    Keep in mind that former Democratic State Senator (and now convicted felon) Carlos Uresti won the seat by 15 points in 2016.

    A few possible causes for the seat flipping red beyond the obvious low turnout for a special election:

  • The unpopularity in Texas of the Democratic Party’s lurch farther left
  • Strong economy under President Donald Trump
  • A sleaze hangover from Uresti’s conviction
  • 2018 Texas Democratic ballot headliner Beto O’Rourke’s under-performing among Hispanics and/or South Texas.
  • Key support for Flores from Lt. Governor Dan Patrick.
  • Concerns over Gallego not actually living in the district
  • Some reactions from Twitter:

    Texas SD19 Special Election Runoff Today

    September 18th, 2018

    If you live in Texas Senate District 19, today is the day to vote in the runoff election if you haven’t already:

    Three months after convicted felon Carlos Uresti vacated his state Senate seat, voters will choose his successor Tuesday in a race that could have important consequences for next year’s legislative session.

    Republican Pete Flores, a retired game warden, and Democrat Pete Gallego, a former U.S. and state representative, emerged from July’s special election in first and second place, respectively, from a field of 11, resulting in Tuesday’s runoff.

    Snip.

    Polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday. The sprawling district encompasses all or parts of 17 counties, including a portion of San Antonio, large swaths of West Texas and 400 miles of the U.S.-Mexico border.

    The winner of the runoff will serve the rest of Uresti’s term, which runs through 2020. The longtime lawmaker was sentenced in June to 12 years in prison for his involvement in a Ponzi scheme.

    Previously.

    France Kills Top Islamic State in the Greater Sahara Commander

    September 17th, 2018

    Here’s yet another Islamic State affiliate I was unaware of:

    A top commander for the Islamic State in the Greater Sahara (ISGS) was reportedly killed in a French military operation in northern Mali over the weekend.

    The French military announced today that its forces carried out airstrikes and a ground operation yesterday in Mali’s northern Menaka region. The airstrikes reportedly killed Mohamed Ag Almouner, identified as a top commander for ISGS, as well as one of his bodyguards. In a move of transparency, the French also took responsibility for killing two civilians and wounding two others and expressed their “regret and condolences to the families and loved ones of the two victims.”

    In May of this year, the US military identified an ISGS commander known as “Tinka Ag Almouner” as being involved in the deadly Oct. 2017 ambush in Tongo Tongo, Niger, in which four American Special Forces soldiers were killed. That Almouner was reported killed in the ensuing firefight during the ambush, however, FDD’s Long War Journal cannot independently verify the identity of the French target.

    France has taken part in several operations against the jihadist group in the Menaka region, however, Almouner would be one of the highest level ISGS commanders reported killed by the French.

    France’s statement did not disclose a specific location, but local sources reported the operation took place near Infoukaretane. That locality, which is south of the town of Menaka, has seen several clashes between pro-government forces and ISGS and is at the center of operations against the jihadist group and its supporters.

    Two pro-Malian Tuareg militias, the Imghad and Allies Self Defense Movement (GATIA) and the Movement for the Salvation of Azawad (MSA), have launched numerous military operations against ISGS in the Menaka region since February. According to the militias, dozens of ISGS members have been killed or detained, including another high-ranking jihadist commander identified as Djibo Hamma.

    Posting this because Islamic State in the Greater Sahara wasn’t in my previous roundup of Islamic State affiliated terrorist groups, and I was unaware France was fighting them in Mali.