RIP: Michael Gambon was so much more than Professor Dumbledore.

Gambon was predominantly a stage actor until middle age, working in a mixture of classical roles and with contemporary writers such as Harold Pinter and Alan Ayckbourn — with whom he collaborated frequently. But then around the early Nineties, his inimitably craggy looks saw him cast in a range of parts in both television and film as everything from dissolute aristocrats to crime bosses. The parts were often beneath him, but Gambon, who was a keen collector of everything from antique weapons to complex timepieces, was indiscriminate about the work he took on, working for everyone from Tim Burton to Wes Anderson. He also voiced the character of Great Uncle Pastuzo in the Paddington films; his inimitably rich tones, which had hints of his Irish and working-class London ancestry, meant that he was always in demand for voiceover work.

Gambon was often an outrageously untruthful interviewee, making up absurd stories about everything from his past homosexuality (he claimed to give it up because “it made my eyes water”) to his former career as a ballet dancer: abandoned, in his telling, because one evening, during a particularly complicated move, he overbalanced and fell into the orchestra pit. Few took him over-seriously, but he was a remarkably successful actor who made a very consistent living in a difficult profession and whose death leaves us all considerably poorer as a result.

So many great roles, but for me, this will always be his finest moment:

BUT HEY, AT LEAST YOU HAVE HIS WORD “AS A BIDEN:” Breaking: Scale of Alleged Biden Foreign Influence Peddling Unprecedented in History of D.C. Corruption, Impeachment Witness Testifies.

UNEXPECTEDLY! UK Study: Puberty Blockers Given to Teens — Get This — Worsened Their Mental Illnesses Rather Than Abating Them. “While the updated analysis from the University of Essex has yet to be peer-reviewed, another long-term study from Sweden found those who underwent transgender surgery were 19 times more likely to die by suicide than the general public.”

THE COUNTRY’S IN THE VERY BEST OF HANDS: The US Attorney who prosecuted the J6 Lectern Guy was arrested for stabbing another driver and lectern guy has thoughts.

REDNECK NATION: ‘The rules are confusing:’ New York Times now identifies roundtable guests by race and it’s … awkward.

In an interview roundtable, the New York Times now identifies participants with explicit racial labels—"white," "Latina." For the past several years, there has been an attempt to normalize introductions with gender pronouns and now racial labels. Not good. pic.twitter.com/Kawvej2ryZ

— Christopher F. Rufo ⚔️ (@realchrisrufo) September 26, 2023

THIS IS CNN:

A CNN Producer said he had an email from Hunter stating that Hunter "expected all of this "stuff" to go away when his dad becomes president."

Strange that I don't recall @CNN ever reporting this. pic.twitter.com/ULAQuHdHq9

— Jeff Carlson (@themarketswork) September 27, 2023

Just think of CNN as Democratic Party operatives with bylines, and it all makes sense.

Evergreen:

KARATE GUYS THWART WOULD-BE CARJACKERS IN OAKLAND:

As Glenn wrote in 2020, the lack of serious law enforcement leads to “a lot of vigilante justice. And what are people gonna do about it? Call the cops? Remember, in the end the police aren’t there to protect the public from criminals, they’re there to protect criminals from the public. Communities dealt with crime long before police were invented, usually in rather harsh and low-due-process ways. The bargain was, let the police handle it instead. No police, no bargain.”

THIS WILL END WELL: Can China contain Evergrande’s collapse?

The Chinese Communist party appears set to kill off its largest economic zombie, while gambling that it can control the fallout. Evergrande, the world’s most indebted developer, first defaulted almost two years ago, as China’s property bubble began to burst. It has since been able to stagger on from one crisis to another, while struggling to restructure its mountain of debt and sell its assets. Now even the CCP seems to have decided this is untenable. The problem for the party is that Evergrande is not the only occupant of China’s economic valley of the living dead, and the impact of its collapse may be impossible to control.

The signs of a final reckoning have been growing over recent days. On Monday, Hengda Real Estate, Evergrande’s main unit in mainland China, defaulted on repayment of a further $547 million of loans and said in a statement that plans to restructure its debts had ran into trouble because it was being investigated by the authorities. It was reported today that Evergrande’s billionaire founder and chairman has been placed under police surveillance. He is said to have stopped contacting staff and become inaccessible over recent days.

China’s financial press also reported that several current and former executives have been detained. This followed the arrest of executives at Evergrande’s wealth management unit and an appeal to the public to report any cases of suspected fraud. These investigations mean that the company is unable to issue any new debt, that its lifeline has effectively been cut. They are also a signal that the CCP is not only pulling the plug but is lining up scapegoats on whom the company’s demise can be blamed.

Evergrande’s collapse and its fallout is further proof that: China May Be Headed for a Lost Decade*.

Flashback to November of 2019: How to Conduct Business with Chinese Companies That See a Dark Future.

* Of course thanks to Bidenomics we may be as well.

GOODER AND HARDER, PHILLY: All Philly liquor stores are closed today after at least 18 were broken into overnight.

Flashback: Vetoing Liquor Privatization, Pennsylvania’s Governor Says Competition Would Raise Prices.

DAVID THOMPSON: And In Machete-Wielding-Educator News. Shellyne Rodriguez, who held a machete to the neck of a New York Post reporter in May has a new teaching gig in Fun City. “Readers are invited to speculate as to what it might take for a progressive educator to become unemployable.”

DON’T GET COCKY: Even James Carville Admits Biden Has A ‘Big F***ing’ Polling Problem.

FORMER EPISCOPAL CHURCH UPDATES ITS RELIGIOUS BELIEFS: Washington National Cathedral replaces traditional stained glass with BLM windows, because of course.

STAND STRONG, BOB MENENDEZ!

A growing number of Democrats have called on Sen. Bob Menendez (D., N.J.) to resign after federal prosecutors merely indicted him on corruption charges. Not since the morally unconscionable #MeToo crucifixion of former Sen. Al Franken (D., Minn.) have Democrats so swiftly thrown a colleague under the bus to placate a mob.

This egregious rush to judgment is enough to make us miss the days when Democrats reflexively distrusted law enforcement. Schumer and other senators should treat Menendez with the same presumption of innocence that they themselves would wish to be afforded if their own house was raided and revealed to hold several kilos gold bullion of undetermined origin.

Heh, indeed.™

RAVING AND DROOLING: Pink Floyd co-founder Roger Waters accused of antisemitic behavior including swastika confetti, ‘Jew food’ remarks: report.

Pink Floyd co-founder and former frontman Roger Waters has been accused of sending an antisemitic email to his staffers proposing to write “Dirty k–e” on the inflatable pig habitually floated above his gigs.

London-based organization Campaign Against Antisemitism (CAA) has released disturbing emails and interviews in a documentary titled “The Dark Side of Roger Waters,” which uncovers a series of allegations of antisemitic behavior against the rocker.

In one email, the “Comfortably Numb” musician, 80, allegedly suggested “bombing” audiences with confetti in the shape of swastikas, Stars of David, and dollar signs.

“Hey Guys, Who’s going to make pig? Would it work to go out on the stuka truss? I imagine it black with crossed hammers logo as 1980, but covered with symbols from Good by blue sky,’crosses, stars of david( that’s king david not david gilmour) crescent and star, dollar signs, shell oil shell, etc and epithets,’my pig right or wrong’ ‘f–k you’ ‘no,f–k you’ ‘dirty k–e’ ‘follow the money’ ‘Scum?’ etc. Roger,” one alleged email, dated March 25, 2010, read.

Odd how these reports just keep happening:

“Dirty kyke”
“Jew food”
“Fucking Jew”

Is Roger Waters antisemitic?

Watch The Dark Side of Roger Waters now and decide for yourself.

Then add your voice at https://t.co/7F6c6M3nk1. pic.twitter.com/eh9n15DLsn

— Campaign Against Antisemitism (@antisemitism) September 27, 2023

AMERICA’S NEWSPAPER OF RECORD: Writers Return From Strike Refreshed And Ready To Destroy More Beloved Franchises.

MATT GAETZ DELIVERS THE LINE OF ALL TIME ON DEMS’ DEDICATION TO WASTING OUR MONEY: “‘We are devaluing American money so rapidly that in America today, you can’t even bribe Democrat Senators with cash alone! You need to bring gold bars to get the job done, just so that the bribes hold value!’ Gaetz declared.”

BREAKING: Widespread Mass Looting Underway in Philly [Video and Live Police Scanner].

GOODER AND HARDER, PHILADELPHIA: Shocking moment brazen masked kids loot Footlocker, Lululemon and Apple stores as Philadelphia descends into anarchy — with footage showing cops brawling with thieves and punching one in the face.

Flashback: First homicides, now shoplifting plague Philadelphia thanks to radical DA.

First, it was homicides. Then, it was carjackings. And now, it is shoplifting. Philadelphia is an absolute mess. The city’s government has been a complete disaster in protecting its law-abiding citizens and business owners from those who repeatedly cause harm. And, once again, much of the blame belongs to the city’s radical, left-wing, Gorge Soros-funded, ineffective District Attorney Larry Krasner.

* * * * * * * *

Consider the discrepancy between the arrests and charges for retail theft compared to the number of incidents. Between 2017 and 2021, the number of reported retail theft incidents in Philadelphia increased by 21%. However, during that same period, the Inquirer reported arrests and charges for retail theft dropped by nearly 70%. It’s a devastating shift for Philadelphia retail owners and stems from the district attorney not doing his job.

Some of the victims of this crime wave spoke to the Inquirer about their frustrations. It’s heartbreaking to realize that city officials caused their plight, and there is nothing they can do about it.

At a CVS in Philadelphia’s Center City section, one of the employees lamented the steady stream of criminals. She called the theft “constant and frustrating.”

“All we can do is watch. The policy is you can’t touch them,” the employee told the Inquirer. “They come in with bags, fill the bags. They leave. The same people come in, day in and day out.”

“People are coming in and stealing things like there’s no tomorrow,” said an owner of a 7-Eleven in South Philadelphia. “The district attorney says unless it is over $500, it’s not shoplifting. My God.”

As Tom Cotton wrote in 2021: Recall, Remove & Replace Every Last Soros Prosecutor.

PAST PERFORMANCE IS NO GUARANTEE OF FUTURE RESULTS:

Shot: Colin Kaepernick compares NFL Draft process and training camp to slavery.

—Fox News, October 30th, 2021.

Chaser:

𝗨𝗽𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗲: Colin Kaepernick wrote a letter, released through J. Cole, asking the #Jets to add him to the practice squad:

"Worst case scenario, you see what have to offer and you’re not that impressed."

"Best case scenario, you realize you have a real weapon at your disposal… https://t.co/046FQwz83c pic.twitter.com/fYryhIjKLj

— Dov Kleiman (@NFL_DovKleiman) September 26, 2023

In accordance with the prophecy: Jets File Restraining Order Against Colin Kaepernick.

—Headline, the Babylon Bee, September 14th.

RIP: Orioles legend Brooks Robinson dead at 86.

JOHN NOLTE: Weekend Box Office Crashes to 2023 Low.

The weekend box office grossed just $48.9 million this weekend. That’s the total box office. That’s all the movies in every theater in North America. That means only around 6.2 million North Americans bothered to go to the movies this weekend.

So what was the problem?

Well, who asked for a fourth chapter of the Expendables? Hey, I love Stallone, Statham, and Lundgren, but the third chapter, which came out all the way back in 2014, bombed. Truth be told, I enjoyed the original franchise more and more as it went along. The third chapter was my favorite. Still, I was not clamoring for part four. In fact, I doubt I’ll ever watch part four. The lack of stars in part four doesn’t help. Expend4bles feels like those Dirty Dozen TV sequels that came out in the eighties. They’d bring back one or two of the original movie’s aging stars — Ernest Borgnine or Telly Savalas — and replace the rest with TV actors.

* * * * * * * * *

Hollywood is the only industry with an entire media ecosystem protecting it from any talk about its overall product quality.

Well, outside of NBCABCPBSCBSCNN and their coverage of the Democratic Party in DC.

UNEXPECTEDLY: Neil deGrasse Tyson’s descent into ‘woke’ madness.

During a recent podcast appearance, deGrasse Tyson altered between moments of rage and maniacal laughter. In short, he failed to cover himself in glory. For example, when asked by the hosts, Konstanin Kisin and Francis Foster, for his thoughts on trans women competing in women’s sports, and whether or not their inclusion created an “unfair playing field, both literally and metaphorically,” the astrophysicist provided a truly nonsensical answer. Instead of barring trans women from competing in sports, deGrasse Tyson, who enjoys harping on about the importance of rationality, said that we should “fix the playing field, damn it.

“You know something? The day you fix the playing field,” he added, “this conversation will look completely ridiculous.” When asked how, exactly, one would go about fixing the playing field, deGrasse Tyson started cackling like a lunatic before admitting that he couldn’t answer the question.

This wasn’t his first time at the trans-friendly rodeo, and chances are it won’t be his last. That’s because, over the past year or so, the sixty-four-year-old has made it his life’s mission to advance the idea that gender is little more than a social construct, something that was perhaps dreamt up by a few men in a basement many moons ago. “Apparently the XX/XY chromosomes are insufficient, because when we wake up in the morning we exaggerate whatever feature we want to portray the gender of our choice,” he recently blabbered. Gender exists on a spectrum, he insists — but so do things like sanity and patience, Dr. deGrasse Tyson.

Where does his obsession with social constructivism come from? More importantly, I wonder, is it sincere, or is there something else at play?

DeGrasse Tyson spends an inordinate amount of time on TikTok, desperately trying to appeal to a younger audience. This investment appears to be paying off. After all, he now boasts more than 5 million followers. The average TikTok user’s age is twenty-one. Unless you happen to live under a rock on a distant planet, you’re no doubt aware that younger individuals tend to be incredibly woke. They tend to live more “fluid” existences. This, I suggest, is the main reason for deGrasse Tyson’s rather odd takes on biological reality. Like Howard Stern, Stephen Colbert and numerous other big name individuals who used to be fun, Tyson is playing to an audience. Not only is he insufferable; he’s also insincere.

You can watch the whole interview here:

Flashback: Another Day, Another Quote Fabricated By Neil deGrasse Tyson.

TRUNALIMUNUMAPRZURE! AXIOS blows lid off WH “Operation: FFS At Least Keep the Geezer Upright” UPDATE: OMG UAW visit.

Regarding the latter:

Stopped at the picket line just long enough so taxpayers had to pick up the tab for him to crop dust the country with jet exhaust to go tell donors to give him money so he can stop climate change. https://t.co/9a4x885pbK

— Doug Powers (@ThePowersThatBe) September 26, 2023

HUNTER BIDEN RECEIVED $250K WIRE ORIGINATING IN BEIJING WITH BENEFICIARY ADDRESS LISTED AS JOE BIDEN’S HOME.

DART ACROSS AMERICA: Adventures of Driving a 1975 Dodge Dart 3,300 Miles in Six Days.